Day 1: Rome to Monte Sacro

I completed the first stage of the Via di Francesco (VdF) today. It wasn't a long walk (17.86 km). I started from the obelisk in the centre of Saint Peter's Square (I ducked into the Vatican office to get a stamp first: without my backpack). I was really lucky as there was an American priest there explaining the significance of the stone to a small group, and when he seemed to wind down, I asked him to give me a blessing for my pilgrimage - which, of course, he did; a very nice one too. The Way followed the river for quite some time, and as you can imagine, it was along sealed surfaces and alongside some quite busy roads. It was hot and horrible, but there were some nice sections of shade, especially toward the end, as it was along a bike path. I was a little nervous as there is no app for this pilgrimage, and I had to download the gpx files to my phone, and I'm simply following them. I didn't see any waymarkers until 13 km in, and I wasn't sure they were for the VdF until I was 16 km in!Read more