Italy
Altopascio

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    • Day 35

      Day 31: Lucca to Altopascio

      May 23 in Italy ⋅ ☀️ 22 °C

      It was a much shorter walk today (20 km). Other than an extremely short stretch along a dirt path, the entire Way was sealed - I think I'm getting used to it. It was 19 degrees when I set out from Lucca around a quarter past seven, and surprisingly, as I expected it to be a hot day, I don't think the temperature got much more than that. If it did, I didn't really feel much heat. The standouts today were the smell of the jasmin that adorned quite a lot of the fences I walked past and the huge semi trailers that seemed to contuinually pass me along a particular section of the road! I just missed market morning as I arrived into town; all of the vendors were packing up.Read more

    • Day 72

      Altopascio 11 miles

      September 22, 2023 in Italy ⋅ ☁️ 20 °C

      My companions were reasonably quiet when they got in. Can’t really complain. In the morning the solo guy left early, not without waking me by persistent coughing. When I deigned to take the eye mask off and greet the day I noticed that only one of the Italian couple was still there. Very odd. Had they fallen out? Had one nipped out to get the croissants in? With a chocolate one for me? I pottered about, as I do, including putting in my contact lenses, when I noticed that they were in fact both there, just sharing one bunk bed. Silly old fart that I am because that never occurred to me. At least they had the decency not to try that nonsense on the camp bed, or worse still, on the upper bunk. Which makes the question of why bring the camp bed even more intriguing but, even for a social inept like myself, going over and asking them about it was maybe a step too far.

      I left before I had second thoughts. Really looked forward to seeing them overtake me later in the day with one of them lugging the camp bed but it didn’t happen.

      I have noticed 2 distinct types of tourist cyclist in this area. Firstly there are the groups of 20 or so Lycra-clad folk on road bikes, no luggage, staying altogether in Best Western type hotels, on some sort of Exodus or similar organised and led “Tuscany by bike” trips. Secondly there are the rather older couples on big heavy e-bikes, lots of panniers, and rucksacks, who don’t look like they cycle much at home. They don’t really know where to go, keep stopping to fidget, didn’t realise beforehand that light is good on a bike, especially when it comes to avoiding anything on your back. The signs showing the way on the Via for cyclists are now much more frequent than for the poor foot soldiers. Come to think of it I haven’t seen any pilgrims on the route for a few days now. My relatively late departures help with that, of course.

      Got caught by my heaviest rain by far at lunchtime, full-on thunderstorm, but luckily I was able to dive into a large supermarket just in time. Stayed under cover for nearly a hour as it passed. No rush to get wet. Noticed a couple of these groups of cyclists looking pretty miserable going past. Didn’t fancy that much. My only disappointment was that in the UK that size of supermarket would have had a cafe where I could have got a comfy seat, a coffee and a trip to the loo. Not in Italy unfortunately. None of the above.

      Despite the delay it was such a short day I was checked in before 2pm, leaving me all afternoon to get more accommodation sorted. Now fully booked all the way to Rome. Even worked out how to get to the airport in Rome. Brings that quite close now. Will be home in 2 weeks and you can stop having to read this damn thing every day. Relief for all.
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    • Day 84

      67. Etappe-Altopascio-San Miniato

      September 22, 2023 in Italy ⋅ ☁️ 20 °C

      Ich bin sehr früh los, um sechs, um die 33km gut hinter mich zu bringen, und es sollte zudem am Nachmittag regnen. Und ich hatte ja keine Jacke mehr, warm war es aber, auch wenn es bewölkt war. In Altopascio trank ich Kaffee und aß ein sehr leckeres Teilchen mit Ricotta und Nußcreme. Der Weg danach war grausam. Durch Industriegebiet, dann durch eine durch viele LKWs ohne Gehweg befahrene Straße. Nur ca fünf Kilometer ging es durch den Wald, an Seen vorbei. Und wieder Asphalt, durch Industriegebiet. Später war es dann besser, ein Pfad am Fluss entlang, es regnete, aber nicht stark. Kurze Zeit später war ich in San Miniato Basso, also den unteren, modernen Teil, es ging dann noch berghoch zur Altstadt. Den ganzen Tag fühlte ich mich durch die vielen Bisse schlecht und fiebrig. Ich warf mir schließlich eine Ibu ein. Ein neuer Pfad ging Serpentinen hoch und endete an einem hohen Gebäude, dessen Funktion mir unklar war, bis ich dieses erreichte. Ein Aufzug, der das letzte Stück nach oben ins Dorf fährt. Eine Frau wartete auf mich und ich stieg ohne zu zögern ein.
      Oben angekommen, suchte ich eine Trattoria auf, die hatte sogar einen schönen Ausblick. Und aß Crostini, Brotscheiben mit verschiedenen Aufstrichen, dann Pasta mit Hirschragout, sehr gut! Ich musste mir die Zeit vertreiben, denn das Hostel machte erst um 16 Uhr auf, und ich hatte keine Reservierung. Es hatte sich mittlerweile komplett eingeregnet, was ein Glück, dass ich dem entkommen und schnell genug war.
      Danach noch ein Aperol und im Hostel war Platz. Ich holte mir Antihistaminika und ich wusch alle Klamotten in der Waschmaschine, zur Sicherheit.
      Abends ging ich mit einer Deutschen und einem Norweger in einer Osteria essen, wir aßen einen Salami-Käse Teller und ich hervorragende, selbstgemachte Gnocchi mit Gorgonzola, Birnen und Nüssen. Zum Nachtisch gab es eine weiße Mousse mit Café.
      Das Licht zum Sonnenuntergang war atemberaubend schön. Ich beschloss am nächsten Tag auszuschlafen, da ich durch den Juckreiz zwei schlechte, kurze Nächte hatte, und den mittelalterlichen Turm dann zu besichtigen.
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    • Day 8

      Hiking day 1 - to Altopascio - 12 miles

      September 17 in Italy ⋅ ☁️ 68 °F

      We left our room around 8:30 and started walking toward the city walls. First stop was a cafe for a light breakfast, enjoyed in the open air of the Piazza. Leaving there, we headed in the direction of a sporting goods store to shop for trekking poles. The good people at TSA in Boston had confiscated Brianne's. I guess she looked dangerous. This last 5 times she flew with them, no problem.

      We took a rather roundabout way to the store but we eventually made it. In a few minutes, the poles were in her possession and we headed to the marked trail to continue our journey.

      Today's hike was 97% paved surface. At times we were walking very busy roads but other times were like country lanes and neighborhood streets. Generally, we found it nicer and more pleasant than anticipated based on what we had read.

      At our lunch stop, Eileen and I split a pizza. How special on our anniversary. Taking advantage of lunch stops today and tomorrow, I think the following two days have nowhere to stop.

      When we got into Altopascio, our first stop was for a beer. It felt good to sit and enjoy it. Then on to our room. We are staying at Villa Lucca, a gated property. Our room has a beautiful wooden floor and large, old wood furniture with marble tops. A short nap for Jeff and showers for both prepped us for dinner at a Moroccan restaurant. When they heard us speaking English, they sent for a young (teenage) girl to interpret. The food was good. We headed back to our room, Brianne was staying at a nearby hotel.

      Our hope is to get a good rest. We have an 18 mile hike tomorrow.
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    • Lucca - Altopascio

      May 2, 2019 in Italy ⋅ ⛅ 16 °C

      Vi vågnede klokken 08:30, fik noget god morgenmad og tog indtil midtbyen for at købe lidt ind til frokost på turen. Foccacia med en Hvid Trøffel Paste og Mozzarella ost. Herefter tog vi afsted igennem det smukke landskab. Hyggelige små middelalderlandsbyer og flotte marker krydsede vi, indtil vi mødte vores første 'Pilgrims-Ven'. En venlig Italiener der også vandrede Via Francigena. Hvem ved, måske møder vi ham igen.

      Altopascio Er ikke noget at råbe hurra for. Der er nogle hyggelige farverige italienske huse, men ellers er det en ret død by. Vi fandt en hyggelig Familieeget restaurant kaldt La Loggia. Martin fik Spaghetti med noget Hummer, og jeg fik familiens egen opskrift: Spaghetti Pirata: Spaghetti med Oliven, tomater, chili, kapers og persille. Det var super lækkert.

      Et par glas rødvin senere, og nu ligger vi lidt trætte i vores seng. Det var kun omkring 20 kilometer i dag, men vi kan alligevel godt mærke i kroppen, at vi lige skal igang.

      I morgen skal vi til San Miniato - en 30 kilometers tur gennem smukt landskab.
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    You might also know this place by the following names:

    Altopascio, ITAPO

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