Orvieto

My plan was to leave early, despite it being a short day, because I wanted to visit the cathedral on my way out of town. Picked up a bar breakfast and got to the cathedral by 7.45am, hoping to avoid any 8.00am mass. Apparently the “beautifully preserved must-see 10C crypt” contained “the reputed drops of the blood of Christ on a stone brought from the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem”. Hence it has been a site of pilgrimage for ages and ages. Worth nipping in as I passed I thought. Despite my book stating that the crypt is open early and very much worth a visit it was most certainly shut. No signs of life. Bother. Could have stayed longer in bed then. Frustratingly, if I had, then it might well have been open when I passed. Made a mental note to do so next time.

What I did see on my way out of town was this very lovely block of flats. I wonder who decided on that colour. Did they get a special deal from B & Q? Did the architect do it to win a bet? Can’t believe the residents put it to a vote at a meeting where Fred stood up and said “How about a lovely shade of pink?” “Won’t that be cheery?”

Not many walkers out and about but I was caught up by Kevin from Dublin who was going at a fair lick pulling a trailer with his gear. He seemed quite happy with it and had come the full distance but in 3 trips. I was unconvinced that the gains on smooth roads compensated for the harder going at other times. We had a fair blether until we reached a village where he decided to stop for a late breakfast. Might well have been an excuse to get away from that irritating Scotsman of course but to tell the truth I was getting a bit knackered keeping up with him so I wasn’t complaining.

It is in the nature of walks like the Via that you can meet folk repeatedly for several days, not to speak to, you understand, heaven forbid, and then you don’t see them again. You never know if any particular meeting is the last one or whether there will be many more. But tomorrow I plan to do two “standard” days in the one day. A total of 22 miles. I expect to meet, and ignore, a whole new set of folk after that.

Bit of a change in scenery today as I reached the Lago do Bolsena, or damned great lake. 7 or 8 miles across.

End of the stage was on the lake-side. Almost a beach resort. Certainly full of tourists, but quite a nice feel to it. I suspect the tourists were Italian, on a Sunday day trip.

Early start and short day meant I arrived before 1. Able to get showered and changed and into a restaurant for lunch. The plan was to eat at lunch and not bother with tea, thereby getting an early bed. These late teas are not good for my digestion. Spent a very pleasant afternoon keeping up to date with the Ryder Cup golf while stuffing down pizza and ice cream and wandering about the town. Only slight issue is the pizza was rectangular. What’s that about? Surely there is a law that says it has to be round. If there isn’t then there should be one.Read more