Villa Spada

After I got off the phone with AT&T, I took pictures of my route to the portico walk to San Luca. It started at Porto San Saragozza, which was a 20-minute walk from the hotel. My phone still shows me where I am and what direction I'm going, so that helps.

The first section is flat, along the road, with stores on the side. But then it really starts... It is uphill the entire way. Some parts have stairs, but most is just walking uphill. I started strong but backed off quickly. I needed to pace myself! My knees, hips, well everything was hurting. I thought it would take 1:15 to 1:30 to get to the top, but I made it in under an hour. The views were amazing--both the city and the countryside.

I didn't go into the church. Instead, I rested on a bench in front. It was getting late, and I wanted to head back down. Originally, I had dreams of taxis or busses at the top. I did see the little "kiddie train" come up the hill, but I don't know where it parked.

So down I went! It was hard, and I really tried to take it easy. I'm not sure what was worse, the stairs or the ramps. All hurt!

By the time I got to the bottom, I knew I was going to take the bus for a bit. One came when I was almost at the stop, but it wasn't the one I wanted. It was a 15-minute wait, and it was nice to sit and relax.

The bus was crowded! I squished my way in and looked at my phone to see where we were going. After we passed the Porto Saragozza, we were still heading in the direction I wanted to go. But I jumped off the bus sooner to avoid being suffocated!

It was a short-ish walk to the center.Read more