Richo and DC

It is cloudy and cool today – max predicted 12 deg. We have a good view from the rooftop terrace of our hotel, but we can see it is also a bit hazy.

The signs all say 100 km to Rome and St Peters. Our stamp says the same thing. Fact: it is still almost 125 kms to walk. Don’t get excited yet!

We have time this morning to head to the fortress for opening time for a little look. Inside there isn’t as much to see as the intact outside would suggest. There is a museum about architecture of the region including a lot of information about the building of the dome in Florence. It is however all in Italian and we don’t have the time for me to try to decipher it.

Views from the park out across the lake are fabulous.

We leave the town via a steep downhill path. Today is mostly on good track, dirt roads and…….

….. long stretches of Roman road. This is the original via Cassia. Much more calming to walk on than the current via Cassia.

Once down from Montefiascone, apart from one small hill, today’s route is pretty flat and easy. Mostly farmland. The main passers by are cyclists – lycra clad. This route is a popular cycling trail, even on a Tuesday. While there are lots of bikes there are thankfully few cars as they throw up a lot of dust as they pass.

After passing an industrial area we arrive at an entrance gate to the old city of Viterbo by 2pm.

Viterbo has ancient Etruscan origins, has been home to popes and has an amazingly preserved medieval quarter. It is here we find a B&B for the night. The city was heavily bombed in WW2 but has reconstructed the walls, gates and towers that circle the older part of the town. We wander the medieval area, visit the small museum and the Popes’ Palace and check out some of the walls. People are busy at work setting up Christmas decorations in the streets and the Christmas market.

Stay B&B L’incontro Residenza Medioevale.

Eat: Taverna Etrusca.

Excellent dinner of fabulous antipasto then pizza. Followed by house made gelati for me, and tiramisù for DC. We have a card that we carry to give to waiters detailing DC’s nut allergy written in Italian. The poor waiter looked very uncomfortable with the idea of DC having gelati; most of the flavours contain nuts and the waiter repeatedly refers to the risk of cross contamination. Poor DC – there was no way he was going change the waiter’s mind. Tiramisù is much better, the waiter advises. And apparently it was excellent.

Ciao.

It is a sun shining mid-teens day.

Montefiascone is towards the more southern end of the lake, but much higher up. We decide to cut a few kms and some ups and downs off the days walking. It does mean more time on busier roads though. We turn 18 kms into a little over 14. We get into Montefiascone in the early arvo.

To avoid a large up and down, and threats of sheep dogs, we initially follow the via Cassia out of town for a few kms. We have to be alert to the traffic. I suspect this is the old route, now switched to hillside climbs and descents with less traffic and with likely better views.

When we rejoin the route we pass through beautiful forest in a reserve, with a creek with occasional cascades. Views towards the lake and lots more olive trees and vines follow after we leave the forest.

We pass a sign reporting Montefiascone is 100 kms from Roma – but i think that is the road distance. Pretty sure we have further to walk.

Another sign indicates an alternate route to the ups and downs of the current trail. It is shorter and more direct with a gentle climb towards the town. Again I think it is probably the former trail. It follows a road with reasonably regular traffic. There is a good shoulder and we comfortably keep out of the way of cars, usually going pretty fast, and not infrequently with the driver on the phone.

The route into the centre is a bit round-about as it takes you past the San Flaviano Romanesque church. Unfortunately we didn’t have a euro handy to switch on the lights to be able to better appreciate the carvings and frescoes. It is also the burial place of Giovanni Fugger, a pilgrim of old who reportedly died as a result of the outstanding wine of the town.

We have time for a bit of a rest then a wander, visiting the duomo (love the della Robbia) and the gardens of the fortress. Today is Monday and the fortress is closed but there is a lovely sunset view across the lake.

Then time to sit in a bar and play canasta. Richo wins again.

Stay: Hotel Urbano V

Dinner of lentil soup; plus steak and mushrooms for DC and baccalà ravioli for Richo, plus some of that wine (Est Est Est).

A trail of two halves.

One of the most amazing things about doing this walk is the places we have visited, even if just briefly, that we never would have come across on the Italian Tourist trails via the train. Places such as the Val d’Aosta, Pavia, Pontremoli, Radicofani and now, Bolsena.

When we leave Acquapendente it doesn’t take long to reach the countryside. This first 11 kms is mostly weaving through farmland. Flat, easy walking.

Once we cross the centre of the town of San Lorenzo Nuova, the highest point of today, we can see Lake Bolsena. We pick up a couple of tasty pizza slices and sit at a lookout for our lunch.

From here the trail is substantially different as it skirts the hills surrounding the lake. Initially through some woods returning to rough track for the first time in a while. Pink/ mauve cyclamen are everywhere. But we aren’t in Tuscany any more, Toto. The markers are not frequent and trails go off in many directions. We use the SloWays app to keep us on trail.

Most of the rest of the way towards Bolsena we follow dirt road, repeatedly up and down, amongst olive trees, farms and a number of very appealing agriturismi. Olive harvest is complete and people are packing up the nets and pruning the trees.

I had no idea what was at Bolsena, apart from the lake. It is quite a surprise when we get our first glimpses.

An extraordinary medieval town with a large fortress. Once we reach the narrow streets and steep alleyways we need to descend towards the lake. Some young, teenage people virtually run down the steep paths. We creak our way down with added vocal sound effects.

Tonight I have a hotel booked by the lakefront. Enormous, beautiful, century old plane trees line the avenue from the medieval section down towards the lake. They were planted to encourage people from the town to venture to the lakeside. They certainly encourage me to follow them.

We go looking for gelati by the lakeside but it seems gelati mustn’t be a big seller in the cold weather, in off season. It is also a bit challenging to find a place for dinner but eventually we succeed back in the old town.

Stay: Hotel Royal

Eat: Salmon for Richo, risotto with seafood for DC.

A domani.

We start early with a bit of a look around Radicofani, including up the road to the castle ruins and tower. Unfortunately we can’t access the tower area until 10.00 – a bit too late, but there are views all around.

We are really pleased to be able to access both Sant’ Agata and San Pietro to get a look at the beautiful della Robbia pieces. With our late arrival yesterday both were closed. Our weeks in Firenze a few years back turned me into a fan.

Just gorgeous!

After passing by the Medici fountain we are on our way at 10:00. The guide describes the early part of the walk today as “one of the wildest, most solitary stretches on the Via.” 9 kms of descent on a dirt road through farms with amazing views to the left and right and back towards Radicofani.  I think what they mean by solitary is we passed only 1 B&B and 1 Agriturismo.

It is again a peaceful walk – until the shooting starts very nearby. We walk today with pellegrini canadese and americana. They don’t seem at all concerned by the shooting; DC and I, however, abandon our thoughts of a little rest and snack at this point and get a move on. Something about a man in fatigues with a gun slung over his shoulder striding towards us…….

After we have dropped down about 500 ms altitude the path then continues in the valley until we reach the via Cassia. Another 5kms along paths close to the road and we arrive at Centeno.

From here the only path available is walking on the road, often with no shoulder for some protection. The guide says it is not safe to walk. We are happy to listen to these words of wisdom. It says to catch the bus, but that is still 90 minutes away, and we had had a previous no show bus situation. I contact the proprietor of our room for the night who provided a number of a private driver. A quick phone call and in no time at all we are all 4 pellegrini on our way past 9 kms of road in a mercedes! 20 euros well spent. The driver reports she has transported many pellegrini. In fact all i needed to say was that i was at Centeno and she understood and was on her way.

Today as we reached the via Cassia, we passed this sign.

Got a bit excited: less than 150 kms to go! Unfortunately the guide says we still have 165 kms to go, and that’s after our car ride.

Also of note today: we have now left Toscana and arrived in Lazio.

8 more days.

Stay and Eat: Ristorante il Borge.

A very friendly welcome and an excellent dinner.

From one hill town with a tower to another.

That steep climb up yesterday is now a bit of a painful descent back to the trail. The first three kms back on the trail are downhill through woods. Views back to the castle and tower, lots of autumn leaves and a few deer to be seen. One of the most beautiful stretches we have had.

We then climb back up to a ridge which we follow for the next hour surrounded by ploughed fields with occasional farmhouses. It is really peaceful, except for when the jet fighters roar just overhead. That certainly caught our attention.

DC makes friends with a number of dogs here. First, three small dogs emerge almost silently from a field; just a jingle from their tags. They escort us for the next couple of kms along the ridge before abandoning us to chase a couple of deer. He is then befriended by another dog, a scruffy little brown dog. This dog then proceeds to lead, follow, walk alongside us for the next hour. It was undeterred. There isn’t a tag so we don’t know if it has a home but it ends up a long way from where it joined us when it disappears off into an agriturismo.

We descend again to the river and the via Cassia. This is the main road that has a lot of traffic, going fast. We will see a lot of it in the coming days. This section though has a path alongside the river. Several dry creek crossings and an easy crossing of the river itself, then the real climb begins. 8-9 kms of almost constant up towards Radicofani at 814 ms.

Overall, compared to home, we have seen very few sheep. Until today. There are lots in this region, including these guys:

This whole stage from San Quirico to Radicofani is more than 32 kms due to hostel location. We are glad we broke it up. We passed quite a few agriturismo today, although they generally looked closed up at the moment.

The temperature today was cool, forecast to 10-11 deg, but with the sun shining and very little/no shade for most of the day, it often felt a lot warmer. This must be hard if hot. We did pass a few water fountains and found picnic tables set up in four spots. Two of them with perfect timing for a morning break and lunch stop. Overall this is a long but extraordinarily scenic day.

We arrive in Radicofani 7.5 hours after rejoining the trail. Around 25 kms.

Stepz says I climbed the equivalent of 20 floors. Totally and completely ripped off!

The tower is perched further up the hill, above the town. It will have to wait.

Tonight we have an apartment, a cosy little studio.

Radicofani looks to have a very old setup, but appears so neat and almost new. I assume with this strategic position it would have been heavily bombarded and then rebuilt after the war?

Stay: Bianca House

Eat: La Grotta. Dinner of tuscan soup (lots of beans) and lasagna, and steak for DC.

9 more days to Roma.

Sun and blue skies have returned. Still cold though.

Around 18 kms today. Stepz also says more than 100 flights of stairs climbed. I feel that today that is a fairer reflection of the number of hills climbed.

First climb comes shortly after leaving Torrenieri, but a steeper, longer climb takes us up to the hill town of San Quirico d’Orcia. It has taken us about 2 hours to reach this town and we are glad we are doing this part with blue skies rather than in the cold, the wind and the dark.

Further climbing, all on easy roads, takes us up towards the outrageously scenic, tiny hilltop fortress of Vignoni. I am sure i saw places for rent. We can see our home for the night across the valley. Another hilltop former fortress.

But first the steep descent down the valley to the thermal baths of Bagno Vignoni, where we run into pellegrini americana and canadese.

Lunch and then over the river on the lovely new bridge, then the next climb.

Over to our left, amongst more gentle hills, the fields are all waiting for the wheat. The area actually reminds us of the scenery if you took a drive up the Calder, into the great dividing range, back in the drought. Well….. if you ignored the hilltop villages, the towers and castles and instead stuck in some gum trees and a lot of large granite boulders.

The Via doesn’t officially go all the way into the town of Castiglione d’Orcia, but does climb to the edge. From there, it is the steepest climb up to the town, up past the olive trees towards the tower.

I have a B&B booked but when we arrive at the rabbit warren of streets in this ancient town, we don’t know where to go. A quick phone call and we find our way – which of course involves more up.

It’s a beautiful spot with views from the window of our room out to the tower. They have a lovely garden but this isn’t the time of year to fully appreciate it.

We have time for a good wander around the old town and the castle ruins before sunset. The tower is currently closed, reopening in December, so we don’t have the chance to check out the view from the top. We settle for a sunset view from the steps to the gate. Totally worth all that climbing.

stay: Il Vecchietta. Fabulous

Eat: Le Rocche.

Pizza and salad for dinner followed by dessert. DC says the best tiramisù …. ever.

It is a big climb ahead tomorrow.

A dopo.

18 kms, and a good thing it wasn’t further because it took us quite a bit of time. Some climbing of hills today as we head towards the second highest point of our walk. Apart from a short section on path alongside the main road, it was all on easy roads (paved and dirt) with cars a rarity.

It is still pretty cold. Might have made it to double figures but the wind was again often present and the sun only occasionally appeared. Today we mostly walked out on ridges – the hilltop town of Montalcino and hillside vines to our right; ploughed fields for wheat on the left. We passed wineries, including one offering a ‘pilgrim break’: water, sandwich and a glass of red wine, all for €7. Unfortunately, a glass of red wine and two more hours of walking on windy ridge roads are not compatible for me, so we keep walking.

So DC has the task of carrying the lunch. Advantage for me: I’m not carrying that weight. Disadvantage for me: DC has turned into the lunch monitor. Or perhaps more accurately, the lunch nazi: “No lunch for you…… ” until we have done another half hour; until we have got to the top of the hill; etc. Eventually we eat our picnic lunch, on the top of a hill, with the most outstanding view across the countryside.

Today we took our time because the scenery was extraordinary. And not just the hills, fields, castles, farmhouses, vines, cypress pines, walled village of Buonconvento, hilltop villages …….. but the sky too was amazing.

A bit of time with pellegrini americana and canadese. But today they continue on further.

By the time we arrive at Torrenieri it is only 3.15 but already getting dark and it is cold. We have an apartment for the night and a long day ahead tomorrow with a lot more up, and down.

A very nice dinner at the local osteria.

Stay: Passaggio in Val d’Orcia.

Hoping it warms up a little and the sun comes out again, and the wind drops.

11 days to Roma.

We start a bit confused about the distance. The guide says 25.6 km; the information board says almost 29.

No rain today. It is cold but not as cold. We get ourselves all ‘Sara Lee’ (layer upon layer upon layer), and on our way. At least our packs are then a bit lighter.

The walk out of Siena is initially on quiet road. Unlike the entry to the town 2 days ago the route provides views of Siena, and we are quickly into countryside. There is a section through some industrial areas and on a bike path beside the main road, but we soon return to country views. It is about that time that the wind whips up.

We have a long section out on ridge paths. This region is highly cultivated with fields in all directions and little protection from the wind. It is blowing us towards the right so I try to keep pulling myself back towards the left. At times the wind suddenly and briefly drops, and I stumble a couple of steps to the left. We follow the ridge for some time in this staggering drunken manner.

Eventually we drop down from the ridge and follow the last 6 kms or so towards the town, protected from the wind. This is my favourite kind of Tuscan town at the moment – not up on a hill.

I register 25 kms from our B&B that was probably 500 ms or so into today’s section.

As we sit in a sheltered position on the ridge for our lunch stop, two other pellegrini appear – americana and canadese. Their first day on the trail.

Throughout the day the clouds continue to clear behind us. But in front, to the south, it remains dark. We have no sign of the hills we are heading into in the next few days. The second highest point of our walk is two sections ahead. These sections are long and up, so we have broken them into three days.

Our home for the night is right by the river and we are greeted with fresh homemade cake – soooo good. Soon afterwards pellegrini canadese and americana arrive.

Next door we enjoy a really delicious dinner of soup and casserole at a bargain pellegrino rate.

12 days to Roma.

YES!! Well done majority of Australians.

The planned 1 day of rest and sightseeing in Siena quickly turned into 2 after we looked at the weather report. Although we didn’t actually get a lot of sightseeing done.

Day 1, Sunday – cool but ok.

Wandered the streets for a while venturing left and right down side streets. Bought our pass for all the monuments for the Duomo including the impressive museum and started there. Had a fantastic late lunch at Osteria Babazuf then relaxed/ slept the rest of day. The pistachio cheesecake with lunch was one of the tastiest desserts I have ever had. We didn’t even venture out for dinner.

Day 2, Monday – brutal! We had been paying attention to the weather reports: possibility of storms, hail, downpours. Decided not to walk. In the end that was a very wise decision. It rained most of the day and it was COLD. Icy cold. We continued to see all the attractions of our Duomo pass, did our laundry (machine washed clothes – such joy!) and again had a late delicious lunch. I suggested that we have a bit of a wander of street sights but quickly abandoned that thought. It felt close to freezing. Returned to our lovely warm comfy B&B and hibernated. Again, didn’t even leave for dinner. So cold outside.

stay: B&B Le camere di Livia. So warm and comfy. A beautiful place made even better by being on the ground floor!

Canasta progress: Richo now up 4 games to 1 (but it was very close).

The pellegrini francese and danese will now have left us far behind.

Back to walking again tomorrow.

13 more days to Roma. Hoping that the weather warms a bit.

Although we continue through amazing Tuscan scenery, each day has differences. This area is ‘the land of castles and abbeys’. It is a long day, especially as we add to the distance with an error.

But first, the confirmation of a milestone.

At 8.50 we head off towards Monteriggioni. It is soon in sight. As we cross the farmland we are struck by the rich chocolate colour of the soil.

While we walk we are passed by car after car of hunters and their dogs – it appears today is wild boar hunting day. I think how this works is teams of hunters and the dogs try to flush out the boar in the woods. The boar runs, the dogs follow. What you don’t want is, through some extraordinary stroke of bad luck, for your route and the boars escape route to meet. Its clear who comes off second best from that encounter.

We do cross paths multiple times with people setting up for an event tomorrow: run via Francigena. Tomorrow there will be between 400-500 walkers and runners out on routes of different lengths in the area.

We leave the small walled village and descend through the carpark. The massive carpark is I think bigger than the village itself – must be sardine time inside those walls when busy. Its 11 o’clock and we still have 20 kms to go.

Soon after leaving we can hear the hunters in the distance: the dogs barking, an occasional gunshot then, shortly after, multiple gunshots in succession – i can taste the wild boar ragu now.

Today the route includes more stretches of ‘mule track’. Although still pretty good paths, they do still slow progress a little.

We eat our lunch at a rest place, beautifully set up by a resident with big tables, chairs, shade, postcards, information and more. After lunch we still have 13 kms to go. We descend from the hill with castles and somehow make a left turn rather than a right. Perhaps we follow old markers. Not quite sure but we end up off track quite a bit. When we realise our error using the SloWays map, we are able to sort ourselves out pretty easily. But that probably added at least a km or two to our day plus slowed us further.

There are some sections on roads today but they weren’t too busy. There are fewer hills today in general but of course scenic hilltop towns are accessed by climbing the hill. And into Siena it is steep.

Finally arrive at our B&B for the night after 5.

I think this is the most tired I have been. The original plan was for a rest/ sightseeing day in Siena. We will decide in the morning what we will do.

Buonanotte.