From: Bettolle

To: Monte San Savino

Miles: 12

Total: 795

Almost another dupicate day as yesterday with great weather and a nice walk through the fields until we reached our city on the hill at the end of the day.

We started our day by returning to the Mom and Pop cafe where we had our late lunch yesterday. It was the typical Italian breakfast of a cappuccino and a creamed filled croissant and we were on our way.

With only 12 miles and four hours to walk today it was a nice relaxing day. Nothing really exciting to see, more of the same from the last few days, but the nice flat walk for most of the day was again a good thing.

As we finally got to town we had a fairly steep incline as usual into the center of town on the top of the hill. As we were reaching the center of town near our hotel there were a bunch of elementary aged children by the side of the road with a few adults. One of the adults asked us where we were from. We told them we were from Texas and Florida and told them all about our walk. The kids were excited to hear about it. At least one of the adults was a teacher and had the kids sing a song to us. John recorded it and it is on our video tab. John asked what they were singing and they said it was, “With love in our hearts, we are glad you are here.”. You will enjoy watching it if you go to the link.

When we got to our town for the evening we walked by a wine bar within a block of the hotel and it was still open and serving lunch.

We hurried down the block to our hotel, negotiated another great rate for very nice rooms and went back to the Wine bar for lunch. John and I both had homemade pasta with pesto for lunch and I had a half a liter of their house wine. Of course the house wine in the Tuscany region is pretty good.

We may grab a pizza later on if we’re hungry this evening. We have a little bit of a longer walk tomorrow but the last few days of walking been very nice in this area.

It is now less than two weeks until we are home for our 90 day break. We look forward to seeing everyone soon.

From:  Giovancorso

To:  Bettolle

Miles:  17

Total:  783

After last night’s amazing rest at the very nice L’Albero di Gameli B&B in Giovancorso, we were back on the road this morning at 8:30 with crisp temperatures, clear skies, with no wind. 

Today’s route was pretty straight forward. We spent most of the day on paved, flat roads, with some short walks on gravel and dirt roads through farmland. By about 10:30 we passed through a little town, but it wasn’t time for lunch or a break, which we try to save until we’re at least half way for the day. Little did we know that town was our last chance for the day. By about 1:00, we were very overdue for something to eat and a chance to get off our feet. Unfortunately it didn’t look like that would happen before we got to our final destination around 2:30. So we found a ditch in a field where we could sit on the grass and eat a candy bar and take a brief rest. I was fresh out of candy bars, but Dave has a couple so he shared with me. 

So we walked, or climbed, into our destination of Bettolle about 2:45 with a couple of choices of where to stay. The first was a hotel right in the center of town. The second was another mile down the road. As we usually do, we stopped at the first hotel and if it looks OK from the outside, we’ll go in and see if they have two rooms, and if so, we usually look at the rooms before committing.  Today, the first hotel, in the city center, was not open. Dave called the number listed on google maps and the owner answered and said he’d be here in 10 minutes. As promised, he got here quickly and showed us our two rooms. They are very nice. After  negotiating on the price a little since the rate did not include breakfast, we took the rooms. I must tell you, we’re walking through Tuscany at the perfect time of year. Not only is the weather perfect, but there is no way we would be getting these accommodations at these rates in the summer tourist season. 

Because we missed lunch, we headed across the street to the Tommassini bar/cafe after dropping off our backpacks. The cafe had a full menu and we scarfed down some awesome pasta prepared by the cafe owner’s wife. 

Tomorrow we have a very short day of only nine miles unless we come up with a different plan. It still looks like a Sunday arrival in Florence with a day off on Monday. We hope everyone’s day was as good as ours and thanks for following along. 

From: Fabro

To: Giovancorso

Miles: 13

Total: 766

What a difference a day makes! After a good nights sleep and a good Italian breakfast at the hotel with the helpful and friendly staff, we were on our way this morning.

The weather was much warmer and the winds were light. We were on nicely paved roads with light traffic. Even better the walk was almost completely flat until we got into our town for tonight. Although it was a fairly significant climb at the end of the walk it was a piece of cake compared to yesterday. To top it all off the walk was only thirteen miles today.

For a good part of the walk today we were right next to the Italian high speed rail called Frecciarossa, which translates to Red Arrow. They can operate at speeds up to 300 kilometers per hour/186 miles per hour. John made a great video of two of the trains going by within a couple of minutes of each other. Be sure to click on the videos tab on our web page to watch it and any other videos you might have missed.

I mentioned the helpful staff at our hotel last night. Not only did they help John with his phone last night, they called our next stop, a Bed and Breakfast to make sure they had rooms for us. We tried to call ahead at other times during our walk but usually the receptionist or B&B owner didn’t speak English. We figured since the hotel receptionist spoke good English at this hotel she could check it out for us. It turned out they had two rooms available so we knew we had a place to stop for the night.

When we arrived we found out the lady at the B&B spoke fluent English. She was very helpful as well and is taking us back into town to a restaurant tonight since the B&B is on the outskirts of town. We again are thankful for the kind and helpful people we have met along the way. I hope everyone is having a great week.

From:  Bolsena

To:  Fabro

Miles:  23

Total:  753

Very tough day!  We walked 23 miles with some steep climbs and descents over very difficult terrain.  We are definitely in the heart of Tuscany now and will be until we get past Florence the middle of next week. 

We knew we were facing a longer day so we got started about a half hour earlier than usual. The wind was forecast to be 20-30 out of the north again today and the forecast was accurate. Lucky for us, part of the day we had some tree lines sheltering us from the wind.  But when we were on hill tops or in clearings, the wind was howling in our face. Luckily it got up to the low 50s by afternoon so it wasn’t too bad. 

Immediately after leaving our hotel in Bolsena, we started a steep climb, walking on gravel logging roads. Because these type roads are not traveled by normal vehicles, the climbs and descents are much steeper and they usually go over the hills instead of around them. After our 1000’ climb first thing, we were on a paved road going through rolling pasture land. 

By lunch, we had reached the town of Monterubiaglio. It’s a typical Tuscan town, built on the side of steep hills. Our route actually had us going around the outside of the town center. Because we needed some lunch and a break, we went off course to walk into town. After walking about a mile off course, we had not found anyplace to eat. So we cut our losses and detoured back onto our intended route, hoping we’d find something on down the road. Otherwise, it was going to be a candy bar and water for lunch. Just as we reached the very far edge of town, there was a gas station with a small cafe. We scarfed down some sandwiches, chips and sodas and were thankful we found the place. 

After lunch, we found ourselves on a gravel road that was following the Italian high speed railway line between Rome and Florence. This went on for a few miles until we turned away from the railway and found ourselves basically walking on rock trails through peoples very hilly pasture land. The footing was challenging due to the rutted out roads and the steepness of the hills.  We also had another encounter with a creek, but this time were able to find some rocks sticking above the water to step on; only Dave got one foot wet. 

We finally got to our hotel about 4:45.  Once we got here, I started working a cell phone problem that I’d had all day. With some help from the nice lady at the hotel desk, and a young guy down the street at a bar, I got the problem fixed. 

Tomorrow, we have a shorter day of only 13 miles.  We’re sneaking up on Florence; we’ll be there by Sunday.  The Tuscany region is beautiful. We wish you all could be here to see it with us. 

From: Viterbo

To: Bolsena

Miles: 19

Total: 730

Although half our walk was uphill and longer than yesterday, overall it was a better walking day. While it was still windy and cold, the wind was lighter most of the day and we had less gusts.

Today took us along a main road most of the day, but luckily it was Sunday so traffic was light. At the halfway point when we had basically reached the top of our climb for the day we stopped in another medieval historic town for lunch. The place we stopped in was very busy. John mentioned it would be just like the Dairy Queen back home in Texas on Sunday and I agreed.

After a nice break and a Sandwich we finished the second half of our walk ending up in a town by a large lake. The first hotel we stopped in to check out looked very nice but the door was locked and no one answered when we rang the doorbell and called their phone number. We stopped in at a cafe down the street and they said that hotel was always open. We told them not today. They were kind enough to give us some alternatives just a few blocks down.

Before we reached their first recommendation we stopped in at a hotel that looked ok from the outside. Once we went inside the place was packed. It was some type of group and they were all checking out and seemed happy. That is always a good sign. The lobby and restaurant were also very nice. The lady at the counter didn’t speak any English but with help from one of her younger staff member who spoke it a bit we were able to check out the rooms, which turned out to be just fine so we grabbed a couple of rooms for the night.

Before we reached town we went by the Bolsena Commonwealth War Cemetery. During World War II, the Germans made their first stand after being driven north of Rome at Bolsena and to the east of Lake Bolsena, there was a tank battle in June 1944 between the 6th South African Armoured Division and the Hermann Goering Panzer Division. The site for the cemetery was chosen in November 1944, and graves were brought in from the battlefields between Bolsena and Orvieto. Almost one-third of those buried at Bolsena were South Africans. The cemetery is on the actual site of the first camp occupied by General Alexander’s advanced headquarters after the liberation of Rome and it was here that King George VI visited General Alexander at the end of July 1944. Bolsena War Cemetery contains 597 Commonwealth burials of the Second World War, 40 of them unidentified.

The lake we are staying next to is Lake Bolsena which was formed by volcanic and tectonic activity. Roman historic records indicate activity of the Vulsini volcano occurred as recently as 104 BC; it has been dormant since then. The two islands in the southern part of the lake were formed by underwater eruptions following the collapse that created the depression. The town itself is situated on hills overlooking the lake. We will get to go over those hills tomorrow on an even longer walk than today and hopefully get a good picture of the lake. Have a fantastic Sunday and thanks for following along!

From:  Capranica

To:  Viterbo

Miles:  16

Total:  711

Today’s walk was a tough one for several reasons that I’ll explain below. 

We got on the road today at 8:45. Rather than our normal Italian breakfast at the hotel, we were given a voucher to go to a local coffee shop just down the street. This was not the first time we’ve faced this arrangement. Unfortunately, the voucher was only good for one drink and one pastry.  That’s not a lot of breakfast to start the day on, but nevertheless, we enjoyed what we got. ie, you get what you get and you don’t throw a fit. 

After the not so beefy breakfast, our next challenge was the weather; specifically, the wind. Though the sun was shining, and the high for today was suppose to be in the upper 40’s, the winds were forecast 15-25 from the north. In our case, that’s right in our face. I think the forecast was a little off on the winds. At times, we had to come to a complete stop to catch our balance. When we were protected by trees, it wasn’t so bad. But when there was a clearing, or we topped a hill, the wind was very strong. 

We finally made it into our destination city of Viterbo around 2:30. We had intentionally picked out a Best Western hotel on the far side of town because it took a mile off tomorrow’s walking distance. To get there, we walked straight through the center of town and kept going another mile to our hotel. For the first time on this walk, when we walked up and asked for rooms, the attendant said they were full for the night. Not what we wanted to hear because we had just walked past some hotels a mile back in the city center. So back out into the wind we went, backtracking into town to find another place to stay. Luckily, we had a tailwind going back so it wasn’t so bad, and the first hotel we came to had rooms and they’re nice. 

One note of interest about Viterbo; it’s center is surrounded by medieval walls built in the 11th and 12th centuries which are still intact. 

Tomorrow is forecast to once again be a windy day as we make our way to the lakeside town of Bolsena, 18 miles away.  Thanks for reading today and we hope everyone’s Saturday was a good one. 

From: Braccianio

To: Capranica

Miles: 14

Total: 695

Today’s walk started with a fairly significant climb, but it was on back roads, initially paved, then some gravel and even part of the old Roman road with large stones. That lasted for maybe the first third of the walk and then the rest of the way was on a nice paved road, some of it recently paved. Traffic was light all day.

We made a quick stop at a cafe after less than two hours for a drink and snack because we knew there wasn’t anything else until we reached our hotel for the night.

The rest of the walk was uneventful but once again when we rounded a corner coming into town we saw a breathtaking historical town ahead of us on a cliff. Walking the rest of the way into town didn’t disappoint either. The route to our hotel led us through arches into the medieval part of town. Just outside the arches about a block from our hotel we noticed a small pizzeria packed with locals and decided once we reached the hotel we would head back there to grab a bite.

About a block down on the right we saw a sign for our hotel, but it took a few minutes to figure out which door was the entrance. Unfortunately that door was locked and there was no buzzer but it did have a phone number on the door. John decided to give it a try. A lady answered and said she would be there in three minutes. After just a few minutes she showed up with her brother who spoke decent English. They showed us the rooms and they were just fine. He also showed us a restaurant right next door where we can eat tonight as well as the café where we will get the breakfast included with the room. The hotel and rooms themselves are basic but very clean and well taken care of. The biggest difference between last nights hotel and this hotel is you can tell they really work to take care of this place and the owners are very friendly and helpful. Attitude and effort make all the difference in the world.

After we checked in, we went back to the pizza joint, called Ghost Pepper Pizza, and had fantastic pizza. It was probably the best we have had so far. It was thin crust Roman pizza with a very light and crispy crust. The guy running the place said the dough rises for 72 hours before they use it. He spoke pretty good English and we talked to him about our trip. I asked if he made Ghost Pepper Pizza and he showed me the jar of ghost peppers. Habenero pepper is about my limit so I didn’t ask him to make one:)

Once more to end our day we had the pleasure of meeting nice townspeople and stopping in a picturesque town. Have a great Friday!

From:  Isola Farnese

To:  Bracciano

Miles:  14

Total:  681

Today’s walk got us out of the Rome suburbs and back into rural Italy. Gone are the sidewalks and wall-to-wall people. Now it’s rolling pasture land and what we would call Farm to Market roads back home. 

The day got started with a good breakfast at the hotel and we were out the door at 9:00. The temperature was in the low 40’s, sunny skies, no wind, and zero chance of rain. In fact, we haven’t seen rain in about three weeks and there’s none in the forecast for the next two weeks. Immediately after leaving the hotel we were out of town and onto rural roads. The traffic was fairly heavy all day but we managed just fine. 

We knew there would be minimal choices for lunch today, so at about 11:00 we came upon a gas station with a cafe attached. They had all we needed; a coke, slice of pizza, and a Snickers bar. So after our 45 minute break, we were all juiced up and ready to finish off the day. 

Bracciano is a fairly small place, although it does have a castle on a hill overlooking the town. There were three options of a place to stay here. We decided to just check them out based on their order on our route through town. The first, a B&B, was just on the edge of town. It didn’t look that great from the outside, the gate was locked, and there wasn’t an easy way to contact the owners, so we checked that one off the list.  The next option was a hotel in the middle of town.  We went in, checked out the rooms we’d be getting, and decided to stay here at the Alberto Della Posta. It’s a bit dated, but how picky can you get when your only other option is to keep walking down the road with only one more place to pick from?  

So overall, today was a good day.  Tomorrow it’s another light day of about 13 miles. We’re sneaking up on Florence;  we’ll be there in about 10 days. 

From: Rome

To: Isola Farnese

Miles: 12

Total: 667

After two great days in Rome it was time to get back on the road. It was a short 12 miles today so we are stopped just on the outskirts of Rome for the night. About the first third of the walk was just getting out of the city and the remainder of the walk was in the suburbs of Rome. This meant that our entire walk except for about 100 feet was on city sidewalks which made the actual walking really easy and safe except for the busy intersections.

There weren’t many sights to see today although we did cross a pedestrian bridge over the Tiber River into a nice neighborhood.

We found a small pizzeria for lunch. Although their pizzas were premade and sold by the slice, they were very good and looked like they were fresh out of the oven. We finished off lunch with some gelato at the store next door. It was a nice stop and then we only had an hour and a half left until we arrived at the hotel.

When we arrived at the hotel it was the first time on our trip we had to book online to get a better price than asking at the desk. We have found it is usually quite a bit cheaper to just walk up and ask for their best rate than the quoted prices online.

At our hotel this afternoon the lady at the desk quoted us 57 euros per room a night with breakfast. When I said that one of the booking websites, hotels.com was quoting us 47 euros, she said she couldn’t match it at the desk but if we went to their own hotel website and booked it we could get the rooms with breakfast for 36 euros per night. So I had to stand in the lobby and book it online on their own website to get the 36 euro rate, but I was very happy that she was nice enough to let us know about that great rate which saved us 21 euros each from her original quote. Even better is that the rooms are nice, clean and have everything we need.

So after another great day of walking in the sunshine with light winds and getting a great deal on our rooms we are heading just around the corner a bit later to another pizzeria restaurant to grab a bite for dinner. We were blessed again today and hope your day turns out just as blessed!

From:  Rome

To:  Rome

Miles:  0

Total:  655

Today was our second of two days off in Rome. As you recall yesterday, Dave went on a tour of the Vatican while I stayed at the hotel most of the day. Today, we both went out sightseeing. 

The day got started with our usual Italian hotel breakfast. We headed out to do some real live touristy stuff around lunch. It’s relatively easy to get around Rome using their public transportation system, and inexpensive too. We took the street car to the farthest point of interest we wanted to see, walked between sites, then took the street car and subway back to the hotel. 

We started with a cool little coffee shop my daughter Karla suggested. Though I don’t usually drink coffee, The La Casa Del Caffe’ Tazza D’oro makes an awesome frozen coffee drink with real whipped cream on top. Karla was right; it was really good. 

Next we walked just outside the coffee shop to the Pantheon. It’s a former Roman temple, and now a church, built in 126 AD.  That’s 1366 years before America was discovered, just to put these things in perspective. 

After the Pantheon we walked several blocks down the street to Trevi Fountain. As we got closer and closer to “ground zero”, the crowds got heavier and heavier. By the time we made it to the fountain, it was wall-to-wall tourist, just like us. This fountain, built in 1762, has appeared in several movies, including Roman Holiday and Three Coins in the Fountain. 

Next, we headed through several narrow alleys and ended up at the Spanish Steps.  Completed in 1725, the Spanish Steps got their name from the Spanish Embassy that is located in the piazza at the top of the steps. 

After leaving the Spanish Steps, we had a 30 minute walk to see the most famous and recognizable landmark in Rome, the Colosseum. Located in the center of the city and next to the Roman Forum, the Colosseum was completed in 80 AD.  It was home to gladiator fights, mock sea battles, animal hunts, and yes, executions.  

After all that, we were tired so we headed to the Metro station for a ride back to the hotel. Tomorrow we’ll hit the road towards Florence. It’s about 185 miles from Rome to Florence through the Tuscany region of Italy. It will take us 12 days to walk there.  So thanks for following along on the Dave and John do Europe traveling show. We’ve thoroughly enjoying our time in Rome and look forward to more adventures further up the road. We wish you all could join us.