The window of my room in B&B Il Teatro didn't close properly. In the evening, I could hear children playing on the square in front of the building. This morning, I was woken up by street sweepers. But in between, I had slept really well. The bed was very comfortable. The name of the B&B didn't come out of nowhere. It was actually situated above a theatre hall. The rooms had names. Mine was called medea. There was no staff in the building. In the kitchen was lots of food for breakfast and I could take whatever I wanted. A nice extra was the rooftop terrace with views over the city. There I enjoyed a coffee before leaving around 9h30.
There were lots of cars driving around in Acquapendente this morning. I headed to the central square Piazza Fabrizio. Disappointingly, it is actually no more than a car park. Bar Roma was already busy. The city has some nice murals which I passed while walking the Via Roma out of town. At the edge of town is the Basilica Cathedral. First I scored a new stamp in my pilgrims passport in the tourist office just in front. Then I wanted to visit the cathedral and its crypt. But the underground crypt was pitch black. Where was the light? It took me some time to find out you had to pay 1 euro for 10min of light. I paid and it was worth it, a really mysterious place to experience. Time to move on. I briefly followed the busy Via Cassia before taking a left on a quieter road. But there were road works going on and I had to find myself a way between trucks, workmen and new asphalt. Only after 2km, the path took a gravel road and I was on my own again. The 10km to San Lorenzo Nuovo would be spent in the fields. The big hills of tuscany were behind me. Here it was flat with some low ridges. Luckily, the path stayed away from a big industrial zone along the main road. I walked through fields and more fields. Some had grain, others had potatoes or sunflowers. I also passed fields packed with solar panels. This stretch had almost no shade. Surprisingly, it was not too hot today and the main reason was again that wind which kept blowing. No complaints from my side, it was perfect hiking weather. Half way, I passed an abandoned house where there was a big rock under an even bigger tree. The perfect spot for a snack break. In the province of Lazio, the Via Francigena is very well signposted with regular indications of the kilometers and time to the next village. After two hours, I reached the end of this agrarian plateau. The path returned to the Via Cassia and on a sidewalk, I climbed to the center of San Lorenzo Nuovo. I realised that the milestones along the Via Cassia are actually a countdown to Rome. Still 125 kilometers left. A bit more for me, because I don't follow the road. San Lorenzo Nuovo has an octagonal central square named Piazza Europa. The impressive church dominates the square. All bars were closed except for Bar Centrale. I sat down on their terrace and enjoyed a panini. There was still a stage on the square from the annual Sagra degli Gnocchi. That is a big festival in august that celebrates the most important local crop: potatoes. The biggest attraction of town is only discovered when you walk out of the center to the south. Suddenly, a wide view over Lago di Bolsena opened. Then I realised the village actually sits on a hill overlooking the lake. Waw! This is not a tiny lake. With 114 square kilometers, it is Europe's largest volcanic lake. Now I had to get down towards the lake where I would find the city of Bolsena. My destination was still at 12km. First, I walked through a forest, but pretty quickly, I ended up on a wide gravel road. It was not all downhill. There were lots of little steep climbs followed by steep descents. Very often, I had an amazing view over the lake. Half way, I came across a gravel quarry which is slowly consuming the hillside. Some people on bicycles also struggled with the ups and downs. Between some olive trees, I could suddenly see a tower with a flag on top. The castle of Bolsena, I was almost there. Before I knew, I ended up on the road and 10min later, I stood next to the castle. During the steep downhill into the center, my tibia started hurting again. Since yesterday, I take ibuprofen to control the inflammation. My body is telling me that it is getting tired, but Rome is really close now. I walked through the entrance gate of town into the street Corso Cavour. I made a quick stop at Carrefour before continuing to my pensione for tonight. The owner must have had trouble finding a good name for it. In the end, he named it Pensione Italia. I was greeted by Nick when I arrived. A very friendly man, but he had procedures that needed to be followed. He ran me through the check in procedure: check of ID, tour of the house, stamp in my passport and payment. When finished, he said like a robot: check in completed. Surprisingly, Nick lives in a room of the pensione. He must be the caretaker. What makes this place unique, is the stunning rooftop terrace with views over the lake and the city. I took a drink and enjoyed the sunset. When it got too dark to see the lake, the lights went on in the mighty fortress towering above it. Another stage completed. This continues to be an amazing adventure, every day brings new surprises. Tomorrow, I'm going to have a closer look at the lake before walking the 16km to Montefiascone. There I will have my last rest day on Friday. Fingers crossed that everything keeps going well until my arrival in Rome next Thursday. I'm really excited. Only 146km left to walk!
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AuthorMy name is Dimitri and I'm turning 40 in 2023. Through the years, I have tried to live my dreams. Everything is possible, the sky is the limit as long as you believe in your dreams and work hard to make them happen. Do what you never did before. Go where you have never been before. It will be scary, but it will also be worth it! Archives
July 2024
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