Up Above (and occasionally in) The Clouds!
Where I stayed last night wasn’t really an apartment more a house in the old part of town. Two bedrooms up and the place might have been rented out to some others at the same time. So I lucked out. It gave me a better sense of what these old places are really like, though obviously updated with electricity and plumbing. This photo was taken from my small bedroom window early this morning. The moon was still visible. I’m pretty sure that mediaeval beds weren’t any less comfortable!
Damn but the Wi-Fi where I am tonight is brilliant! Last night it was almost nonexistent. Otherwise the place was great.
Clearly the locals we’re also having difficulty sleeping last night. Perhaps it was the moon? What a great perch to catch the early morning sun. I’ll have to figure out where on our house this works when I get home.
I had hoped that by the time I left the cloud would have burned off. It looked just as thick as it had at 5:30.
It was a surprisingly long way down, but before I knew it…
… I was looking back up at it
I videoed this horse yesterday from above for the kids, and again today, when I got down. It was a beautiful animal.
For the first part of the morning I seemed to skip along just above the clouds.
Occasionally I would dip into them and then find myself climbing back into the sunshine.
At one point, I passed this old mill. I only knew this because there was a little sign on it.
Many of the trails, today were narrow, muddy after the rains and slippery. It got a little uncomfortable when I was up higher, and the drop to my right, dropped off!
Cause all the bushes and grasses along these narrow trails were covered in water, I was soon soaked from my waist down
It was really quite pretty, and usually I enjoy walking in these conditions. Of course my boots aren’t getting any younger!😬
Eventually the ground fog began to burn off.
I wondered where this little guard rail was when the trail had been so treacherous earlier on? However, I made it across, but slower than is typical for me. Memo to self.: next walk west new boots!😂
And seemingly out of nowhere popped Cantalice. Yet another mediaeval town.
As soon as I saw it I knew I would be climbing up through it. The name my grandchildren called me, PaG is changing to PaGoat! Hmmm, i’d best not give them any new ideas!
Caitlin, this is for you
I got a stamp in my credential at the Tourist Information before starting to climb. I could’ve stayed on the main road and eventually reconnected with the trail, but I decided to just do the damn climb. The bed I tried to sleep in last night was pretty terrible. When I started writing this post, I fell asleep for 40 minutes sitting up! 😴 In complete fairness it might’ve been the Belgium Leffie beer I drank with my lunch of smoked salmon and Umbrian cheese on crackers. In any event, both the sleep, and lunch were excellent!
Clearly the locals we’re also having difficulty sleeping last night. Perhaps it was the moon? What a great perch to catch the early morning sun. I’ll have to figure out where on our house this works when I get home.
I had hoped that by the time I left the cloud would have burned off. It looked just as thick as it had at 5:30.It was a surprisingly long way down, but before I knew it…
… I was looking back up at it
I videoed this horse yesterday from above for the kids, and again today, when I got down. It was a beautiful animal.
For the first part of the morning I seemed to skip along just above the clouds. Occasionally I would dip into them and then find myself climbing back into the sunshine.
At one point, I passed this old mill. I only knew this because there was a little sign on it.
Many of the trails, today were narrow, muddy after the rains and slippery. It got a little uncomfortable when I was up higher, and the drop to my right, dropped off!
Cause all the bushes and grasses along these narrow trails were covered in water, I was soon soaked from my waist downIt was really quite pretty, and usually I enjoy walking in these conditions. Of course my boots aren’t getting any younger!😬
Eventually the ground fog began to burn off.
I wondered where this little guard rail was when the trail had been so treacherous earlier on? However, I made it across, but slower than is typical for me. Memo to self.: next walk west new boots!😂
And seemingly out of nowhere popped Cantalice. Yet another mediaeval town. As soon as I saw it I knew I would be climbing up through it. The name my grandchildren called me, PaG is changing to PaGoat! Hmmm, i’d best not give them any new ideas!Caitlin, this is for youI got a stamp in my credential at the Tourist Information before starting to climb. I could’ve stayed on the main road and eventually reconnected with the trail, but I decided to just do the damn climb. The bed I tried to sleep in last night was pretty terrible. When I started writing this post, I fell asleep for 40 minutes sitting up! 😴 In complete fairness it might’ve been the Belgium Leffie beer I drank with my lunch of smoked salmon and Umbrian cheese on crackers. In any event, both the sleep, and lunch were excellent!
So I climbed
And I climbed
And I climbed! I think I said a few days ago, just how much I hate climbing stairs😇 Rob and Annemarie, you would’ve disliked this climb
However, views from the top were almost worth the effort. Almost.
And you know, I said to myself, as I began to climb that not a single one of the four churches in this old town will even be open. Here you have pilgrims (I’m not referring to myself) walking through these towns, and generally not a single church is open. I wonder who they’re saving them for?
What a beautiful day it had turned into!
How is it that some dogs can sit so quietly and without restraint while the two massive dogs next door bark and snarl at me? Thankfully they were behind a big huge fence!
this is looking back over the Rieti Valley to the area I crossed yesterday and today.
I find that, particularly in Italy, people are much friendlier and more welcoming than this. I was very surprised to see this sign, and it reminded me of some walking we did in another country that I won’t name. Perhaps the owner was from there? In 12 weeks of walking in Italy I have never seen a sign like this.
Climbing through the mud
This is La Foresta Sanctuary where St Francis reputedly stayed instead of going to Rome where the Pope was apparently preparing festivities in his honour. When people found out that he was here, they apparently flocked to see him and trampled the resident priest’s vineyard. The priest was concerned that he wouldn’t have any grapes to make wine which was his only source of income. Looking out for the priest, Francis promised an abundant harvest. Apparently the few vines that survived generated an incredible volume of wine. I find these little stories along this route, quite interesting. I will leave others to assess their accuracy.
The last 6 km was along a highway, but eventually I found my way into town
While I waited for my host to let me in to my really nice little apartment, I rested in Piazza di Francesco and watched the school kids leave either for lunch at 13:00 or to go home. I wasn’t quite sure which.
And I climbedAnd I climbed! I think I said a few days ago, just how much I hate climbing stairs😇 Rob and Annemarie, you would’ve disliked this climb
However, views from the top were almost worth the effort. Almost.And you know, I said to myself, as I began to climb that not a single one of the four churches in this old town will even be open. Here you have pilgrims (I’m not referring to myself) walking through these towns, and generally not a single church is open. I wonder who they’re saving them for?What a beautiful day it had turned into!
How is it that some dogs can sit so quietly and without restraint while the two massive dogs next door bark and snarl at me? Thankfully they were behind a big huge fence!
this is looking back over the Rieti Valley to the area I crossed yesterday and today.
I find that, particularly in Italy, people are much friendlier and more welcoming than this. I was very surprised to see this sign, and it reminded me of some walking we did in another country that I won’t name. Perhaps the owner was from there? In 12 weeks of walking in Italy I have never seen a sign like this.
Climbing through the mud
This is La Foresta Sanctuary where St Francis reputedly stayed instead of going to Rome where the Pope was apparently preparing festivities in his honour. When people found out that he was here, they apparently flocked to see him and trampled the resident priest’s vineyard. The priest was concerned that he wouldn’t have any grapes to make wine which was his only source of income. Looking out for the priest, Francis promised an abundant harvest. Apparently the few vines that survived generated an incredible volume of wine. I find these little stories along this route, quite interesting. I will leave others to assess their accuracy.The last 6 km was along a highway, but eventually I found my way into town
While I waited for my host to let me in to my really nice little apartment, I rested in Piazza di Francesco and watched the school kids leave either for lunch at 13:00 or to go home. I wasn’t quite sure which. Before arriving here I had a wander through town because I arrived earlier than the agreed time to meet my host. I’ve read that while Rieti has been around since the Iron Age and was a semi influential area during Roman rule, it was basically destroyed by Allied bombing. Only apart of the historic town centre was rebuilt. The cathedral is under renovation, and I only popped in quickly to see what I could see.
It might’ve been the one on the right that caused my spontaneous afternoon siesta? The other will accompany my dinner. I would prefer to have wine, but I’m having trouble finding half bottles. It seems wasteful to drink only a small part of a bottle, and I can’t really carry leftovers with me. I guess from another perspective, wine in Italy is a fraction of the price of the same Italian wine imported into Canada. I still can’t bring myself to do it.🍷
My laundry, all done and hanging to dry means that it’s time for me to get outside for a walk and visit the local grocery to find my dinner. I neglected to mention yesterday that I have left Umbria and moved onwards into Lazio. I particularly enjoyed my wander through Umbria, and I’ll probably reflect on that and some point. For now, onwards to Rome! Just four stages away now.
Thanks for following
So much climbing, so many stairs! Ken
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