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  1. MichaelC

    Laundry on the Francigena

    I ended up using laundromats a few times between Lucca and Rome. Even when there was a washing area, the drying area would often be a rack near an open window, but not exposed to the sun. I never had a host offer to wash clothes for me.
  2. MichaelC

    Lucca to Rome - a retrospective

    The only actual place people had trouble finding accommodation was Viterbo. I found a room, though it was too expensive. Others I was walking with couldn't find anything. For pilgrim accommodations, some don't open until June, and others didn't respond to emails / phone calls / whatsapp...
  3. MichaelC

    Lucca to Rome - a retrospective

    I usually appreciate solitude, and enjoy walking alone. I didn't actually feel lonely until the last four or five days. In part it was knowing that there were other pilgrims on the trail (we all met in Vetralla), and kicking myself for going off-stage rather than trying harder to get a hold of...
  4. MichaelC

    Lucca to Rome - a retrospective

    I carried it by choice, but I researched transport services for a friend with back issues who considered joining me. I don’t think there’s a service you can call day by day; you need to reserve it all ahead of time. I speak enough Italian to get by; I only had trouble once, when I couldn’t...
  5. MichaelC

    Lucca to Rome - a retrospective

    I walked along the VF last spring, May 16-June 9. It's a beautiful route, and a completely different experience from France or Spain. I haven't been able to put my thoughts in coherent order, even after 8 months, so this is just going to be a data dump. Day-to-day I would start at a coffee...
  6. MichaelC

    LIVE from the Camino A wet start in Tuscany

    Even those last couple days into Rome? Part of the problem I'm having writing things up is there are only so many ways I can say "the landscape was beautiful today" and "I loved the pasta" ... but there are a dozen little things (and one big thing) I can grumble about ... and then my post...
  7. MichaelC

    LIVE from the Camino A wet start in Tuscany

    I’ve started & deleted a half-dozen trip reports. I’m still struggling to put this walk into context. There were moments each day that were amazing. There were moments, many days, that sucked. I’ll be back with a full report, but it’s gonna take some time. For now, the best advice I have...
  8. MichaelC

    Some questions (paving, language, guides)

    1. It's a mix, though there seemed to be a lot of road walking each day. It was a very wet spring, and from Altopascio to Siena there were a lot of sections with thick mud. From Siena to Rodicofani the route was mostly on gravel roads. The section with the most, and best kept, actual...
  9. MichaelC

    Lucca to Rome, short stages

    Follow up: It might be awhile before I have time to do a proper write up, but here is my quick take on the short stages I did last month on the VF. I would highly recommend one, gently recommend one, had mixed feelings about one, and one was a flat-out mistake! The bold items are the...
  10. MichaelC

    LIVE from the Camino A wet start in Tuscany

    Oh my that first look at Rome from Monte Mario: I’ve now spent two days (the max) at Spedale della Provvidenza di San Giacomo e San Benedetto Labre - and what a perfect way to end a pilgrimage: It’s nice to be back in the pilgrim cocoon. I might have overthought the last couple days before...
  11. MichaelC

    LIVE from the Camino A wet start in Tuscany

    But also … thirty minutes before this I was walking along this absolutely horrid stretch of the Via :
  12. MichaelC

    LIVE from the Camino A wet start in Tuscany

    The past couple days since Sutri haven’t been the best. Two much walking in roads, and too few places to rest. And I don’t mean cafes or bars - there have been literally no places to even sit down and take a breather for ten to fifteen kilometers at a stretch. But tonight I’m splurging on an...
  13. MichaelC

    LIVE from the Camino A wet start in Tuscany

    With all the rains I’m hearing that the paths are very overgrown. In Tuscany “overgrown“ meant wet grass, flowers, and bunnies. Here “overgrown” means 2-meter high thistles, nettles, raspberries, and other plants bearing weapons. I think the Riserva is impassibile.
  14. MichaelC

    LIVE from the Camino A wet start in Tuscany

    I’ve been paying attention to the different mental and physical stages I go through on a long pilgrimage. I wish I had taken notes. Today, day 22, was my first “I don’t care when I arrive I’ll get there in time” stage. I arrived in Formello at 5:30 after a surprisingly long walk from Monterosi...
  15. MichaelC

    LIVE from the Camino A wet start in Tuscany

    What an amazing and ambitious route you’ve planned! I’ll give a more full report when I’m back, and not typing with one finger on my phone It’s random. I almost always chat with a few pilgrims on the road. It’s in the evenings that I rarely see anyone. But tonight there are a whopping five...
  16. MichaelC

    LIVE from the Camino A wet start in Tuscany

    One thing that is very different about this walk is that I rarely see other pellegrini in the evening. There might be a dozen at the coffee shop in the morning, I’ll see six more while walking. But in the city at the end of the day? It’s rare to see anyone; everyone just dissipates. Even at...
  17. MichaelC

    LIVE from the Camino A wet start in Tuscany

    This was a first - I’ve walked in the rain, but never been caught on the trail in a genuine thunderstorm with nowhere to hide. We had dark clouds and thunder for an hour, then the rain hit. It hit hard. And then it started to hail. Good news - my osprey rain pack cover works!
  18. MichaelC

    LIVE from the Camino A wet start in Tuscany

    Italy in the Spring. There have been wildflowers the whole route, but the approach to Bolsena was extraordinary.
  19. MichaelC

    LIVE from the Camino A wet start in Tuscany

    Radicofani- Hey, where’d everybody go??? That was hard but I made it, and in time for lunch. I don’t think I could have done San Quirico to Radicofani in one stage like the guide suggests. I have seen very few pilgrims since leaving Siena, and none the past two days! There was only one other...
  20. MichaelC

    LIVE from the Camino A wet start in Tuscany

    I was just reading the thread on the need for volunteers on the CF, and how the donativos make the Camino open to all. No donativos = the Camino becomes a trail for the wealthy. Pivot to Italy. There are some municipal hostels. A lot of the private hostels don’t open until June. There are...

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