Tuscany gets attention for its beauty, but its neighbor Lazio has adorned the Via Francigena with scenes like this one. The highway signs say “Roma” now and we are just four days away from arriving at St. Peter’s Square once again.
It is sobering to think we have walked 209 miles. Long, challenging days remain. But tonight we have a dinner date with a Dutch couple who have become our friends. Buon Camino, indeed!
The Via Francigena has delighted us in its warmth, with recent days bringing us friendships.
Elena (in top photo) and her mother welcomed us to their 14th-century hilltop farm home and agriturismo with personal charm, a spacious apartment, and scrumptious meals.
We had dinner and trailside conversation with Renate and Herbert from The Netherlands, promising to reconnect in Rome. And we said goodbye (for now) to Luca, who is on his way home in northern Italy to resume his studies.
Meanwhile, we pause in Acquapendante today for a breather, leaving just eight days to Rome. And we hear we may be just in time for a big announcement when we show our pilgrim passports (filled with ink stamps documenting our journey) and collect our certificates in St. Peter’s Basilica.
Books and my backpack 