Ruth:  We are spending two nights in Lucca to enjoy the sights and sounds of this marvellous place. Last night it was Opera (this is the home town of Puccini) and tonight it is the Santa Croce Festival where the whole town is lit up... Read More

 Gordon: While I do not share her enthusiasm for vast expanses of tedious sand, Ruth loves a beach.  So it was with some excitement that Ruth approached the coast near Massa to find ... that someone owns the beach.  We cycled for a number of... Read More

Ruth: Ah, we are entering in Tuscany where almost all the Italian Movies we have ever watched were filmed. A land that is always bathed in the pre sunset light, and where everyone owns a villa. Then why are my hands and feet numb and... Read More

53km and 850 meters of climbing ( for those in Victoria that's 2.5 Malahats )Gord: Today we left the rice paddies of the Po valley  and climbed into the Appennine mountains towards Tuscany.  Like the meseta on the Camino many pilgrims skip the Po valley.... Read More

I think we might actually make it to Rome. The signs are certainly indicating that we are going the right way. Perhaps the oldest surviving road sign, however is the on on the Cathedral in Fidenza. A statue of Simon Peter faces Rome holding an... Read More

Ruth: 85 km with the additional 10 added in.Crossing the Po RiverThe very very flat Po Valley.My needs are simple and, I suspect, not that different from other pilgrims on the Via Francigena or any pilgrimage route. At the end of a long hot day... Read More