After our brief stay in Isola Farnese, we were driven back to Roma Terminus by Martino. We somewhat enjoyed his driving which is definitely Italian and bold but polite. You cut in when you need to, smile or apologize, but go for it. The motorcycles are the thing I worry about. They are nuts and weave in and out of traffic like it’s nothing. They take too many chances for my liking.

At the train station we each had a delicious Roman breakfast sandwich. Mine was mozzarella and tomato with a some type of white sauce on it. Toasted and delicious! Suzanne tried a Roman version of a chai tea latte. Start with a pot of tea, add steamed and frothy milk, a little cinnamon and voile!

A Roman breakfast sandwich

A tea latte

Time to head to our platform and back to Lucca. Uneventful, we headed to our previous hotel to pick up and mail my bag. Between the two of us it weighed 8 kilos… way too much to carry!

Much happier now, we can find the bus station and get to Altopascio. We hoped there would be enough time to walk into Altopascio but taking the bus we didn’t arrive until 7:30 pm.

Melon and prosciutto, our snack in Lucca

We found our Hotel Paola along with a very enthusiastic host. He recommended a couple places for dinner but it was Monday and few were open. We settled for pizza.

Altopascio is small with a nice old section.

Church courtyard

The moon is full

Ready or not, tomorrow will be here before we know it – our first day of walking the Via Francigena! Excited or nervous?

#enjoythejourney