The Way of St. Francis: Italian warmth

63278DD3-D05E-4A0D-ABEE-20809A11748C

8AFF5438-11C5-4946-AFDC-5389054C6C3D

“Everything hurts.”

As we climbed to our rustic hotel in Valfabbrica, those two words summed up our day on the Way of St. Francis. We celebrated warm showers, beer at the Pinky Bar, and dinner up the hill at a ristorante with linen tablecloths, the works. My birthday calzone was as big as a football, and I ate the whole thing.

To be fair, Saturday had been a relatively short, easy trek, but we paid for it today, Sunday. We climbed 3,500 feet and descended 4,400 feet.

Umbria did its best to distract us with natural beauty as well as medieval castles and churches. But the moment we will most remember came as we climbed to a home with commanding views of the valley we had left behind. A woman pulled out two plastic chairs and pointed. Sue and I sat. Our feet oohed and aahed. We had a conversation that no one understood. But it didn’t matter. Smiles and kindness said it all.

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

8F1CBD2F-6ECF-46A3-935C-80968DD53191.jpeg

 


Comments

15 responses to “The Way of St. Francis: Italian warmth”

  1. Deborah Gudger Avatar
    Deborah Gudger

    Happy Birthday! I hope your feet magically recover overnight and tomorrow is another day of wonders!

    Like

    1. Thank you, Debbie!

      Like

  2. Reg, Happy Birthday toooooo YOUUUUUUU!

    Like

    1. Thank you, Denise!

      Like

  3. Ken Gudger Avatar
    Ken Gudger

    Happy Birthday, Sue. Hope you had some wine to go with you Calzone. Thanks for your updates…we’re following you every step of the way.

    Like

  4. Ken Gudger Avatar
    Ken Gudger

    xx Happy Birthday, Sue. Hope you had some wine to go with you Calzone. Thanks for your updates…we’re following you every step of the way.

    Like

  5. Carole & Beaton Avatar
    Carole & Beaton

    Birthday greetings from us! and best wishes for the remainder of your adventure!

    Like

    1. Many thanks, Carole and Beaton!

      Like

  6. Malcolm & Barbara Avatar
    Malcolm & Barbara

    Quite a climb. That path looks steep. In like your comment, “We had a conversation that no one understood. But it didn’t matter. Smiles and kindness said it all”. That is just great.

    Like

    1. Thanks, Malcolm. A big hello to Barbara as well!

      Like

  7. Jeff Roberts Avatar
    Jeff Roberts

    Happy birthday Sue. You two are looking great.

    Lan

    Like

  8. Kathy Chappell Avatar
    Kathy Chappell

    Happy Birthday Reg-now you are as old as me-Ha, Ha! Love your pictures and following your adventure.

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Thanks, Kathy!

      Like

  9. Yay for 1952 babies! Loved the part about the lady pulling out the chairs for you. The Italian people are so wonderful.

    Like

    1. 1952 was a great year, Bonnie, as you and I know!

      Like

Leave a reply to Malcolm & Barbara Cancel reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.