Tag: Italy
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The Way of St. Francis: Feeling his spirit
When he walked this part of Italy nearly 800 years ago, St. Francis reached out to all life, especially the most needy people. Today, at the Santuario Della Verna, the spirit of St. Francis touched all of us who walked the stunning grounds where he left his mark. Believers or not, visitors felt his presence.…
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The Way of St. Francis: Packed and Ready to Go
Ready or not, we’re off to Italy where we’ll begin The Way of St. Francis, a pilgrimage that traces the pathway traveled by St. Francis of Assisi in the early 13th century. Our journey begins in the eastern portion of central Tuscany in Chiusi Della Verna, a small community located below Santaurio (Sanctuary) Della Verna.…
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The Way of Saint Francis: Training Begins
I stopped for a quick photo this morning as Reg and I neared the top of the 500 foot climb behind our home. With our upcoming Italian pilgrimage (The Way of Saint Francis) just around the corner, today seemed like a good day to reacquaint ourselves with our backpacks. If the weather cooperates, we should…
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Tour du Mont Blanc: Worth every step
The Tour du Mont Blanc is complete. As we sit in our Chamonix hotel lobby directly below western Europe’s tallest peak, some reflections: We knew the weather in the Alps was unpredictable, so we packed rain gear, a warm jacket and lightweight clothing designed for layering. We had two days of overcast and some rain…
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Tour du Mont Blanc: Weather threatens to halt trek
The blue skies of the past five days have gone and there has been a bit of rain, thunder and lightening today, a rest day in Champex, Switzerland. We met trekkers who had to turn back this morning from the next day's col due to lightening. They faced a 200€ taxi to the next town…
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Tour du Mont Blanc: Switzerland awaits
Today, our seventh day of walking and our eighth day on the Tour du Mont Blanc, the trail led us 8,300 feet up and over the Grand Col Ferret and down into Switzerland. It was quite a climb! Our first two hours of walking delivered us to Refugio Elena, strategically nestled into the hillside…
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Tour du Mont Blanc: Time to return to this amazing trail
It was “ciao” to Courmayeur, Italy today after a day of rest in the Alps resort city. The Tour du Mont Blanc has been more than challenging for us, so we needed the break. Walking into a new country was a new experience on Saturday. We heard “buon giorno” more often than “bonjour” almost…
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Tour du Mont Blanc: Spirits Lifted
We awoke Sunday morning (day 5) to more clear blue skies, and after a 6:30 am breakfast packed our things and started our trek. The hike down from Refugio Elisabetta eventually leveled out onto a wide pathway of relatively easy walking…a welcome relief to the relentless ups and downs of the…
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Tour du Mont Blanc: After struggle, the mountain rewards
From my bottom bunk looking out a small window in a wood-paneled room, I see a glacier and Alpine peaks high above. Our home for tonight, the Elizabetta hut in Italy, is at about 7,500 feet, two miles from the Italy-France border. The only way we could get to this place, as remote as…
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