Montefiascone to Viterbo 13/9/17

13/9/17 Wednesday
Day 40

Montefiascone- Viterbo 18 km

Hazy blue skies 21 deg

Wake to the sound of singing nuns and chiming church bells.
As the sun rises in a hazy sky I walk to the Torre dell Pellegrino and public garden with a view over Lake Bolsena.
Follow the ancient Via Cassio (Basulato Romano 154 BC?) which is still in use; no evidence at all of any preservation effort.
Views back over Montefiascone with the third largest dome in Italy of the Cattedrale di Santa Margherita.
Flat tracks on to Bagnaccio; it is too hot to swim in the hot pools there and they look uninviting to me.
Leg pain. On today's walk I eat my entire and meager provision of three brioche.

I walk with Happiness- my sole companion.

Viterbo is reached earlier than expected though it is a crazy walk at midday through traffic. GPS successfully guides me to the two pilgrim-stops I have selected; the first is closed however, so I traipse to the Instituto Adoratrici Sanque di Cristo.
The usual ritual ensues: ring the buzzer at the gate, convince the non-English speaking recipient it is me: lone, non-Italian speaking pilgrim, who seeks refuge.
Hesitatingly, the gates grind open.

A nun greets me; in fact, embraces me, and insists on carrying my very sweaty backpack up to the third floor to a single room with sheets, towels and a bathroom.
A tree towers outside the window as if on guard.
The kind nun asks me if I am Catolica; I shrug my shoulders and wave my hands in non-committal fashion.
She then asks if I am, therefore, Anglica.
I respond by affirming the first option.

I have pizza slices cut with scissors and sold by weight with beer for dinner. This part of town lacks glamour: there's graffiti and vacant shops.

Men embrace by kissing each other.
Very Italian.

8 Breakfast
25 Accommodation Viterbo incl B/F
1.40 4 bananas, 2 nectarines, 1 pear
7 Pizza and beer
4 Drinks, chips







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