Day 4: Montelibretti to Ponticelli (9 miles)

It’s the Little Things

“Buen Camino,” says the woman we see on the steep downhill out of Montelibretti.

A shepherd and his huge flock of sheep fill the road as he moves them to another field, whistling the whole time to lead them, while two German shepherds bring up the rear. It doesn’t get more rustic than this; we can’t imagine this scene in the U.S.

We see grapes being harvested, loaded into large plastic bins, and carried off in the back of tiny cars…no doubt to be stomped!

Via Francigena di San Francesco signs appear now at nearly every crossroads, reassuring us that we are not taking unintended detours.

We arrive at our country Air B&B and meet our host Giuseppe, a retired biology teacher who built Casale delle Stelle 5 years ago so that he could escape the intensity of Rome. It is a stunning house, and as Denis likes to point out, there is more designer plumbing in our bathroom than we know how to take advantage of, but we will try.

Giuseppe is making us dinner Roman style tonight which we will share with another guest. “I am a cook,” he beams, so we are in good hands.

Judy’s legs and knee are holding up admirably, despite very steep hills (we never had any doubts about Denis’s); the walking is enjoyable, the days simple, physically demanding, and scenically stunning. As Judy likes to observe, it never gets better than this. 9/23/2015