Camino de Santiago : St Jean Pied de Port to Finisterre, September 2016 a trip by Camino0914From: September 17th 2016Until: November 5th 2016 After a slightly interrupted Camino in 2014, I'm having another go at it in September, 2016. I'll be accompanied by a friend, John who is new to this, and a little reliant on me for guidance . Poor John ! We will walk the Camino Francés between the 17th of September and the 5th of November and preparation is well underway. Flights are booked, the first night's accomodation is booked, so it's all done. Physically, there is still work to do but it should be OK. This trip involves getting to St Jean as quickly as possible, probably catching a train heading south from the airport in Paris, and spending ... read more

First, the last part of the heading, Sue was robbed. Walking down the stairs to Piazza Del Popolo, Sue was bumped by someone and when she reached the bottom, her bag was open and her purse was gone. No violence, just violated. One hour later, all cards are cancelled, $A120 gone, and that's the worst of it. Last day in Italy; they cut it fine. Earlier, we visited the Cappuchin Monastery for a look and were amazed at the historical display there. We visited in 2007 just out of curiosity to see the unusual but artistic display of the bones of up to 4000 monks but they did a redevelopment between 2009-12 and now it is a museum displaying artefacts and paintings relating to the history of these monks. They have a Caravaggio painting displayed and ... read more

It was raining today so we headed to the Vatican clad in rain jackets and clutching my Milan umbrella. It only lasted a while so they became a bit of a burden for the rest of the day. As we left our apartment the local council workers were doing a little cleaning and he was using an old straw broom to sweep the gutters and in between cars. It seemed horribly inefficient but the place was clean. Even though it was midmorning, the streets were relatively deserted and we walked through many lanes that went left, right, headed off on angles, and some that even went backwards; yes, I was a little bit lost. A quick look at the map, which I prefer not to do as it takes the fun out of it, and within ... read more

Today is Rome Day; the last stop of our trip. We were up early, showered, and walked to Levanto Station. There was an earlier train to La Spezia than we needed so we took this in the hope it allowed a little time for breakfast at La Spezia Central. The cafe at the station was only just waking for the day so a very ordinary coffee in a small plastic cup and a croissant had to do until Rome. The train to Rome was a 'fast' train and looked like a bullet. I had bought 1st Class seats and we drew some stares from a well dressed couple boarding the same carriage. The look of backpacks and our clothes clearly had them thinking we had made a mistake, which would be quickly sorted out by the ... read more

I woke early, 5am, and read until 6 before getting up for the day. We ate a quick breakfast, paid 16 euros 'city tax', and walked to Milan Central Station.the rain had stopped and blue sky was threatening to break out, so things were looking good. The train was late due to the huge storms in the south where we were heading. Our cabin in the train had six seats and as the only male, I kept a low profile and loaded all the cases onto the high racks; very chivalrous. The ride was smooth and as you passed through towns and villages you could see the flood damage. Cars were in drains, roads were washed away, and debris hung high on buildings, in trees, and on fences. We arrived about 40 minutes late at Levanto ... read more