A Two Days' Break from Work

9/28 - Viterbo to Vetralla - 9.75 miles
9/29 - Vetralla to Sutri - 14.24 miles


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As it turned out, unforeseen circumstances pushed the harvest back a few days, so rather than do farmwork for another two days, I decided to take a two day break, and come back when it was time. So, on the morning of 9/28, I returned to Viterbo, and without thinking twice, I started walking again. After five days of working and staying put, it was certainly a strange feeling to walk again! It took a few miles to get back into the swing of things, but since I had missed the entrance to the Via Francigena, a busy road shook the dust off of my walking shoes.

All in all, I should say that this was a pretty uneventful day. As I walked by several farms, I found myself appreciating with greater intensity and a keener eye those that were well-maintained, or better yet, manicured. I took a nap near the road, was awakened several times as cars stopped to check on my welfare, and learned not to pass out so close to a road next time.

When I reached Vetralla, I soon found the parochial church that was on my list, and entered. After a few suspenseful minutes of not being able to find the priest, and being turned away, he finally appeared, showed me to my room, and offered to make me dinner. I refused several times, but he insisted, so I agreed to meet him in the refectory at 7:30. Left to my own devices until then, I turned around from the door, and saw an upright piano. I was thrilled to have my own private piano, and immediately sat down to play, but it was too good to be true: the piano was severely out of tune, and several keys were unplayable. Still, I managed to clunk around for an hour before deciding that it was too far gone to make any attempt at music. Too bad, but I had recently had a good experience with a piano at Montefiascone, and one can't be too greedy, after all.

At 7:30, I headed to the Refectory, and found that a full meal had been prepared for me, with obvious care. As I sat down at the table, the priest offered me various things, and opened the large refrigerator door, urging me to eat or drink anything contained therein, including for breakfast the next day. With that, he left me alone to eat, and again I was thankful for my good fortune.

The next day, 9/29, I arose early, eager to cover some distance before heading back to Castiglione in Teverina. I managed to find the Via Francigena again, and was glad to have done so, since the first thing I encountered outside of Vetralla was a beautiful forest. After a peaceful walk, I came upon some large hazelnut groves, and was happy to see that the season had advanced since my last hazelnut groves in the Langhe of Piedmont, and that the hazelnuts were nearly ready. I walked down a private road lined with giant pines, and saw various large villas far off from the road. I realized that I was in the suburbs of Rome, and that these were probably long-held villas of important families.

In no time, I had reached Sutri, and before heading on to my next destination, I decided to check in with the boss man and see if the harvest was definitely happening the next day. I received confirmation that it was, so I hopped on a bus back to Viterbo, and in less than one hour on a slow bus I had covered the walk of two days. Once back in Viterbo, I spent a few hours at the internet cafe, biding my time until the guys finished work. When they finally made it back to Viterbo, I met them at Giovanni's house. Giovanni, my coworker on the farm, and by now a good friend, hosted me in his apartment over the next two days. So, together with his girlfriend Jenny, and his hilarious and musical roommate from Puglia, Sante, I had some dinner, and went to bed early, as I had two long work days ahead of me.