The Pescheria (fish seller) was in town, and cars were blocking the street to buy his fish. He must come on a scheduled day of the week.
The little bakery where I had breakfast. Just the smells made my mouth water.
I had a hard time deciding what I wanted. It is hard to tell in a photo, but this croissant was striped red and green. It was delicious, a little sweet, and a little flakey. The stripes ran all the way through.
My Italian guide. Every time I walked through town, this gentleman was in front of his bar and would direct me to the correct location. He spoke a little English, and I sat outside with a glass of wine late yesterday afternoon where the locals were most curious about me, and he translated. Italy seems to be full of friendly people.
It was a good day for hiking in such a spectacular region.
The scenery was a little different, with more green and more farmland.
There was plenty of up and down.
Lots of grapevines and olive trees.
This tree was outside a residence, and I thought it so dramatic.
The Torre della Fiora watch tower in the Macchia di Gattaceca nature reserve. The brick structure dates back to the 13th century.
Art abounds even in the middle of nowhere.
I rounded the corner and saw all the sheep. This time there were about five dogs and a shepherd.
These two dogs followed me quite a ways. They are Maremmano-Abruzzese Sheepdogs which are considered an Old World European breed dating back to Roman times. They are prevalent here in Italy and make excellent guard dogs for both people and livestock.
Doesn't this road make you want to know if it goes straight up and over that mountain?
I couldn't get over how green the fields were.
As I was nearing Monterontondo, I spotted this Emu. He was as curious about me as I was about him.
A side shot of him. I didn't see any others in the field, so he must have been lonely. Poor thing.
Gee, this was fun. I had to cross this board over a bottomless-looking chasm. It is a good thing that I am not particularly afraid of heights. It looked rickety but was mostly sturdy as I walked across.
I see these bar sandwiches all over Italy, and they are way bigger -- like three times bigger -- than a diagonal half of one of our American sandwiches. I love the canned tuna in both Italy and Spain because it is better quality than we get at Kroger or Publix or wherever. This sandwich was dressed with fresh tomato slices and mayo on the softest bread imaginable. Move over Wonder Bread!
I don't know what this is called, but it was yummy, crisp, filled with a thin layer of sweet vanilla custard. I stopped in this little bar in Monterotondo where I ordered the Sandwich and the dessert. The Senora bartender (today's Camina Angel) called the transport company for me and it is the last day I have to use a transport service to the hotel and back. For the last two days, I walk directly to my accommodations. I bought the dessert to go but as soon as I got to my hotel room, I was only going to take one bite. Ha Ha -- I ate the whole thing.
So the best meal of the trip was tonight. This restaurant, clearly fine dining was incredible. I started with spinach ravioli tossed in butter and fresh sage. The pasta, homemade, was melt-in-your-mouth delicious. Even the bread was a level above the normal excellent bread here in Italy.
My secondi course was a thinly sliced pork tenderloin that was so tender I didn't need the knife. It was covered in a really interesting tomato, maybe pepper sauce. I had to sop up some of this rich sauce with the bread. Totally expected and polite in Italy. Even the potatoes that accompanied it were special. I am so stuffed that I think my eyes are bulging. I was tempted to get dessert because I am sure that it would have been amazing but there was no room in my tummy.
Today's mileage was 14.8. So good night and God bless!
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