Another reason I love to hike! You just never know what you’re gonna see or feel at the moment you step across the finish line. But that’ll come later in my daily digest.

When we headed out the door, we had no idea we’d be breaking out of Fort Knox! The place was locked down like a steel drum. The main gate was shut so I went through the side exit. When I came around the barn, yes farm animals like goats, sheep and cows were checking me out. The side gate was also locked. George told me, go down and see if you can get through and I’ll wait. Sure enough, it was only attached with a chain link hooked on a rusty nail and I was able to make a breakout. Then we walked the long driveway to one last obstacle, and before we knew it, we were on our way! Homeland Security needs to do a safety assessment of this place!

Our last morning of hill climb for a while so this has got to be a good one. Heart rate up, check, huffing and puffing, double check and I’m a few strides ahead of George, triple check! All was well in my world.

This was our final push to the Vatican. We dressed up as I didn’t want to find out I couldn’t get in with my knees exposed. Today was long pants and a T-shirt. It was a glorious morning with birds singing, roosters crowing and cows mooing.

We found a local Bar and had our Macchiato’s. Oh I’m gonna miss these. Our Macchiato’s at home have all sorts of sugar, caramel and whipped cream. In Italy it’s just a shot of espresso with a splash of foamed milk. Absolute perfection!

We had a bit of the dreaded road walk but being Sunday morning, there were few cars on the roadway. And we had a proper sidewalk to walk upon. No dodging cars or trucks or busses. That’s a hallelujah!

After a few miles, the trail headed through a nature preserve. It was quite thick with overgrowth and our last mucky water crossing. Some kind folks had strategically placed logs across the muddiest section so if you dared, you could walk across the wobbly wood pieces and make it to the other side with getting our shoes caked in mud. It worked, several times over.

Once out of Mother Nature, we had another quite steep, no, freaking crazy steep hill to climb. George referred to it as a 5.7 pitch. Well not really, but I did! I am absolutely amazed that the Italians don’t talk with the Swiss about engineering roads around here. You’d think they are neighbors and could share some intel. But huffing and puffing we did, up to the top of the hill and into town we went.

We stopped at yet another Cafe-Bar but this time just for Frizzente which is their version of LaCroix, without any flavoring. It’s about the only thing that was going to quench my thirst. Our final day on VF was hot and humid and I was dressed to see the Pope! He’s not going to bless me if I am disgustingly sweaty and a hot mess!

We carried on and walked through the city, found another hill to climb, just for last time sakes, and back in the woods we went. I’m quite surprised that there is still as much open spaces in the big city. There were lots of family’s walking, even Papa’s and Noni’s were out for their Sunday strolls. We finally saw our first real view of Rome. It is quite spread out and being I have never been here, I took it all in. You could see The Vatican and the entire city stretched out below us.

Our last few miles was walking through the city again. We only saw three pilgrims today. One kid who had walked all the way from Acosta which is 3-4 times the distance that George and I walked! He had a bounce in his step, even after walking some two and half months. He blew past us and we never saw him again.

Once inside Vatican City, we must have seen close to a thousand people. This place was packed with tourists guides, tourists and a gamut of people milling around, hoping to catch a glimpse of Pope Leo. It appears he gave his morning announcement and then went back to his quarters. Must not have received the memo that George and I was enroute!

After asking every police officer, military personnel and anyone who looked official, we found our way to the Pilgrims Desk. We wanted to receive our final stamp and certificate of completion. The lovely lady dressed in a yellow vest took our information, then escorted George and I to the front of the line. She took our heavy backpacks off our backs and ushered us into the Basilica. For free!

Now this is when I lost it. There is something so spiritual about walking into this holy place that you just can’t control yourself. I was filled with awe and wonder when my eyes looked upon the glory of this mighty and awesome sanctuary. One of my dearest friend Judi told me she felt the Lords presence in this place. She was so right. There is something supernatural about standing in the midst of this creative place that has taken centuries to construct and complete. We are going on a tour next week but for today, I just wanted to let this sink in. No one telling what or whom made this or painted that. Just me and George standing in this church and knowing that this was my first glimpse of what heaven would be like. Holy, holy, holy is our Lord Almighty!

This training walk of mine has opened my heart to a spiritual awakening. I had it in my mind that walking the Via Francigena was going to physically prepare me for the Continental Divide Trail (CDT) next month. Little did I know that the sweet Lord had bigger and better plans for me. The physical activity of putting on a pack and walking miles, day after day is already ingrained in me. And let’s be certain, that was not what George came to Italy for. So with a little persuasion, Jesus led me down a completely different path, one of pruning and manicuring, one of love and acceptance, and one of pure joy. This was His intentions from the beginning. I just needed to get onboard.

Two hundred miles later, George and I finished the Via Francigena. We had some great reflections on this trail versus the France’s and Portuguese route. I will only give my perspective as George’s is much different than mine. VF to me was spectacular. It had the physical challenges that I desire, with the ever-changing weather from cool mornings to rainy afternoons to hot and humid days in the end. The humidity I could do without but I do love weather. And the food. What is there not to like? I could have fish, pasta, potatoes or vegetables. I do believe Italian potatoes are their own special food group! I loved the scenery. The rolling hills of Tuscany, the endless vineyards, olive groves and the fertile farmlands of Luzia. All had their own beauty. The churches were much more understated, which I appreciated. Obviously with the exception of the Basilica. We did not get to interact as much with the locals, which I am sorry to say. That is something I really enjoyed in Portugal. But overall, I loved this route and would highly recommend it to anyone who seeks more of a challenging Camino and does not mind daily butt kicking hills.

Would I do it again? Most likely not as there are too many other places I’d like to walk and experience. But if you are looking for something a bit off-grid, with amazing food, house wine in a carafe, and bread with the best tasting olive oil in the world, this is your Camino. Just bring some adventure and good pair of trail runners, and maybe an umbrella!