DAY 24 - CORTONA to AREZZO - 14 May 2026

-
 


The first highlight today was breakfast - a delicious hotel buffet, eaten in the orangery. We stocked up well as we had some serious road walking to do today.  Unfortunately there is usually some road walking,  even when we are following a recognised path. In this case it was all day, and mostly on fairly busy roads, as there were no paths that suited today's route. When we did manage to go off on minor roads for a while, we enjoyed the relative peace. There were vineyards and olive groves and even a castle.

The second highlight was Castiglion Fiorentino. At the now restored Roman gate, we read how it had been bombed by the allied forces with much loss of life then destroyed by the retreating Nazis. We had a coffee under the loggia designed by Vasari, admiring the distant views as well as the beautiful Circle of Life statue by Andrea Roggi.

On the road again, we passed a couple of other long distance walkers, identifiable by their large backpacks and poles.

Our third highlight was a bar that materialised around lunchtime. Although we only had a sandwich, we shared a table with a gentleman named Claudio and had an extensive conversation with him in our basic Italian, comparing Australia and Italy.

We were very glad to eventually arrive in Arezzo where we have a rest day tomorrow. 

A healthy start to the day
Getting into our stride
Enjoying the peaceful surroundings
A quiet entry into Montecchio
Montecchio
Castello di Montecchio Vesponi
Filling up en route
Approaching Castiglion Fiorentino 
The Porta Romana at Castiglion Fiorentino 
Memorial to the victims of the WWII bombardment, Castiglion Fiorentino
Castiglion Fiorentino
The famous Vasari-designed loggias at Castiglion Fiorentino
Morning coffee break,  Castiglion Fiorentino
Heading out of Castiglion Fiorentino 
A lot of road-walking today
Vehicles large and small were courteous, giving us a wide berth
We usually walk fairly quickly on the main roads
A quieter stretch of road as we approached Arezzo
Arezzo
Dinner of local Arezzo specialities 
Arezzo's impressive Piazza Grande. We went to people-watch, but we were just about the only people there
A bit of evening photography in Arezzo 
Today's bits and pieces
On a tough day for bird photography, we had to settle for this fake flamingo
Day 24 - Map

Day:                               24
Distance:                      26.97 km
Walking time:               5 hrs 12 mins
Elevation gain:             291 metres
Cumulative distance:  474.51 km

Comments

  1. Anonymous17 May 2026 at 11:00

    Bird today: the lesser known Phoenicopterus roseus

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Barkers17 May 2026 at 19:02

      Still can't stump you! Well done Murray!

      Delete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

PREPARING FOR ANOTHER LONG WALK

-
Image
We're excited to be getting ready for another adventure! This time we are heading to Italy. The plan is to walk from the East Coast to the West Coast,  starting from Marina di Ravenna on the Adriatic Sea on Tuesday 21 April, arriving at Ostia on the Tyrrhenian Sea on Sunday 12 July.  Using walking paths and small roads, we aim to cover about 25 km most days,  with plenty of rest days in interesting places in between. We've pre-booked bed and breakfasts and small hotels in the places we pass through.  We're planning to write a blog post about our experiences every day. Follow along to share in wonderful vistas, fabulous food and the joys of long distance walking! Coming soon: Reading, Preparation 
Read more

TRAINING

-
Image
Approaching Lennox Head Last Saturday we completed our final training walk, from Ballina to Lennox Head. When we are travelling, our phones are very important. We use the Samsung Health app to record the day's walking statistics, take photos with the camera app, then compile the blog on our phones in the evening. Shouldering our full packs, we started out from Lighthouse Beach in Ballina. The fine drizzle gave us the opportunity to test out our hands-free umbrella holding system. We found something that worked for Kath, but Russell's is still a work in progress. We followed the sealed path along the coast, admiring fine views before heading into the coastal scrub. The path was busy and we shared it with cyclists, joggers, fellow walkers and a couple of groups in training for long distance walking - one even planning on walking the Via Francigena like us! The new facilities at Sharpes Beach - toilet, water, benches - were being well patronised. Someone had even built rock cairns...
Read more

DAY 1 - MARINA DI RAVENNA to RAVENNA - 21 April 2026

-
Image
Ceremonial selfie to mark the start of the walk - Marina di Ravenna After a wonderful week with family and friends we were very excited to begin our walk today!  We flagged down the 5:30 am bus to get to Marina di Ravenna, our starting point,  in time for sunrise over the Adriatic. We walked along the breakwater, marvelling over the fishing huts jutting out into the sea.  One of them provided a temporary shelter as we scrambled into wet weather gear when the weather changed.  Luckily the rain and wind did not last for long.  The wet boardwalk and early morning light made for good photography as we followed a coastal bike path. Many of the beach shack restaurants,  closed at the moment,  looked as if they could be washed away in a good storm!  Leaving the coast, our path took us through fields of crops and workers planting trees before heading back into Ravenna for breakfast and a rest at our hotel. Ravenna is known for its wonderful mosaics. We ha...
Read more