We were very successful in our aim today of avoiding busy roads, but it did mean we walked some extra kilometres.
A bike path took us just about all the way to Reggio Emilia, our first stop, with just a few gaps. We entered the city via the Parco del Crostolo, a green space along the river. Reggio Emilia is the place where the future Italian flag was adopted for the first time in 1797. We didn't visit the museum but we did have a coffee in the historic Piazza Prampolini. There was a market and restoration works going on, so it was quite a lively place. The market extended into nearby squares and there was also a performance by young people occurring. We ate our market peaches at the Parco del Popolo.
There was a little bit of creative route finding to locate the bike path out. We passed large feed lots and big hay trucks. At Roncocesi we stopped in a bar for lunch and enjoyed erbazzone, a regional spinach pie.
The next section took us through open paddocks surrounded by canals. The road was quite narrow, with cars having to pull off to let each other pass. We passed under the autostrada but the route we wanted to follow was private with 'armed vigilance' so we took a track through paddocks instead. A reassuring walking path sign promised 'Oasi' but we found only thorns, blackberries and vicious mosquitoes and were glad to exit the woods.
We had a cold drink at a bar in Campegine before tackling the last five or so kilometres to our agriturismo. The bath was very welcome after such a long day, as was the on-site restaurant serving delicious homemade tiramisu.
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| Walking path signs pointed the way |
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| Striding out in the early morning |
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| A bridge crossing |
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| There were off-road paths pretty much all the way in to Reggio Emilia |
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| Another bridge crossing to take us in to Reggio Emilia |
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| A leafy, statue-lined avenue |
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| Colourful houses in the old town |
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| Morning coffee stop in Reggio Emilia |
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| Market activity in Reggio Emilia |
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| Student performance in the background as we passed through Reggio Emilia |
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| Navigating our way onwards |
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| Hay truck |
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| Lunch in a bar along the way |
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| Hay, birds |
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| Through quiet country roads |
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| No entry, video surveillance, armed security - we decided to go a different way |
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| This was probably a public pathway |
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| One of several (mostly filthy) canals we passed along our route |
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| Bridge over a canal |
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| Another country track |
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| A promising Eden turned out to be home to some massive mosquitoes. We didn't linger. |
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| Another country track on the way to Campegine |
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| A bar in Campegine |
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| And just a few more kilometres to our night's accommodation |
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| Bits and pieces |
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| Birds |
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| Day 47 - Map |
Day: 46
Distance: 34.66 km
Walking time: 6 hrs 52 mins
Elevation gain: 35 metres
Cumulative distance: 923.83 km
Today’s birds: one of two unconvincing images that I think are probably Mallards, Eurasian Moorhen, Mallards???, Grey Heron, Hooded Crow, Eurasian Moorhen, Eurasian Collared Dove, Eurasian Jay
ReplyDeleteThe problem is these birds just don't stay still to get their photos taken... thanks Murray!
ReplyDelete