Italy

From New York to Rome. Even after a train, plane, train and bus to Trastevere, I felt I had landed in my happy place. Rome is busy but early mornings and avoiding the most popular tourist places meant we enjoyed the quieter parts of the city. For a special meal in Trastevere I recommend Glass Hostaria.

We had never been to the Mercati Di Trapani Museo dei Fori Imperiali. Not crowded and a fascinating history and reconstruction of the Imperial forum and Trojan,s Market. From Rome it is onto Foggia and our hike in the Gargano National Park.

Walk Borgo Celano to Vieste - 6 days 98km

This is a pilgrimage walk whose first stop is San Giovanni Rotondo to see the shrine of Padre Pio. The padre Pio Pilgrimage church, completed in 2004 and designed by Renzo Piano is an amazing piece of modern architecture.

Onto Monte St Angela where St Michael the Archangel is ais to have appeared a number of times over the centuries. The Sanctuary of San Michele Arcangelo is visited by pilgrims to ask for St Michael’s protection

Walking 17 km today to Monte Sacro, The abbey of Monte Sacro was the seat of the Benedictine monastery from the 6th to the 13th century AD. The abbey was one of the most important cultural centres of medieval Puglia. We stay tonight at the delightful Agriturismo Monte Sacro in Mattinata.

The next day is on to Masseria Sgarazza, walking through the beautiful beech forests of the Forest Umbria. Masseria Sgarazza produces olive oil and grazes over 50 cattle on it’s 60 acres of land. Our apartment is a converted stable. Another 20 kms under the belt.

Our last day of walking is relatively short 15km but very rocky steep downhills. So it takes us longer than we thought. Dropping into Vieste where later in the day we go for a much anticipated swim at the beach. The next day is a interesting boat ride to the grottos and dinner at the fabulous Enoteca Vesta. A transfer back to Foggia train station marked the end of our Hidden Italy walk. From here a train to Bari for the rest of our Puglia travels.