Day 13 - Montefiascone to Viterbo

Coffees: 2, Gelati: 1, Wine: 1/4 litre
Actual Distance Walked: 18km, Actual Time Taken: 4h 41m
Planned Distance: 18km, Planned Time: 5h

Walking was easy today.  Mostly down hill and mostly on dirt roads so no risk of getting lost.  Did get to walk one quite long stretch on some of the ancient Roman road.  This bit was almost 1.5km long.  Before walking down it I stopped to read the sign explaining how it was built, geek that I am.  It was a good thing to as a farmer decided to drive down that road on his tractor with a huge plough attachment on the back.  It took him 5 goes to turn into the road as the tractor was as wide as the road was and it had high banks on either side.  Mind you, he didn't drive much faster than I was walking but it still wouldn't have been very pleasant to have it breathing down my neck.

Passed a farmer spraying his olive trees with something nasty.  He stopped as I went by and we had a short conversation - all in Italian.  I was quite proud of myself.  He asked me where I had come from, where I was going and was I really on my own.  His seemed to think that was very amusing.  At least, I think that was what we were talking about.

I passed some natural thermal springs on the way.  The water was just bubbling up out of the ground due to all the volcanic activity in the area I guess and it was really very hot - almost scalding.  Apparently there have been baths there since Roman times.  There are currently baths there still, about 5 interconnected concrete ponds.  I had planned on taking a dip but due to the unseasonably hot weather only 2 of the pools had water in them and they were full of locals who'd had the idea before me.  I just sat on a bit of marble I chose to think of as Roman and had my lunch instead.

Got into Viterbo in plenty of time.  This place is a bit of a shock to the system.  It is huge compared to what I've gotten used to.  The population is about 55,000 compared to the 3,000 to 5,000 in most of the other towns I've been in (and the <100 in Monteriggioni).  I get tomorrow off.  I could spend all tomorrow sightseeing since it is so large but I can feel the urge to spend the afternoon snoozing creeping up on me.  Not being able to have a siesta when I get home is going to be tough to adjust to.

Had dinner at a recommended place tonight.  Got there just after 7:30pm which is when they opened.  Of course, I was the only person there and I thought here we go again.  Fortunately, other customers started coming in after about 15 minutes.  I didn't bother with antipasto this time but went straight to house made ravioli filled with ricotta and spinach with a cheese, cream and black truffle sauce.  While they lacked the ethereal lightness of the ravioli at Il  Silene they were still very good.  Main was roast pork - some bit of it rolled around a rosemary based stuffing with good crispy crackling.  I had a mixed salad as a side dish and it came to the table dressed!  I was shocked, I tell you.  Shocked!  Everywhere else, even the most basic of places, have brought the salad undressed with my own cruet with olive oil, vinegar, salt and pepper to dress it myself.  And they put too much oil on it and not enough vinegar.

Since I'd skipped the antipasto course I felt OK to have dessert, which was (very) fresh ricotta topped with fresh fruit (peach and nectarine) and grated chocolate.  Yum.  Just like cheesecake but without the cake bit getting in the way of the cheesy goodness.

I broke new ground with my gelati today also.  I did not have pistachio even though I could have.  Instead I had lemon and blood orange and very good they were too.  I've identified the place which is supposed to have the very best gelati in town and will try there tomorrow.  I am a bit concerned though as they had signs up in there window saying (I think - it was all in Italian) that the water they use to make their gelati has no arsenic in it.  It never occurred to me to worry about arsenic in gelati before.  I can't imagine what prompted them to post those signs.