If I had a dollar for every time someone likened being in business to being on a journey, I would be much wealthier than I am now. Expressions such as the road ahead, the way forward, the journey to change, and the path to organisational...
22 September 2018. Exactly one year ago Niels and I walked into St Peter’s Square. What seemed impossible when the idea of doing the Way of St Francis was first mentioned in a throwaway line, had become reality. There has been enough time to reflect...
25 September 2017, 20:00 Niels and I finish our last meal together for this trip. Taking an alternative route back to the hotel, we manage to get ourselves lost for the last time. We drop into a little caffè-bar for the last time, not only...
Rome, 23 September 2017. After a day packed with a round trip walk to the Pantheon, Colosseum, Palatine Hill and the Forum Romanum, we take it easy. We pick another place to eat supper at one of the small side streets. The quality of the...
Rome, 23 September 2017. Our pilgrimage is over, but we still wake up at around dawn when we would’ve set out on our day’s trek. I don my sandals and we set off sometime after 08:30. We have breakfast in one of the markets near...
21 August 2018. Exactly one year ago, just before the Italian sunrise, Niels and I set out on foot, taking our first steps on the Way of St Francis from Florence to Rome. Our journey would take us through the most beautiful countryside, villages, towns,...
22 September 2017, late afternoon, we are fully recovered from the day’s walking. Looking at the map of Rome, it is very clear the Residenza Montecitorio is wonderfully central to all the places we want to see. For me, three places are at the top...
The Vatican City, St Peter’s Square, 13:15, 22 September 2017. The euphoria of reaching the end of the pilgrimage on the Way of St Francis nullifies any tiredness. We take our arrival pictures. Perchance I take Niels’ arrival picture in front of the obelisk. He...
Monte Sacro, Rome, 08:35, Friday 22 September 2017. We’re on the last stretch of the Way of St Francis, within touching distance of our final destination, the Vatican. People of Rome are making their way to work. I’m aware of a nagging feeling since yesterday's...
Monterotondo, 08:00, 21 September 2017. The Ristorante Pizzeria of the Albergo Antica dei Leoni offers a good Breakfast. The illness has completely cleared up. It’s remarkable how being fit speeds up recovery. Sandy Brown classifies our Way for today as “easy.” Looking at the route profile...