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Buon Cammino Pellegrino

29th December 202529th December 2025 funtime65

Buon Cammino Pellegrino and a shout-out to a Via Francigena friend I never knew I had but do now.

Philosopher Marcos Bulcao is a Brazilian brother pilgrim who has also walked the historic route from England into Rome.

Only while your favourite Bandanaman has traversed 100kms (in truth 120 with all the diversions) Marcos has covered 2,000.

And written about it for his new book The Philosopher Pilgrim which he has now flagged up to me through the community.

Follow the Yellowsign Road

Now Marcos, like most of us, took his first step on the Yellowsign road which is the Camino Frances.

And again did the whole thing from France while this peregrinos did the last 100km.

Before hearing about the 1,000-year-old Via Francigena.

Back in the days when small roads led to Rome.

Marathon man Marcos, of course, was never going to take any short cuts.

And so set out on his odyssey to Rome from the pilgrim city of Canterbury on England’s south coast.

Now, of course, every pilgrim’s journey is their own.

And I could have done with Marcos’s company on my stretch of the Lazio region.

Where for the most part I only had the birds for company, probably because I got myself lost in groves and forests.

No spoilers

Now I’ve regaled you with my own misadventures and how I nearly didn’t get started at all.

After getting stranded in Viterbo.

But if you want to hear about Marcos’s journey then you’re going to have to read his The Philosopher Pilgrim.

You may very well find a Marcos for yourself on your travels.

Because Brazilians are all over European pilgrimages.

And they are the friendliest of peregrinos.

Brazilian l’amore

As I discovered when Maria introduced me to her mother and father in the pews at the Cathedral of St James, my namesake, in Santiago.

After they had surprised her by turning up in Galicia when she ended her Camino.

And got a surprise they hadn’t been expecting when she introduced them to the man she had fallen for on the road.

Now to see if anything similar befell Marcos and for other tales of love, companionship and faith then I’ll be checking out The Philosopher Pilgrim.

America, Countries, Deals, Europe, Flying

Today’s Roman Holiday at 1950s Norwegian prices

26th August 202526th August 2025 funtime65

And as La Citta Eterna has always been on an American’s bucket list we bring you today’s Roman Holiday at 1950s Norwegian prices.

The beauty of Rome, of course, is in its sobriquet, it really hasn’t changed since Audrey Hepburn and Gregory Peck’s days.

As a crown princess and American photographer whizzing about the piazzas in a Vespa.

And thanks to budget transatlantic airline Norse Atlantic Airways we can have our own Roman Holiday from $129 from New York to Rome.

Although you might prefer to travel like Princess Ann which Norse offer in their premium class.

Do it yourself

Ann and Joe’s adventures were, of course, self-guided and we’d advise that too.

Having used the day and a half at the end of our Via Francigena pilgrimage into the Vatican to explore Roma a piedi, on foot.

Our friends at gpsmycity have mapped out a suggested Roman Holiday itinerary.

Chief among them the Spanish Steps, where Ann scoops up gelato.

Full Ponte: Your view from the Sant Angelo Castle

Romanophiles will tell you it is one of the best vistas in the Italian capital looking out on to the Vatican.

Scoping the other way atop Sant Angelo Castle has been the prime location of popes and plebs.

And where Ann and Joe indulged in mischief under the twinkling lights and shared a dance on the banks of the Tiber.

Fountain of truth

Of course, nobody, American or otherwise, princess or pauper, can visit Rome without throwing three coins in the fountain.

To ensure that you’ll return, and we will.

Although, whisper it, we can’t recall the barber shop near the Trevi Fountain still being there.

From when Ann shed her royal tresses.

All part of your GPSmyCity: Walks in 1K+ Cities from Apple App Store or Google Play Store to your mobile phone or tablet.

But it’s still today’s Roman Holiday at 1950s Norwegian prices.

Countries, Deals, Europe, Pilgrimage

In Francis’s footsteps in Rome and Assisi

1st April 20251st April 2025 funtime65

It’s timely in a Jubilee Year for the Catholic Church and the Pope’s failing health that groups heading in Francis’s footsteps in Rome and Assisi are putting the call out to pilgrims.

Of which I have been one and need to be again.

Barter’s Travelnet have put together a seven-day programme under the spiritual guidance of Canon Martin Keohane.

Leaving from God’s own country Ireland and the most special bit of it, according to my old Corkonian pals.

Pilgrims’ progress

The holy of holies. At the end of the Francigena in Rome

You’ll leave Cork on June 13 before being taken to Rome Hotel.

The first full day you’ll be taken on a guided tour of St Peter’s Basilica and its Holy Door.

Before getting time off for good behaviour after lunch.

And refuel well because next up is a walking tour of Rome, visiting the Trevi Fountain, Spanish Steps, Piazza Navona.

Day 3 involves one of the real highlights of any trip to the Vatican, a Papal Audience (depending on the Pope’s schedule).

Y0u’ll have worked out by now that holy doors are staple diet on this pilgrimage and your visit to St John Lateran Basilica comes with one as does St Mary Major’s Basilica.

Day 4 sees a special visit to the Catacombs of St Callixtus and St Paul’s Outside the Walls and you guessed it, its Holy Door.

This magnificent Basilica once being the largest in the world. The sarcophagus of St Paul is now visible since the 2008 excavations.

Francis then Assisi

Rome wasn’t seen in a day and not even four days is enough but it’s time to depart for Assisi, a travelling day.

Your guide will treat you to a walking tour of the main sights of the medieval town of Assisi the next day.

With a visit to the Basilica of St. Francis and checking in on the Basilica of St Clare, foundress of the Order of the Poor Clares.

Your penultimate day we will be spent in Cascia and Roccaporena (weather permitting) which you’ll know as the birthplace of St Rita.

Before returning to Assisi for dinner and overnight and then the last day on your way back to Rome Airport and your flight back to Cork.

All blessed and holy having followed in Francis’s footsteps in Rome and Assisi.

Deal us in

All of which boiled down means…

Inclusions

Air travel ex Cork to Rome return on the services of Ryanair.
20kg luggage per person.
4 nights accommodation – Torino Hotel Rome on B&B Basis and 3 nights accommodation – Cristallo Hotel Assisi on Half Board basis
Guided visits in Rome as per the Itinerary.
Guided visits in Assisi as per the Itinerary.
City taxes.
Accompanied by Representative of Barter’s Travelnet.

Exclusions

Single room supplement: €395.00 for duration. Single rooms are very scarce and are on a first come first served basis.
Insurance: €50.00 per person.
Meals where not specified.
Drinks at meals.
Tips.

Countries, Europe

Will Giorgia’s trains run on time?

25th September 202225th September 2022 funtime65

As Italy votes for its most right-wing leader since Benito Mussolini we ask will Giorgia’s trains run on time?

Il Duce had a far more grandiose vision for Italy but his lasting legacy to the world was that he got the trains to run on time.

Although revisionist historians now reckon Mussolini propagandised a dispatch from American journalist George Seldes.

On the right track

All of which he was adept at, basking in the glory of the Firenze-Bologna works, ‘the world’s longest double-track tunnel.’

Even though it was a previous government’s brainchild while he made a horlicks of the trains over the course of the war.

Now notwithstanding that the macho Italians don’t even have a female form for Il Duce the Italians have big hopes for their Fit Controller Giorgia Meloni.

Fare play

Roman Giorgia has an advantage on me here (well many) in that she knows the timetables out of the capital.

And she’s not likely to get stuck in a one-horse town 20 miles from the destination in the dead of night.

And her Italian is considerably better than mine.

Local knowledge

Italy, and particularly in the countryside, works on local knowledge.

And it was my good luck to find an ex-pat on the train who calmed my panic by telling me of a 3am onward bus.

All of which involves a leap of faith as you sit on your suitcase in the clammy Lazio night.

Road to salvation

This being a God-fearing country the first, and best, point of reference is a prayer upstairs.

And when a wave of immigrant passengers emerged from around the corner I gave thanks to Dio omniponte.

And the bus driver who got me to Viterbo, albeit at 4am.

So I could make my 8am start for my 100km Via Francigena walk back into La Citta Eterna.

Now the best way to see will Giorgia’s trains run on time or not is by getting out to Il Bel Paese and doing that rail holiday.

Africa, America, Asia, Canada, Countries, Europe, South America, UK

World Rivers Day and the flow of life

26th September 202126th September 2021 funtime65

We can’t survive without it so it’s only right today to celebrate World Rivers Day and the flow of life.

With the publication of B-WELL CBD’s most loved European rivers on Instagram, we’re stretching it out to include the world too.

Of course you can’t ignore European waterways so I’ll dip my toe in them as well.

Top ten Euro rivers

The oils and cosmetic products company has tracked our habits and unsurprisingly namechecked this top ten.

1 Thames, 2 Danube, 3 Elbe, 4 Seine, 5 Ural, 6 Douro, 7 Loire, 8 Rhine, 9 Vistula, 10 Tiber.

Wading through it I’ll definitely sing the praises of London’s Old Father Thames, its towers, bridges and the country towns it dissects.

The Danube has remained just along the river if you will when I’ve visited Central Europe.

I’m pleasantly surprised to see the Elbe more popular than the Seine.

And I would recommend taking a river cruise in Dresden to see the fine riverbank houses and enjoy a fireworks display.

Wine and Rhine

Disney it look magical: The Disney castle in Neuschwanstein

I daresay if a dacha along the Ural is good enough for Russian communists and oil billionaires I should pay it a visit.

And I’ll confess I know more about the Tagus from Praia do Ribatejo in Portugal Centro than the Douro in Portugal and Spain.

The flow of the Loire is only bettered by the running wine from its vineyards.

But I confess a soft spot for the Rhine and its fairytale castles, especially The Wonderful World of Disney‘s opening title. Neuschwanstein.

The Vistula in Poland is still a pleasure to enjoy as is Polska unless being hosted by the Embassy in Dublin counts which it does!

While just squeezing into the top ten (and I feel like DJ Alan Freeman here pop pickers) is a river I feel is a friend, the Tiber.

When in Rome

Just walk the Via Francigena into Rome and your final long stretch to St Peter’s Square will be along the Tevere.

While staying in the bohemian Trastevere you’ll soon get to know the river well by taking wrong directions.

And the bridges of Rome stand comparison with anywhere in the world.

Particularly the Ponte Sant’Angelo, its statues on the railings and its centre point, the magnificent Castel Sant’Angelo,

A notable exception on the list was the Vltava through Prague with its magnificent Charles Bridge.

The World

Tis Grand: With Tara and Tryphavana at the Grand Canyon

Now I know I promised you the world.

So let me show you the river of rebirth, the Jordan between the country and Israel.

Where pilgrims go to be baptised where the Israelis claim John baptised Jesus.

It’s a different type of water activity along the Colorado river.

Take the bird’s eye view from a helicopter through the Grand Canyon.

Or do like the Americans and use it as your playground.

Water is our most precious commodity and America’s West survives and thrives because of one of my Modern Wonders of the World, the Hoover Dam.

Although, incredulously it has not been recognised as such on the official list.

Quality of Mersey

So I’ll throw in another couple of favourite rivers which speak for themselves.

The Mississippi, with its Dolly Parton bridge in Memphis (think about it) and the Hudson and the Brooklyn Bridge in New York.

Of course the Amazon, the Nile, the Congo, the Ganges, the Yellow, the Makong and many others deserve our attention.

And so I’ll be patient in getting back out abroad.

And I will continue to enjoy the rivers and bridges where I am.

I spent the last week walking by and sailing on the Ferry Across the Mersey.

So a thought… where would we be without our waterways.

Let’s hear it for World Rivers Day and the flow of life.