La Storta - Rome 10 km, 29 October

Again a wonderful day for walking. As the first 6 km of the track to Rome means walking along a heavy trafficked road, I took the train to the Monte Mario station and walked the remaing part via the Monte Mario Park where I took a couple of selfies with the first view of Rome and the San Pietro cupola in the background. Then the last kilometers along the rather long Viale Angelico straight into the Vatican and the Saint Peter square.  The closer I got, the more slowly I walked as if to postpone the end of this great adventure of a Camino. Even as I have been here a couple of times before, I am still awed by the size and beauty of this great meeting place with its collonades that welcomes everyone to look up at the Saint Peter and enter the church. Even if there was a massive amount of people all over the place, there was room for lots more. I was glad to see the familiar faces of Peter, Caroline, Monica and Johannes and we embraced and congratulated each other with the fact that we had achieved our goals. With our pilgrim passports at the ready we easily passed the hughmongous que for sequirity and walked into the Basilica without delay. Always an imposing sight to enter Saint Peter's church. We spent more than an hour to look at all the sculptures, the baldakin and take it all in. Hereafter Caroline and me visited the Dutch church in the Vatican called the Friezen kerk and got our credential stamped and collected a Testimonium as proof of fulfilment of all or a section of the Via Francigena. 

On Sunday morning our little group of five attended a pilgrimsmass in this church. At twelve O'clock the Pope appeared in a window of the papal Palace where he held a sermon, preached and talked to the thousands of spectators, pilgrims and others who had come to visit the Piazza del San Pietro and finally  blessed us all. A special event to witness life. 

Hereafter we went to visit the apostle Paul's tomb in Saint Paul's basilique which is the second largest church of Rome after the Saint Peter. A magnificent piece of architecture with numerous marble pillars showing among others pictures of all the popes that ever were. Truly worth a visit, also because it's quiet and off the beaten track. Allesandro and his wife joined the five of us for a pleasant evening meal in an outdoor restaurant. Earlier that day, Peter was unfortunately pickpocketed at the busstop or in the buss and lost all his money, drivers license and his credit card. As he uses Apple pay he still managed to pay for himself with the phone. 

A day well spent for most of us.