We are not all cut from the same cloth but I like to believe that we are all made with intrinsic goodness.
I believe we are also very much a product of our environment. We are what we read, what we watch and who we surround ourselves with. It isn't difficult to turn off the TV or the radio but sometimes it takes courage to walk away from people or places that don't feed our desire to thrive. I am very fortunate to have been born into a free country, to a family bound by love and driven by adventure. I am fortunate to always have food on my table and water in my glass. Well today it's wine but that too is a blessing. I have been fortunate to cross paths with some wonderful and inspiring people although for most of my life I have chosen to walk alone. Fueled by the love of my children and guided by spirit and light, I've found continual support, comfort and joy in the friendships I've made along the way.
Meet Julie:
We have been friends now for 15 years having met through work. In addition to daily work calls, over the years, we have shared meals, a lot of laughter and told many stories. Julie is the epitome of kindness. I've never heard her speak ill of anyone. Instead, she will find something positive to cast her light on. She is like sunshine. Pure gold. When I see her after returning from my adventures, she listens to my stories with a child-like innocence, with big eyes, a jaw drop and she always responds with "Oh my God Jenine, you're so crazy, I could never!!" Well, Julie is about to board the crazy train.
Italy, in my mind, has always been reserved as a place for love. A lifetime of romanticism fed by art, history and fantastical tales like Romeo and Juliet.
I've traveled to many places seeking adventure and hoping cupid would just shoot me already but was always saving Italy for something or someone truly special.
In 2020 I decided I could no longer wait and booked a ticket to Milan.... not because I gave up on that chubby, little cherub but because time is not infinite. Sadly, the past couple of years have made that abundantly clear. Milan and everything else the world had planned in 2020 simply wouldn't be.
Today, however is a new day. This is a new year and I have a new plan.
Julie has cheered for me and encouraged me with every journey I've taken for as long as I have known her. Each time I've returned from a Camino, I've asked her to join me on the next one. When 2022 was ending, I was losing myself again in the everyday and the ordinary. Still grateful but restless, yearning for a new trail and a chance to find my way again. Italy was calling and I knew I had to answer. I looked at my unrealized itinerary of 'Twelve days in Tuscany' from 2020 and a new plan was born. On a whim I texted Julie and casually asked her if she wanted to go for a long walk.
Two weeks of walking in Tuscany. Who better to visit Italy with than an Italian? A bilingual Italian no less. A fluent Italian speaking
beauty named after one of the greatest Italian artists of all time. I wonder if she will get a discount at the art museums if she flashes her passport haha!
To my surprise and delight ... she said "yes!"
Well first she confirmed there would be no hostels and then I had to gently tell her that her hairdryer was not invited.
You will come to know, if you choose to follow along, that Julie and I are very different. If you know me, then you know my love for nature, my nomadic spirit and my viking determination. I'm a free bird. A little bit hippie with a splash of sauce. I'm a thinker and a wine drinker.
Julie likes the finer things, the plush comforts, shopping and shoes. She is a girlie girl but she's ready to hang up the high heels and put on some hiking boots. This is an opportunity for her to go outside of her comfort zone and challenge herself in every way. Although her dedication to others knows no boundaries, it's time for her to bask in her own light. She is beautiful through and through with a warm heart and a kind soul.
She is the sugar and I am the spice.
There will be challenges, triumphs and opportunities to see what else we are made of. This will test our will, our strength and our faith. Will the power of her Roman roots see her across her ancestral countryside?
Time will tell.
A few things are for certain.
We will laugh.
We will drink wine.
We will eat gelato and we will be sore.
But most certainly, this adventure will be legendary.
We will walk 220 kms of ancient Roman roads through Tuscany. A small but popular section of the Via Francigena, a 2000 km pilgrimage route from Canterbury, UK through France and Switzerland to St. Peter's Basilica in the heart of Rome.
Our highlights include:
2 nts in Florence
2 nights in Lucca
San Miniato
Gambassi Terme
San Gimignano
Colle Val D'Elsa
Monteriggioni
Siena
Monteroni D'Arbia
Buonconvento
San Quirico d'Orcia
Bagni San Fillipo
Chiusi
2nts in Rome
Let the training and the packing begin!!
Ciao! xx
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