Scott Barronton (00:00)
You're listening to our Umbria mini episodes, short daily updates from our self-guided walking adventure through the heart of Italy with MACS Adventure. In each episode, we'll share the day's walking route, the distance we're covering, and the special moments, whether planned or spontaneous, that made that day memorable. Join us on the journey.
Scott Barronton (01:03)
So good morning, it's day two of the hike and we are headed to Spello today. So we're gonna be leaving Bevagna and making our way to Spello, which is about a 10 mile journey. we set an alarm just in case, because we wanna make sure to have breakfast. We need to get our luggage out so they can pick it up at a certain time, but we didn't really need it. Like you start to hear
the church bells and then the clock in the town and the birds chirping and just a fantastic way to wake up. And it's very fresh this morning too. And so we've had, I don't know, the windows like cracked open all night, but there's like shades on them. So it just feels very fresh and very comfortable this morning. I'm feeling good. How about you Scott? Yeah, I'm feeling really good.
My feet are just a little bit tired and sore, but I think it's just needed to be stretched out some this morning and be ready to hit the road. Yeah. Super excited for today. we're going to be walking through a lot of farmland today. as I looked through the map of the journey that we're taking. we should just have some absolutely beautiful, peaceful time as we're doing that.
I doubt we'll see very many cars like yesterday when we were walking through the farms. I think having a day, behind you to see, but we're excited and, geared up to just to enjoy, the beautiful day.
Scott Barronton (02:25)
Before we head out on the trail today, we wanted to take a few minutes and talk to the manager of the because he was sharing a little bit about a piece of history that is located right here on the hotel grounds.
Scott Barronton (02:39)
in the center of Italy before Rome because Rome born 700 years before Christ, Bevagna 1200 years before Christ but archaeologists found here when he made works the rest of Etruscans Etruscan people
We have a griffo like Perugia and like Arezzo 3000 years before Christ. It's again a mystery history. We need again to discover it. It's all a mystery.
Scott Barronton (03:25)
What he showed us was a carving of some type that they had inside of a glass case and what he was saying is that When they were building the hotel they found this carving Made of stone and they estimate that that carving is from somewhere around 3,000 years before Christ It's just amazing the amount of history that is
right here in this region.
Scott Barronton (04:03)
We have stopped for a little break. We have walked about four miles. And before we left Bevagna we stopped at a little grocery store and got some meat and a loaf of bread and some cherries in case we needed a snack to enjoy along the way and another water bottle to fill up our water. And so we've just kind of leisurely strolled about the four miles. We have passed
Mostly farmland, like Scott mentioned earlier. We have passed a couple of bikers, a couple of walkers, a couple of hikers, but other than that, not really anybody. So we've stopped for lunch here and. Yeah, it looks like we're maybe at some kind of family monument that's been built and they had benches beside it. And so we just stopped here and enjoyed a little break and had our lunch and.
are sitting here right now listening to the wind whistling and rustling through the trees, birds chirping all around us and just really enjoying this fresh air. Yes, it's just been really nice and just really quiet. mean, we haven't seen anybody probably in over an hour. So just having time to be out in rural nature and enjoying.
The scenery and the nice thing about it is really is off the beaten path. I mean, it's not somewhere That we would otherwise find ourselves, which which is just it's really nice to do that
Scott Barronton (05:26)
Well, we've made it to Spello. This is such an amazing view here in the city. But one thing I've got to say is that once we hit those gates and we found the first little gelato restaurant or, you know, little cafe, I had told Melissa the first one I see, I'm going in there, I'm ordering the coldest thing on the menu to drink, and I'm ordering three of
we probably could have used a little bit more water like we weren't desperate, but we were definitely thirsty and ready for a snack as well. So kind of as we expected that last part, well really the whole walk today took us through a variety of terrain, all pretty flat, through some farms a little bit. So some like gravel and some paved and some just like almost like little tractor.
would you say like little tractor paths? So just very, very serene and very quiet, of course, until we started to approach Spello. We did run into a little bit of rain. So thankfully we were prepared. the clothing that we brought, like hiking type clothing, shoes waterproof and had our jacket. So not a big deal. It didn't like pour on us or anything. And it wasn't like we were soaked when we got into town. So, but yes, that was a welcome sight.
To have a gelato, I got an espresso as well. They probably thought, oh my gosh, what are these people? All the drinks. Yeah, we went in and the first thing we did was grab four bottles of water and then we grabbed a beer and then was like, okay, gelato. So it was just, yeah, a welcome sight. So we are glad to be in Spello.
to take a little rest. So it's about 4, 4.30. So not too bad, not too late. Yeah, we were about five and a half hours on the journey today. And, you know, it's just going at our own pace. We weren't in any hurry.
I think the mistake we made there is we didn't buy more water. But I was also thinking the more water you buy, the more you kind of pack that around. Yeah. so we were glad. So today we did not pass anything that we could have even, I don't think gone even a little bit of a way. So we really were glad that we had, you know, packed that little bit of lunch and had some, water. So we will definitely make sure that we have plenty.
Just in case. So Scott, how are you feeling? I'm feeling good. I mean, I was definitely tired when we got here, but you know, got something to drink, got that gelato and now I've got a little second burst of energy. Yes. for dinner tonight. Great. So, and also from then, so we sat down for a few minutes and then walking as we got into town, just a little bit further through the town to our hotel.
And of course the bags were, you know, waiting on us, but also walking through the town. I mean, it's just as charming, A little bit larger than Monte Falco and Bevagna but just still every twist and turn you take, just an absolute like.
something beautiful flowers and a peek into the beautiful view because this is up on the hill more like Monte Falco. Yeah, I wish we had the opportunity to be here like six weeks from now because they're having their flower festival and this is the place that creates the carpets made of flowers all throughout the town. You can tell how much they love flowers already because on all these little streets that twist and turn
They're just covered in flowers, but I can only imagine what it must be like when they're having that floral festival. Yeah. You can tell that they really do like flowers here. So my feet are sore too, but I think overall besides that just feeling good. Yep. We'll a little rest and the hotel recommended a great place to go and have dinner.
she said she would get us reservations there but we did tell her not too far away that's right yes about one of them some of our way back down the hill so not too far away
Scott Barronton (09:17)
Well that's it for today's Umbria update. We'll be back tomorrow with another snapshot from the trail. More miles, more scenery, and hopefully another MACS moment or two. Until then, thanks for following along.
