Look who showed up in Florence. My long lost Camino pal, Stephen.
Stephen just finished hiking the Francigena…the Italian Camino, a couple of days ago. He hiked the first half from the Swiss border to Rome in July and August before going back to Australia for a few months and then returning in October to hike from Rome to the bottom heel of the boot to Santa Maria di Leuca. 2,000km (1,243 miles) in total. I’m exhausted just hearing about it.
Stephen has walked three Caminos this year. If you zoom in on the photo he sent me below, around the number five you will see a tiny little line the juts off the main line. Yeah. That’s the part I walked with him. Barely even a blip on the map. I kind of in awe of him and how he is choosing to live his retirement in such a unique way.
He texted me late last night saying that he had arrived in Florence and would be staying for the next three or four days. I knew he was coming this way but he told me he would be arrive on Saturday. Apparently, his sense of time is about the same as his sense of direction. If you read any of our Camino stories you will know he took me on many “shortcuts” that didn’t always pan out as planned.
Either way, it’s been good to see him and catch up! Luckily for him, today is a national religious holiday in Italy (Feast of the Immaculate Conception) so I didn’t have school and could hang out. Unlucky for him, our day started at the laundromat. I was in desperate need of some clean clothes so I told him my plan and where to meet. As I was walking up to the door of the Launderette Lavanderia Self Service, I heard, “Emily, Emily!” I’d recognize that Australian accent anywhere…and I was happy to hear my actual name being shouted down the street and not Melanie (another joke from our days on the Camino).
After we stepped into the shop, we gave each other a big hug. I smiled and he cried. He is an emotional ole bugger. I loaded the washing machine and then we went to have a cappuccino (which I was able to order in Italian! Point for me) and reminisce. I could tell he was so happy for this reunion. The Francigena is not nearly as busy as the Camino de Santiago in Spain. In fact, Stephen said, in this last half of the hike he only met six pilgrims total and didn’t walk with any of them because he would always meet them on their last day of a 10-day or two-week hike of a small section of the trail. So he was thrilled to see a familiar face and speak in English…his tears proved it.
I was happy to see him too. When you are in a foreign country and don’t have much of a routine or many friends, it can be lonely so to spend time with someone you know is priceless.
After the laundry was finished we dropped it off at my apartment and went for a walk around the city before having lunch. Since we are in Florence, he wanted to experience the Florentine steak and gelato. The cut of meat was huge…and a pretty rare but we survived – so far. We shared the steak and some grilled vegetables before walking to my favorite gelateria, La Carraria for some delicious gelato. He agrees that the cream gelato with chocolate and orange peel is the best.
Stephen has been excited to meet Luca so we stopped by his work to say hello. His boss & friend Gisella was there as well so we all took a selfie…Stephen loves a good selfie. Luca was able to take a break and join us for a coffee at Sophia Loren’s cafe. Since Luca is also a Camino pilgrim, the conversation was easy and fun…and everyone had a camino story to share. I love when pilgrims come together…its a pretty special group.
We finished our walking tour of the city center for the evening including a trip to see the Duomo, Piazza della Repubblica and all the beautiful Christmas lights.
I have school in the morning which is going fairly well. It’s a lot of information crammed in a short amount of time but Luca and my teachers say I’m doing well for only three days of class. On Tuesday our class took a tour of Santa Croce Basilica and the teacher mainly spoke in Italian to help us get used to hearing the sounds and annunciation of the words. It’s a little tiring and frustrating when you are trying but just aren’t where you want to be in terms of knowledge. Luckily, I’ve been in Santa Croce Basilica many times so that helped me understand a little easier.
Tomorrow afternoon I’ll meet up with Stephen after class for lunch and more reminiscing. It will be nice to have him here for the next few days to enjoy the city and our new but very familiar friendship. We were discussing how our Camino together felt like years ago even though it’s only been months. And that seeing each other again felt like being home in a certain sense. I think when you walk 550 miles with someone for 41 days, you create some sort of bond that can truly never be broken.
Goodnight and much love from Italy. 🇮🇹
