Zero times two equals a lot!

 Day 30 Rest Day in Cividale di Friuli

Hours walked: none

Kilometres walked: none

Jesuses seen: many many (we went to a Christian treasure church with at least 100)

Quote of the day: “One year from now, I hope groups of people are leaving my bar every Saturday at 11:30 and 5:00 to do your puzzle walk!” - Roberto the enthusiastic bar owner and tour guide 

We had not originally planned on taking tow back-to-back rest days as we’d decided to break the long stage from Tribil to Cividale into two days. But, as the children have become good enough walkers that 10km feels like an overly light day, we gave them the option of doing the 25km stage in one go, and having an extra rest day. 

If was nice to get settled into a house for three nights although, physically and psychologically, I’m not sure how much the second day helped. But, regardless, we all love Cividale and feel fortunate that our double rest day was here. 

I took the kids to a small bird-of-prey sanctuary, where we watched a falconry show in the scorching heat in Italian. The girls all enjoyed it, especially large eagles swooping low overhead. 

Having the extra time, we decided to set up a small puzzle route in this cute location, so Jakob and I went for an exploratory walk through the streets of Cividale. We sat down at the quiet and hip Bar di Giordano, next to our accommodation, to pore over our map. The friendly owner came over to chat and got very enthusiastic about our project when Tamar asked him what his favourite streets to walk on were. He graciously offered to take us on a walking tour of town and show us firsthand. We were touched, and somewhat surprised: this level of openness is above what we’ve typically seen. So after a quick visit to a museum of reliquaries, baptismal fonts and other Christian treasures, Jakob had a more local and colourful adventure. 

The one-hour walk turned out to be closer to three; together with Roberto, the owner, and his charming Mexican wife, plus a German artist couple, Jakob ambled the streets of old-town trying to discuss oenology, Yugoslavian politics and Langobard history in a mix of Italian and Spanish. When a beautiful couple of newlyweds in full bridal dress appeared on a cobblestones street, he learned that the tradition in Italy is not to throw rice or say Congratulations, but apparently to holler “VA FARE UN PORNO!!” at the groom at the top of one’s lungs. Two of the five members of the group were emotionally overcome during the walk - one due to the beauty of the married couple, the other by the memory of Olivo, a local poet who would write odes to the river Natisone on rocks by the riverbank. The painter clapped his hand to his forehead several times. We learned about the Devil’s Bridge, a Viking church, the back of a restaurant that had been painted by a tinker in the late 1800s, and a piazza ruined by corruption 50 years ago. It was all extremely Italian and a vivid example of the generosity and openness we found in Cividale. 

We went to bed with the strong sense that we will visit Venice and end up preferring Cividale. It’s a super cute town with very nice, quirky people and fascinating history, and we would never have come here if not for the Alpe Adria Trail. Tomorrow we continue re-energised and full of pasta.