Bergamo

Thursday

29 August

Day 60

36 to go

It was great to have another quiet start to our day, still needing to catch up on rest. We just pottered about in the room, before heading down for breakfast at 8.45am. It was super busy, when we got there, but we jagged a table, then just needed plates and cutlery. The breakfast was satisfying, eating enough to hopefully keep us going for a while. 

At 9.30am, we were ready to head out and explore the old town on the hill. We opted to take the bus, rather than the funicular. We got a great view, as we climbed the streets into the town. We weren’t really sure where to get off, so just made the decision to disembark when the majority of others did. 

We looked at a few maps displaying walking circuits, deciding on the green one first, which involved a funicular to the top. We located the station and had about 15 minutes to wait for the carriage to turn up. We did a short walk around while waiting and then boarded, when it arrived. 

Once at the top, we followed a ring road, taking in the view from different points and then we walked into the Torre Castello San Vigilio. We made our way around the grounds and into one of the towers to check out the view from the square at the top. 

With the walk complete, we caught the funicular back to the lower level and proceeded to follow the yellow walking trail through the old city. This allowed us to see many of the old churches and the Basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore. 

We ended up walking along a park promenade which looked out over the lower part of the city. Paul wasn’t feeling great, so we opted to return home. We didn’t see the funicular entrance, so opted to catch the bus again. I checked out the Porta San Giacomo marble gates and the winding walkway, while we waited and then the bus showed up at 12.10pm and we drove back to our hotel, happy to hide away for a while. 

Once back at the room, Paul was straight in to bed. I kept myself busy on the net and with the photos. I watched some Youtube videos on the hotel tv and then Paul joined me, having had some time to rest. We then got to packing our bags. We had borrowed a bag scale from reception, which was very useful for ensuring we packed no more than 20kg in the checked bags and 10kg in the carry on. In the end, we managed surprisingly well. 

Having skipped lunch, we got ourselves sorted and left the room at 5.30pm. We made enquires at reception about breakfast boxes and then walked a short distance to a nearby restaurant for one last Italian meal, pizza and pasta and an Aperol Spritz. We talked about how fast our time in Italy had passed. We found it hard to believe that we are on to the last leg. 

Following dinner, we did a walk up the street and around the block. Paul was still feeling unwell, so it was only a short wander, before returning to the hotel room for 7pm. We finished the final pack, had showers and then it was early to bed, knowing we had to be up early tomorrow for our flight to Estonia.