7 May, 2007, Monday (Day 17), Sarzana - It's one of the things Americans can't quite understand about Italy yet at the same time it's one of those things about this country that seduces us.

How is it that you can have something as good as testaroli al pesto and you can practically only find it in this small corner of Italy where I am at the moment. And not only, try to ask five Italians who aren't  from here and I'm willing to bet (a plate of testaroli of course) they have no idea what the stuff is. We're not talking about some obscure foodstuff, this is basically a variation of pasta, the national staple.

It's like that everywhere in Italy, who besides those who live within 50 kilometers of Vercelli know how succulent Panissa Vercellese is and try to find a Valdostana steak when you are more then 25 kilometers from the region. Forget about it, it's not going to happen, I've tried.

Many regional dishes have made the jump to national and world fame - risotto Milanese, spaghetti Bolognese, tortellini (Emilia), pizza (Naples)to name a few - but there are enough culinary differences that dinner in a trattoria in Lunigana, the area immediately around Pontremoli, offers up fare miles different from its counterpart in Vercelli to say nothing of Milan, Rome and Palermo.

Americans love this regionalism because we have lost it in our country, or maybe we never had it. Yet at the same time try explaining to one of my countrymen why a small region in a consolidated nation should be granted statehood. Anyway, that's a discussion for another time. All this just to say that I walked with a particular sprite in my step because I knew I'd be having testaroli for dinner and that it would then be a long long time before I managed to have them again.

Long live Italy's culinary regionalism and let's make sure we don't lose it. But if you know where to get a plate of testaroli in Milan please let me know (the same goes for Panissa and Valdostana steak).

Cesare from Biella joined Carl, Claire and me and with his mountain bike will be accompanying me through Friday. After a 30-minute goodbye with the ever hospitable Don Giovanni we hit the road, which was actually a wonderful trail.

Though not particularly long - and in fact quite short compared with what I have been doing most other days - today's walk was not as easy as it might appear. There were continual steep ups and downs worthy of real mountains though we never got above 500 meters.

There were trail markers immediately as we left the center of Aulla and they accompanied us the whole way. In its complexity of well-marked trails, pretty villages, mountain-like landscapes, the view of the sea late in the walk and the prospect of testaroli for dinner this was one of the best stages so far.

On the initial climb we found two playing cards in the middle of the trail, the 9 of clubs and 3 of diamonds. If anybody happens to know what that portends please let me know, well only if it's a good thing. We took a small detour up to the town of Bibola, a tiny gem that alone would have made the day's walk worthwhile. From the top of the town you have a 360 degree view of the surrounding valley and hills.

For the first time in as long as I remember (five days to be exact) we had consistent and strong sun, which meant we finally managed to dry all our clothes. Carl, Claire and I also managed to outline the novel we'll co-write that will be set on the Via Francigena. We have the characters, we know who the actors will be when it becomes a movie and we have a good idea about who we want to write the screen play. All we're missing is the plot.

Cesare battled getting his bike up the steep trails and without Carl's seemingly unlimited capacity to add weight to what he is carrying - in this case temporarily the bike and the saddle bags - Cesare's first day on the Via Francigena risked being his last. Several stars to both of them for getting through that and a star for Claire and me for finding a nice spot in the shade for when they arrived. Another star for me for asking the man in Vechietto for one of the broad beans he had just picked from his garden (he gave us a bag full).

In this our only night in Liguria we were housed in a building next to the San Francisco church here in Sarzana. Clean is not a word I'd use to describe our room or the bathroom, but the shower was hot and that's always a good thing. Don Renzo was not particularly friendly and a woman helping out at the church was downright mean.

Tip for the day: when you come to walk the Via Francigena and you're staying the night in Sarzana try the other parish (this compliments of Carl). Second connected tip: Sarzana is a very nice town (again...who knew) so make sure you spend the night here. I'll be coming back for sure.

Dinner was testaroli al pesto (plus a taste of Carl's with stracchino cheese and Cesare's with Parmesan cheese and olive oil) and a plate of mixed grilled meat. For dessert, a light cream of sorts with strawberries. Testaroli super (especially mine) and the rest quite good though I think you can do better in Sarzana (Cesare agrees). For the record, we were at Osteria Tre Archi.

Trip details: Aulla to Sarzana, 16.1K, altitude change: 662 meters up and 683 meters down.

State of the route: excellent trail the whole way. Initially marked only by the Italian Alpine Club (CAI) as "Aulla-Sarzana" then from Bibola there were also Via Francigena trail markers.

Weather report: low clouds and misty on departure and then after about an hour we were above the clouds and bathed by a splendid sun. 14 degrees C on departure at 8 and 26 on arrival at 3 p.m.

Medical report: nothing of note except for a little pain in the right knee.