Paparazzi!!

We discover early on during this trek that people are enamored of donkeys. They are like magnets. The cameras immediately come out and the questions start flowing: "Mules or Donkeys?"  "Are they yours?"  "How did you find out about the trek?"

We've seen people screech on the breaks to take a picture of the donkeys grazing in their pasture. We've heard children yell for their parents to come and look at the "horses" as we've walked under their windows. We've met people from all over - these animals just drop everyone's walls and it is very refreshing. 

I have to say that the most amusing example of their celeb status has to be while we were staying in our hotel in Norcia. Our stay there happened to coincide with an Italian soccer team who was using the nearby training facilities. The team, Ternana FC, from a small Umbrian city named Terni, is a Seria B team. I have heard they are quite good. 

The team was packing up at the exact same time we were prepping the donkeys to leave. A crowd of players stood around and watched our every move. At the same time, a group of American chefs showed up and circled us as well. They were from a cooking school in Memphis, in town for a week long Italian cooking class. They took pictures and videos of the donkeys and asked a ton of questions. Meanwhile the entire Ternana Soccer Team went completely unnoticed by them - even with the tour bus parked right next to us and the players standing around in their shiny uniforms.   The chefs moved on after awhile to return to their class. One of them had even asked if we were offering rides. 

Just before the soccer team pulled out of the  driveway, I asked for their autograph and told them I have a friend who is a huge fan (Frazer - if you are reading this then that would be you). 

They happily obliged and filled a half a page with autographs.  Whew! It sure is hard being a celebrity. Just ask Judith, Mozart, and Luna!