25 km — 27oC and cloudy and humid — We met 2 more pilgrims on their way to Rome.
(By Jim )
Today included two of my favourite segments of the VF so far. The first was soon after leaving Pont-Saint-Martin, as the trail moved up through the hanging vineyards towards San Rocco Chapel and back down into Carema. The second remarkable segment was just after leaving the village of Settimo Vittone. The trail passes just below a 9th century church and castle, through a vineyard and kiwi orchard, then narrows and descends sharply through thick woods with rocky outcrops. I called it “Middle Earth” because Gandalf the Grey would not look out of place there.
The walk down into Ivrea meandered through woods, between lakes, passed beautiful estates, and finally along city streets. Cloud and shade kept us cool for most of the day, but the sun did break through near the end to force us to slather on the sun screen. We were both feeling the heat just as were passing a Lidl supermarket, so we took advantage of the air conditioned store and hung out in the frozen food aisle for a while. Peas were on sale!
We kept walking until we were in the shadow of the Duomo and Castle, where we found a bench and continued our search for accommodation. It has been very difficult in northern Italy to find places to sleep. Many ostellos (hostels) are closed and the few remaining ones that are open fill up fast — we have not had much luck. Thank goodness for booking.com and Airbnb. We did find a little apartment just off the VF with a kitchen and a washing machine—so now our evening is planned!
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