UP-DATES FROM THE WWW GRAPE VINE

From:  http://www.viafrancigena.eu/

The President Massimo Tedeschi AEVF awarded honorary citizenship of Canterbury. The event was held at the presentation of the twelfth edition of the journal ViaFrancigena

On the route:
Although not located along the official route, we note that the bridge over the Po in San Rocco al Porto (Lodi) is broken. For Orio Litta (Lodi) pilgrims in St. Andrew's Court to direct bicycle do not have access embankment.
Coming to Bicester, the ford of the river Stirone is no longer passable, but you can use the road bridge Sigerico and, pending the new official surveys, indicate an alternative route to cross the river and rejoin the path Stirone ministry. After the village of Bastelli, turn left and go straight for about 1,200 m, then turn immediately right towards Bicester, on a bridge in excess of the A1. After about 1,500 meters, turn left and walk along the bridge Sigerico. We descend, turn right towards compulsory and pass under the bypass and then get behind the cemetery and find the location of Bicester ministry. In an annex to the photo and the map shows in red the alternative route that is temporarily advised to follow.

The section of trail that leads to the Pieve di San Miniato Coiano Castelfiorentino is interrupted for landslide and also precluded the pedestrians. Due to reports of a pilgrim, we suggest an alternative route: via the intersection of Mellicciano, because of Poggiarella Meleto and so, due to take Meleto, to our left. From here you reach a paved country road, where you must go right, towards the local customs and then to Castelfiorentino. Before entering the country, at the roundabout, continue for Gambassi Terme and from there take the Via Francigena.

About the French section of the Via Francigena may be required to the Association des Pèlerins de Compostella et de Rome, to the email address ass-pèlerinscompostellerome@hotmail.fr.

You can download the GPS tracks of the section that crosses the French Champagne-Ardenne on the following link: http://www.tourisme-champagne-ardenne.com/balades/voyageurs/via-francigena.aspx

A variation on the section from Fidenza to Bastelli
http://www.viafrancigena.eu/public/documents/variantebastelli_fidenza.pdf

Accommodation Guide updated on 3 December 2010-12-20

Events:
14 and 15 January 2011 Novoli (LE) :  ViaFrancigena. Journey of faith and cultural tourism
Workshop
"Via Francigena. Journey of faith and cultural tourism "is the title of the workshop offering the Department of Heritage, Arts and History at the University of Salento, the City of Novoli Association Vie Francigena Pugliese. The aim is to promote a project whose purpose is to recover the ancient historical role of an ancient path of a religious nature, which represents an important opportunity for knowledge of the area.  Will be involved in the agro-food and local crafts, there are a panel discussion on the possibility of enjoying ViaFrancigena and a guided walk along the stretch of the Adriatic ViaFrancigena Salento.

Credencial
Download the application form.
Fees for requests from abroad
A credential: € 7.05 - 11 x 23 cm bag
2 or 3 credentials: € 7.65 - 11 x 23 cm bag
up to 8 Credentials: € 9.15 - 23 x 33 cm bag
up to 10 credentials: € 10.15 - 23 cm x 33 envelope
more than 10 credentials: € 13.65 - 23 x 33 envelope or larger
Post it to Piazza Duomo, 16-43036 Bicester (Pr) a letter containing the request form, duly completed, including a pre-paid envelope with a quantity of stamps corresponding to 5.35 €. This amount, in fact, it is necessary to cover the shipping cost A / R (+ registered return receipt) for a credential

Other organizations distribute their credentials: Theubilantes, Brotherhood of Romei, ViaFrancigena Association, Confraternity of St James of Compostela, Eurovia, Ad Limina Petri.
In France, the credentials can be requested to the Association des Pèlerins de Compostella et de Rome: ass-pèlerinscompostellerome@hotmail.fr

The Magazine Via Francigena
Order from the website: http://www.rivistaviafrancigena.it/
Read a summary of the latest edition;
From http://www.francigenalazio.movimentolento.it/

http://www.movimentolento.it/
The Way of Art now on line
Art is now a constant presence in our walk, so we decided to dedicate a website to CamminArtisti and CamminAttori.
The project began through the work of Blessed herbicides, the communicator of our environmental journey Ge-Mi-To through the industrial triangle, and the financing of Farework, a project of the Province of Milan, which was intended to accompany the artistic talents in via entrepreneurship.
Benedict played the key work in media, publishing on the site www.camminarte.movimentolento.it videos that tell the artistic realities encountered during our trip, as well as photographs, music, paintings, travel notebooks of artists that we accompanied it.
This is just the start again next year we will organize "travel artist", as we believe that the arts can be a powerful vehicle to communicate the beauty of a slow journey. The site will be enhanced, also expect your contributions!
Alberto Conte

News
Seminar on the integration of data paths Bicitalia
Saturday, December 11 the tale at its headquarters in Milan offers a training meeting in view of the mapping of over 16,000 km of paths Bicitalia. We discuss techniques for data entry. Participation, Fiab reserved for members is free but places limited. Reservations are recommended.

Way and art along "paths of Monet Bordighera
On the occasion of the exhibition "Mediterranean from Courbet to Monet to Matisse" (Palazzo Ducale, Genoa), the Coop Liguria Roads to Discover invites us all to Bordighera, to participate in a series of guided walks. Every Saturday will be organized between escurisioni landscapes, exotic gardens, and forests that are illuminated by the intense Mediterranean light inspired many artists and painters during the second half of the nineteenth century.

Gianluca Bonazzi presents his travel diary in San Benigno Canavese

L 'Association Smile, sponsored by the City of San Benigno Canavese organized a series of "Meet the Author" and Friday, December 17, at 21:00, at the Library "Pierre Octave Fasani, Gianluca Bonazzi will talk about his travel diary born after the trip-event that brought him groan to walk along three sides of the industrial triangle Genoa-Milan-Turin.

Read all news
The blog
Stop the killing!, Alberto Conte
Once again it comes to the safety of cyclists and users 'weak' of the road just after a serious car accident. Seven deaths together is an enormous, as they were three years ago, the seven deaths on the work of Thyssen ...

Pellegrini becomes, Carla de Bernardi
On foot? These are crazy, it was my first thought. And then? On July 31? A month of walking? Come on ... On second thought was .... But I went with them. And so one morning I left the house ...

Winter in the Celtic huts Apennines, Gianfranco Bracci
After leaving behind the beautiful refuge of the Celtic huts, am going to walk alone, "the costume and I" (me and my jacket), as they said when they wanted to emphasize the old Tuscan to be his alone ...

Proposal for a co-housing on the Frankish Road of Courage Immaculate
We would like to create a co-housing/eco village along a path (preferably along the Via Francigena Lake Bolsena) which converge in the satisfaction of various needs / desideri.Ci seems important that arise along the way ...

Read all articles in the blog
Traveling slowly along the ancient roads

Discovering Via Francigena - second meeting of pilgrims Aulla
In the marvelous Tuscan-Emilian Apennines, Saturday 11 and Sunday, December 12 will be held the second in a series of meetings among the pilgrims. A meeting for all lovers of the "way" to know, "walk" and discuss the problems and opportunities for intervention on the route of the Via Francigena.

Monteriggioni - new project of "poor reception" for the pilgrims
The municipality of Monteriggioni decided to create a new hostel in the service of pilgrims. A small guest house "low-cost" (8 / 10 beds) inspired by the ancient hospitable, allowing for modern pilgrims to stay overnight in comfort at low cost, simply by showing the credentials of the sections covered.

Interview with Renato Trap, a great lover of ViaFrancigena
Between Bolsena and Montefiascone the ViaFrancigena flows between olive groves and patches of woodland, with a path of ups and downs and stunning views of the lake, which covers some features in basalt of the ancient Via Cassia. Upon arrival we met Renato Trap, a great lover of Via Cassia, tells us his views on the current path and the qualities that in his opinion less considered are the value added of the Central European pilgrimage.

Watch the video and download the road book of the stage
Follow the advice of CamminaFrancigena videoracconti and 2010 on http://www.francigenalazio.it/ and subscribe to the group on Facebook "ViaFrancigena in Lazio to share photos and information regarding treatment of Lazio ViaFrancigena.

Subscribe to "CamminaFrancigena" to keep you informed about news of the great cultural itinerary!

The slow movement in social networks

Join our community on Facebook, join us and write on the board of the Movement Slow your comments.

We provide all lovers of walking and cycling trip to a place where to meet and talk about their experiences.

Become our friend also on Twitter !

http://www.movimentolento.it/ Visit our website to read more news, articles and itineraries for those traveling slowly.

From http://www.walkingplaces.co.uk/
A couple set off from Canterbury on 2 August and arrived in Rome on 3 November.
Read about it here: http://ifalutin.blogspot.com/

From http://www.laviadiromalaviafrancigenadisanfrancesco.com/

La Via Francigena di San Francesco

From: http://ebookpedia.net/La-via-francigena-the-francigena-road.html

Via Francigena 'live' blogs and websites

This is a great blog and I just loved her latest post: 

Part Trois – If it’s Monday, it’s closed
http://tapascoe.wordpress.com/2010/07/31/part-trois-if-its-monday-its-closed/

Oz Pilgrim

http://stepstorome.blogspot.com/2010/07/polish-ballroom-dancer.html

Cathy’s blog
http://www.ballofdirt.com/entries/22361/296339.html

girolamo777
http://jeromesitaly.blogspot.com/2010/07/la-via-francigena-or-robbers-and.html

New Book
http://littlegreentracs.typepad.com/my_weblog/2010/07/index.html

Confraternity of Pilgrims to Jerusalem
http://sites.google.com/site/pilgrimstojerusalem/Home

TUESDAY, 27: DAY TWELVE - Pontremoli to Lucca 14kms

TUESDAY, JUNE 27: DAY THIRTEEN - Pontremoli to Lucca 14kms

Sil: Kathy Marion and I took a walk down the treelined lane that runs between our old farm house B&B and green fields. An elderly woman on a bicycle was picking poppies and field grasses for her husband's grave. The fields and the farmhouses are bordered by an old stone wall that encircles the property of a past Marquis of Pontremoli. (Pronounced to rhyme with Emily - emphasis on the TRE and not on the Moli). We got to the station at 8.30 and had an hour and half wait so Kathy and I went back into town to the post office,. I had a large padded envelope with my vest, Fleece jacket, Italian plugs and a few other odds and ends that I wanted to post to myself Poste Restant in Rome. Although it was a modern Post office this request was met with - first a blank stare, then frustration that I couldn’t post an item with my name on it to myself. After some heated consultation with other colleagues and a phone call to Rome, I was given triumphant confirmation that my item could in fact be posted to Rome's Central Ferme Post Office. Whether I will ever see it again remains to be seen!The train journey to Lucca was uneventdful and we found our hotel inside the old stone walls that encircle the old town. The description of the hotel was 'Art Deco' - think shabby chic and you'll have an idea of what it looked like. We were given a capacious room dominated by a large double bed which Kathy and Rayna shared. Besides another three single beds, a desk and chair, pink draylon boudoir chair and a huge wardrobe, there was still enough floor space to do the tango! There was an art deco painted border around the walls with the design repeated in the middle of the ceiling from which a 6 arm chandalier hung rather grandly. The whole affect was spoilt by Rayna and Sylvia's skimpy undies hanging from the chandalier on plastic hangars! If we activated our red flashing lights - you could have thought ‘Bordello!' The smells of deep heat, shampoo, deodorants, arnica rub and muscle rubs completed the scene. Just a few words about Lucca. Although today was a no walking day we still managed to clock up 14kms on our digi-walkers. Some of that was climbing up the 45m , 230 step tower – and down again - in Lucca. We were thrilled to find an internet cafe, booked 3 machines and posted 4 days onto our blog. Then more sightseeing and a lovely dinner of Tarte d'Erbe, and salads made in the communal kitchen on our floor.

Marion: This morning before we left Pontrmoli I decided to leave my red hat behind as I could repklace the space it took with an apple. I put my hat on top of the bin downstairs so that our hosttess could see that i was throwing it away. I did not want her to come down the road after us shouting 'You have left your hat!? After breakfast we left and walked to the station to catch our train. As we arrived, a car pulled up with opur hostess jumping out with my hat! Did we laugh! I then left it on top of a post box - and hopefully it won't come back to me a second time!

VAL: The Italians are very honest, good citizens which can be very annoying when you are trying deliberately to leave something behind. As Marion has told you about her red sunhat, a Durban beachfront special, which much to our relief she hasn't worn was destined for the 'I'm leaving this behind bin.' We are still expecting it to turn up. Int he supermercato I deliberately left two water bottle and replaced them with new full ones. As we were leaving a woman came running after us with my water bottle, next a shop assistant came running out with my stick, thank goodness the Italians are such good citizens! Lucca is so special - what a buzz! It reminds me of a Varsity town- lots of students and bicycles. Lots of history and lots of gorgeous shops. Backpacking is cramping my shopping stryle, credit card is in shock. I'm expecting my credit card company's Fraud dept to phone me any moment and advise me that my card must have been stolen by someone that isn't using it! Well I couldn't reist in one shop they had the most amazing display of masks - the kind you would wear to a masked ball - they were all made in Vienna and so authentic that they even had those that the muderer in Agatha Christie's muder novels would wear. I had to have one - I just had to! They are so light. So I did! The look of horror on the other girls faces made it even more exciting. It fits int he backpack, see? My masks walked 20kms today and no problem.

Kathy and Rayna: K & R are so pleased that they were at the back of the scribe queue today. All Kathy wants to add is that she paid E5 (R45) for the privelege of walking 230 steps up and 230 steps down an anicent tower in Lucca. Rayna who didn't run up and down the steps, asks "Are they crazy or what?"

Addendum to Tuesday by Kathy:"The pilgrims are revolting - all but one that is!" Silvia had a revolt on her hands at bedtime. Four revolting pilgrims refused to wash their clothes (as it is such a pain!) and went off to bed after dinner and a toothbrushing. All that got washed were "our smalls" and these - as you have read - were left to dry on the chandelier. Kathy had already worn her red shirt for 24 hours (yeuch!) Poor Silvia - she dutifully washed hers, crept quietly into our shared room and hung her washing up to dry. By this time the other revolters were sound asleep. In the morning when we woke up we put on our slightly used clothing and Silvia made us stand in line like cormorants in a row, while she sprayed Joy perfume under our arms. Silvia is still complaining that she now knows why she didn't sleep so well last night.

MONDAY, JUNE 26: - DAY 11 - Cisa ostello Tugo to Pontremoli 24km

MONDAY, JUNE 26: DAY TWELVE - Ostello Tugo to Pontremoli 24km
Kathy - Mountain Goat: We had an early start leaving our youth hostel at 6.30am after eating our own yoghurt and fruit for breakfast. It was 2.5km on the main road up to the Cisa Pass (Passo De Cheeza) - what a relief, the literature

we’d read warned us of the ‘dreaded’ pass at Cisa (1040m above sea level). We left the SS26 and started our walk on tracks and forest paths. Think lower Berg, Krantzkloof, and you get the picture. We went up, down, up some more, across dry steam beds, through natural forests, man made plantations and open grasslands. I was in my element as I just LOVE this kind of off road walking. At times the paths were quite difficult as the surface was often very slippery with fallen leaves, pine needles or littered with shale, slate and scree.
Once again a hot humid day. The last 6km into Pontremoli were once again on the SS26 - a little like the old main road through Park Rynie on the Natal South Coast. Lush green, hot and humid and undulating. Nature news: saw our first Italian Serpenta today; luckily it was more scared of us. We also "rescued" a small baby field mouse on a hot path, putting it out of harms way, hopefully, in some shade.

Rayna: Who doesn't like down mountain paths. As Kathy says, it was a lot of "bundu bashing" today and the knees took strain - must be getting old or something! As we came into the almost abandoned village of Cavezzana a dog came out to greet us, followed by Senora Paulo who invited us in and made us the welcomest delicious coffee. She was visiting her holiday house from Parma, with her son Marcello, for a couple of months. We continued along the way until we got to the village of Groppo Over the Cisa Pass to Pontremoli. Here there was a local election station and much activity. We had some refreshments and left for Pontremoli.

Marion: Like Kathy I so enjoyed the terrain that we walked through today. I found the Cisa Pass very interesting - at the border between Emilia Romagna and Tuscany, the Cisa Pass developed an essential role in the old road networks. On the old Post Office building there are still signs that define the Dukedom in Parma and the Grand Duchy of Tuscany. A long stairway leads to the sanctuary of the Madonna deila Guardia, 1921 devoted to the world’s sportsman. We climbed the steps up and then continued on a side path into the forest.

Sil: Our Cryptic Clues guide said: “Interminable stage in atmosphere mounts, Very demanding for length and unevenness, wonderful for the natural atmosphere in which it is carried out and for the beauty of the villages from Tuscany depositor.”
It also said: "Difficulty: Very demanding with 10% on tarred roads, 0% on gravel and 90% on tracks. Uneveness of climbing: 907m - 1229m to 235m.
Now I have come to learn that 90% on ‘tracks’ means rocks and more rocks. I Hate Rocks. I don't mind climbing up rocky paths forever, but I really, really, really DON'T like coming down them. I don’t care how much the others love this kind of terrain, I just don’t! Today was up, but mostly down, gravel ruts, pebble ruts, shale ruts, stoney, rocky, ankle snapping tracks where you have to watch where you put every step and even then you skid and wobble over loose rocks and stones.
At one stage we had to cross a river on a slope that had crumbling mud sides and only a few boulders to stand on. We had to go down on our backsides and hold walking poles out to each other to get across. We also did some forest walking which was great - even though the thick leaf mulch and pine needles were also slippery, it wasn't as demanding or tiring as the rocky tracks.
Coming out of the forest we heard a dog barking and knew we were close to civilisation. Senora Paulo was an angel to invite us all to rest on her patio and have a cup of coffee before continuing on our way. The village of Cavezzana where she lives is quite derelict and now only 5 people still live there. It seems that people in rural Italy are abondoning the village life for the lure of the cities. Some of the little places we pass have names but are merely a collection of three or four houses. No square, no shops, no street lights, no real streets, just a cobbled path appearing at the edge of the forest, passing between the buildings and soon reverting to a track into the forest again.
It was very hot today easily plus 35 degrees in the shade. The heat cannot escape the thick forest so it was more humid walking in the forest than it was walking in the road. We walked quite a long way into Pontremoli which is in the Magra Valley, before we found our B&B just outside the old town. It is on the top floor of a lovely, large converted stone barn that still has the animal stalls down below. Our charming hostess, Adriana, allowed us to use her washing machine – what a treat – and all the clothes dried within an hour. We are now in the very northern corner of Tuscany, sweltering under the Tuscan sun but happy to be here. Adrianna recommended a local restaurant that we will go to tonight for supper.

Val: Tuscany is unbelievably beautiful - words fail me. The beauty and the simple kindness, generosity and hospitality shown to us these past weeks restores faith in human kind and the will to preserve the nature we have in our own beautiful country grows stronger.
Today was a public holiday due to the Referendum and the bar we stopped at, the "official" polling station. Two policemen were on duty drinking beer and all voting had to be completed by 3pm due to Italy playing football. As such we couldn't get any food and walked plus 20km with only fruit and yoghurt at 5am.
We are starving now (5pm) and going to a restaurant at 7pm recommended by our host. Now there is something I really do not understand - it is so difficult to buy coke - bars only sell it out of siphon machines and whenever we find somewhere with a cool drinks fridge they have just 1 or 2 bottles or have sold out. Either it is not in demand or they have distribution problems. Coke advertise their sports sponsorship everywhere so its a mystery to me.
We are finding the Italians friendly and truly wonderful people - they are patient with our attempts at Italian and we help those who like to try out their English. They often think we are American or English. When they discover we are from South Africa they are very happy - "they prefer us" they say "than the English" - as such I no longer speak when we meet anyone!
In Switzerland we found the people far more reserved and impatient with our limited French, they also made no attempt to speak Italian despite being next door - perhaps the reason is their reluctance to join the EEC.
Well some of us took Italian lessons for several months and it definitely paid off - but the star of the show is Sil...she converses with the locals, our drivers, our hosts and her accent is superb. The other day we were taking a break in a street and an elderly man came out of his house speaking loudly and quickly as if he was cross with us...Sil said "Si..Si senor" - we were most impressed. When he had gone we asked "What did he say?" - "He asked if we would all like to go up to his room and I said Yes! Yes!”
Well, I doubt we could ever repeat the eating experience we had last night in Pontremoli. You would have to know about this restaurant as you would probably only find it by accident. It is in a side street well away from the more tourist area and up a flight of stone steps which at first appears to lead to nowhere. But we soon enter the large dining room of Trattoria Da Norina. We are barely acknowledged by the lady of the house who scowls at us and points to the clock - indicating that her establishment doesn't open until 7.30pm. Our host had booked us a table for 7pm. We asked if we could perhaps sit with a drink until 7.30pm? The eyes do not smile –
3 glasses appear on the bar and she pours red wine into one as requested. Then she picks up the remains of a carafe of white wine with "things" floating in it...I say "no! Signora No!" - I get the evil eye and then she produces a fresh carafe of wine from the fridge. This is not a comfortable situation so we hand her the business cards of our host and suddenly her face lights up with a smile - we are welcome - we are no longer "tourists" who found their way to Mama's restaurant by accident. And we are in for a treat of Regional delicasies.

SUNDAY, JUNE 25: - DAY TEN - Cassio to Berceto & Tugo 19.5km

SUNDAY, JUNE 25: DAY ELEVEN- Cassio to Berceto & Tugo 19.5km
Sil: Felt a bit bombed after a fitful sleep with all the noise from the locals who sang and laughed right outside our window until the early hours. Marion, Kathy and I explored the little village (hamlet?) of Cassio and visited the church before packing and leaving the hostel. What a lovely pilgrim day we’ve had. The day started on the quiet SS road with VF markers – concrete stele with a terracotta pilgrim relief – lining the road like a guard of honour. They are actually quite confusing because they are spaced out every 15 meters or so - unlike the Camino where a "stele” with shell usually indicates the path one should take. After a few hundred meters we branched off onto a gravel path.
From then on we climbed very steeply through a shady forest, sweating like pigs and being forced to stop and get our breath every few meters. Then the path deteriorated into a narrow, rutted chalky track going straight up the side of the mountain. Kathy thought we'd reached the top when she saw the sky through the dense trees and shouted out to us but the track curved onward and upward – a-la Polly Shorts. Finally we crested the top coming out at a tiny village and visited the church before continuing. Then it was up and down through fields and forests until we crested a hill to see Berceto nestled between hills in the valley below us.
We followed a cobbled pedestrian path into the town to find a Sunday market in progress. There was a service in the Cathedral, which is dedicated to S. Moderanno, so we couldn’t go inside. We visited the very helpful tourist office for a stamp and collected a few brochures as well - had a coffee and pastries at a pavement cafe, bought some fruit, salad and bread and continued on our way up into the hills for another 7km.
I recognised our hostel from the photo on our daily info sheets. It is in the middle of nowhere - a huge, squat, deep rust coloured country house on the side of the road with no other sign of life anywhere close by. Downstairs is a bar and restaurant called the Via Francigena. Our dorm is upstairs and as we are the only ones staying here we have the place to ourselves. We had a shower, washed our clothes and had a salad, cheese and ham lunch. Will have dinner here tonight and will attack the dreaded Cisa Pass tomorrow.

Marion: There is such a lot of history around the towns that we are walking through. Cassio where we were staying last night is recorded in the description of the return journey of Philip Augustus, King of France in 1191 and the little town of Castellonchio’s main road is paved with slabs of sandy stone typical of the medieval era. All places were once sites of medieval fortifications. There is a beautiful church in Castellonchio in the middle of the village.
Just outside Berceto we passed a shrine with an effigy of Saint Moderanno - he was the head of the Abbey built in the 18th Century and it is mentioned by Archbishop Sigeric in his diary. We got stamps in our pilgrim’s passports at the information centre. We now have about 16 stamps in our passports.

Kathy: I offered to carry lunch today from Berceto to our B&B which was about 7km along the road. We had bought 2 large tomatoes, a bag of shredded lettuce, some sliced Parma ham and gorgonzola cheese. We had also bought a homemade-organic-ingredients, loaf of brown bread from the market, sold by weight! Rayna and I also had a banana each and an apple. This was all put into a shopping bag...Well... I think my arms are now 10 inches longer - the bag got heavier and heavier and at some point Val offered to take it over and we both decided that this was probably a very good plot, because as soon as I'd handed over the lunch bag it felt like my load was halved and I could do an extra 10km with the backpack. Val had a similar experience when she handed the bag back to me!
I'm still battling with hay fever itchy eyes and itchy legs every time we go through fields. The eye drops the Italian Pharmacist gave me have been fantastic and I'm using them frequently so am looking after myself.

Rayna: Well, I was the "Sweeper" today and the girls gave me no work, all remembering their sticks etc. etc. which we certainly need going up the steep hills. It was very hot especially after leaving Berceto as we walked mostly along the main road. There was very little shade. There were many motor cycles out today, even a cycle race with very good seconding that passed us going from Berceto towards Cassio.
After our late lunch Val and I crashed and had a very lekker 40 winks, broken by Val's alarm woofing at us. We are now soaking up the late afternoon sun.

Val: We are in Parma country - Parma ham and porcini mushrooms and of course the real Parmesan - but the mushrooms are only in season from September. The restaurant is part of the hostel and has a real "Mama" in the kitchen. Good menu of home cooked dishes featuring lamb, wild boar and guinea fowl. The body however needs a break so will be choosing something a little lighter tonight.
Whilst we seem to have a preoccupation with food it is not surprising given the demanding days we are having - we average 7 -10 hours of off road climbing in high temperatures. It is hot by 0800am until late evening. We are drinking coke and water to replace the electrolytes regularly. We are also carrying heavy backpacks, supposed to be maximum of 6-7kg - mine however weighed 8.5kg at the airport check-in - surely a little black number cannot weigh that much?
Not surprising then that my highlight and reward is a cool glass of wine and an espresso nightcap and of course something special to eat - our stomachs rumble all day as we burn up the calories so quickly.
So far I have managed to get a glass of wine every night, should I not for some reason, perhaps our song will go a little like this (to the tune of James Browns - "I feel Good")

♫ I feel Grim
Like a sad Pilgrim
when I can't find
A glass of red wine ♫

SATURDAY, JUNE 24: - DAY NINE - Settimo Vittone - Casio (Train/taxi)

SATURDAY, JUNE 24: DAY TEN - Settimo Vittone - Casio (Train/taxi) 3kms

Kathy: Covered over 200km today - no, not walking in case you were wondering! But, by train and taxi. We left Settimo Vittone at about 8am this morning with Moreno (host's son) kindly driving us to Ivrea by car. A really spacious Fiat Ulysses. We then bought tickets, validated them as required and caught the 9.35 train to Torino (Turin) a distance of 62km. As this train was "retardo" - late !! - we didn’t have too long to wait in Turin for our next train. This trip cost ± E4 each. After a yucky cup of station coffee, we set off for Parma in the next train. On this train we had allocated seats - coach 6, seats 111 - 115. This trip cost about E19 each. The first train we travelled in had open seats but these had compartments with 6 seats in each compartment - this train was going through to Bari- long distance - so was obviously an overnight train.
We finally arrive in Parma at 3pm and as it was very hot and we had a long way to go so we opted for a taxi to the Hostel Cassio instead of walking. This trip took 1 hour in another suitable vehicle (a Renault Espace) and it was luckily air-conditioned. The temp leaving Parma was 35oC but we climbed up and up to Cassio with the temp dropping to 25oC by the time we arrived at our youth hostel. What a welcome sight!

Marion: We’ve had a few different loo stops on our walk. The normal conventional toilet, a long drop which Val used, the bushes where one has to be careful where you choose to go otherwise if you choose the wrong spot like Rayna did, you end up crouching on a stinging nettle bush - EINA!! Today after changing trains at Turin we went to the station loo. First of all you had to put 70cents (± R7) into a gate to get into the loo area and WHOOSH - sliding glass doors opened and you stepped into a disco! Purple fluorescent lights! As soon as you sat down the loo flushed - what a fright I got! Upon leaving the loo one had to push a button and - whoosh - the glass doors opened. I wonder what other loos we will find.

Sil: There is something very special about waking up in a castle surrounded by beautiful objects and padding through to a gorgeous bathroom with marble tiles, glass and brass, I stood looking around me and thought "I can't afford this!" But it was only E23 each! And then breakfast - what a beautiful spread. I'm sure Val will do it justice. The owners of this beautiful place are very artistic - Senora Clementine Nicoletta is a painter, potter, gardener and baker. She has made all of the ceramics in the Casa - crockery, light fittings vases etc. as well as paintings and murals all in a very romantic style eg each room has the name of a flower and we were in the IRIS room. Her beautiful son Moreno, is a photographer of note and she showed us one of his photographs that won 2nd prize in a national competition.
When we planned this walk we asked the advice of Joe Patterson, Carol Welch and others about walking a 30 day Via F. All recommended skipping the section between Ivrea and Fidenza or even Fornovo di Taro. So today Moreno drove us into town and we left Ivrea by train for Parma. As we left the Valle D'Aosta the mountains on either side became hills and we entered into the flat plains of the Po Valley. The scenery was rather bleak and industrial. We spent an hour at the station in Turin waiting for a connecting train to Parma. It is a large station and we were able to buy Val another peaked cap – this one with handy scarf attached to the back. As we neared Parma the vineyards returned, green fields and rising forested hills in the distance.
Due to train delays we’d arrived later than planned so we decided to get a taxi to the Cassio Youth Hostel. Climbing the hills from Parma was a little like driving to Cato Ridge from Durban - the further we got the more rural the landscape and then "The Valley of 1000 Hills" (or lower 'berg) with few settlements and heavily wooded hillsides.
One thing that has really paid dividends is the daily info sheet prepared before we left with a photograph of the town or village, a photo of the B&B/hotel/hostel, a copy of the confirmation of the accommodation booked, a map of where to find it and a short précis of the history of the town and area. The driver recognized the hostel right away from the photograph on the info sheet.
It is the job of the Group Leader of the day to read the info to us and tell us the distance to be walked each day, what the terrain will be like and approx how many hours we can expect to walk. Tomorrow we walk about 20kms, beyond Berceto, and Rayna will be the group leader.
After the IRIS room in a castle, we will spend the night in a youth hostel dorm tonight! Val was to sleep alone in the attic room so we carried her bed down to the main dorm to join us. This YH is clean and the ablutions are modern and we had it to ourselves. We were able to buy a couple of VF souvenirs and Kathy and Rayna each bought a shirt. The fellow who booked us in even showed us a catalogue of VF memorabilia that one can order. This is Parma-Fidenza country and the Associazione Europea VF is very active in this area.
Although our windows face the road there is no other building close by besides the tavern across the road so I doubt there will be much traffic and we should all have a good night's sleep. Buona Notte for now.

WEDNESDAY, JUNE 21: - DAY SIX - Aosta to St Vincent 13.3km

WEDNESDAY, JUNE 21: DAY SEVEN - Aosta to St Vincent 13.3km
Sil: Ok, ok - it isn't really only 13km from Aosta to St Vincent but we have got a good excuse for our short walking day. We got up early 5h30 and had breakfast at 7am determined to walk a full 26km today. But we were also determined to post updates on our BLOG as we'd been hiking in the wilderness for 3 days and, Kathy was desperate for antihistamines for her allergies.
We had a slow walk into Aosta and were told that the INFO office had internet. Nothing opened until 9am so we sat on the pavement in the square and waited. Val and I found an open Kodak shop and were able to email photos back home for the Designer Boys to post onto our Blog.
Then back to the INFO office to use the internet but no such luck. I walked with Bernd to the INFO office who said try the Library - trudge, trudge, trudge to the other side of town. Directed up 3 flights of stairs. No such luck – you have to book in advance and there are no free computers. “Try a snooker bar close to the station” which is right on the other side of town near the station. So, trudge, trudge, trudge. Yee-haa!! Four computers- three in working order - and so we all logged on and I directed the typists so that we could post Days 2-5 in order. Back into town for lunch and we'd logged almost 10km on our digi-walkers, but hadn't left town yet.
We couldn't start our 26km walk at 13h30 and the Cryptic Clues advised against walking from Chambave to Chatillon so we got a bus to Chatillon and walked to St Vincent from there. We walked through overgrown fields of dried grasses, tall flowers, floating seed pods and fluff. Poor Kathy started to itch, then to swell, then her eyes started to water and by lunch time she could barely see out of her swollen eyes. Val has a sore throat and the start of a cold. It poured with rain on the way and is drizzling now so we are pleased we didn't start walking further back.
St Vincent is a quaint town in the Mount Zerbion foothills that boasts Europe’s largest casino. We walked besides beautiful gardens to reach the Tourism office to get directions to our B&B and said goodbye to Bernd. The landlady at the Il Tiglio B&B where we are staying is a charming hostess and introduced Marion and me to her family. Her daughter was actually born in Johannesburg 27 years ago but she hasn’t been back since they left when she was three.
The rain stopped and we decided to risk going into the old medieval town to find supper. Kathy needed to withdraw money from an ATM and we all kept an eye on her when three strange guys starting hanging around. Val kept her hand on her pepper-spray and we planned how we would rugby tackle them so that Val could spray them if they got too close to Kathy! We are starting to think like a team!
Kathy: I've realized that walking in the most beautiful fields of wild flowers can be bad for your health. Kathy has some nasty spots on her legs and terribly swollen eyes. I take part of the blame for our late start as I had to get to a Pharmacy for some allergy medication. Found an English speaking Pharmacist who was most helpful and voila - I look a little normal again. Val and I are also encouraging a really good tan by using our Arnica oil as suntan lotion, not quite bikini babes yet - socks and shorts tan line will prevent that.

Marion: Our accommodation was really good last night and we had our own kitchen so we decided to cook instead of going out. We had delicious salad and pasta and lots of good fun. Aosta is a really interesting town lots of Roman ruins, very narrow streets and lots of shops. We walked past a shop which sold fruit and veg so we all went in and stocked up with fruit. Something we have missed. It was very hot and humid today so the rain we are now having is very welcome.
Rayna: Well the terrain is finally friendly - no ravines etc. Spending time in Aosta Val and I decided the next time would be buses and empty suitcases so that we could hit the shops and kill the credit cards! However with the exchange rate it could be a while.

Val: I was very disappointed not to walk the full distance today, I would much rather have done so than have been forced to have lunch in the beautiful Italian town of Aosta! Our 1st Pizza!
I got into trouble last night trying to kill flies with my pepper spray - the table was laid, the wine open and the next moment we were all choking and had to move the entire table to the next apartment. Silvia was still stirring the pasta and had to put a dishcloth mask over her face.

TUESDAY, JUNE 20: DAY FIVE - Gr San Bernado to Aosta 28 Kms

ITALY – VALLE D’AOSTA
TUESDAY, JUNE 20: DAY SIX - Grand St Bernard to Aosta 28 Kms
Sil: I think I died last night because it seemed like my head had just hit the pillow when they started playing loud music through loudspeakers to wake up all the people in the dorms. Bummer.
Breakfast was at 8am sharp. Bread and jam and coffee or hot chocolate. Rayna decided not to risk her fear of heights on the steep down paths so she and Bernd, the German pilgrim who is on his way to Ivrea, shared some of our heavy gear to take with them in the bus. We bought a couple of souvenirs and then walked past the frozen lake after having our photo taken outside the Gr St Bernard altitude sign - 2473m - WOW! I don’t think I’ve ever been this high.
On the way down our VF sign indicated a path that disappeared into a large glacier with water rushing underneath it - I kid you not! We had no option but to walk on the road - and what a road!! Much steeper than the Swiss side - Sani Pass at a steeper gradient, twisting and hairpinning down to the valley below. We stayed on the road until we were at 700m – 1 800m down in 10 kms. The pilgrims from Brazil also tried the path in places but had to abandon it for the road.
We were supposed to walk 12 kms in 3½ hours but walking on the road added another 9kms to the route. Stopped for coffee in St Rhemy and when we reached Etroubles we had lunch and then decided to get a bus or taxi to Aosta instead of walking on the busy A road. The very friendly Tourism staff ordered a cab for us which dropped us at our hotel. We met up with Rayna at the La Roche B&B and as we have kitchens in our rooms we decided to stay in for dinner. We are still on track kilometer-wise.
Marion: It was a lot easier today going downhill. Wonderful views of the mountains, snow, ice and lots of waterfalls. It was a luxury to get a taxi from Etroubles to Aosta after a superb lunch, instead of walking on the busy roads. This gave us a bit of time when we arrived at our accodomation in Aosta to relax sort out our backpacks do our washing and get ready for tomorrow.

Val: We departed Gr St Bernado without seeing one REAL dog - very disappointing. We were forced onto the road due to the snow and ice so we decided to treat ourselves to lunch at Entroubles. Determined to try something different for my first meal in Italy I chose "Pappardella al sugo di Capriolo" - pasta with Roe Deer Sauce" € 9.30 (plus R100) Belissimo!!

Kathy: Nice to walk on roads for a change - much easier on the legs and body! Dropped altitude all the way! Some cyclists passed us going up Gr St Bernard Pass from Italy (looked like really hard work!) only to have them come zooting down again a little while later! Also, many motorcyclists on smart big bikes with panniers and many motorhomes. Had a number of vintage Citroen cars (all beautifully done up) come past us - almost like a small vintage car breakfast run.

MONDAY, JUNE 19: DAY FOUR - La Douay to Gr S Bernado 28Kms

MONDAY, JUNE 19: DAY FIVE - La Douay to Gr S Bernado 28Kms
Sil: I was a gibbering idiot this morning. All the diaries we've read tell about the extreme gradients climbing up to the pass. I had nightmares that it would be like yesterday - terrifying scrambles up rocky paths, clinging onto metal chains perched above precipice gorges, but although it was exceptionally steep - 1:2 in places - the paths were much better today. If anyone reading this is afraid of doing the St Bernard’s Pass bit, don’t be. It was much better than yesterday – honest!
We sorted more items from our packs into carry bags for Rayna to take to the Hospice in the bus so that our loads wouldn’t be too heavy. We started at 680m climbing straight up above the La Douay railway line, passing wooden shrines representing the 16 Stations of the Cross. For obvious reasons we didn’t complain about dragging our packs and ourselves up the hill! For the next 24kms we climbed and climbed, sometimes on gravel paths, wide moraine-stone heaps and landslide piles; sometimes on forest tracks, across rickety bridges spanning raging rivers and waterfalls. The scenery was spectacular and the closer we got to the higher peaks, the thicker the snow was on the sides on the path and in the gulleys. Marion took strain today, the steepness of the terrain getting to her. At one stage stopped and said to me “Sil – I am stuffed!”
We passed the old St Bernard Hospice a few hundred metres below the new one and stood on the hard snow singing. The road was only cleared of snow and opened on 14th June and huge, solid banks of snow still lie on either side. We had downloaded bits of other pilgrim’s diaries on this section and every one spoke of huge changes in the weather as they neared the top – ‘swirling mists” “driving rain” “huge drop in temperature” “strong gusty wind”. We were blessed with clear calm skies and bright sunshine the whole way. There was a lot of water rushing down with many small waterfalls and rivers where we could collect water for our bottles. The wild flowers here are all tiny – indicative of the altitude – with white star daisies (Edelweiss?) blue gentians, yellow milkwort and many others all attracting scores of butterflies.
The path we were on disappeared under a high bank of solid snow carved out of melting water gushing underneath making it treacherous to continue so we clambered up onto the road and the last 4km was on the twisting tarred road, hairpin bends - rising from 2000m to 2475m at the top. When I saw the Hospice complex I blew my whistle to let the others know that we had arrived. I was SO proud of us - especially of Marion - that I felt quite emotional. We had made it! For months we have been talking about crossing the Alps – like Hannibal and his elephants, like Napoleon and his 40 000 troops – and here we were – triumphant at the top of the pass with no back up, no porters, no mules to carry us up!! Val will tell you about our reception at the Hospice.
We met three pilgrims in the Hospice dining room – a German fellow covered in tattoos who was sleeping in the same dorm as us and who will be walking to Ivrea, and a couple from Brazil who are walking to Rome. Val went to have a shower and came back rather ashen faced. "There is a MAN in our bathroom!" she said, "And ... he is covered in tattoos. Just hope he isn't sleeping in our room." With that in walked Bernd - the German fellow we'd met at dinner. And yep, he was sleeping in the room with us, but we knew that 5 against 1 were good odds so we tucked our precious bags next to our pillows and crashed.

Marion: I knew that it would be a difficult day for me because of the height that we would have to climb - I always have trouble breathing going up extremely steep climbs. I knew that I would have to dig deep – “BUT” I never realised just how deep I needed to dig. I found the 11 ½ hours extremely gruelling and a few times thought I could not go on. Even though it was such a difficult day for me the scenery was magnificent and I am so proud of myself for making it to the Hospice. I am ever so thankful for such wonderful friends that pulled me through the day.
At first it felt a bit strange to me that we would be sharing our dorm with a stranger – “a male”. By the time I went to bed I was so tired that it never bothered me at all.

Val: On the first day I lost my hat and stick, and Kathy, ever the girl guide fashioned one out of a branch. I was so thankful for that stick yesterday and Rayna kindly gave me hers today. However just a third of the way into our journey we came across a row of sticks outside a cottage, made from old broom sticks, bamboo and metal piping with an honesty box! We purchased a few sticks and continued on our Trek as the Swiss do using two sticks.
We overdosed on magnificent scenery today, mountains that would make "Table Mountain" envious. I do hope that the Swiss appreciate their beautiful country. Everywhere is picture perfect and you can't help sometimes feeling that you are in a scene from the "Stepford Wives".
After 11plus hours we arrived at Gr St Bernard Hospice, dead on our feet and somewhat dehydrated as we had to rely on streams for water as it was impossible to carry sufficient for the day. Before we knew what was happening we were ushered down the stairs to "Evening Mass" and the four of us were swaying ready to collapse. Silvia sat down on a chair and put her head on her arms as she was feeling faint. People looked at her with understanding, thinking that she was overcome with emotion. We got the giggles and also had to close our eyes and bend our heads! We were able to excuse ourselves within half an hour and were given a welcome cup of tea. Then the bell rang and we had to go to dinner.

Kathy: Passed some very crosspatch, mean looking bulls with nasty horns on the way up - and they didn't look like they were very happy with us in their turf. These
big bulls are sometimes used as fighting bulls (2 bulls fighting each other) and look a little like buffaloes. Anyway - there was Sil in a red shirt shouting “Ole! Ole!” Kathy shouting “Voetsak”, all of us squealing like girls, and Val at the ready with her pepper spray. The bulls beautifully adorned with wide leather neckstraps and cow/bull bells, decided to move off a little and we passed safely.
On the way out of Orsieres, Silvia had her whole fist sucked by a calf so we decided to say hello too. Also messed around in the snow singing:
♫ We feel good, like we knew we would.
We feel good, like good pilgrims should♫

We had a great giggle that lifted our spirits.