Aosta 19 miles

Spectacular day. Out before 9am after a poor, communal breakfast. Still cold but warmed up as soon as I got into the sun. Crossed over into Italy before the descent. Fabulous views. Best of the Via without a doubt. After the previous cloudy days it was clear skies when it really mattered. Big descent. Nearly 2,000m spread over 19 miles so quite hard on the feet but a small price to pay. Found a small supermarket who were happy to make me a sandwich for lunch. Bench nearby to sit on while eating. Fabulous.

Passed a chap who appeared to spend his days keeping track of passing pilgrims. He had positioned himself at a point where all pilgrims were sure to pass him. Had an interesting record of those who had passed in June and July. Vast majority were Italians who, I suspect, would only have started at the Swiss border at the Col. He was seeing about 10 a day which surprised me as I have only met about 3 or 4 in the whole of France and Switzerland.

Finally reached Aosta just before 5pm, after over 7 hours walking. What an amazing place. Chock full of tourists, shops, bars, restaurants and ice cream parlours. By far the most tourist-oriented place of the Via so far.

Met Keith who is joining me for the next week. After the usual washing of me and my clothes it was out to check out the Roman ruins and have a pizza & beer followed by an ice cream for a fraction of the price in Switzerland. Love it.Read more