Must be getting older … Verrés

Maybe they printed the elevation profile upside down, or maybe I am just getting older. It felt a whole lot harder than it looked on paper. Shade this morning and cooler and I almost felt unusually cheerful. Then the sun moved across the valley and there was less shelter. Okay I had a warm afternoon; but these guys have had a heat wave since May - temperatures averaging 6 degrees above normal.
Corvées: according to tradition, the corvées were obligatory civic activities in which the population performed a given task free of charge to benefit the community as a whole. In this way, maintenance of many public works, especially irrigation canals, roads and paths, was entrusted direcily to those who benefited from them. I am not sure what the councillors were doing while this was happening.
Passed through a cute little town, Montjovet. The Romans dedicated a local temple to Jove. Sections of the Via delle Gallie can still be seen here, at the time wide enough for two wagons to pass. Furrows left by the passage of wagons can be seen on the roadbed.
I am having a beer at a local in Verrés - the smell of diesel and cigarette smoke thick in the air. The locals talk loudly with rough voices, vocal cords charred by years of heavy smoking. The Maes Pilsner was good though. Think I will move on and find dinner elsewhere. I did - met up with a young French couple and we supped together. How nice of them especially as it was their honeymoon.
Real cute artwork on the street walls. Photo.
At this point, Via Francigena intersects withEurope’s walking infrastructure. The path connects Europe, from the North to the Mediterranean sea, from Canterbury to Santa Maria di Leuca, linking the cultures, lands, regions and cities - a total of 3200 km through five countries. 2600 km to go!Read more