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Provincia di Vercelli

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    • Carmel CarlsenVia Francigena - part 2
      6
      2222
      Day 13

      Day 9: Vercelli - rest day

      May 1 in Italy ⋅ 🌧 15 °C

      I've taken my first rest day, and as far as I'm concerned, it's was a day late. I walked five days last year on the VF and then took a rest day, which seemed a little wimpy, so I thought I would see how far I could go this time around before I needed a break and I've come to the conclusion that it's only six days of walking! Vercelli is a terrific place to stop for an extra day - it's a very attractive city. I didn't do a great deal of walking as it was raining, and I wasn't willing to share the Great Pumpkin with this world. It's May Day here, and I was treated to the town band in a square nearby, and the bell tower behind my accommodation tolled the most delightful tune this morning. I then popped into a church (Paul the Apostle) and sat through mass - there was the most beautiful singing; even a hymn I knew! After that, I visited a most beautiful church (Saint Bernardo and Santuaries of our Lady of the sick), the Basilica of Saint Andrea (the first Abbot is recorded at 1226!) and they appear to have a copy of the Magna Carta on display! My last church was the Cathedral of Saint Andrea. I gave up after that as the rain got too heavy.Read more

    • Carmel CarlsenVia Francigena - part 2
      2
      242214
      Day 12

      Day 8: Santhià to Vercelli

      April 30 in Italy ⋅ ☁️ 24 °C

      The most positive thing I have to say about today is that the terrain was mostly flat and that the weather was terrific. The most appropriate word to use to describe the walk (27.9 km) would be monotonous. At one point, I abandoned the Way and took to the main road so that I could avoid rambling through yet more farmland - which shaved a good few km off the length of the walk (about 30 km). The farm houses along the way were of no structural interest, and you can only take so much of tilled earth fields or water soaked paddocks before you are over them. Funnily enough, I had toyed with the idea of taking the train from Santhià to Vercelli because of how spent I'd been the day before. I'm not saying I wish I had, as there were some real highlights to the day, but I am saying that if you were to take the train, you wouldn't be missing much. I met a really lovely couple in the village of San Germano Vercellese, and while we were chatting in the park, two pilgrims doing the VF in reverse came by. Their end point is Lausanne. Now for the highlights: unbelievably, the church was open this morning before 8 am! I was so glad I checked on my way out of town. Again, I had to help myself to light up the crypt (Saint Stefano), and it was worth seeing. The next two highlights happened when I was walking on the main road: I saw what I believe is a marmot as the tail was thin (I now know this to be a Coypu) swimming in the Naviglia di Ivrea, and I startled a snake in the grass on the roadside! It was about 1/2 a metre in length and may have been a barred grass snake, which is non venomous, but it set my heart pounding! No photos, I'm afraid.Read more

    • Italia 2024
      2
      2221134
      Day 14

      Day 3 - Milan (Duomo)

      August 26 in Italy ⋅ ⛅ 24 °C

      This morning we went up to the top and inside the Milan Duomo (Cathedral). As you will see from the pics, it’s the most incredible structure inside and out. This afternoon we are making the one hour train trip out to Turin (separate post).Read more

    • Carmel CarlsenVia Francigena - part 2
      4
      2422
      Day 11

      Day 7: Viverone to Santhià

      April 29 in Italy ⋅ ☁️ 21 °C

      I woke this morning and no rain! What a difference a day makes. There were some clouds, but it was mostly a sunny walk (19.01 km) through woodland, tree lined roads, open roads (dirt, stones and tar), tree bordered fields, even one canal (Canali Cavour), and more serious agricultural properties as I got closer to Santhià. As my accommodation didn't start breakfast until 9:30 am, I was very kindly driven ("no need for a seatbelt") to a pasticceria so that I could eat something in the morning. However, I only had a croissant and coffee for breakfast, and it really made a difference to my stamina, and my daily food supplies couldn't cover the difference. I am exhausted! However, I got into Santhià in the early afternoon, so I made a beeline for my accommodation, and after a refreshing shower and change; I attempted to visit the church. No luck! I couldn't get in! I was disappointed as Saint Agata is the patron Saint of those who have recovered from breast cancer, and apparently, the images of her story are quite compelling. One funny story; I'd washed out my things and put them on the line in the sun. When I went to check on them, my undies were gone! A really lovely lady in the same compound had taken them by mistake! She apologised and invited me for coffee. Which I would have had if I had known the church would be locked! I'm currently sitting outside a bar having a lovely beer. Oh, and a bonus: I got two mandarins, obviously just off the tree, from a little fruit shop as I was walking along. One last thing; I saw a lot of pilgrims today, all going in the opposite direction. I can only assume they are doing the Cammino di Oropa.Read more

    • Italia 2024
      44
      Day 14

      Day 3 - Milan (trip to Turin)

      August 26 in Italy ⋅ ⛅ 27 °C

      Today after visiting the Milan Duomo, we took the train out to Turin. Turin is a very beautiful town, and being the first capital of Italy after unification you can see its regal history everywhere. We took in many of the sights including going up the Mole Antonelliana tower. We got magnificent views from the top and they have cleverly turned the lower floors into a museum of cinematic history, which was brilliant (see separate post). Of course you can’t visit Turin without seeing the shroud of Turin. They only bring out the original a couple of times a century but took pics of the print and bought some merch!Read more

    • Klapfi on TourJasi und Tim auf Weltreise
      2
      Day 1–2

      Lago di Viverone

      February 8 in Italy ⋅ ☁️ 8 °C

      Um 03:45 Uhr war es bereits Zeit mit einem Holdrio (Hagenbuttentee mit Schuss) aufzustehen; Es geht an die Lozärner Fasnacht!

      Als Pirat (Coni), Datenkraken (Laurin), Gemüsemetzger (Tim) und Verschlafene (Jasi) quetschten wir uns in den immer überfüllteren Bus richtung Zentrum.

      Wider Laurins Ankündigung, dass sich der Start rauszögern wird, kam es schnurstracks zum Urknall und der Fritschivater inklusive Umzug begab sich zum Brunnen. Kurz darauf startete der Fötzeliregen und wir machten uns auf den Weg zu Laurins Stand.

      Nach gut sechs Stunden Fasnacht und einigen Vodka-Mates begaben wir uns mit Coni zurück in ihre Wohnung. Es war Zeit für Ramen und einen Powernap. Wir wachten mit dem Wecker um 13:00 Uhr auf.

      Mit dem Klapfi fuhren wir in die Stadt um uns von Jasmins Eltern zu verabschieden. Nach einer guten halben Stunde, welche wir mit ihnen am Bahnhof verbrachten, war es Zeit aufzubrechen.

      Nun ging die grosse Reise los!
      Erster Stopp: Menton, Frankreich

      Google Maps ermittelte den schnellsten Weg; durch Italien :)) Jasmin fuhr los.

      Nach dem Gotthardtunnel gab es den letzten Einkauf in der Schweiz: Migros IceTea, Bündnerfleisch und zwei Win4Life. Ab da an fuhr Tim weiter.

      Nach einem sehr mühsamen Stau vor der italienischen Grenze sowie der Erkenntnis, dass man mit 80 km/h doch fast doppelt mal länger haben als mit voller Geschwindigkeit entschieden wir uns bereits in Viverone, Italien zu übernachten weil es auf halber Strecke zu Menton lag.

      Um Kosten zu sparen entschieden wir uns für die letzten zwei Stunden auf Mautstrassen zu verzichten. Leider haben wir in der Hektik auch Autostrassen abgewählt. Dies führte uns durch ganz viele kleine Dörfer mit den dazugehörigen 1001 Kreiseln.

      Mit dem Einbruch der Dunkelheit schweiften unsere Gedanken zum Abendessen und wir realisierten, dass wir für unseren Griechischen Salat noch Senf und Tartar in der Tube benötigen. Der nächstgelegene, bald schliessende Laden hatte beides, jedoch überzeugten uns die Angebote nicht wirklich. Wir fuhren zum Lidl und stellten fest, dass sie keine Tartarsauce verkaufen. So wurde es Senf im Glas :D

      Endlich erreichten wir den See von Viverone, welchen wir mit Park4Night entdeckten. Viverone wirkte auf uns wie ein typischer Sommerort, komplett ausgestorben im Februar. Somit hatten wir einen direkten Platz am See.

      Da es noch immer regnete, wie den ganzen Tag bereits, stellten wir weder die Markise noch unseren Outdoor-Essbereich auf. Wir assen im Auto und tranken ein Gläschen Rosé.

      Durch die lange Fahrt, die etwas kühleren Temperaturen und den permanenten Regen schlugen auf Jasmins Gemütslage, weshalb wir uns für ein zeitiges Schlafengehen entschieden.

      Die Nacht verlief unter Berücksichtigung der einzelnen vorbeifahrenden Autos eher ruhig, dennoch wurde man gelegentlich wach.

      Einnahmen: 0.00 €
      Ausgaben: 101.80 €
      - Übernachtung: 1.20 €
      - Benzin: 80.00 €
      - Supermarkt: 12.00 €
      - Maut: 8.60 €      Read more

      See translation
    • TravelerVia Francigena with Liam
      21
      Day 43

      Stage 62: Santhià

      August 16 in Italy ⋅ 🌙 64 °F

      We did it! We made it to the end of this year’s section of the Via Francigena! We started in Brienne-le-Château and finished here in Santhià. Hopefully when I return next year I’ll make it to Rome.

      Today was a nice day. Less than 10 miles through farmlands. We saw our first ricefield and later learned this area is where a lot of rice is cultivated.

      We were admiring a hanging pumpkin when we realized our heads were almost touching a huge spider. Yikes!

      And of course we enjoyed the Elf forest. 🧝‍♀️🧝‍♀️🧝‍♀️

      For our last evening Thomas asked Sandro and Jean to meet us for dinner. It was a mash-up of French, Italian and English and a wonderful way to fête the end of this year’s adventure.      Read more

    • Carmel CarlsenVia Francigena - part 2
      9
      Day 10

      Day 6: Ivrea to Viverone

      April 28 in Italy ⋅ ☁️ 13 °C

      I had the most incredible meal last night. It was a tasting menu with pasta as the star. I made it through the first eight courses, all small servings (anchovies, three types of sliced cured pork, vegetables in tomato sauce, blue cream cheese on celery, baked cornmeal, beets, an eggplant dish with some small frittatas, and a really refreshing shaved radish dish) but, I could not eat anything more and had to skip the made on-site pasta! I left Ivrea early, but not before I gave the castle a quick once over (what I could see from the outside) and checked out the cathedral (Cattedrale di Santa Maria Assunta). The cathedral was pretty dark with only very minimal lighting - luckily, there was natural light coming in from the high windows. Honestly, I felt lucky that it was even open before 8 am (though it is Sunday here). I managed to find the light switch for the crypt for Saint Gaudentius (the first bishop of Novara), but not until after I had walked around in there with my phone torch, and then I managed to get some photos of the beautiful art work from the 12th century. It rained the entire walk today, which has not bothered me anywhere near as much as it did last year. Now that I have the Great Pumpkin, I'm not stressed about keeping my front pockets dry, and the rain wasn't hard. The Way today (24.59 km) was more rural; trailing through small villages, along pathways around farm houses, and through vineyards. It really was quite lovely. My only complaint is that it got cold. Again, I had a hike to get to my accommodation, and again, it was worth it. I saw two VF Pilgrims today and could only exchange "buen camino" as we had no common language and met up with a young person who is doing the Cammino di Oropa over the next three days. She was lovely.Read more

    • Carmel CarlsenVia Francigena - part 2
      224222
      Day 9

      Day 5: Pont-Saint-Martin to Ivrea

      April 27 in Italy ⋅ ☁️ 11 °C

      My accommodation last night was wonderful. My host drove me higher up the mountains to a place called Barmet so that I could eat dinner in a fabulous restaurant. The staff drove me back home! I have now left the beautiful Aosta Valley and am in the Piedmont region. Today's walk (26.94 km) was almost entirely joy filled. The scenery was picturesque and the waymarkers plentiful. I was just complimenting myself on not getting off track once, after passing yet another waymarker, when I checked the VF App to see how much farther the end point was, to discover to my horror, I was no where near the route! I backtracked, took a local path, and rejoined the Way! Oh, and it's official; I hate cobblestones! My calves are aching, and my hip is sore! Not to mention my poor feet. Also, it rained again today. A light rain; nothing dramatic - just cold really. The Great Pumpkin is serving me well.Read more

    • Herbsturlaub 2024
      2
      Day 3

      Auf einen Cappuccino nach Novara

      October 6 in Italy ⋅ ☁️ 17 °C

      Kurz nachdem wir links abgebogen sind, wie es das Wetterorakel gefordert hat, geht's in Richtung Alpen.

      Sehr angenehm ist die Temperatur im Tunnel, den wir nutzen, um die Alpen zu durchfahren... 27 Grad, wir überlegen kurz, ob wir einfach hier übernachten sollen...

      Kurz danach landen wir in Novara, genauer gesagt in Vicolungo.

      Wir haben Pech (ääähm, Glück), das "Vicolungo the Style Outlets" hat bis 20 Uhr offen...

      Da wir Brot brauchen, gehen wir da kurz hin.

      (Anmerkung Christian: Wenn ihr bis 22 Uhr nichts von mir gehört habt, könnte bitte jemand kommen und mich retten?)      Read more

      See translation

    You might also know this place by the following names:

    Provincia di Vercelli, Verceil, Vercelli

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