We hiked part of the Via Francigena, the pilgrimage route to Rome, through Valle d’Aosta, from Aosta to Santhia. And it was beautiful.

It is special to walk all day, through beautiful surroundings, and arrive at a new place at the end of the afternoon. And the next day, after breakfast, the colazione, to leave again. Being on the move, moving. Slowly the landscape changes. We walk over fallen prickly balls of the tame chestnuts.We walk past vegetable gardens, with courgettes and pumpkins. A lady offers us her freshly picked grapes. Small encounters. We walk through old vineyards laid out on terraces. And again and again there are small villages with their medieval churches. And the castles are located on strategically located heights. It is old country with a rich history.

The days seem longer when you walk, time expands. It is simple living, but intense living. The senses seem sharper; you see and smell and feel… And you feel strong. Even if you get tired at the end of the journey and long for a beer at the destination of that day, you know that you can do more than you thought and that you can still walk those last kilometers. And when you have arrived and are warmly welcomed, when you have showered and had a drink, then the fatigue quickly disappears.

The entire route is marked with signs and arrows, making it easy to find your way. Along the route are ostellos, inns where you can spend the night cheaply, but there are fewer of them than along the Camino’s in Spain. And we were already out of season. The ostello’s we passed were closed. We opted for hotels or B&B’s. There are restaurants that offer a ‘menu de peregrino’. Two courses including bread, water and a carafe of wine. Polenta is a commonly eaten part of the meal. Pasta seems more for lunch.

There were not many other hikers. It only became busier at the weekend with Italians walking part of the route on days off.

Earlier we walked a small part of the Via Francígena, from Lucca to Sienna. Cherry Picking I called it. And I can also call this trajectory that way.
The route is centuries old and starts in Canterbury. The route in Italy starts on the Col du Grand-Saint-Bernard and descends the mountain, via Echevennoz to Aosta. We started the walk in Aosta, and after returning we walked the route from Echevennoz.
We prepare a trip, are already figuring things out at home, but when we are there it is always different than we had imagined. And this time it was more beautiful, more varied. Wonderfull.
The weather played a major role in this. On the journey to Aosta it rained, it was gray and foggy. But the first day of hiking, the clouds cleared and the rest of the week the sky was clear and blue and we had a view of the majestic snow-capped mountain peaks.

Because Aosta is close to Courmayeur on the TMB, we drove there by car to enjoy the view of Mont Blanc.

Some place names on the way: Aosta – Nus/Fenis – Saint Vincent – Chatillon – Verres – Plout – Pont Saint Martin – Ivrea – Viverone – Roppolo – Cavaglia – Santhia + Echevennoz

lees ook: https://froukefeijen.wordpress.com/2019/03/22/cherry-picking/

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