There is a truism of long-distance walking. The first week, one gets to know one’s body; the second week, one gets to know one’s mind and emotions; the third week, one gets to know one’s spirit.

As I near moving into my second week, this truism may or may not fit me completely. Because of my chest-cold, I not only walk, I am also moving by other means. Yesterday, since the Ivrea tourist office unsuccessfully found me a bus to my next destination, I contributed to the support of the local taxi association. Expensive, but a day of non-walking. A day of letting my body rest. A day of getting to know something other than my body!

I have left the mountains and the piedmont. Wonderful sites and views. Because I kept wanting one last look at what I passed, I need one of those cyclist small rear view mirrors. How many castles do we see in north Georgia?

Today, I passed numerous small farming villages. I can tell that I’ve entered the area that feeds into the Po River valley. I’ve already passed a dozen irrigation channels. More to come.

For those of you who know that I love Japanese maples, I even passed a small Japanese maple nursery. Since I’m too far to look at the leaves closely, I can only recognize the Sango Kaku with the red new-growth stems. Nice!

I’ll have more to say as I allow my mind to process, always slowly for me, other features of the walk. I still can’t help but notice the vegetation similar to north Georgia (ferns, Hawthorne, rhododendrons). I’m still visiting ever church I pass; I still am taking photos of every bench and interesting sign that I pass; I still ask, or don’t ask, local individuals if I may snap their photo; and today, the Oregon couple Laurel and Dave, the only other Via Francigena walkers that I’ve met got to have coffee together! Thanks, next time my treat!

If you are interested, my itinerary is as follows: Santhia (tonight), Vercelli, Nicorvo, Garlasco, Pavia (St. Augustine’s final resting place), San Colombano, Piacenza, Fiorenzuloa d’Arda, and Fidenza. There’s more, but I can only type so many Italian town names.

Thanks for reading! Blessings