Day 55 San Germano Vercellese to Vercelli – 25th July

Distance: 22.1 km – Elevation +20 m -60 m

Weather: Sunny. Temperature: High 27 degrees

It was a warm night but I slept remarkably well. I was ready to leave at 7.00 am and as I signed the visitor’s book I noticed that Jean Pierre had stayed the previous night. Temperatures were already around 25 degrees when I left and the humidity was probably close to 100 %. Much of today’s walk was via tracks winding through the paddy fields, it was an exhausting and tiring walk as the temperatures rose. It was a sea of green as the paddy fields stretched far into the distance with small flocks of herons and egrets. I passed by seemingly uninhabited small farming units. By the side of one of the tracks was a sad reminder of the Second World War, a memorial to two partisans who had been killed in April 1945, Poncaralo Pierino and Capenzo Domenico, the memorial read: “da essi l’esempio per una piu Sicura Liberta” – which translates as “from them the example for a more secure freedom” I stopped and rested briefly in the only available shade of a rare farm building and struggled to remove my sweat-drenched shirt which was clinging to my body before it was replaced with the only spare shirt I carry with me. I was totally exhausted when I arrived in Vercelli where I found a restaurant on a tree-lined avenue and sat at a table beneath one of the trees. The first order was a large glass of ice-cold beer followed by a very tasty salad. I had booked to stay at the Cerruti Hotel on the outskirts of Vercelli. So after lunch and feeling much refreshed I walked to the hotel, it was much further than I expected along fairly busy roads and I was glad to arrive sometime close to 4.00 pm. It was wonderful to feel the refreshing water of the shower as it washed away the sweat and grime. I washed all my clothes which soon dried on the balcony in the heat of the afternoon sun. Supper this evening was a delicious pasta washed down by a glass or two of excellent Italian wine.