Merran Francigena Day 2

Time for an entry from me. As you might imagine, 3 of us competing for iPad time gets interesting, however, it is probably easier now before Sophie finishes the book she is engrossed in. We are now in day 2 of our pilgrimage. Yesterday morning - only yesterday? - we left Concorezzo at 7:15 am with Maddie. We waited on opposite sides of the road at our respective bus stops and from an SMS Maddie sent us later we were the hot topic of conversation at her bus stop for well over an hour. The general consensus was that we were mad and now, only 2 days in ..... Perhaps they were right! One bus, 2 train rides later found us in Vercelli, a truly beautiful city, in glorious Autumn sunshine. We got our first pilgrim stamps at the Tourist office, grabbed salami and cheese at a Mini marcato, then began our pilgrimage at the simple Basilica of St Andreus. The Basilica incorporated church, cloister and hospital, and seemed a most appropriate place for us to start, with worship, community and healing being close to our hearts this journey. 11 am and we took our first steps, with 837 km before us on our road to Rome. The first day we had hoped to stay in Robbio, giving us an aim of about 20 km to walk, but the only place we could pre-arrange to stay at was at a little village called Nicorvo, a further 6 km on. 30 degree heat and a late start and a slow walker (sorry Tim and Sophia) meant we only got as far as Robbio by 5pm and, as some of my friends will especially appreciate, we 'caught the bus'. The volunteer host at Nicorvo, Francesca, actually came and picked us up, and settled us into our first Pilgrim hostel, an 'ospitale' which we entered through a huge metal gate. Very simple, clean and all we needed, which to be quite honest on a pilgrimage, is not much. For 10 euros each we were treated to macaroni, bread, schnizel, grapes, wine, fizzy water, and an espresso each - a special pilgrim menu. From the guest book, we could see only 27 entries since June 2009, so we are not on a major route. Having decided that we are not on a race, we chose to take a very short day today to give ourselves some time to reflect, settle and focus. 10 km and we arrived in Mortara, lunched at a cafe, then we were here at our accommodation before midday. This place is perfect for pelligrini -pilgrims- large cool room with big tables, and fold up beds, a good laundry sink and rack for outdoor drying of our laundry, and again, very welcoming hosts. We would like to be able to leave a pilgrim blessing on each place as we go, but so far, we seem to be the ones receiving all the kindness from those we meet. Maddie was most insistent that we keep her informed how we are going along the way, and we have relied on her Italian already, as she was the one to let our host know that we were running late yesterday then rang us back to say we would be collected rather than need to catch the train. She has been in touch a few times, making sure we are OK, and maybe this is the beginning of a new era - when the kids start looking out for their dottery parents as they get older. I think she was most relieved that our second day ran more smoothly than our first. Thanks Maddie! So far, I have found the walking with a pack more demanding than I anticipated. We are all a bit footsore, and have found the heat especially challenging. As these comments also reflect ... Quote of the day on Day 1 was from Sophie: I think this will be my first and last pilgrimage. Quote of the day today: it's good to suffer because it will help me through Life (again, from Sophie, with reference to 4 blisters and 800+km to go) But despite the physical challenges, I am really contented and happy, so glad to be doing this journey, and enjoying seeking to stay in the present moment. We've walked past huge maize harvesters, seen pheasants rise from the cornfields, found fresh water from village fountains, picnicked by rivers and slept soundly. Good eh? From Merran.