25km Flat And WET.
We rise and since it’s Sunday the bad boys were not up. So breakfast was delayed for 5km to a café crammed with the local post mass crowd. Just down the road still in Gropello Carolli there is a church dedicated to St Rocco our saint with the dog and the bad leg. Mass is still in progress so we limit our visit to the outside. Though we would probably have been welcome.
In the evening yesterday we ate with the lads they had cooked and shared their pasta and fish fingers with us. It was great and very welcome if a bit loud with them shouting Italian names at us, the only one any of us recognised was a motor cyclist by Ray why you may well ask. No one reacted to the name of a famous mafioso!
Having met some other pilgrims in the second cafe in Villanova d’Ardeghi we walk a while with a one paced Dutchman discussing Brexit. But eventually leave him behind in the rain when we encounter a very wet path down the bank of the river Ticino. We get a beer out of the rain in a bar, which would be in a great position if not for the rain.
Continuing down the Ticino we see Common Terns. This comes as a suprise to us but apparently they nest communally up the Po which we cross in 2days time and into which the Ticino flows.
Crossing the Ticino into Pavia seems a major event across the reconstructed Ponte Coperto bridge a copy of the 14thC covered bridge bombed by the allies in WW2. A bride is having wedding photos taken on it in the rain. We feel for her, but .there is a pizzaria just at the far end into which we fall gratefully for lunch.
On exit Tim spots that the gellateria next door does timbros. It is enough of an excuse for Betsy who is feeling a bit gellato deficient. Two half price gellato (pilgrim rates they normally offer water but all felt there was enough outside) and we are on our way through Pavia dropping in on the Basilica with some fine stone carvings of various ages.
We find the apartment easily rented for the night via Booking.com. We use the hot shower gratefully and are amused it has now stopped raining!