Brickwork

This account of our day is going to be relatively brief by my standards, because I’m still a day behind and I just need to write it down as a reminder of what we did.

Up at a civilised hour this morning, we went downstairs for an excellent breakfast, served in the courtyard. Italian breakfast seems very much cake based. I had a croissant far better than any you can buy where we live, and some very fluffy pancakes served with maple syrup or jam, while S went full chocolate with pain au chocolat and a big wedge of brownie. Plus of course excellent cappuccinos. All cheaper and better than the buffet breakfast at the Ibis. I’d stay here again.

After breakfast our favourite mountain guide Lorenzo came and picked us up in his minibus, and then we drove across town to pick up the other four from their Airbnb. Then we headed out of town, first to a massive Benedictine abbey dedicated to St Michael, perched on a rocky outcrop with many steps. It’s a pity it was very overcast and hazy, or the views would have been magnificent. It took us a long time to explore it and then find our way round the labyrinthine route out, so it was 2 pm by the time we reached our placid lunch spot by a lake (extra).

Lorenzo had laid on one of his giant picnics, so we ate well and then headed into the Piedmont, stopping at a ridiculous royal hunting lodge with attached show village. This blip shows one small part of it (brickwork for Arachne). It was a total tourist trap, and very crowded as it’s a public holiday today (anniversary of the founding of the Italian republic in 1946) so we didn’t pay to go in, just had a quick wander down the main street before continuing our journey.

We arrived in Aosta at about 6:30 and checked into our hotel — just time to unpack before going for dinner in the restaurant downstairs. This was an experience — vast, very busy, and done out to look like a log cabin despite being in a hotel built in the 70s. The noise was tremendous. The food was pretty good though, better than you might expect from a place like this. We had what conversation we could amid the racket and then headed for bed, exhausted.