Day 20 - Pont St Martin to Vercelli (Saturday 15 September)

(69 kms)
Distance from Canterbury: 1236 kms Distance to Rome: 838 kms
Garmin Record: http://connect.garmin.com/activity/233174612
A comfortable day but not spectacular in any way. I have now moved out of the valleys and mountains onto flat plains. Not a lot to see, some farmland, mostly corn, and a fair amount of industry. I did stop at a lake in Viverone for a drink and a rest. The area is pretty and pleasant and a fun place for people who like boating and fishing.

As it was a short day and I  had an early start, I was in Vercelli by lunchtime. I'm pleased as I now have made up the lost day. I found a produce market in the city centre, bought some fruit and of course Gelato (I love Italian ice-cream) and meandered around a bit. It was my intention to stay at one of the three monastries on my list. It took me a while of riding around until a kind receptionist in a hotel gave me a map and marked them for me. As luck would have it, they're all in different parts of the city and I chose the order of visit....  the first two had closed down so by the time I reached the third one, a convent, it was already late in the afternoon. Anyway here I am in a somewhat sadly in need of maintenance convent but I have a room, the lady who runs the accommodation for pilgrims has been friendly and helpful and I've been out for a pizza and a beer so life is good.

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