Nus to St. Vincent

Climbing down the valley

We did a lot of walking today and somehow didn’t make that much progress. The path today climbed up and down the side of the valley a number of times and was often very tricky. We were also carrying our backpacks for the first time in a few days.

Before we left Aosta we toured the Church of Sant’ Orso which had a beautiful cloisters where each pillar had a different motif. It was another great place in Aosta which has been a really interesting place to stay.

We caught the train to Nus, grabbed a coffee in the bar and restarted the Via. Nus seemed a nice village with lots of community facilities, small shops and a buzzy bar.

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Today's date: 1.9.20

Weather: cloudy

Steps: 32,890

Distance: 18.27 km

Climbing: 462 m

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The first few km were straightforward - the sun shone and the hillsides were covered in vineyards.

There were lots of churches, chapels and crosses which were often far more elaborate than the ones seen higher up the valley.

We stopped in Chambave for a sandwich at lunchtime. The village had lots of Francigena references. The day became very warm, but there are lots of fountains in every village which is really useful as we don’t need to carry much water. There were days in France when we carried 2 or 3 litres of water as there would be nowhere to fill up all day.

The path after lunch ran high above the valley and went through a number of abandoned villages. The path was steep, rocky and narrow. It was easy to imagine how inhospitable the villages would be in winter.

The path eventually descended to Chatillon which has a number of bridges across a steep gorge. We stopped and got a Francigena stamp then walked on to St. Vincent.

The road between Chatillon and St. Vincent is busy and passes lots of larger shops and supermarkets. The valley was very windy where the Aosta valley meets the valley that runs up to Cervinia.

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Hotel Bijou - St. Vincent

St. Vincent describes itself as the Riviera of the Alps. It has thermal baths, casinos, theatres and lots of hotels. It has a promenade and pedestrianised streets and a piazza. There are some interesting sculptures including a ball that turns due to water pressure.

Luckily for us, the cheapest room in town is in a beautiful old hotel on the piazza. We met a pilgrim travelling by bike checking in, but he wasn’t very chatty. He could just be exhausted - bicycle tourers seem to carry so much stuff.

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