More than expected

It was an “easy” walk today. Up a valley alongside a reservoir and return the same way. Outwards it certainly seemed pretty easy. Through woods, then out into a lovely alpine meadow, where we eventually stopped and had Lorenzo’s “snack” — a sandwich of ham and cheese, and then fruit, including dried mango strips and medjool dates which S and I had bought in Carrefour. It was getting late, so we decided to go back at this point. Strangely the path that had seemed flat, with just a gentle rise, on the way there had transformed itself into a winding roller coaster of ups and downs. It went on and on — I was soon trailing at the back, and my heart sank every time we turned a corner and another climb came into view.

Still, we made it back to the car park eventually. 11 km and 150 metres of climbing, more than we expected on both counts. Off we went to another picnic park for a late picnic. We’d planned to spend most of the afternoon exploring Aosta. It was so late that Lorenzo ended up dropping us directly in Aosta, then he and S went back to the hotel (for a short siesta in S’s case).

We split up in town — I went on a mission to buy a stamp in order to send a postcard to Aunt B. I’m sure there was a simpler way of buying one than queueing in the post office for 20 minutes, but at least they had a ticket system and chairs for the queue. I spent much of the time repeating to myself the word for stamp. Then I got to the counter and forgot it. Luckily the very nice lady spoke French.

I then bought honey, including some from the valley we were in yesterday, and wandered around taking photos. Aosta is very touristy, with lots of designer shops. Extra: the very attractive main square with the Hôtel de Ville — yes, many signs and business names are in French here.

We all met for a quick aperitivo, thence to a restaurant with more typical Aostan dishes. I had a cheesy risotto with pears and walnuts in it which I enjoyed. Back to the hotel relatively early, we were all tired.