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After breakfast with the other guests, we had a closer look around and admired the church with its magnificent roof,
the chapel in the crypt, and various other details in the stairwell.
Setting out, we crossed the border to Italy, pausing at the Swiss border for a photo opportunity.
The morning was crisp and clear, and the sky and lake were blue, and despite the cold a fish stuck its nose of the water to say hello.
Everything was eerily quiet, with no sign of the hordes of tourists that no doubt are there in the summer,
and after admiring the statue of Napoleon on his horse, we set off by way of a steep short-cut
rather than simply walking down the road. Meeting the road again, we crossed over to a long stone ramp leading down
to an easier gradient across the moor land to the former hospice of Fonteinte. From there hillside paths led us
downhill towards the tree line, with spectacular views of the road winding below us.
After a lunch break at a stone construction seemingly to do with water collection, we continued down to the village of Borgo,
which was deserted, despite indications that pilgrims were welcome, although we could look around the open church.
We continued downhill on a pleasant track to the edge of St.Rhemy-en-Bosses, where we found a welcoming table for pilgrims;
with information and a stamp illustrating that we had descended nearly 1000m and were 20km from Aosta and 1008 km from Rome;
apparently this village is one of the starting points in Italy for the Via Francigena, with a bus stop
on the bus route between Aosta and Martigny.
We continued on a little way to the small village of St. Leonard, where we had reserved a room.
Unfortunately the restaurant in the building was closed, but the friendly host's father ferried us 10 minutes by car to a restaurant
in Etroubles, where we could celebrate Sue's birthday in style.
