I slept in this morning until 8:00 a.m. (don’t remember the last time I slept that late) and enjoyed a planned day of rest, reading, writing and reflection. I spent more time in my personal journal today (vs. blog) recounting my week and reflecting on the communal nature of this country and the strong sense of interdependence that is apparent here. That interdependence is steeped in a long tradition of community practices, in everything from city planning (think piazzas) to regional identity to gathering over common practices as simple as coffee and meals (& wine, of course). I’m as independent as one may be (celebrating our uniqueness, self-reliant, etc.) but I confess I see the harm in it the older I get. An interdependence is evident in this country and it is very attractive. Perhaps more about that on another day. For now, let’s move on to my day.

After waking, I ate breakfast downstairs at the common kitchen of this B&B and then wandered over to Piazza Cavour to grab a cappuccino, journal and read a bit.

I found myself in a loud crowd of people enjoying their conversations, not because I understood them but, perhaps because I couldn’t. I noted a strong, strange peace being in this crowd of humans I couldn’t understand. I guess a human form of white noise would be the most apt analogy. It was powerful enough I used a seldom used feature of my journaling app – recording. I recorded 1 minute and 14 seconds of a sea of conversations in Italian because it was a very comforting sound.

After reading and writing for a bit, I went back to my B&B room, ate lunch and took a nap.

After my nap, I walked a few blocks to a laundromat to wash my clothes (I wash them each day with laundry sheets, but they need a thorough cleaning each week).

After washing and folding my clothes, I made my way back to my room and spoke to my lovely bride back home in the States.

To close out my day, I enjoyed a Barbera from the region and a traditional, meager pilgrim’s rations to fuel tomorrow’s journey to Mortara.

Packing List

What does a 55-year old man pack for a trek through Italy, you ask? Ideally, as little as possible.

After training hikes started on June 2, I began trial packing my backpack as well and developed my “essentials” packing list, discarding things like binoculars and lacrosse balls (for working out sore muscles in my back and hips) and remembering to include things like toilet paper and ibuprofen. Below are the contents of my 40L Gregory backpack: