Fried frogs and search for accommodation

In the morning I wake up and wonder where the hell I am. There is an enormous noise in my room. Well, of course I left the window open because it is so warm and the room has no air conditioning. And under my window there is the main street where they race through at full speed. That’s why I’m already on the road again at half past six in the morning. Today I walk about 22 kilometers to Vercelli, a bigger town. On the way I see one thing above all: rice fields. It’s a pretty monotonous story, but still beautiful and relaxing. You can hang out there and get lost in thought..

Rane fritte and students

Soon I reach my destination for today, the town of Vercelli, one of today‘s biggest rice hotspots and famous for its cuisine. One of the famous (notorious) dishes is Rane fritte – fried frogs. There are many legends about this dish. One says that hundreds of years ago, pilgrims were asked to collect the numerous frogs around the rice fields. They then had to hand them over to the monastery and they were prepared by the gourmet monks. The city is also famous for its university – the first in Piedmont (1228).

Overnight stay in the hostel

I have booked a room. It is on the outskirts of the town and so I decide to look for something else. This is not so easy because accommodation is quite expensive. I am certainly not willing to pay 70 euros or more . So I decide to stay at a hostel again, which I did not do for quite a while. The hosts are very nice and really take care of their guests. The whole thing works on a donation basis. But – how much should one give? And then they would love to have dinner with you. But I don’t like that. I‘d like to feel the flair of the town, and I’m not so keen on intimacy.