Cismon del Grappa – Bassano del Grappa April 30

There were a few thunderstorms during the night but in the morning the skies were blue. This was the view from my window

After farewelling Paula who runs the Albergo alla Posta in Cismon and who cooked me a satisfying dinner last night, I set of to buy my daily provisions .

I crossed back across the rickety foot bridge and headed off once more down the valley. There must be a local meteorological effect as the there were still clouds where I had seen them this morning from my bedroom window.

After some kilometres on asphalt roads, the pathway for the rest of the day followed closely the Brenta River. It was a very pleasant day.

Poppies

A village along the way

Another photo taken through my sun glasses .

At the pretty little town of Valstagna there was a kayak slalom course.

You can just see two kayaks in his photo.

It was interesting to see an electric car charging point in the middle of nowhere but it was near what looked like a hydro electric plant and sponsored by an electricity company.

By the time I got to Bassano, the tiny stream I started following 3 days ago had grown into a quite large river . This is Bassano’s beach.

The old bridge at Bassano was originally designed by the architect Palladio in 1567 but it’s been repaired and rebuilt many times due to flood damage.

The bridge became quite famous during and after World War One as a symbol of the Alpini (mentioned in a previous post Trento – Borgo Valsugana 28 April). There’s a famous song about an Alpino and his girl friend kissing goodbye on the bridge

There are a few grappa distillers in town including Nardini who use the bridge on their label

Here are a few views of the town.

Dried cod is a traditional favourite.

Bassano is also well known for its ceramics.

and its asparagus.

Tomorrow I head further down along the Brenta