Etienne, the Belgian Commando!

Thursday 24th May
Etienne, a fellow cycle tourist, from Belgium, came over and introduced himself to me. We had a brief chat and it turned out he was off to the same destination, Cremona, that evening. So when I arrived at Cremona camp site I could see that he had already arrived. I pitched tent, enjoyed a glass of wine with an English couple and then Etienne and I ate at campsite bar. We had a lot of notes to compare, though I realise I am an amateur compared to him. He has cycled the Santiago de Compostella pilgimage twice by different routes.
He told me a great tale when he was a commando in the Belgian army. His unit were posted to the Grampian hills on Scottish borders to do some mortar practice. The weather was very cold with patches of snow about. The commander of the unit saw a white patch in the distance and, thinking it was a patch of snow, told the unit to use that as their target. The unit set about mortaring the white patch. It was only when the local farmer came along to complain that they realised it was in fact a flock of sheep. They were eating mutton for the next week!

Friday 25th May
Although still very hot, I made the sennsible decision of heading north to flat country, so getting the bulk of the miles done before it gets to hot isn't too much of a problem. Etienne and I agreed we would meet up again that evening before we went our separate ways. He was on his way to Rome, while I am just over a day from Bologna and a few days break with "Sweetheart". We met up at Guassala Youth Hostel which was a pleasant enough place, and we enjoyed a good meal together at a nearby club/restaurant. Problem only occurred later when a group of young italians decided to have a party downstairs, so couldn't get to sleep until 2.

Saturday 26th May
Left Guassalla Youth Hostel and enjoyed breakfast in town with Etienne, before saying goodbye, promising to keep in touch by email. Made my way to Cento, thinking I could find camp site or lodging for the night, but couldn't fing anything, so carried on to Bologna Youth Hostel for the night. Looking forward to seeing "Sweetheart" tomorrow.