Patricia and Michel from Belgium hosted us in their 4 room Gite last night. It was a full house where they wine and dined us along with 3 middle aged Frenchmen. Classical music wafted throughout the house as we were welcomed at their table. It was a wonderful night and though they conversed mainly in French, they spent time speaking in broken English for our sake, especially when we had some understanding of their French [...]
Six thousand people attended the service at Villiers-Bretonneux, the site of one of the key battles on the Western Front. The battle saved the town and changed the course of the war. Pascale Boistard, France's secretary of state for women's rights, paid tribute to the contribution of Anzac soldiers. "When the French think about the Anzacs, they think of their courage, and they are eternally grateful," she said. At Villers-Bretonneux, the Anzacs halted the enemy [...]
No bars or cafes for 12kms so what to do, no breakfast supplied today, but we could have cooked in this well organised friendly Gite. These are lodgings which cost between 15 and 30 Euros per night without food. As we walked out foodless into the misty haze, a van pulled in to deliver fresh pastries to the Boulangerie next door - not normally open until well after our starting time. We walked in and [...]
The icy cold has retreated with the welcome cloud cover warming us up and staying with us for the most part of the day. We turned off the track for breakfast after 7kms. After croissants we headed back to the track and 2kms later we were back in the same place. Our big dipper from the second day has turned into roundabouts in the fourth, but good 'things' often happen when the circus is in [...]
We left the spectacular views from yesterday's hilly walk as we prepared for today. Lots of walkers mingled, ate, drank and were loud together. Our news to Brigitte that we were leaving early threw her into a panic but she soon decided to give us our breakfast tonight -fortunate because we couldn't rely on much being open tomorrow, she said. A more gently undulating walk today should make our knees and bursas happy today. Minus [...]
Fortified with last night's meal of local produce - the famous Puy lentils, asparagus and mushroom risotto, a scrumptious pear cake and the discovery that Alphonso 'was' too young to snore, we set off to the pre-dawn chatter of little birds eager to make the most of their daily hour. Up into the hills beyond, alone, at 0 degrees, what a wonderful time of day that we had to travel half way round the world [...]
We crept out of the ancient town as Le Puy slept, its lanterns bringing the cobblestones to life, their worn surfaces telling us of times gone by. Up into the surrounding hills leaving behind echoes of the past, along narrow pathways teetering on the yellow and white bracken covered hillside, and up eroded rocky crevices onto level ground. No soul, just us, the stillness and intermittent warmth from above and a cuckoo bird, our only [...]
No rain, no pain, we're ready to go. I've reconnoitred our route out tomorrow so we're not fooled by the dark - I've seen. We've had Patrick - "I'm not Irish" find our first bed for us - we've talked. We've sat in the Cathedral and received good wishes for the walk - we've listened. I was asked to do a reading in the Cathedral but the church cat can speak better French than me [...]
Before we walk, our journey starts by exploring its beginning in the town of Le Puy en Velay. This is where the pilgrimage begins (I define pilgrims as those walking for spiritual or adventurous reasons or both) so it is important to us to tread the ground of this ancient village prior to our long walk
