Our home was on a busy highway and well off the Via Francigena track, so google maps showed us a nearly non-car road that would cut across a field and join up with our camino track from yesterday. Back along our field track, along the small road through the fir-tree-forest and into the storm-hit village of last night where the council was removing the gravel from the new road that the storm had washed up. [...]
Six kilometres from our final French village, Pontarlier, seemed like a good plan so there wouldn’t be a long strenuous day to finish with tomorrow. Climbing steeply out of our valley home was a great way to start the day. While it is harder and longer than normal, for us it is more enjoyable as there are or may be, little surprises waiting round the corners and there is a need for greater concentration. Around [...]
A wafting mist gazed through our window from the mountain tops replacing the sparks and roars from the night before. A little chill in the air indicating the coming of mountain country enticed us out to walk. The large lumbering river had risen, then fallen half a metre since the storm, meandering through the village as it noisily tumbled over its man-made weirs. Another dis-used railway track awaited our much-used wheels. The track taken however [...]
Two whole floors to ourselves, a covered balcony displaying the sunset, and lovely hosts. They waved us off the next day along a glorious route that none of our guide books referred to. After a longer than normal and hard to navigate route the day before, this option of a shorter way was just what we needed. The high wheat stalks hugged us from both sides of the road as the wind encouraged them to [...]
Would love to spend more time here in Besancon, it seems an interesting place - maybe I just got caught up in a ‘tram city’ which I love. Then there are the steps up over the big hill - many of them, which were on our ‘not to do’ list. Thought it would be a walk in the park, well in one way it was. Moving along early in the cool, following directions, there was [...]
Leaving our vine covered home in this gorgeous tucked away village, reminded me of how lucky I am to be having these experiences, and with my very best friend. So lucky to be walking; so fortunate to have the health that allows me to do this; so rewarded with the views we see, the people we meet, and those emails that you send as you take time to keep us company. Nearly got lost early [...]
We left ‘school’ early in case the kids arrived early, really not sure when they start. The kids I’d say are preschoolers and the building has a large inside activities area rather than a gym with lots of smaller rooms, a large kitchen and shower rooms. What we do know about the older children is that they get bussed around a lot about midday to 2. I imagine, and have heard they go home for [...]
With our busy social life out of the way, it’s back to the hard slog. It’s been raining all night amid the huge light and sound show so there’s a bit of a worry about the state of the track. There’s also a pattern emerging similar to our Swiss experience - it either rains during the night, mid-late afternoon or/and early morning, so walking has been mostly rain free because we dodge it between 8 [...]
No! it wasn’t Veronique who was cooking and singing, it was Serge, while Veronique looked after our welcome beers, aperitifs and wine. It was worth the 2kms walk off track to this now isolated Chambre d’hote, Les Archots. The powers that be have changed the route leaving them isolated from an income as well. A superb location, great hosts seeing immediately to our every need. However, no sleeping for 36kms today so Serge drove us [...]
