It seems odd, yet this was our third time here. In Fall 2023 we arrived to bgin the Chemin de St Jacques. It was hot. The Chemin was crowded. So we left to spend a week in the Dordogne. We came back, but just for the night. Now here we were to commence La Régordane. While we didn’t need a full day in Le Puy it’s a good thing we had it. Charlie had come down with a cold in Paris and needed a recovery day.

I explored and found a wonderful park.

We attended the Pilgrim Mass the morning of the 14th – yesterday.

It was a bit of walking on pavement leaving Le Puy which then morphed into Le Puy en Vals before leaving city behind for a long, I mean looooong, uphill climb. Most of the day was uphill until a long, rocky decent.

We walked through pine forest, paths lined with a glorious assortment of wild flowers, and fields of rapeseed.

Our lodging for the night was in an apartment in an old stone barn. Dinner in the home with another couple from Orleans staying there – not hikers. Had a dinner of local food, sausage and paté from Viviane ‘s brother, salad from her garden, Le Puy green lentils, local cheeses, flan. A feast, in other words. Best sausage ever! Also a really strong mustard that puts Grey Poupon to shame. Gotta have it!

Slept well. Those old stone barns converted into living spaces retain heat well. As opposed to tonight’s room which is cold!

I’ve always been attracted by doors and windows.  France provides plenty to ogle in that regard. Yesterday we searched out 2 doors in particular that were written about in Paris vous aime, a free magazine that I pick up at the airport. I enjoy the articles and tips on restaurants,  etc though rarely do we follow up on any. Plus, it’s bilingual.

Happened upon these two in our neighborhood this morning.

Meanwhile in Saint-Chappelle…

On the outside, framing the doors,  are carved images that will be familiar.

We walked by the Louvre on the way to the Tuileries garden.

We went to dinner at a nice restaurant last night on the Île Saint-Louis. The blanquette de veau tasted of cream and lemon. The veal ever so tender. The carrots, mushrooms, and onions meltingly smooth. I’d never had it before, and now plan to make it at home. We both started with the endive, walnut, blue cheese salad. Delicious. Curios how endive is so common here, but so expensive in the States. Same with veal. It’s hardly ever on a menu at home. Maybe that’s just Albuquerque.

We had 3.5 pretty perfect Paris days. Ed started getting sneezy and stuffy so we took it easy today. Yesterday,  something in the air was making me sneeze and feel like something was in my throat,  making me cough, but only in the morning. Today it got to my eyes, but only in the afternoon. Maybe cottonwood. I did see some by the Seine and fluff was floating around.

Other than that, we’re good and looking forward to being in Le Puy en Velay tomorrow.

À bientôt !

PS We’ve averaged 8 miles a day, with a high of 11 yesterday.

During our travels, we are occasionally surprised by chancing upon a novel festival that is unique to the area we visit.  In Portugal, we celebrated with the residents of Viana do Castelo the 750th anniversary of the city’s founding.  In Argentina, we happened on the 50th annual Fiesta del Queso.  We wondered how much you can really celebrate cheese and had a wonderful time with rodeos, parades, meat, beer, and music.   We hardly even saw any cheese.

Due to our rescheduled flight, we had an extra day tracked on to the front of our brief visit to Paris.   That day actually was concurrent with what was once known as VE Day in the US and by other various names among our former WWII allies .  This year marked 80 years since the German capitulation.  It is such a significant milestone that even the Germans are celebrating.   It was so significant that many ancillary events were scheduled,  one of which is a small but popular festival regarding a cultural element for which the French are renowned.

I would like to report that the Fete de Cognac et Armagnoc was a grand time.  Unfortunately, such an event did not occur,  though I believe there is much demand for it.   No,  the festival we encountered was the Fete de Pain, not the kind of pain we would have had following a long day of sampling Cognac, but bread.  

Once again, we questioned just how much enthusiasm could be mustered over bread,  and though I can not admit to being enthused,  it was somewhat interesting during the brief period we attended.

There were competitive events involving masters of the varying styles of bread and pastries.  There were displays and sampling of bread from around the world.   There were educational exhibits on preparation of grains,  flours, doughs,  etc.

Here are a few photos of the event.

Here’s how this leg of the trip, RI to Paris, started: our flight on 5.8 was canceled.  Charlie received a message on the 7th, around noon. We then had a choice of flights that night at 7, 7:20, or 10:20. Given we still had laundry to do and get from Jamestown to  Boston,  we elected the 10:20 flight. That meant a change of seats. We were in the last row. Still the flight was fine and I slept more than I usually do on a transatlantic flight. I watched Conclave – also mixed review. Maybe I’ll write about it later.

Highlights of yesterday after arriving at the hotel at 2pm. We went directly to Notre Dame. A horde of people,  a line a mile long. Plus a crowd vying to buy breads and pastries at a large tent.

Early May and Paris is hopping. Every tourist boat is full.

We couldn’t get skip-the-line tickets for Notre Dame, so opted to walk around. Visited Shakespeare and Company bookstore/reading room, founded by Sylvia Beach, and frequented by Ernest Hemingway, James Joyce (Sylvia was first to publish Ulysses), and other literary luminaries.

We wound our way back to the Cathedral-just in time for 6pm mass. No line! Heard about the white smoke in Rome. Got to tour at leisure. It’s beautiful-not too dazzling white as some have claimed. No weird lighting as others wrote.

Today, May 9, I took photos of the outside.

Yesterday we discovered Le Tour de Saint-Jacques, a traditional starting point for the Chemin.

We returned to the Plaza in front of the Cathedral by mid-day today and didn’t have a long wait in line to get bread from the best boulangers in Paris. Yesterday there was a competition. Unfortunately I don’t know who won. But the croissant (buttery, flaky) sandwich au jambon, pain au chocolat, and brownie were scrumptious. We sat by the Seine in the sun for lunch.

Just behind us on a wall we saw this:

In the afternoon we went for beer at Scilicet (Latin, meaning namely) also by the Seine.

Okay. Aside from the canceled flight, the only other negative is our hotel for these next 3 nights. So noisy. And breakfast 5€ more than last night’s hotel, which also had a bigger room, a queen bed, and was quiet. So now we have this comparison. The place we booked last minute is so much better than what we booked months ago. It has good reviews but it won’t get one from me.

Other than that disappointment,  it’s been great! Really loving Paris this go round, after not liking it so much in July ’24. That’s a nice surprise. I’m reminded that I wasn’t so pleased with Budapest in July.  Lesson: stay out of big cities in July!

And now it’s almost midnight, so I should try to get some sleep.

À plus!