On the trail

I was glad to get out of Paris and on the road. My late arrival in Le Puy en Velay meant I didn't have much time to look around but wandering the streets to find my gite d'etape (hostel) showed me how beautiful the cities were going to be in the countryside. I somehow walked right up to the gite in an old cobblestoned (what we would consider) alleyway behind the cathedral. There was a nice stone courtyard and the people were very accommodating. I slept in a cubicle with a bed, chair and closet. The next morning, early (7 am) we attended a pilgrim's mass at the cathedral, received a blessing and a pendant and were sent on our pilgrimage. The cathedral was very interesting being up on top of a high hill (the whole town was more hilly than anything in the northern Hills). A grate in the floor opened up to become a stairway to the front doors of the church and the stairs just kept on going. This church was dedicated to the black virgin Mary. They also had a stone that the Virgin is said to have appeared upon, in a nave off the main church.

Walked down through the main street of Le Puy meeting up with people as I went. I walked alone for some time, preferring to follow behind so I could look at things as I went. Once out of town there were farms everywhere. Livestock are grazed in small sections fenced off with electric wires. Sheep and cows and horses. The barns they have around here are stupendous (very pretty for barns) and as I moved through the countryside it was common to see the barn extended to and attached to a living quarters of the same stonework. Old style farmhouses. Sometimes these beautiful and old homes were in small towns of half a dozen homes.

The wildflowers are blooming everywhere. It has been extremely warm since I arrived. But the humidity here makes everything very lush and green. First I noticed lots and lots of dandelions in the fields. Then as I proceeded along there appeared a greater and greater variety of wildflowers. Moss grows ten or more feet up trees in the deep valleys of creeks. There are few bugs except where there are cows. But I saw a number of black slugs, about 4 inches long.

Stayed the first night in Montbonnet in a nice gite and met a Canadian couple. Travelling with them somewhat now. They speak some French and have been very helpful. I'm taking lots of photos of roadside crosses and the small Romanesque and Gothic churches in every small town. It's very interesting. More on that later.

Today was extremely foggy and rained a bit. It has grown very cool especially compared to yesterday. The change has been appreciated after sweating up and down huge hills yesterday. It is supposed to clear and be cooler tomorrow. It was hard to see anything of the countryside in the fog today.

Time to go to supper! Au revoir!