Really basic questions

[Frood]

Salut encore:

I have migrated from the introductions section and have already benefited from the dialogue in response to Oddball questions - ordered appropriate guide books contrary to " the anarcho-whimsical" comments on a previous introductions post.

I am planning to start in early september and carry on until the early part of October - roughly between Labour Day weekend and Thanksgiving Weekend (Canadian).

My queries are really basic. When I walked the CF 10 years ago, I flew to Paris, then took the train to SJPdP. I am assuming that a similar approach is possible.

Is this correct? Is there a TGV route to Le Puy and what is the best source of info to clarify?

My wife is planning to meet me for a couple of weeks of walking together towards the end of September and early October. Are there natural points of contact along the route to SJPdP, tied into the French transportation system where we could meet? I expect to ramp up to a daily walking regime of about 25 K pd so would it be around the 350/400 K mark along the route. Any suggestions within this range along with other places before and after would be very much appreciated. We will likely finalize the point of contact by email or phone.

Thanks

 

[gittiharre]

Hi Frood, I arrived at the airport in Paris from NZ and took a train to Le Puy, had to change in Lyon and then again in St Etienne Le Vieux. The last part of the journey was in a little train along the upper Loire Valley, it was beautiful. There are a number of towns along the Le Puy route which are served by rail, Moissac being one and Ultreya pilgrim hostel is opposite the rail station. If you look at the miam miam dodo or the chemindecompostelle.com website, these are marked. There is also a pilgrims' transport service for luggage, they take people also. They are called La Malle Postalle. Very nice and helpful and they could transport your wife from a place where there is a railway station.
Hope this helps, Gitti

 

[Deleted member 3000]

You can fly into St. Etienne, then take the airport bus into town. Your French skills will get a workout right from the beginning. The customs agent told me to speak French when I asked about the bus stop! You want the second bus stop in town; the first train station is the wrong one. The train goes to Le Puy. The Alison Raju book lists the towns with train service and it has good information on historical sites along the way. Miam Miam Dodo is the best for food and accommodation information.

 

[Kitsambler]

You can see the rail schedules at either http://www.voyages-sncf.fr or http://www.raileurope.com. For us North Americans, the RailEurope folks will send you tickets in advance (assuring a TGV seat on the leg into Lyon). There's a TGV station right at Charles DeGaulle airport.

Moissac is at about the half-way point, has a lovely historic abbey, and would be a great place to link up with your wife. It has good rail connections into Paris.

 

[Frood]

Thanks Gitti, Falcon and Kits:

Helpful suggestions steering in the right direction. This provides a useful structure for planning purposes.

Books are on order and I now recall navigating the french train system. Am ok in french although some of the french regional dialects can throw me a bit since I am attuned to glorious quebecois french.

Frood

 

[Bikeguy]

The train service between SJPDP and Bayonne is currently down for maintenance. There is a replacement bus service that does this route about six times per day. The distance is only 55 km but the bus ride is 90 minutes as it leaves the main road to pick up passengers at gare stations along the way.
Randy

 

[Frood]

Thanks Randy

I remember the train connection from my previous walk 10 years ago. No sense of landscape since I traveled after dark, arriving in SJPdP at about 10 in the evening. This time around, I will be traveling via Lyon and then connecting the Le Puy and will then start walking.

Appreciate your advice and it is certainly a good heads up to others.

Cheers

Frood

 

[annehoff]

Hi Frood,

I am also walking for Le Puy early September. Thanks for asking the basic questions-they are helping my research too. Thanks to all those who are providing the answers -especially Gitti and Margaret. Feeling more and more confident all will be fine

Anne

 

[KiwiNomad06]

This time around, I will be traveling via Lyon and then connecting the Le Puy and will then start walking.Frood

Hey Frood, I hope you are going to allow yourself some time to explore Le-Puy-en-Velay itself before you start walking: it is an incredibly interesting town with a long history of Marian pilgrimage. There are two lava plugs (at least I think that's what they are) that poke up out of the landscape, and you simply must climb up to the little chapel on top of one of them!
Margaret

 

[Deleted member 3000]

Anne,

We will be in Ostabat a week or two after you, but on the Vezelay route. The last time through, all activity stopped in the bar/gite until France finished, and won, its World Cup game (on the way to the finals). Spain probably came to a halt each day this year for its games. It is thrilling to watch the fans!

 

[Frood]

Anne, Margaret and Falcon:

Arrangements are falling in place. I will be arriving in Paris on September 6 and may be able to get to Le Puy by the evening - details to sort.

I am going via Iceland since it sets up a return an overnite in Iceland and wallowing at the "Blue Lagoon". A very cool country.

Margaret, thanks for the heads up. By the time I get to Le Puy, I expect I will be very tired and cranky and will take a day or so to pause, explore and develop a sense of place before starting. I will start slowly and take to the time to be in the journey. Its not a race.

Anne, we may well connect. All the best.

Falcon, I am basking in a FIFA win/win. As a Canuk, there is a deep connection between Holland and Canada. The Queen of Holland was born in Ottawa during WW2 (declared to be dutch national territory for the event), and Canadian troops played a significant role in the liberation of Holland during WW2. I would have been very happy if Holland had won. As a former Pilgrim, I have a fond affection for Spain, so was very happy with the Spanish win. The comment in the press here is that because Canadians have a remote connection with the WC, we are basically "free agent" fans (I guess that applies to me), although as a multicultural society, we have significant parts of our communities who have passionate loyalties.....now if you want to talk hockey, that is a different matter.

Cheers all

Frood

 

[Deleted member 3000]

I read somewhere that the Netherlands sent a hockey team (Philadelphia??) to play the World Cup. Maybe that is the Canadian connection ...

 

[irishpilgrim]

Hi Frood
When we started in Le Puy in 2007 we arrived late in the evening and spent the following morning seeing the sights, then after an early lunch we started our walk and went as far as a lovely gite at Tallode just beyond the village of St.Christophe sur Dolaison at a distance of about 8 kilometers from Le Puy It is still there,(I have the up to date MMDD) and it was a nice easy start and meant that the second day you can have another shortish day to saint Privat d'Allier or else continue on to Monistrol d'Allier. I imagine you would have to book the first gite in advance. It was a farm and not very big but a wonderful welcome and good food (also you can cook for yourself I think if you wish). I would recommend this plan to anyone who wants to have time to visit Le Puy but also wants to get the wallking underway.

Bon Chemin

Anna

 

[Frood]

Falcon: Ya got me going... had to check who won the Stanley Cup. Actually, I thing the Netherlands are the Black Hawks in training. It took them 50 years plus, so the Netherlands time is coming in 2014 and I will be happy with the result when it comes. There certainly was a Team Canada grit to the Netherlands play - I liked that.

Anna: Thank you for your suggestions. This certainly seems like a sensible and balanced approach. I just got the MMDD guide in the mail today so am in a position to make the arrangements.

Cheers all

Frood

 

[Frood]

Last post.

I am packed and will head to the airport a bit later today. Will start walking on Sept 8.

Cheers all

Frood

 

[lynnejohn]

Buen Camino, Frood1

Go well and safely. Looking forward to your updates.

Regards,

lynne

 

[Frood]

Hello all:

Back from the walk. Dodged french demos and arrived home on 19 10 10. Actually stopped walking on the 16th. Still processing the experience. I remain struck by walking in the footsteps of others who have made the journey over a 1000 years (take a look at the UNESCO world heritage site to review the number of places and the route itself that have been recognized). I remain struck by the connection with others through the range of encounters with french residents, brief connections from different parts of the world and the sense of fellowship with fellow pilgrims in Gites, etc. Travelled with a pack of younger folks for a few weeks and enjoyed the dialogue as they explored life choices. Over the last couple of weeks, walked with my wife. It was great to share this with her and it now looks like the El Norte route is acquiring an allure.

All the best

Frood

 

[lynnejohn]

Welcome home, Frood!

Glad your journey was a good one.

lynne