Did I mention we got chilly on the boat and we bought cold weather clothes? And then how yesterday the temperatures have bounce back up to 20 degrees during the day? Yep, I am so thankful that I bought that puffy vest to fill up my empty backpack even more. Heavy sigh.
But the countryside is beautiful, the dreaded hills give panoramic views that photos just can’t capture, and the maple trees are adding colour.
Breakfast was included at our gite, with homemade apple juice, yogurt and jams, and pears fresh from the tree.
Our breakfast companion – he was hoping for lots of pets but was told to stay on his blanket. That’s why he’s sad. He’s an old chien too, all of 12. Real sweet guy.
Old beams in the bathroom.
Ken bought me baubles in the Limoges tourist office, as he thought the colour matched my stylish outfit As a note, my stylish outfits consist of 2 of everything – wear one pack one – 2 shirts, 2 leggings, 2 pairs of socks, etc. And my perfume is perhaps more Eau de Goat rather than Chanel #5 but…who cares?
Very strange and huge melon.
Ha ha. All these animals in the chicken coop are stuffed toys.
This house, which is for sale, seems to take the “open concept” to the extreme.
Scott was so sad to be missing the cider festival.
City hall where we got pilgrim stamps (the stamps are actually very hard to come by but they are the proof that you have walked.)
The restroom sign. I especially like the racing wheelchair.
Wood dove.
Check out this ancient mail box (they use a modern one now).
This boy was killed on this spot and was a resistance fighter for the Free French (the good guys).
Meringue ghosts in the boulangerie.
The churches are becoming noticeably more humble.
Lunch on the church steps.
Tiny shrine to Mary on the steep climb out of town.
Scott decided he had enough of us and is waiting to catch the first bus to Poland.
An optimal “bench” for a chocolate bar halfway up yet another hill.
See that blue dot? That’s where we are. See the blue line? That’s where we are supposed to be. Heavy sigh. To top it off, we had to listen to some woman screaming at her husband/kids/dog – we never did see who the victim was.
The trail was covered with chestnuts.
Two stumps by a house telling hikers to take a break there. Nice.
We are in a town called Chalus. It’s claim to fame is it’s chateau where Richard the Lion Heart was killed during the Crusades. You might remember him from the Robin Hood legends. Robin might not have been real but King Richard I was.
So much wasted fruit. We simply cannot understand it.
New York Aster.
Our home for the night, a pine chalet.
Still lotsa of uphill but maybe we’re toughening again as we were able to go shopping at the Intermarche and Ken cooked up a fine meal for his beloved even though she only let him buy two really small bottles of beer after his sweat filled day. Humph! (Insert Terry eyeroll here)
VF Britannica Via Campaniensis Voie de Vezelay 2025 