St. Jean Pied de Port France

Bonjour!  Greetings from St Jean Pied de Port, France. St Jean is at the foothills of the Pyrenees or as the signs proclaim, "at the foot of the pass to Ronscesvalles" (Spain.) It is the start of the Camino Français or "The Way."  St. Jean is a very old medieval, walled town with a population of fifteen hundred residents.  The narrow cobblestone streets are lined with little shops and restaurants. The locals will proudly tell you that they are Basque not French!

Wikipedia describes St. Jean as "the capital of the Basse-Navarre and an important crossing route over the Pyrenees. Saint Jean Pied de Port, known in Basque as Donibane Garazi, was founded at the end of the 12th Century under the reign of the last kings of Navarre to protect the course of the river and access to the Roncevaux and Bentarte passes." 

To the left is the Hôtel Ramntcho where I am staying and to the right is the official greeter of the hotel. He is called Chasser.  Yesterday, after a very long two days of travel, I walked more than six miles just to stay awake for an authentic French dinner.

I actually found a place that started dinner service at six-thirty.  I ordered the special peregrino dinner which started with a large bowl of vegetable soup containing potatoes, cabbage, kale and some other vegetables.  The entree was an excellent roast chicken.  It was served with potatoes topped with caramelized onions and peppers. Dessert was an apple crisp warm out of the oven.  All it lacked was a scoop of ice cream.  And, of course, it was all accompanied by a crisp French white wine. I met a lovely couple from Australia named Bernie and Joanie.  They were starting today.  I was complaining about how long it took me to get from the states and they pointed out how little time that was compared to getting to France from Australia.  Good point!

The pilgrim office in St Jean is quite famous and all pilgrims start there for information   There are volunteers who speak numerous languages to answer questions and provide information. Pilgrims may purchase a credential booklet (also known as a pilgrim passport).  In order to be recognized as an official Peregrino, the pilgrim must obtain a stamp each day from a cathedral or bar or hotel or certain other popular venues.

Above is my first official stamp depicting St Jean.

I have one of these type of booklets for every Camino I have walked.  There are quite precious to me because they are a record of my trip.  Each location has a unique stamp and usually the name of the town.

This is the Notre Dame du Bout du Pont XIV, commonly known as the church of Our Lady at the End of the Bridge.  I spent some time there both yesterday and today saying my prayers for a safe journey. I also said a prayer for each of you.  It is a somewhat unassuming church especially since most chcurches in Spain are over the top gold encrusted.  It has a peace and simplicity about it that I find special.

 One of the most important things I have to do before any hike is to buys some supplies.  I think these plastic pull-along grocery carts are so cute.  They are popular all over Europe and serve the purpose quite well.

I see so many people who arrive in Europe and head out on their hike the very next morning.  Travel tip alert: I aways take a day off in the beginning.  Firstly, if my flight is delayed, I am not missing a day and trying to play catch-up.  Second, it gives me a chance to get over some jet lag and start the hike a little more in this time zone. The first hiking day of this trip is known to be tough so I need to be fresh.  Third, I always need to find some food supplies.  It is a good thing I had this extra day because, unbeknownst to me, yesterday was a French Holiday and the stores were all closed.

 I spent some of today exploring the town.  I walked up to the Citadel College but I couldn't actually go inside.  I got a peak and The children looked to be middle school age.  They were quite noisy and having a good time.  It may be a boarding school.

Check this out!  Like a donkey cart.  He was French and I was dying to ask him questions.  Speaking of French...my brain has gone haywire.  In all of these caminos, I have thought of the French word to describe many things.  I took three years of French in high school and was a terrible student ...could be because French was seven o'clock in the morning or else I had other important things on my mind like goofing off.  Suddenly, I am in France and keep using Spanish words.  Jeez.

 I love this man's shirt.  "Veterans on the Camino" Cool Beans!

Sooooo...I decided to outsmart this late dinner thing and I want to eat at 3:59 which was the very last vestiges of lunch. Sorry to all my Florida friends, there are no blue plate senior specials in France. I ate at the Cafe Ttipiâ.  OMGosh!  Mon Dieu!  I had he most incredible meal overlooking the river and a water fall.  I ordered these sausages over this tomato mixture that was just this side of heaven. I think the tomato mixture also had pimentos in it.  I would kill to know how they made it. The trick to ordering in a foreign country is to look around and point out something someone else is having.  Otherwise I seem to have chicken (or some mistake of something like boiled octopus) at every restaurant. You  know, for all of you who aren't so fond of the French (I am not included in that anti-French category), you just have to understand that the French think they are the best at everything.  Tonight they were absolutely right in their assumption.  These were the best sausages that I have even eaten. Magnifiqué! As we Southerners would say "ids sa good, itd make my tongue slap my face off."

And the pomme frites were better than our old french fries.  

As I say au revior to y'all, I'll be packing my backpack for tomorrow.  To quote LAO TZU "A journey of a thousand miles must begin with a single step."  Good night.