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  1. billmclaughlin

    Any Pilgrims Stranded in France?

    Macron hasn’t spoken yet. A curfew is rumored and it’s always the details that matter most.
  2. billmclaughlin

    Best route for French Camino

    No question but you should focus on the route that starts in Le Puy en Velay and leads to the Spanish border at Saint Jean Pied de Port. You’ll find lots of discussions by searching on this site about places to start and stop where there are train stations, difficulty of terrain, weather to...
  3. billmclaughlin

    Le Puy or Not Le Puy?

    From Figeac, which is worth exploring a bit itself, you can hop a train and easily visit Rocamadour. A great day at a great monument! I wouldn’t spend extra time in Conque, which has a great church but it’s really a three-hour town. Perhaps Cahor, just because it’s big enough to have different...
  4. billmclaughlin

    Montpelier start

    I gave up on this route quickly. Met no other hikers. I’m happy to walk solo but not to dine solo. And the waymarking left much to be desired. Try Le Puy or a segment of that route.
  5. billmclaughlin

    Le Puy or Not Le Puy?

    I really don’t know what bushwalking means after reading this thread. You’re never off trail on this route. I’ve done the Le Puy route twice for sport. Many French are just on vacation, but you may be surprised to find some of them emerging from Mass as I was one day. One of the things I most...
  6. billmclaughlin

    Le Puy musings and plannings....

    Book your first night out of Le Puy, maybe two. That won’t lock you in very much but it will take some stress out of your first days. Looking at my diary that means St. Privat and Saugres. I made it to Figeac in 13 days, and your experience relative to mine suggests you can do that. Just think...
  7. billmclaughlin

    How-to guide to the Le Puy route

    Thanks for this brilliant writeup! Laughed out loud a few times. Notes: I found the Miam Miam Dodo app easier to work with than you. Definitely found the way to get a list of accommodations in just one town or section of the route. Never had a problem finding a store open when I needed it...
  8. billmclaughlin

    St jean pied

    If you’d like to break your trip in London or get a good fare there, you can also use Ryan Air to reach Biarritz/Bayonne, though that service doesn’t exist all year round.
  9. billmclaughlin

    Cathedral robbed at Oloron Sainte Marie

    Update: Stolen items include chalices, crosses, monstrances, and at least one 16th-century cope, a gift to the local bishop from François 1er. There are security cameras at either end of the town, which may provide info. The thieves abandoned one of their two vehicles at the scene.
  10. billmclaughlin

    Cathedral robbed at Oloron Sainte Marie

    Thieves used a car with a tree trunk strapped to it to smash down the door of a historic cathedral in south west France to steal several items of high value. https://www.thelocal.fr/20191104/thieves-ram-raid-historic-french-cathedral-to-steal-treasures/amp...
  11. billmclaughlin

    Camino French first two night & baggage weight

    Or spend your free day in Bayonne!
  12. billmclaughlin

    Suggestions for 10 days

    I can’t find that Malta-Madrid flight (what airline?) but once you fly Malta-Rome you have lots of options.
  13. billmclaughlin

    Suggestions for 10 days

    If ease of getting to and from the end points is important, where you are spending the rest of your trip makes a big difference. Do you have a plan for that yet? (I’m thinking why not the Le Puy route in France?)
  14. billmclaughlin

    Dangerous dog between Triacastela and Sarria (2019)

    And a good reminder to have your shots up to date!
  15. billmclaughlin

    Transportation to Biarritz

    You’ll want to get to San Sebastián. From there it’s an easy bus ride across the border to Biarritz. When I did it I met a quartet of Americans en route to Lourdes who had dropped off their Spanish rental car and were busing to France to pick up another car. They were four and, I’m pretty...
  16. billmclaughlin

    Where would you plan a rest day on the Le Puy route?

    For a rest day, Conques is far too small IMHO. Definitely consider Figeac. I spent 2 hrs on. sunday morning doing laundry, then caught a train north to Rocamadour for a few hours of superb tourism at a spectacular site. It’s like a vacation from your vacation.
  17. billmclaughlin

    Accomodation St Jean Pied de Port

    A half day, even if tired from travel or jet-lagged, is more than enough time to explore every nook and cranny of SJPP. To relax before starting your camino, Biarritz/Bayonne is far more entertaining and equally stress-free.
  18. billmclaughlin

    Newbie

    Starting your camino where?
  19. billmclaughlin

    All of a sudden no motivation to start the camino

    Make the short trip to Le Puy and see if the camaraderie after morning Mass in the cathedral doesn’t give you a jump start.
  20. billmclaughlin

    Bayonne hotel booking

    If you’re in Bayonne at lunchtime, the scene at the restaurants around the university is a delightful madhouse. I’ve yet to explore Biarritz but have found Bayonne just right for decompression. Riverside walks and quite a variety of streetscapes. I did a daytrip to the resort town of St Jean de...

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