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