Hi Fotina
Do you have the guide written by M et Mde Chassain ? This is published by the amis de la voie de Vezelay association - heres a link to their website:-
http://www.amis-saint-jacques-de-compos ... voie-.html
This guide is very detailed and pretty accurate. We bought it from the UK Confraternity where it costs ÂŁ24, not cheap but definitely useful.
http://www.csj.org.uk/
fotina said:
How hard is to find accomodation and how much French do you need to know to get by?
Reading is one thing and speaking it is another.
Did you phone ahead to book the accommodation on a daily basis or do you need to book well in advance?
We are cycling the Voie de Vezelay in stages. So far we have reached just south of Limoges. Quite recently I have written another post about the refuges we stayed in, which you should be able to find.
We were there last September and October and found we did not need to make any bookings. we just turned up at the gites and collected the key as instructed in the guide or on a notice on the door. The only time I rang ahead was when the key had to be collected from the mairie and we were obviously going to be too late for it to be open.
In the Chassain guide there are details about lots of possible accommodation along the way. As well as the refuges provided by municipalities or local Amis organisations there are also details of individuals who welcome pilgrims into their homes. They suggest you should ring ahead for these. We only used one of these once, and although my french is very rusty I managed to explain that we were 'pelerins' and 'cherchez un lit pour la nuit,' or similar, and understand the answer at least enough!
We have found that our french has come on lots since we have been making our pilgrimage (we started from home in england ) through Belgium and France. When I was younger I was terrified of speaking, although, like you, reading was easier.but since we have been cycling through small towns and countryside where few people seem to speak much english we've both got much more confident at 'having a go' at making conversation in shops or with little old ladies who sit down beside you to talk about the weather or with fellow pilgrims we share accommodation with! And our comprehension of the spoken language is coming on too. And we are only spending 2 or 3 weeks at a time before going home. If you are walking the whole way in one go, you will find that your French quickly improves enough.
fotina said:
How much do you think I need to spend per day ? (a rough amount will do)
The refuges (gites de pelerins) often suggest an amount for a donation. Anywhere between 10 and 6 euros, from our experience. They almost always had some means of cooking and utensils, so you could feed yourself from supermarkets and local shops as you go along - I suppose a middle of the road amount of 15 euros a day would allow for some nice stuff or an occasional meal out. My probably not very reliable guess, then, is that you should allow 20 to 25 euros a day.
Gareth, how much did you manage on in France? I know you were on a very tight budget?
fotina said:
Was there a lot of others walking at the time. Although I love walking on my own I feel better and more relaxed when I know that someone is close by.
Again, we were in September and October - we met about 10 or 12 other pilgrims, all walkers, after Vezelay. Mostly french men on their own. One or two dutch or german men. A french canadian (man) and on our last day a french group of two women and one man. So not many others. But nothing but friendliness from the locals. Plenty of tourist offices with helpful staff to give advice. I (Bridget) would feel safe walking alone on this route, so long as I had a map so I could work out how far I was from my next bed! Oh, the route marking is excellent, by the way.
fotina said:
Did you have any problems with any Animals (dogs/snakes)
No, none at all.
fotina said:
I would greatly appriciate any information or any advice that you might want to send me.
Do not miss Benevent L'Abbaye and it's refuge. Try to meet Dr Conquet who holds the key and will explain all about how the early celtic christian hermits influenced the design of the abbey and much much more!
Although M and Mde Chassain are clearly extremely knowledgable and wise, should you, as a independent adult with your own mind, wish to follow a slightly different route to the one they give, even against their explicit warnings in their guide, they WON'T know!!
