Our Walk Along the Via Podiensis (GR 65)

St. Roch and Rainstorms on the GR65 Via Podiensis Pilgrimage Yesterday, after two weeks of hiking in France we took a rest day in Conques.  We walked around the very small village and looked in the artisan's workshops, sat in the cool and quiet of the abbey church, walked across to the Chapel of St. Roch, and got caught up on our blogging and reservations, as we had been without wifi for several days.  As always on these long hikes it felt strange not to be walking, but I think it was good for both of us to take a break. \ This morning we left around 6:10 AM, after consuming some apple tarts we had bought at a wonderful local bakery yesterday.  We started early because we wanted to beat the heat for our long, steep climb out of the valley. Conques and the Chapel of St. Foy As it turned out, we couldn't have timed it better.  The path was steep, rocky, and forested, but just as we reached the Chapel of St. Foy , about halfway up the side of the valley, the sun creste...

Heavenly Music on the Via Podiensis Chemin Le Puy Pilgrimage After the usual breakfast at the hotel, we headed out around 7:30 AM and began the morning climb out of the valley. This took us quite a while because today was a short hike, and the sun rising through the morning fog was absolutely gorgeous! The fields were covered in dew, and the cool morning temperatures were very enjoyable. Sengegues France We reached the little village of Senegues around 9:30 AM and stopped to visit the Church of St. Michel. It was very beautiful, and the village seemed like a peaceful and picturesque place to stop, although very tiny. Beside the church is another old building with a tower, which also looked very interesting, but wasn't open to the public. On the way out of town, we passed a pasture with a curious donkey and stopped to feed him dandelions. We have passed quite a few donkeys on this walk so far, and they all seem to enjoy a few handfuls of dandelions from the other side of the...