Didn’t even come close to 8pm. I picked up a Basque Gateau for one on my way back to the hotel, intending it to be a snack the next day. It ended up as dinner after I made the rookie mistake of taking a fabulous bath once I got to the room. I slept straight thru to 8am, so hopefully I’ve made my adjustment to the right time zone.
I headed to Les Halles for breakfast. I sat down at the Maison Balme and immediately realized that I’ve forgotten all of the little French that I’ve known. More worryingly, I can’t seem to access any of the Spanish I’ve been learning for the past two years either. I’m hopeful this is just a jetlag after-effect, otherwise this will be a long trip indeed! The two people working the stall were unfailingly patient though and via a combination of pointing and gestures, a wonderful petit dejuner was delivered.
After breakfast, I wandered around the market marveling at the jamon, cheese, fruits, and veggies. I retrained myself from buying all the charcuterie and instead bought some dried pineapple and pears for my trek. A little sugar is always good to have on hand.
I headed back to the airport to catch the shuttle to St Jean. While I normally would take the train, part of the track had apparently been washed out over the winter, so one cooud take the train halfway, then transfer to a bus. Four other peregrinos were on the shuttle so we chatted about the usual for the short trip.
Once in St Jean, I set about finding the Pilgrams’ office and the Express Buricott office (conviently located mere steps away from the Pilgrams’ office.) I secured my Pilgrim’s Passport and chatted with Claude about his pilgramage. We also talked about the weather in the mountains and he seemed to feel despite the dire warnings below, there was no need to worry. It would all be fine. I have concerns, but we’ll see.
I dropped my carry-on bag at Express Buricott without issue. It is more than a little weird though to send your bag off for more than a month. With all of my chores taken care of, I headed off to dinner at Restaurant Ciderie Hurrup Eta Klik. They were offering local trout, which was fabulous and went nicely with a local cider. I’m headed back to the hotel to hopefully get a good night’s rest for an early start tomorrow.
Leave a Reply