The Pilgrimage Trail

Friday, May 31

Today is an excellent day for viewing Plus Beaux Villages.  The weather is starting to cooperate, and the four villages we see are not that far apart, so we are able to walk two of them, the first and the last, and drive through the other two.  We make it to our Ibis in Rodez, after circulading, with time to go out to a restaurant afterwards.

Here is something you don't see every day—bison in France!

 The first village we visit, Conques, is not only beautiful but very important historically.  During the Middle Ages, a popular activity was to make a pilgrimage to one of three of the most sacred sites in Christendom:  Jerusalem, Rome, and Santiago de Compostella in northern Spain.  Making pilgrimages was also connected with going on crusade.  The pilgrimage paths were determined by the churches that had sacred relics.  Chartres’ sacred relic, for example, is Mary’s veil.  To make a pilgrimage, even today, is a very serious and spiritual commitment, and the reasons people choose to make pilgrimages vary.  If you are interested in a fictional example, you might want to read Sharan Newman’s book, The Wandering Arm.  It is one in a mystery series with the main character Catherine de Levandeur.  Newman is a medieval scholar, and all of her works are deeply researched.  I had the opportunity to meet her in the 1990s.  She has also written a trilogy about Guinevere.

Conques’ relic are the mains of a little girl called Sainte Foy, or Saint Faith, who was martyred freeing Christians.  I just read that they also have an artifact related to Charlemagne, and supposedly, the arm with which St George slew the dragon.  These relics are kept in a treasury that is not always open to the public.  The village itself gives you the aura of the middle ages.  It was fairly quiet when we visited—there were a fair amount of people but there was an awe and respect that kept visitors pretty subdued.  I bought a small scallop shell charm, which is the symbol of St. Jacques/St. James/Santiago.

On our way out of Conques, we started to see quite a few hikers and wondered what that was all about.  Soon we saw a sign:

And start to notice more hikers.  As we make our way through the Plus Beaux Villages, we discover that the villages we are visiting are all on the Chemin de St. Jacques de Compostelle, the pilgrim trail to Santiago de Compostella.

Our drive through the next two villages is more interesting than the villages themselves, although if we had more time, stopping and walking might have improved our opinions.

An interesting note about Estaing, is that Jean Baptiste Charles Henri Hector, comte d'Estaing, participated to acclaim in the American Revolutionary War.

 Sant Come d’Olt has a few pretty sites, but the drive to and from is more interesting.

We decide we need to stretch our legs at Sainte Eulalie d’Olt.  This is a charming village, and one of the highlights is to see some men and women playing boules.  The closest to explaining boules might be to say it is a game like a combination of  horseshoes and croquet.

Once we arrive in Rodez, there is more circulading.  I am trying to use the Maps app on my iPhone to help.  It was a success in finally finding the Ibis in Aurillac, and now, once again, we are relying on it.  The Rodez Ibis is in Centreville.  There are beaucoup one-way street, as well as construction going on that diverts traffic.  We are only staying one night, so we grab just what we need, then decide what to do about dinner.  The front desk manager recommends a few restaurants that are close.  Mom and I vote for Crêpes.  The restaurant is just across the street.  I order a Kir Breton which is so excellent that Mom decides she must have one.  What makes the Kir Breton is that cider is added in addition to Cassis.  Mom gets a salad, and Tom and I get crêpes.  Mine has spinach and is called a Popeye, but it is not pronounced like pop-eye.

We are very tired from our long, successful day!