Day 28: Stage 23: Pellegrue

21 km, sunny with high cloud. 20°

Vines To The Right, Vines To The Left!

Last night we stayed in a rather low end one star hotel, but we had booked it on the fly with minimal expectations. Fine for one night, move on sort of place. They had a highly rated restaurant on the main floor where we shared a really good salad.

While my dinner wouldn’t have made it into any of the culinary magazines, Annemarie was really pleased.

Sainte-Foy was a great little town. After I arrived, we spent some time wandering the streets before going to our hotel. I really enjoy how so many of the buildings from hundreds of years ago remain in use, no doubt renovated on the inside. It feels a little like walking through history. The city centre is unusual in that is set up on a grid pattern. Typically towns from this time often have some variety to their street layouts. Here’s a few photos.;

The church was OK. Generally pretty standard stuff, except for the Rose window behind the organ.

Much of the central old town is in this sort of condition. A real testament to the generations of town management.

I know I posted a photo of my apre-walk refreshment, but that was after I went in to check out what was on tap.

We had a late night last night, with one thing or another that had to be done before we could leave this morning. I think I fell asleep at least twice while writing the blog.😂

I found my bed pretty comfortable last night and it was tough to get up and away early. Not to walk, but to get our yummy breakfast!

It was a great bakery, right around the corner where we were able to buy some really lovely sweet French pastries! The tea and coffee were really good, but they came in tiny cups. Oh well, you can’t have it all.

This morning before breakfast, I took a few minutes to sort out a route for us that would again involve a little bit of road walking along the highway before joining the chemin. Basically, most of the whole day was spent walking on various roads, but most of them are small country roads which are just fine. We couldn’t risk her blisters getting wet, so the goal was to keep her feet dry today.

Fairly soon after starting we had to climb out of the Dordogne River Valley. A road sign said that it was a 10% grade. Not a bad way to warm up and wake up!

Honestly, for pretty much the entire stage, we walked small roads past numerous wineries with vines to the left of us, and vines to the right.😎

Yes, there were flowers!

We passed a spot where they were burning a huge pile of vines that had obviously been pulled. I know they replaced vines sometimes as they get too old, but with global warming I know that they are also replacing vines with more heat resistant varieties of grapes. And I wondered if that’s what they were doing here. The French industry has conducted extensive research in the field of heat mitigation for the wine industry. Obviously it’s a huge economic driver for the country.

The light was a bit unusual today. Often flat, but I occasionally found the light was just perfect.

As I’ve walked along this journey, I’ve seen these windmills in various places. Usually referred to as moulin.

Annemarie made it through OK. Her blisters behaved relatively well, so we expect she’s a go for tomorrow. There really is no choice because there’s no other way out of here except to walk.

Don’t worry, there’s flowers!

We are staying in a refuge above the local tourist information in this village. So far one other Pilgrim, Stephanie from Belgium who I already know has joined us for the night, and Annemarie is upstairs talking to her now. Apparently another couple who I also know will also be here. Perhaps the French couple who didn’t like my clean boots?😇

It’s pretty basic accommodation, but the shower was great and I think the beds looked fairly comfortable. Not bad for €10 per night

That’s it for today, I think.

Bon chemin!

Geoff🍷☀️😎