September 11 Larrasoana to Pamplona 16.5 km / 10 miles
[Note: Some of these posts, including this one, are being edited by husband John back in Kansas City. Putting these things together in a meaningful way is somewhat difficult using only a phone. John has offered to serve as an editor as Mary continues to hike, take pictures, do laundry, eat, and all the rest… He is making an attempt to put the posts in chronological order, so you may see some new posts further down the page.]
The map to the right outlines the hike taken from Casa Elita, in Larrasoana, Spain to Pamplona, a little over 15 kilometers.
To convert kilometers to miles, multiply by 5/8ths – gets you close enough…
The plan is to spend a couple of days at the Hotel Tres Reyes (Three Kings) and do some sight seeing. This town was a hang-out of Ernest Hemingway in the early 1920s where he wrote, The Sun Also Rises.
The path to the hotel passes the Plaza de Toros de Pamplona where bulls fights still occur.
September 10 Viscarret to Larrasoaña 16 km / 10 miles
September 9 Roncesvalles to Viscarret-Guerendian 11 km / 6.8 miles
September 8 Orisson to Roncesvalles 18.5 km / 11.5 miles
September 16 Viana Festival!
September 7 Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port to Orisson 7.5km / 4.7 miles
September 5 – 6: Paris, France to St Jean-Pied-de-Port, France (SJPP)
September 5th, Thursday
Paris Airport – EasyJet Gate
September 4 – Paris
Stalking Hemingway
- Another late start but still got in over eight hours of sightseeing and nine miles of walking.
- With only two days in Paris I decided to forego museums. Next trip! Instead, I wanted to walk the streets and alleys, take my breaks in the bistros frequented by Hemingway and friends, and catch whatever standard tourist spots in my path.
La Palette
- Lunch: tuna and toast. Red wine.
- La Palette began as a gathering place for fine arts students and was frequented by Cezanne, Picasso and that crowd.
Les Deux Magots
- Break: a glass of red wine
- Founded in 1812, is “A café synonymous, with literary and artistic life, (Wiki) and was frequented by the likes of Elsa Triolet, Louis Aragon, André Gide, Jean Giraudoux, Picasso, Fernand Léger, Prévert, Sartre, Beauvoir, and Hemingway.
Brassiere Lipp
- Fancy dinner of pot roast and a glass of wine
- Across the street from Les Deux Magots on the Boulevard Saint-Germain in the 6th arrondissement.
- Walked around for about an hour after my break before dinner.
- Another hang-out for the artist crowd.
- Next to Louis Vuitton where people were lined out the door to spend thousands for their handbags.
Notre Dame
- Cordoned off by police trucks and construction barriers.
- Small groups of military men with assault rifles walking through the tourist melee.
- Scaffolding up the cathedral walls.
- Can’t get close to the place since the fire.
September 3 – Paris
Got a late start recovering from the seven hour time difference. Today’s goal was the Eiffel Tower since it isn’t located in an area where most of my wanderings will be. Rather than take public transportation all the way to the Tower, I opted for a train ride to a point about 3.5 miles from the site and enjoyed a walk through the markets, neighborhoods, and city shops.
So! What reminded me I wasn’t in Kansas anymore?
- Moms and dads riding their children through the traffic on bicycles. Bikes are a primary mode of transportation for old and young – not just for those in high-dollar REI cycling outfits out for a little exercise.
- Walking. Yes. People are walking – as a mode of transportation. And at a pretty good clip!
- Jackets worn on a warm day. Why weren’t they a melted mess!
And, hey. People were nice and helpful. Not what I was given to expect.