LE PUY EN VELAY

We are in Le Puy and it's lovely, except for the rain that has just started to fall as I write this.  A storm is passing over, the rain is quite heavy now and there is thunder. Hopefully this will all pass before we set out on the first day of our Camino tomorrow.

We arrived in Le Puy yesterday by train from Geneva. In fact the journey required catching three trains, first Geneva to Lyon, then on to St Etienne, and finally to Le Puy. For the last leg of the journey from St Etienne to Le Puy, the train wound it's way around the valley following the beautifull Loire River offering spectacular scenery.

After much research, Steve made all the train bookings on line before we left home and the tickets arrived by mail several weeks ago. The schedules were tight as we had only 15 minutes between trains, which isn't a lot of time to navigate between platforms and read notice boards when everything is written in French, but due to Steve's precision planning, everthing went smoothly and we had a wonderful trip through the French countryside. The trains were great; modern, clean, comfortable, with places to store luggage and run almost on time.

We arrived in Le Puy late in the afternoon and spent some time wandering the narrow streets of the old town before finding our hotel.  After checking in we made our way back to the train station where we sat in a street cafe drinking 'le vin rouge de la maison' awaiting the arrival of our friend Hanna from California, who was arriving on a later train from Lyon. As we'd hoped, Hanna was wearing the same bright yellow jacket she wore on the Spanish Camino, so was instantly recognisable as she walked from the station.  Such a joyful reunion, hugs all around, then back to the hotel for our first of what will be many delightful meals together.

This morning we walked the steep streets leading to the Cathedral to obtain our Pilgrims Credential which we will have stamped in each village we stay in along the way.  We also climbed up to the Statue of Our Lady Of France, an impressive caste iron monument perched atop a volcanic pinnacle. Made from 213 caste iron guns captured from the enemy at the seige of Sebastopol and donated to the Bishop of Le Puy by Napoleon III, she supposedly represents the victory of good over evil. For a long time she was one of the largest statues in the world, but that all changed with the erection of the Statue of Liberty in 1886.

And so our journey begins tomorrow and it's all uphill for 16km. We arrived as tourists and will leave as pilgrims!