Tag Archives: trip preparation

What Are YOU Waiting For?

Posted on by Kathleen Foote

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” . . . What then? Shall we sit idly down and say,

The night has come; it is no longer day??

The night hath not yet come; we are not quite

cut off from labor by the failing light.

Something remains for us to do or dare

(Even the oldest tree some fruit may bear) –

Not Oedipus Coloneus, or Greek Ode,

or tales of pilgrims that one morning rode 

out of the gateway of the Tabard Inn –

But other something, would we but begin.

For age is opportunity, no less

than youth itself, though in another dress,

And as the evening twilight fades away

the sky is filled with stars,

invisible by day.”

– Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, “Morituri Salutamos”,  1874

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This Time Last Year

Posted on by Kathleen Foote

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My DH and I were a few months away from celebrating 38 wonderful years of marriage. The children were grown and our lives had taken us to many places around the world, places I had never dreamed I would see, much less live in. We had recently moved to another country and were enjoying the adventure of getting settled. We were working on where to store Christmas items in our new apartment.

But I had other plans also and I knew they wouldn’t include him. I was going to walk the Camino Frances soon.

I didn’t know exactly when or how. I didn’t know exactly where. I especially didn’t know why.

I hadn’t made any transportation arrangements because I had no clue how to get from where I was to where I thought I might need to be. I didn’t believe in hiking poles – too dorky. I was a good (what’s good about it?) twenty pounds overweight and I’m being kind. I didn’t have hiking boots.

The only thing I had going for me was that I liked walking although I sometimes found it boring.

I had decided to walk the Camino Frances and I had broken the news to my DH just after Thanksgiving. Would he be OK with it? It would cost us money and time. Lots of time but I had no clue  how much.

Not even my children really knew what I was up to.

“Mom’s thinking about going for a long walk.” What did that mean???

You don’t choose the Camino. It chooses you. And I had been chosen. But try to explain that to people who want to know why you want to walk across the top of Spain.

The ancestry of the Camino Frances sits squarely on a pilgrimage. But I’d never been religious enough to feel drawn to religious sites. I’d never felt compelled to visit places noted for miracles. And my life was relatively happy – no need to do penance or suffer to set things straight.

I was an older woman, inactive for many, many years, suddenly possessed by an idea that no one I knew had ever done before or even heard of.

It was time to give this some serious thought.

Camino minus 4 – A Wild 48 Hours in Paris

Posted on by Kathleen Foote

My feet are complaining big time.

In the past 48 hours, we have:

Walked to the Eiffel Tower and seen it at night

Been to Notre Dame

Been to the Louvre

Been to the Musee d’Orsay

Taken off our shoes and recovered at a fountain at theTuileries 

Gone back to the Louvre

Walked along the Seine River

Gone back to the Musee d’Orsay

Gone to the Pompidou Center 

Eaten quiche twice, hamburgers once, duck once, crepes once, wine lots of times

And we celebrated 38 wonderful years together.

The most common language heard is French, of course. The second most common, hands down, is American English. We are shocked at how much American English we are hearing. I would expect British English, since we are just across the channel, but I haven’t heard any yet. After that, it’s a toss up between Italian, Spanish, and Australian English.

Anyone who says that the French are unfriendly is talking about a France that I am not experiencing. To be sure, the people who I meet are mostly people who work in the tourist industry, either at tour sites, restaurants, etc. However, everyone I have met is funny, warm, speaks English better than I speak French, and seems sincerely happy to be asked for help and advice (and shares information graciously). 

Most of the local people I have met are young adults who have traveled outside of France. Last night, our waitress told us that she lived in the mid-west for a year (I can’t remember the city). Our waiter tonight lived in London for a year. 

Whether guards at the Louvre, cashiers at Carrefour, or ticket sellers at the Metro station, I am met with a smile, a polite greeting, and an answer (in charming, French-accented English. How cool is that?)

But my feet are begging me to stop the madness. They are trying to convince me that I have already walked 800 kilometers. What will I do on Tuesday?

Camino minus 8 – Paris bound or The Toilet Strikes Back!

Posted on by Kathleen Foote

Camino minus 8 – So Long, Stuttgart

Well, I’m off.

Packing last night was surprisingly easy. Everything fit well. My newly revised hip belt situation was repaired (the one that came with the backpack was way too small) and fits very comfortably.

I washed my rain jacket yesterday and sprayed it with waterproofing. It is now a lovely shade of red because it is clean, and I hope it will be waterproof. 

What have I forgotten??

I downloaded some last-minute apps on my iPad, which I plan to use on the trip in order to continue blogging. I spent much of yesterday moving photos off the iPad and onto my computer. Not easy but I may have succeeded. 

I also got an app that should allow me to write off-line for my blog. The blogging program I use, WordPress, is usually connected to the internet. However, since I expect to be out of the net quite a bit, I want to write off-line and transfer the text to WordPress when I do get to the internet. 

If the formatting on this post is a little off, it’s part of my learning curve and I will try to fix it.

We are on the high-speed train to Paris. It is very comfortable and clean. 

However, I had another toilet adventure.

The bathroom on the train stays clean because it has sensors for water and for air drying. Trying to save water for all, I first spritzed a little soap onto my hands, then held my hand under the faucet.

No water.

I waved my back and forth a few times. No water.

There I was in the W.C. with very slimy hands. I waved my hands under the air dryer and now had slightly dry slime on my hands.

Why not use toilet paper to wipe off my hands, you may be thinking?

Another problem. 

The roll dispenser is set up so that several rolls butt up against each other in the dispenser. The roll that was “out” was prevented, because of friction, from rolling freely.  Poking my finger into the tiny slot to create space between the rolls did not work – the hole was too small. 

The toilet paper dispensed one painfully complicated square at a time.

Fortunately I learned this when I was not having a W.C emergency. 

I found another toilet in the same car which had water. Crisis averted.

But what kind of adventures await me in Paris? I don’t want to speculate.

Oh, yes, my backpack weighed a whopping 25 pounds. I must get it down to 20, somehow, in the next four days. 

P. S. Why, oh why, can’t the U.S. build high-speed trains???