Everyday stuff Category
Day 53 – Walking the Via Francigena – Vevey To Villeneuve, Switzerland, The Beautiful Resort Town Of Montreux, And Our Last Day Of Walking On This Leg Of The Pilgrimage
Posted on October 17, 2019 Leave a Comment
Day 53 – Walking the Via Francigena – Vevey To Villeneuve, Switzerland, The Beautiful Resort Town Of Montreux, And Our Last Day Of Walking On This Leg Of The Pilgrimage The guesthouse we stayed in last night sits on the main square of Vevey, overlooking the lake. But this morning it was anything but a […]
Day 52 – Walking the Via Francigena – Lausanne To Vevey, Switzerland, A Beautiful Lakeside Walk, The Amazing Vineyard Terraces Of Lavaux And A Poem By Charlie Chaplain
Posted on October 16, 2019 Leave a Comment
Day 52 – Walking the Via Francigena – Lausanne To Vevey, Switzerland, A Beautiful Lakeside Walk, The Amazing Vineyard Terraces Of Lavaux And A Poem By Charlie Chaplain Last night, both Jules and I got sick. We are not sure exactly how it happened, but both of us experienced the same symptoms. Congestion, sore throats, […]
Day 50 and Day 51 – Walking the Via Francigena – Sightseeing In Lausanne, Switzerland, My Previous Incarnations, And The Four Cardinal Virtues According to Classical Antiquity
Posted on October 15, 2019 Leave a Comment
Day 50 and Day 51 – Walking the Via Francigena – Sightseeing In Lausanne, Switzerland, My Previous Incarnations, And The Four Cardinal Virtues According to Classical Antiquity I slept very well last night. It was a restful sleep, with no dreams to engage my consciousness. Breakfast was a feast of fresh produce that you are […]
Day 49 – Walking the Via Francigena – Cheseaux-sur-Lausanne To Lausanne, Switzerland – Arriving In Lausanne, A Fabulous City On Lake Geneva
Posted on October 13, 2019 Leave a Comment
Day 49 – Walking the Via Francigena – Cheseaux-sur-Lausanne To Lausanne, Switzerland – Arriving In Lausanne, A Fabulous City On Lake Geneva It was a misty morning when we started walking towards Lausanne. The weather forecast had called for a dry day, so we were not dressed up for the light morning rain. The walk […]
Day 47 and Day 48 – Walking the Via Francigena – Yverdon-les-Bains To Cheseaux-sur-Lausanne, Switzerland – Walking In A Heavy Rain Storm With A Strong Southerly Wind
Posted on October 12, 2019 Leave a Comment
Day 47 and Day 48 – Walking the Via Francigena – Yverdon-les-Bains To Cheseaux-sur-Lausanne, Switzerland – Walking In A Heavy Rain Storm With A Strong Southerly Wind We rested for another day in Yverdon-les-Bains. We did our laundry, walked around town, Jules got a good haircut and a shave in a very manly barbershop, and […]
Day 46 – Walking the Via Francigena – Orbe to Yverdon-les-Bains, Switzerland – A Historic Hot Springs Town, and Thoughts About Urban Veggie Gardens
Posted on October 10, 2019 Leave a Comment
Day 46 – Walking the Via Francigena – Orbe to Yverdon-les-Bains, Switzerland – A Historic Hot Springs Town, and Thoughts About Urban Veggie Gardens The town of Yverdon-les-Bains nestles in a valley below the Jura Mountains, on the edge of Lake Neuchâtel. It is a spa resort town, that has remains of human occupation dating […]
Day 45 – Walking the Via Francigena – Orbe, Switzerland – Ancient Roman Mosaics, The Greek Mythology Of The Famous Labyrinth of Theseus and Minotaur
Posted on October 9, 2019 Leave a Comment
Day 45 – Walking the Via Francigena – Orbe, Switzerland – Ancient Roman Mosaics, The Greek Mythology Of The Famous Labyrinth of Theseus and Minotaur There were two reasons I had planned to stay another day in Orbe. The first one was to rest after crossing the Jura Mountains, and the second reason was to […]
Day 44 – Walking the Via Francigena – Métabief To Orbe, Switzerland – A Challenging Day on The Roman Road, A Hike Through an Ancient Forest, Alien Crop Circles, A Traditional Cow Parade and Crossing The Jura Mountains
Posted on October 8, 2019 Leave a Comment
Day 44 – Walking the Via Francigena – Métabief To Orbe, Switzerland – A Challenging Day on The Roman Road, A Hike Through an Ancient Forest, Alien Crop Circles, A Traditional Cow Parade and Crossing The Jura Mountains Today we crossed over into Switzerland. It was a challenging day with much climbing and descending. We […]
Day 43 – Walking the Via Francigena – Pontarlier To Métabief, France – Crossing The Jura Sub-Alps Mountains In The Rain
Posted on October 7, 2019 Leave a Comment
Day 43 – Walking the Via Francigena – Pontarlier To Métabief, France – Crossing The Jura Sub-Alps Mountains In The Rain Today we crossed the Jura Mountain range. The weather forecast called for only drizzling rain, but it rained consistently all day long. Luckily, we dressed for the cold rain in warm clothing. We wore […]
Day 42 – Walking the Via Francigena – Walking Around Pontarlier, France
Posted on October 6, 2019 2 Comments
Day 42 – Walking the Via Francigena – Walking Around Pontarlier, France We have entered the Jura Mountains. The region is beautiful and very green, with tall mountains towering around us. The Jura Mountains are a sub-alpine mountain range, located north of the Western Alps, on the France–Switzerland border. The Jura separates the Rhine river […]
Day 41 – Walking the Via Francigena – Lods To Pontarlier, France – An Exciting Forest Hike To The Source Of The River Loue, In The Pouring Rain
Posted on October 5, 2019 Leave a Comment
Day 41 – Walking the Via Francigena – Lods To Pontarlier, France – An Exciting Forest Hike, To The Source Of The River Loue, In The Pouring Rain Today was a very challenging day. We knew that it would rain all day, but we still chose the longer forest hike instead of walking on the […]
Day 40 – Walking the Via Francigena – Ornans To Lods, France – A Leisurely Walk Along The Clear River Loue
Posted on October 4, 2019 Leave a Comment
Day 40 – Walking the Via Francigena – Ornans To Lods, France – A Leisurely Walk Along The Clear River Loue Over breakfast, we chatted with the owner of our hotel in Ornans. He told us that not many pilgrims walk the Via Francigena at this time of the year. Most people come in the […]
Day 39 – Walking the Via Francigena – Besançon To Ornans, France – A Hilly Scenic Walk And Seeing The Art Of Gustav Courbet And Yan Pei-Ming
Posted on October 3, 2019 Leave a Comment
Day 39 – Walking the Via Francigena – Besançon To Ornans, France – A Hilly Scenic Walk And Seeing The Art Of Gustav Courbet And Yan Pei-Ming The city of Besançon was just waking up as we checked out of our hotel. The garbage men were emptying the trash containers on the streets, restaurants were […]
Day 38 – Walking the Via Francigena – A Sightseeing Day In Besançon, France
Posted on October 2, 2019 Leave a Comment
Day 38 – Walking the Via Francigena – A Sightseeing Day In Besançon, France It was a sunny morning in Besançon. On the river, people were kayaking and paddle boarding. Kids were zip lining across the river and people were strolling down the streets. It was hard to believe that this lovely weather would turn […]
Day 37 – Walking the Via Francigena – Geneuille To Besançon, France – Arriving In Besançon, A Magnificent Historical City
Posted on October 1, 2019 2 Comments
Day 37 – Walking the Via Francigena – Geneuille To Besançon, France – Arriving In Besançon, A Magnificent Historical City Slowly but surely, we are making our way towards the Alps. Besançon is the last city we will reach before climbing into the French Alps and then into the Swiss Alps. Besançon has been continuously […]
Day 36 – Walking the Via Francigena – Choye to Geneuille, France – Visiting A Beautiful Zen Water Garden, and a Rainy Day of Walking In the Burgundy Region
Posted on September 30, 2019 Leave a Comment
Day 36 – Walking the Via Francigena – Choye to Geneuille, France – Visiting A Beautiful Zen Water Garden, and a Rainy Day of Walking In the Burgundy Region We had a quiet and restful night’s sleep last night. The breakfast table at the B&B was set for five people. The other guests were frequent […]
Day 35 – Walking the Via Francigena – Rigny to Choye, France – Our Running With The Bulls, And Reflections On Pain Versus Suffering
Posted on September 29, 2019 Leave a Comment
Day 35 – Walking the Via Francigena – Rigny to Choye, France – Our Running With The Bulls, And Reflections On Pain Versus Suffering We ate breakfast in the sunroom of Chateau Rigny, overlooking the lake. The ducks and geese did not care that the weather was chilly and wet. They dove into the water […]
Day 34 – Walking the Via Francigena – Champlitte to Rigny, France – A Fabulous Meal and a Lovely Night in a French Country Chateau
Posted on September 28, 2019 Leave a Comment
Day 34 – Walking the Via Francigena – Champlitte to Rigny, France – A Fabulous Meal and a Lovely Night in a French Country Chateau Breakfast this morning was a simple affair, just a baguette with butter and plum jam, fresh grapes and tea that we provided, since the hotel did not have any green […]
Day 33 – Walking the Via Francigena – Grandchamp to Champlitte, France – A Blue-Haired Man and a Funky Lunch
Posted on September 27, 2019 Leave a Comment
Day 33 – Walking the Via Francigena – Grandchamp to Champlitte, France – A Blue-Haired Man and a Funky Lunch We slept late this morning and went downstairs to breakfast at eight thirty. The walk today is not very long, and there was no need for us to get up early and start walking in […]
Day 32 – Walking the Via Francigena – Langres to Grandchamp, France – A Rainy Walk, And A Lovely Friendly Dinner At A Country House
Posted on September 26, 2019 Leave a Comment
Day 32 – Walking the Via Francigena – Langres to Grandchamp, France – A Rainy Walk, And A Lovely Friendly Dinner At A Country House Last night it had rained and the sky looked grey when we woke up this morning. Breakfast in our hotel was lovely, just like I imagined it would be. They […]
Day 31 – Walking the Via Francigena – A Rest Day In Langres
Posted on September 25, 2019 Leave a Comment
Day 31 – Walking the Via Francigena – A Rest Day In Langres It was so lovely to sleep as late as we wanted this morning. In fact, we slept so late that we missed breakfast. I expected that breakfast would be very good in this hotel, since the dinner yesterday was superb and they […]
Day 30 – Walking the Via Francigena – Arc-en-Barrois to Langres, France – A Very Hilly Walk, Followed by a Gourmet Dinner
Posted on September 24, 2019 Leave a Comment
Day 30 – Walking the Via Francigena – Arc-en-Barrois to Langres, France – A Very Hilly Walk, Followed by a Gourmet Dinner We woke up to the pleasant sounds of the wildlife in the forests and fields around us. The sun was shining, and the smell of freshly baked brioche filled the airy breakfast room. […]
Day 29 – Walking the Via Francigena – From Orges To Arc-en-Barrois, France – A Pleasant Day Of Walking In The Forest, and Staying At The Edge Of A Forest Full Of Wildlife
Posted on September 23, 2019 Leave a Comment
Day 29 – Walking the Via Francigena – From Orges To Arc-en-Barrois, France – A Pleasant Day Of Walking In The Forest, and Staying At The Edge Of A Forest Full Of Wildlife Last night I fell asleep with my feet throbbing and tingling from our long days of walking with a heavy backpack. […]
Day 28 – Walking the Via Francigena – Bar-sur-Aube To Ogres, France – A Very Long Day Of Walking, Meeting Other Pilgrims, A fabulous Dinner And Staying At A Flower Factory
Posted on September 22, 2019 Leave a Comment
Day 28 – Walking the Via Francigena – Bar-sur-Aube To Ogres, France – A Very Long Day Of Walking, Meeting Other Pilgrims, A fabulous Dinner And Staying At A Flower Factory We had a very long day of walking today, and some of it was very hilly. We decided to start early so we could […]
Day 27 – Walking the Via Francigena – La Rothière To Bar-sur-Aube, France – A Walk Through The Champagne Region
Posted on September 21, 2019 Leave a Comment
Day 27 – Walking the Via Francigena – La Rothière To Bar-sur-Aube, France – A Walk Through The Champagne Region I was hoping we could walk south today by the Aube river, which meanders its way along the Via Francigena. The Via Francigena does not follow the curves of the river, but I was hoping […]
Day 26 – Walking the Via Francigena – Chavanges to La Rothière, France – A Gluttonous Day of Two Gourmet Feasts
Posted on September 20, 2019 2 Comments
Day 26 – Walking the Via Francigena – Chavanges to La Rothière, France – A Gluttonous Day of Two Gourmet Feasts I remember once having a friendly exchange with one of my art collectors about which country in Europe had the best food. He argued for Italy, and while I saw his point and remembered […]
Day 25 – Walking the Via Francigena – Vitry-le-François to Chavanges, France – A Long Hot Day of Walking, and a Lovely Evening
Posted on September 19, 2019 Leave a Comment
Day 25 – Walking the Via Francigena – Vitry-le-François to Chavanges, France – A Long Hot Day of Walking, and a Lovely Evening I was worried about today’s walk. Beside being thirty kilometers long, I could not figure out which route to take, in order to walk on quieter roads with less traffic. A part […]
Day 24 – Walking the Via Francigena – Chaussée-sur-Marne to Vitry-le-François, France – A Short But Hot Day Of Walking by the River Marne
Posted on September 18, 2019 Leave a Comment
Day 24 – Walking the Via Francigena – Chaussée-sur-Marne to Vitry-le-François, France – A Short But Hot Day Of Walking by the River Marne Today was a sunny, hot day without any clouds. For half of the day, we walked in the sun with no shade. It was another scenic walk by the river and […]
Day 23 – Walking the Via Francigena – Châlons-en-Champagne to Chaussée-sur-Marne, France – A Beautiful Walk by the Canal
Posted on September 17, 2019 2 Comments
Day 23 – Walking the Via Francigena – Châlons-en-Champagne to Chaussée-sur-Marne, France – A Beautiful Walk by the Canal Today was a much easier walk for us. The sun was shining and the path was very scenic all day long. I slept well last night, and this morning we had breakfast at a cafe in […]
Day 22 – Walking the Via Francigena- A Rest Day In Châlons-en-Champagne, France
Posted on September 16, 2019 Leave a Comment
Day 22 – Walking the Via Francigena- A Rest Day In Châlons-en-Champagne, France I am SO happy that we scheduled a rest day for today. The main reason that we planned a rest day was so we could have time to see Châlons-en-Champagne. But as it turned out, we really needed the rest. The town […]
Day 21 – Walking the Via Francigena- From Les Petite-Loges to Châlons-en-Champagne, France – A Long Day of Walking and a Great Evening
Posted on September 15, 2019 Leave a Comment
Day 21 – Walking the Via Francigena- From Les Petite-Loges to Châlons-en-Champagne, France – A Long Day of Walking and a Great Evening Sometimes life presents us with wonderful, magical days, and despite the difficulties of long days of walking with a heavy backpack, I am so grateful to be roaming around the world, coming […]
Day 20 – Walking the Via Francigena- From Reims to Les Petite-Loges, France, a Hard First Day of Walking
Posted on September 14, 2019 Leave a Comment
Day 20 – Walking the Via Francigena- From Reims to Les Petite-Loges, France, a Hard First Day of Walking They say all beginnings are hard, be it starting a new relationship, a new business venture, a new chapter in life, or learning something new. It has proven to be very true for us today. We […]
Day 19 – Walking the Via Francigena- Arriving once more in Reims, France
Posted on September 13, 2019 2 Comments
Day 19 – Walking the Via Francigena- Arriving once more in Reims, France Everything was easy and timely, and otherwise went very well for our trip to Paris. We rented a car one way and drove to the Denver airport, stayed a night at the airport hotel and flew to Paris the next morning. Despite […]
Preparing For The Via Francigena Pilgrimage
Posted on September 8, 2019 Leave a Comment
Preparing For The Via Francigena Pilgrimage It seems almost unbelievable that we are now heading out to hike through the Swiss Alps, without once, and I do mean ONCE, having hiked or walked anywhere this whole summer. I suffered for most of this summer from tooth pain, and I have not been motivated to go […]
Summer in Colorado, Our New Fruit Orchard, and Planning Our Next Pilgrimage
Posted on August 28, 2019 Leave a Comment
Summer in Colorado, Our New Fruit Orchard, and Planning Our Next Pilgrimage From my bedroom window, I can see the lovely green meadow that our neighbors cultivate. Their horses are rolling on their backs, luxuriating in the green grass. I never knew horses loved to lay down so much. I can hear the songs of […]