Lyon Airport Hotel
We started the day with breakfast at the local boulangerie. I ordered three cafe au laits and croissants. Amazingly, the croissants arrived but she brought hot water with a selection of tea bags. Do they do it on purpose?
Robert is suffering from blisters so I set off alone to spend some quality time in the Cathedral and its cloisters. I climbed the 134 steps which lead the congregation directly into the centre of the Cathedral. The daily 7am pilgrim mass was over and the lucky pilgrims were already on their way along the Via Podiensis so I was more or less alone. Me and the Black Madonna.
Next stop was the statue of Notre Dame de France. 213 Russian cannons captured during the siege of Sevastopol in the Crimean War (1856 to 1860) were melted down and used for the statue which has dominated Le Puy ever since. In I went and climbed up and up 262 steps until I reached the crown where a metal ladder drew me upwards until my head poked out the top. What a view over the city and onwards.
Then it was over to the Rocher et Chapelle Saint-Michel d’Aiguilhe, the real symbol of Le Puy-en-Velay. A further 268 steps led me up the volcanic plug to the 57m diameter top which holds the little chapel and hermitage. It was the Bishop Godescalc of Le Puy who was the first ever pilgrim to cross the Pyrenees to reach Compostela and he built the chapel when he returned in 951 and dedicated it to Saint Michael the Archangel. French engineering at its best.
And that was my pilgrimage. We took the train to Lyon where, after a tearful farewell, Robert and Michaela caught their overnight bus to Munich, I went into the modern equivalent of the Cathedral, the Westfield Shopping Centre and ate a chicken Katsu curry.
This has been an excellent pilgrimage. Unlike last year I only had a few days of solo walking. It was especially nice to walk with Eveline again whom I met on the way to Rome and who kindly looked after me for the first week. And then I walked with Walter as far as Lausanne and he taught me much about the agricultural landscape. The ladies from Nuremberg, Silvia and Claudia were great company until Interlaken. It was wonderful to meet Ruedi, whom I last saw on the fearful Roman Road in France on the way to Rome. We had an excellent dinner on a night when we were otherwise looking at cereal bars. Finally, at my lowest moment after the first few days in France, Robert & Michaela burst into my dilapidated farmhouse and we combined our mental energies to reach Le Puy-en-Velay. It was a special time.
Thanks to everyone who followed along and I’ve enjoyed reading your comments. They kept me going.
Pilgrimage 
Thanks again Tim, and safe journey home.
Awesome photos – classic Geographical features with a human twist. You look like you’ve put on some weight Tim – must be all those croissants! Anyway, thanks for the last month’s travelogue and very well done on accomplishing the feat.
Ha I lost 3Kg. Try sweating continuously for 33 days all uphill on a couple of pains au chocolate and put on weight! The risk is to continue with all those croissants while watching Netflix. I took lots of volcanic stumps for you so I’m glad you liked them. They are truly amazing in re as l life. When are we having our 40th anniversary reunion?
Kia ora Tim, Thanks for an entertaining and interesting interlude. Congratulations on another epic walk. Looking forward to following your footsteps next year. Take care, be good and, if you can’t be good, say sorry! Enjoy Wimbledon.
Well done Tim! I recall the start of your first pilgrimage when you forced your blistered toes along the first pathways, yet developed ultimately into these amazing feet of endurance. It shows what can be achieved with 10 pairs of boots, 2 sets of knees and 1000 croissants. Jerusalem awaits…
Great advice, thanks for all your great comments which I always enjoy. I hope you get another walk scheduled
Well done Tim you are a master storyteller and we will all miss your daily updates 👍👏
Safe travels home😎
I’ll miss writing them, thanks for all the support and I’m looking forward to catching up with you soon
Thanks for sharing another awesome walk Tim. I’m already looking forward to next year’s edition!
Thanks, so am I!
Thanks so much Tim for your great blog, photos (and videos)! And especially for your farewell to Le Puy-en-Velay, with so many reminders for me of the start of the Chemin St Jacques. Loved the photo of you and your friends with the contemplative pilgrim; it just sums up so much about what is special about this place and the roads you’ve travelled on. Have a safe journey home and we’ll look forward to next year’s walk wherever it may be.
Hi Philippa, yes it’s a special place and I felt it, returning to the start of my 2017 walk. What a privilege to be able to make these journeys
Walk sure was a success people wise, and your ohysical fitness
Ciao ciao
For me, a pilgrimage is all about the people on the way so yep this was a good one. Thank you
Tim – I have truly loved reading about your trip and have enjoyed the photos. I can’t wait for your next walk!
God Bless you, Annette
Hello Annette, thank you so much for your kind words. This was a particularly good pilgrimage
It’s time to give thanks for what was so that what is to come begins under a lucky star.
It was a pleasure to follow your posts
Hi Silvia from Nuremberg! It was a real pleasure to walk with you and Claudia in Switzerland. I so much enjoyed your company and I have many happy memories of our walk and the church visits. My credential is fully and overflowing onto the extra page! I pray for your strength and happiness when you continue your Camino
Sorry not to have followed you along the way this time Tim but I am glad you had such an enjoyable walk with good company.
Hi Suzi, I missed your comments but I had a wonderful pilgrimage thank you