Author: Thom

My dinner at the gîte included a regional specialty called aligot. I’d had some at lunch as well, but here I got the full dramatic presentation. It’s made from mashed potatoes, tome fraîche cheese, cream, butter, and garlic. On paper, this is just cheesy mashed potatoes, but as you can see from the photo, it’s a great deal more cheese […]

Statues and images of the Beast of Gévaudan abound in this rural region of southern France. I started seeing them in Saugues about two days prior, and this was the last major image I found, in a plaza in Aumont-Aubrac. It was, as you can probably tell from the photo, a bright and hot afternoon, so I tried to stay indoors […]

The interior of the church of Saint-Etienne is a weird mishmash of medieval and modern elements. The stained glass windows are beautiful, but they definitely reflect the styles and tastes of the mid to late twentieth century. The main altar is modern, but the side altars look to be from the 19th century or slightly earlier. Yet, somehow, it all […]

After a long lunch, I bid farewell to Steve and then went to visit the local church. Saint-Etienne is all that remains of a Benedictine priory founded in 1061. It was extensively remodeled and/or restored several times in its history: in the 12th, 13th, 19th, and 20th centuries. Date: 21 August 2023 Place: Aumont-Aubrac, Lozère Département, Region of Occitanie, France […]

Unlike Francine, I seldom photograph my meals. However, this lunch in Aumont-Aubrac – at the restaurant attached to my gîte no less – was exceptional. Those potatoes are a local favourite called aligot. More on that in a couple of days. You also see here a can of the ubiquitous Orangina, quite my favourite refreshing drink in France. It’s just […]

I walked much of that afternoon with Steve. He’s a retired Assemblies of God pastor, originally from the United States but living in Germany for more than twenty years. On the day of his retirement, he began his Camino by walking out his front door in Munich. He is a faithful, faith-filled lover of Jesus. We had a wonderful, wide-ranging […]

The interior of the little village church in Les Estrets may not look like much, but it will always be dear to me. For it was here in this tiny Romanesque church that I chanted the opening versicle of the Liturgy the Hours in Latin, while Steve the Assemblies of God preacher sang God’s praises in his own private prayer […]

The Way into the village of Les Estrets is down a road that the rain has washed to a stony gulley. It includes a slippery section of bare rock, of the kind Francine dubbed “the dragon’s spine”. I slipped a couple of times in this stretch. Thank goodness for my hiking poles! Date: 21 August 2023 Place: entering Les Estrets, […]

After breakfast, I left town and continued walking mostly through open fields and meadows in the unforgiving heat, with the occasional blessed stand of shady trees. At some point, I met up with Steve and we walked together the rest of the morning and into the afternoon. I spotted these pilgrims ahead of us, and I though that this was […]