Lynn Amber - Travel & Photography
sharing my thoughts through words and images
Le Puy Camino – via Podiensis: Final Days in Le Puy-en-Velay, Part Two
March 29 – 30, 2023
On Wednesday morning, March 29th, we packed up our belongings to make our final accommodation change while in Le Puy-en-Velay. The Gîte d’étape Accueil chrétien Saint François was established in 1994 and is operated through a joint venture between the Sisters of Saint François of Assisi and local community members. Located in a 15th century building within minutes of the cathedral, the gîte offers accommodations at a more reasonable price for pilgrims in a dormitory-style atmosphere. According to their website, the “house “was designed as a family place where everyone can “put down their suitcases”, a place of social diversity and meeting where volunteers, nuns meet , employees in integration, permanent employees and residents.”
We stayed here for two nights. The accommodation is typical of many gîtes along the Way that offer more affordable rates with less amenities. Most do offer demi-pension (petit dejeuner and repas du soir) as an option but also provide kitchen space where thrifty pilgrims can cook their own meals to save money. Also, we found that most of the dormitory-style hostels provide disposable bed covers (bottom sheet and pillow cover) with a blanket and you are required to use your own towel in shared shower/bathroom spaces. We had our own room with twin beds here while many other low-cost gîtes along the walk offer only large rooms with up to 15 beds.
The continental breakfast was set up as “self-serve” each morning. It was early in the season so there were not many people staying here. One other group we met at dinner indicated they were a walking club from Northern France. When I went down for breakfast in the morning I had the place all to myself! Enjoyed my coffee in a chair by the window gazing out at the rooftops!
For the next two days, we did some more tourist-type activities and I continued to walk the GR65 so I could keep up my fitness level!
One of the most prominent structures dominating the skyline in Le Puy-en-Velay is La Statue de Notre-Dame de France. Built in the 19th century, it has the distinction of being made with the metal from 213 cannons that were confiscated after the seige of Sevastopol during the Crimean War. The statue was created by Jean-Marie Bonnassieux and built on the highest point in the city. The statue is hollow and there is a cast iron circular staircase that leads up the center of the statue to the crown. There are viewpoints along the way that look out over the city.
We made reservations for lunch at the popular vegetarian restaurant Caulet-Flori located in the quaint Place du Plot. It was another fantastic meal complete with dessert – all for the low price of 18 euros. Dinner on Wednesday was at the accommodation. Planning Tip: Get used to eating dinner later on at night in France. I am used to eating around 6pm here in the US and it took me awhile to adjust to an evening meal starting at 7:30pm. Dinner was usually a multi-course affair and considered a social event. It could easily take up to an hour to complete. We would basically eat dinner and go right to bed since we were getting up early to continue our walk the next day. By the time dinner was over we were exhausted and not just from walking all day but also because we had to try and converse with our French dinner mates. It took all my concentration to understand the conversation and try to partake. I would collapse into bed each night physically and mentally exhausted! But – it was a good kind of exhaustion! 🙂 Oddly, I did finally adjust to eating a late meal and going right to bed. But, I will happily revert to my US schedule after the trip!
On Thursday, March 30, we took care of some last minute details and ate a lunch of leftovers at the gîte. We took some time in the afternoon to go over our packs and then decided to head out for another walk about town. As we were descending into the historic part of town, we encountered a gentleman named Laurent who stopped and chatted with us. He seemed to be an “unofficial” ambassador of Le Puy! He suggested that we should visit the Cloître de la Cathédrale du Puy-en-Velay that dates back to the 12th century. Now a museum, it also houses the Cathedral Treasury. The Treasury contains an amazing collection of treasures including embroidered ceremonial robes and clothes and ornaments used for ceremonies.
Laurent was waiting for us as we exited the Cloister and walked us over to another building that appeared to be a government building I later identified as the Conseil Départemental de la Haute-Loire. He wanted to show us some local artwork inside this building and also some photographs on an outside wall depicting places of interest in the surrounding countryside. He offered to take some photographs of us and was quite professional about it! The first photo below was taken in the courtyard outside the building and the second photo was taken inside the building in the art gallery. Before we parted ways with Laurent, he even offered to loan us his car the next day so we could explore the countryside. Since this was our last day in Le Puy, we politely declined but it was such a nice gesture of kindness.
Walking back towards town, there was a great view of the Rocher Saint-Michel d’Aiguilhe. It still holds the honor of being my favorite place in Le Puy.
We still had some time before heading back to the gîte for dinner so we wandered around town. In addition to being known for its green lentils, Le Puy is also famous for its lace. The art of lace-making in Le Puy dates back to the Middle Ages. The technique is called bobbin lace and it has its origins in Le Puy. In days gone by, Couviges (groups of women who are lacemakers) would convene along the cobblestone streets in Le Puy in the afternoons to work with their bobbin lace cushions. I imagine it must have also been a major social event for the women – chatting to the rhythm of the bobbins as they weaved the lace.
My sister-in-law and I both thought it would be cool to take home a piece of Le Puy lace but we did not want to carry extra items and assumed we could pick some up in Saint-Jean-Pied-du-Port. All along our walk, it was common to see lace curtains in all the windows so my thought was to purchase a set of curtains. But, alas, there was no lace to be found in Saint-Jean! Oh well – there’s always the internet!
The next day we were to start our long walk to Saint-Jean-Pied-du-Port along the Chemin de Saint-Jacques. I’m not sure I got much sleep the night before! Next time – our first day on the trail! 🙂
Lynn Amber - Travel & Photography 
So much detail! No wonder you were exhausted by EOD. And the lace making with all those bobbins must be very confusing since they do not seem to be numbered or color coded! All very enjoyable. Stewart
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