Leaving Souchez (near Ablain-Saint-Naraire) on Friday morning was delayed a bit by a talkative host at my B&B. I loved it, though, because I had a chance to practice my French a little, and I learned some about what average French people perceive as being wrong with French society. Some nuggets:
- Restaurants couldn’t get anyone to work after COVID, so they don’t open for dinner, and they only have one seating at lunch. Young people want to dictate the terms of their work rather than doing the job offered them. Of course, that sounds similar to what you will hear anywhere. I suspect it’s also tied to a declining birth rate and a general animosity toward migrants who usually fill the gaps in low wage, entry level jobs in food service – and other industries.
- Immigrants tend to go the larger cities where there isn’t as much open hostility toward them. The small villages are not shy about their anti-immigration attitudes.
- Inflation is crushing the average working person.
- Macron likes to play his role on the world stage rather than working at home.
- Wages don’t match up with costs.
- French bureaucracy is exhausting.
Despite everything that may be wrong with France, I did get a fresh egg for my breakfast from the home’s chickens.
Returning to the Via Francigena from Souchez, I walked through the village of Ablain-Saint-Nazire, where their 16th-century Saint-Nazaire church was left in ruins after World War I in memory of those who died in the war.
Walking into the hilltop village of Mont-Saint-Eloi, I was happy to see that the U.S. doesn’t have a monopoly on eccentric characters who express themselves in quirky roadside attractions.
Mont-Saint-Eloi has its own ruined church, the former St. Augustine abbey, built in the late 1700’s after the original medieval buildings were destroyed. The monks left the abbey during the French Revolution, and the building was converted into a quarry and pillaged for stone. The remaining towers were heavily shelled in 1915, further reducing their height.
A quiet walk carried me into the big city of Arras, where I had planned (and did) take a rest day. More on Arras to come. Spoiler alert: I loved it!
4 Responses
Charles: With your experience so far, what have you learned about finding lodging for each night? How far ahead do you plan, and who, in general, are the best sources if information about where to stay? Similarly, where do you look for places to eat during the day, and how do you find places to relax for a good dinner? Dave Miller
For lodging, there are several sources I use: 1). There are two primary apps focused on the Via Francigena that provide good GPS tracking, and they provide information about likely accommodations close to the trail. Many of those are linked to Booking.com, so you end up there. Some, like my gite tonight, only have a website, so I had to email them for a room and work my way through the language issue. 2) If the ones shown on the apps are full, I go directly to Booking.com to cast a wider net, and I start looking for accommodations as close to the VF as I can get, and 3). There is a Via Francigena association that publishes a list of pilgrim accommodations that can include various churches and private homes where people are willing to take in pilgrims. I am trying to only book one or two days ahead to remain flexible on how far I have to walk each day. Once you have booked, you then have to get there. On the other hand, some of the upcoming stages have limited accommodations, and the distances between them is great, so I may have to book further in advance to ensure I get a room for the night.
On food, most of the accommodations offer breakfast (that is almost standard here). Lunch and dinner are the problem. There is usually no place to eat lunch, so I buy food for the trail (fruit, nuts, bars, dry sausages, etc.) or I take a few extra items from breakfast to tide me over. Many villages will have a boulangerie open in the morning where you can buy a sandwich to carry with you. Dinner can be a problem. My gite tonight is in the country, and they don’t offer dinner. Fortunately, I brought enough from Peronne to make do. I’ll be in a city tomorrow night where a restaurant will be available. I’m learning to carry at least one or two meals with me at all times.
seems to be a common theme…inflation running faster than wages
It is, indeed. And for a significant sector of society, it’s not just an aggravation. It directly affects the choices they make each day, and people are genuinely frustrated.