Moulin on the Water at L'Auvergne, Bernos-Baulac

There is really nothing better than sitting outside and eating a fabulous meal with our lovely French hosts  Clair and Jean Paul Meric. They are busy people with both a Gite and Chambres D'hotes. There property is set in the valley along a river and includes an old mill. They hope to have their own power generation soon. With all this to take care of they still open their home to Pilgrims passing on the route.

What a wonderful place.

Le Gite Jacquaire St. Ferme

We are in Saint Ferme staying at a wonderful Pilgrim Gite with our host and Hospitallero Dominique. This is the true pilgrim experience that we always hope for along the route. Dominique welcomed us with a cool drink and showed us around before starting preparations for our dinner. Dinner was a lovely multi course meal with wine and great conversation. After dinner Jean Claude came by to give us a personal tour of the Twelfth century Abbey. He comes by the Gite each night in case there are Pilgrims here to take them on a tour before he locks up the church for the night.

One of the most interesting details in this church are the signatures of the various stone masons on their stones. With a good flashlight we saw at least a hundred. 

I am so glad we stopped here; what a lovely surprise for our first night in  the Bordeaux region. The vines are everywhere now and the wine...lovely.

The Po Valley Pavia to Piacenza: Bethlehem- No room at the Inn

Ruth: 85 km with the additional 10 added in.

Crossing the Po River

The very very flat Po Valley.

My needs are simple and, I suspect, not that different from other pilgrims on the Via Francigena or any pilgrimage route. At the end of a long hot day there needs to be a shower, some food and a bed. It is amazing how much I warm to a place when these three treasures are available. Generally speaking the VF has been excellent at providing these, but Pavia did not. After a long but great ride we arrived in time to secure a place and begin enjoying the sights. Unfortunately all of the religious places listed in our Confraternity of Pilgrims to Rome accommodation list turned us away insisting that we return to the new Ostello Santa Maria in Betlem ( Bethlehem in English) when it opened at 6:30 pm!  Somewhere during the 10 extra kilometres wandering from one address to another I hit the wall of heat, fatigue and frustration. How I actually behaved will be left unsaid, but if Gord hadn't produced a Mars bar at a certain moment I don't know what would have happened.  

When the hostel opened however we were greeted by an apologetic man who informed us that the place was full. Our next option was the inexpensive hotel  Statione by the railway station but we arrived to find it permanently closed. At 7:30 pm we forked over 95€ for a room at a three star hotel. We limped out for some risotto and then collapsed. In spite of the well recommended sights we did not stay in Pavia for a second night as planned.

I have been able to fully enjoy our stay in Piacensa because my three treasures were waiting for me. It turns out the sights here including the Cathedral are also well worth a visit but for this pilgrim secondary.