Therouanne to Amettes – 23 km

Week 1 Summary – Observations by Paula

Each day is its’ own accomplishment and gift.  Think Hanukkah, not Christmas.

It has been a full week on the Via Francigena and the classic question would be: has it been what you would hope for? Who thinks to walk from Canterbury to Rome?   —  So, Yes!

Although I have been a bit surprised by public reaction when we have been asked about our journey. In England several people casually asked the reason for our visit. When we replied we are walking from Canterbury to Rome the reaction was a nonchalant acceptance: “Oh, nice”.  However, if you casually asked a stranger about their holiday and they replied “Pulling out my toenails with pliers” you may not advance that conversation either, In other words it is a conversation stopper.

We have encountered at least 3 miracles:

1. In Dover the ferry lines prohibit pedestrians but allow bicycle traffic.  When confiding with John, the hotel manager, of our plight he produced 2 bicycles from his basement. Intrigued by our caper to load our luggage on the bikes, board the ferry, arrive in Calais, dump the bikes, he then engineered an elaborate platform on the back fenders of the bikes using bedframe parts and duct tape.  The only problem was the bicycles no longer had seats.  It worked, we arrived in Calais
2. Literally in the middle of nowhere a fresh strawberry dispensary appeared.  Insert Euro, push button, open door, take out the most perfect container of strawberries
3. A few of our hotels have had hair dryers, obviously important for drying laundry.

It has been an incredible week of exhilarating adventure. We have met two other Pilgrims, an angry English lady and a lovely Italian man. The long paths have been empty, just the two of us. Often I feel a bit guilty –  Edward has meticulously organized the incredible number of details of our trip, you’ve seen the spreadsheet, and now constantly checking our path and coordinates, leaving me the luxury to engage in random thoughts as I walk along. Just today I found myself —

• Debating if the couch would be better facing the window or the fireplace
• Musing if I should wear my hair straight like Chris Jenner’s  at the Met Ball
• And wondering why am I continually humming the Marseilles?

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