Eva on the Via Francigena (and beyond)

Song of the Day: Space Song — Beach House

Some days I struggle to come up with a song, and then suddenly out of nowhere will have a song that fits stuck in my head. Today was one of those days. That said, I thought the dreamy, spaced-out guitar matched both my hours of watching reflections on the canal, as well as the respite of once again rolling farm fields.

Another day in the heat wave, another early start. This time I was up at 5:45, packing as quickly as I could and saying goodbye to Giulia (who requested I wake up her up to say goodbye!) After so many days of following behind her and seeing her name in church and accommodation guest books, it was so nice to finally meet her in person and have the chance to spend a few days together. She is very kind and has a true pilgrim spirit — I hope she has a nice few days in Chalons-en-Champagne before her return to Rome.

As discussed yesterday, the canal walking is not my favorite, so I was already mentally preparing with ways to cope with the hours of same-ness. The hostel is right near the canal, so I was on the path within just a few minutes — I would repeatedly leave and re-join the official VF today, which meanders back and forth between the canal and country roads. Given the heat, I figured it was better to save time and stick to the canal.

I started out by listening to the Beatles for Sale album, which is one of my favorites of theirs — of course it’s not as cohesive or innovative as their later work, and it still has a lot of the rock and blues influences of their early albums, but really it just has some great songs. This album took me out of the limits of Chalons, past a barge-bar along the canal which would have been a nice place for a drink, and past a number of factories of some sort.

I then listened to Janis Ian’s 1967 debut album, which my dad had recommended to me. I’d never listened to it before, and hadn’t heard any of the songs from it. It’s a fantastic album, a real exploration of coming-of-age and womanhood that I felt still resonates today. I’m not usually much of a lyrics person (it takes many listens for me usually to really focus on a song’s lyrics) but I found myself really captivated by her writing. All in all the album really, I think, captures the experience of growing out of being a girl. I was shocked to learn that she as only 13 when she wrote some of the songs on the album! And she was only 16 when the album was released.

I stopped for breakfast, a banana and some peanuts, at one of the locks. From here I switched tactics to distract myself, letting my mind wander: I used to have all of the U.S. Presidents memorized by number, and my friends and I used to play a game where we would randomly generate a number 1-44 and see who could remember that president the fastest. So, I tried to list as many presidents as I could — I’m missing a lot of them now.

My family loves music (unsurprising if you know us) and one game we used to play over breakfast, and now play over our family group text, is coming up with as many songs as we can by theme. I’ve been trying to put together a roster of songs for the days of the week but got stuck. So far I have: Friday I’m in Love — The Cure; Saturday Night — Frank Sinatra; Sunday Morning — The Velvet Underground; Monday, Monday — The Mamas & The Papas; Ruby Tuesday — The Rolling Stones. I’m open to any suggestions for Wednesday and Thursday songs.

I passed about 3 hours this way, alternating between letting my mind wander, listening to music, and listening to podcasts — including an interesting one about antitrust concerns in the wine industry (specifically relating to a court case about wine shipping in Virginia). I passed a few bikers and joggers, and saw a gorgeous heron. At the 3-hour mark I knew I was 75% of the way done, and I was hungry. I decided to ditch the canal and head into the town of Pogny in search of a supermarket.

The village was, to my surprise, full of large trucks. They rumbled down the small streets and I squeezed myself against buildings on the narrow sidewalk to get out of their way. I noticed that the church seemed open, so I popped in — I so rarely come upon open churches in these towns. It was a beautiful Romanesque building that was surprisingly light and airy, and had some lovely stained glass. I walked around a bit before discovering the reason the church was open — someone was setting up for a funeral, marking pews as reserved for family and arranging flowers. I left quickly so as not to further disturb.

A ways up the road, looking for the supermarket (which Google maps had as the wrong location), a car passed me. I considered flagging them down to ask about the market but decided against it, and as they drove by I realized it was the priest, in his robes and probably also headed to the funeral preparations.

I did finally arrive at the supermarket, which was at a truck stop just off the main road. Next to it was an open boulangerie, so I decided to go there instead for my usual: pain au chocolat, a sandwich (this one jambon cru and chèvre), and an orangina. I perched on a rock nearby and had this mini picnic: my second breakfast / first lunch at about 10:15 am.

Feeling refreshed, I decided I was done with the canal for the day and let Maps.Me take me on an alternate route on farm roads paralleling the Autostrada. It was a welcome return to rolling hills and wide open fields, and my old familiar friends the wind turbines, which I haven’t seen in days. The last 45 minutes on this road passed quickly despite the sun getting stronger and stronger, and I crossed over into La-Chausee-sur-Marne, where I stopped by the Mairie (closed) and the church (closed, but situated in a nice cemetery) before arriving at my gite, a lovely timbered home run by a woman named Monique. I called her to let her know I had arrived, and with my broken French we talked through the plans for the rest of the day. Thankfully, she was very accommodating of my poor French (this is the same woman I called yesterday, and when she asked for my name to make the reservation, I repeatedly responded “ah, oui, oui!”).

After a shower and washing my clothes (the benefit of the heatwave is that my clothes dried in an hour on the line, so I could wash both sets of shirts and walking shorts), I had lunch #2 (saucisson, baguette, and a clementine), and a pre-dinner nap. The nice thing about the gites is that there isn’t much to do (and most of the time they are in tiny villages), so I have no pressure to head out and sightsee — I can relax, listen to music, and do my writing.

As agreed, at 7:30 I walked to Monique’s house for a lovely dinner of cucumber and tomato (fresh from her garden), salad, and dessert — including some much-needed watermelon. She kindly indulged my terrible French, and we chatted about family and travel. She’s been hosting pilgrims for a few years, and showed me her guestbook. While I wish I would have been able to better communicate, she was absolutely lovely and kind, and sent me back to the gite after dinner with breakfast for tomorrow and a snack for the road.

Final mileage: 12.63mi
Walking time: 5h 15m
Elevation gain: 135ft

Accommodation: Ferme de la Chaussee, a country gite hosted by Monique. I am the only one here and the space is large: multiple bedrooms, a sizeable living room with TV, and a kitchen. Monique is incredibly kind, and I would highly recommend this as a way to break up the stages between Chalons and Vitry.