Eva on the Via Francigena (and beyond)

Song of the Day: Give Me Love (Give Me Peace on Earth) — George Harrison

”Give me love, give me love, give me peace on Earth / Give me light, give me light, keep me free from hurt / Give me hope, help me cope with this heavy load…”

You may be surprised that this is the second George Harrison song I’ve used in a month, but don’t be. According to Spotify, I was in the top 0.05% of George Harrison listeners last year. Granted, there may be more ardent listeners than me still listening on vinyl or listening to downloaded music, but still. This won’t be the last.

Anyway, of course I love this song, and it’s a great hiking song. I remember listening to this (and “Photograph” by Ringo) on a late-evening hike up Buttermilk in Aspen two summers ago, a quick break from work and GMAT studying. It was not a property hiking trail, just a long walk up the access road, but even so I had some amazing views down one of the valleys and of the sunset — even if I had to jog down to not get caught in the dark. I’ve hiked a lot in that area but for some reason that walk was memorable for me — I was having a rough time that year and it provided a much needed burst of joy.

As I started to reference yesterday, Besancon is much more of a bustling city than I was expecting. In many ways this was good — lots of interesting shops and eateries, and in some ways less good — difficulty finding a table, and a few people who were causing trouble in the streets. At 9am on a Sunday though, Besancon is as quiet as any village I have stayed in. The weather was still cool as I headed out in search of a an open coffee shop, My search was unsuccessful but I enjoyed having the main streets mostly to myself. I walked a loop around town looking for a place to sit, ultimately giving up and heading to a patisserie near me, where I secured a pain au chocolat for tomorrow and some sort of pastry I had never seen for today. It basically was like a long cream puff (i.e., choux pastry), but with no cream on the inside, just pastry, and topped with those delicious large sugar pellets they use here sometimes. I sat on a bench to enjoy my sugary breakfast, and hit the Carrefour for lunch materials before it closed.

After a quick pit stop back at the Airbnb to drop my things, I decided to try and do as much sightseeing as I could before it got too hot to be outside. I started with the Porte Noire, a Roman triumphal arch from the second century AD. I’ve seen many of these in Rome, of course, but it was very interesting to see one up close so far from Italy. Every time I am reminded of how expansive the Roman Empire is, I am awed.

After the arch I visited Besancon’s cathedral, which reminded me much more of the Baroque Roman churches with its use of marble. It also had some beautiful stained glass, and when I was there it was completely empty. Perfect for some contemplative time alone to reflect on the last year of my life. Also in the Cathedral (at Patrick’s recommendation — thank you!) I headed upstairs to visit Besancon’s archaeological clock. The city has a long history with clocks which is made evident with the many watch stores on the Main Street. This is the city’s treasure: though it is no longer functional, it at one point could tell the time in Besancon (as well as cities all over the world), show the location of the planets, show the century and whether it was a leap year (one component of this specific clock was built to move every 400 years!), and showed the tides at key French ports. You could also walk around the back of the clock to see the mechanism, which was truly insane. So many gears and wires — the whole thing was incredibly intricate, and even after staring for awhile I couldn’t figure out how each of the clocks connected to the main mechanism. It was well worth the 4 EUR entrance fee.

Leaving the church I headed uphill to Besancon’s citadel, which sits high above the city and houses two museums and a zoo. Unfortunately the museum I was most interested in, the museum of the Resistance, is closed until next week. However, I visited some of the museum of the Ramparts, including an interactive exhibit showing the barracks of French soldiers (I refrained from trying on the clothes and wigs, though it’s allowed). I also visited part of the zoo — the nocturnal animals section was a bit creepy, and the zoo was large (though it was an impressive location) and I realized I didn’t have the energy to fully explore it.

The best part of visiting the citadel, by far, was walking up on the ramparts. My breath was literally taken away as I climbed up and saw the view over the city in one direction, and to the rolling foothills of the Jura in the other. The Doub river sliced through the rocky hills, which were a deep green. More forest walking and many more hills for me tomorrow. Looking out of the city, I could see the tops of buildings, spires of the churches, and the main bridge out of the Boucle, the heart of the city. While the remaining museums were cool, this was absolutely a highlight, and worth the visit even if you skip the museums.

I was starting to get hungry so I headed downhill in search of lunch. I walked a quick lap of Les Halles, but they were closing up soon and there didn’t seem to be a place to order a planche. So, I picked up takeaway sushi from a place near my airbnb and ate in the shade of a tree, catching up on blogs in the meantime. After lunch I remembered that I had wanted to visit the other main church, across the river, and headed over only to find it closed and blocked off by a large street potluck. I stopped instead to sit and do some route planning over a glass of wine overlooking the river — a glass of vendages tardives Alsace Riesling which was refreshing and just a little sweet, with notes of peach and honey (the bar was Alsace-themed). Just before 3pm the heat was starting to get to me so I headed back to the Airbnb to watch the Monza Grand Prix.

It was a very exciting race, even with Max Verstappen ultimately capturing his tenth consecutive win without much difficulty. Carlos Sainz (my favorite driver) drove a fantastic race, holding off both Red Bulls as long as he could and securing 3rd place. All this despite the best efforts of his teammate, Charles Leclerc, who fought Carlos hard and nearly crashed both of them out on the last lap…

Following the race, I headed out again for a lemonade at a bar in one of the squares and then an early dinner. Tomorrow is 17 miles of up-and-down, with a hot day planned. I’m thinking I’ll try and set off by 6:30 to get as much done before the heat as possible, so need an early night tonight.