The Humble Walker

Paris to Saint Jean-du-Luz

Posted on April 9, 2025April 10, 2025 by mewalsh1

Walking thru Streets of Paris early Sunday morning.

We woke up early with only 5 hours sleep to catch an early train to Bayonne. We had a 30 minute walk to the train station. I didn’t realize that it doesn’t get light in Paris until after 7:00 am and it was a little scary walking thru the deserted streets early on a Sunday morning. We made it to the station and had an uneventful 3 hour train ride to Bayonne. We originally planned to walk from Biarritz near Bayonne but we were tired from the late night before so we hopped on another train Guethary and decided to walk from there. This was just to be a 4 hour warm up walk for the Camino. Guethary is a beautiful village and we enjoyed some coffee and lunch at a cafe before heading out on our walk. Our destination was Saint-Jean-du-Luz.

After a beautiful walk for 5 hours along the coast of southern France we finally made it. We were exhausted and very hot and sweaty. This was the longest we walked so far carrying 20 lb backpacks. We tried to pack light but things add up. We brought 2 pair of hiking pants 3 shirts, 3 pair of socks and underwear, toiletries, meds and first aid kitpacks included.

After a rest we headed out to explore Saint-Jean-Luz. It is a dynamic fishing community with a beautiful beach. The town is very proud of the fact that King Louis XIV lived here for a month and was married here. Fun fact. King Louis became king when he was only 5 years old and ruled until his 70s.

King Louis XIV Lived here for 1 month — King Louis XIV lived in this house for one month

Paris (Day 2)

Posted on April 9, 2025April 10, 2025 by mewalsh1

I woke up Saturday morning and headed to Jardin du Luxembourg for a quick morning walk. The gardens were only a block from our hotel. They were created in 1612 by Marie de Medici, the widow of King Henry IV who also had the Luxembourg Palace built as her residence. The palace is now the home of the French Senate. The gardens have over 100 statues and fountains. It was fun to walk thru I left the gardens and headed up to see the Pantheon a monument built between 1758 and 1790. From there i headed down to buy some croissants from La Maison d’Isabelle. I had read they were the best croissants in all of Paris the they did not disappoint. They were delicious, really flaky and buttery. I headed back to the room and we ate the pastry and then headed out for coffee.

We had the whole day in Paris before us and we decided to walk to the Eiffel Tower to help us get in shape for our walk that was starting tomorrow. We walked along the Seine, and bought a sandwich for lunch along the river, strolled past the Louve, the palace and the National Gallery. Unfortunately I tripped on one of the cobblestones and twisted my ankle but was still able to walk.

We decided to take the train back but after only one stop there was an issue with the train so we got off and walked back. We walked a total of 33,000 steps and were exhausted. But, we had tickets that evening for The Paradis Latin, a burlesque style show, so we took a nap before heading out to dinner and the show. We didn’t know how we would stay awake for a show that started at 9:30 pm (way past our bedtime) but it was a great show and very entertaining as well as a bit risqué. If you are looking for something unique in Paris I would recommend it.

Dressed up for a night in Paris “Camino style”

Paris! (Day 1)

Posted on April 8, 2025April 10, 2025 by mewalsh1

We planned two days in Paris to recover from our jet lag and to visit some of the sites including Norte Dame Cathedral. The weather was beautiful when we arrived. It was sunny and in the 70s. We took the train from the airport to the Latin Quarter were we had reservations in a small hotel called Hotel Michelet Odéon. Paris is expensive and we were lucky to book this hotel a couple months ago at a great rate. It was perfectly located and it’s fun to walk around the Latin Quarter. After brief nap we headed over to Norte Dame. The cues to get in were long but kept moving. It is possible to make a reservation 2 hours ahead of your visit but we were unable to do this in time. It is free to visit the cathedral and definitely with a visit. According to some of the locals the lines are longer than usual since it has only been open a couple months since the fire.

After visiting Norte Dame, we walked along the Seine for a bit and after a stop at a cafe for dinner, we hit the sack. We felt we adjusted to the 6 hour time change fairly well but were exhausted from our night owl flight with only a couple hours of sleep.

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On our way to walk the Camino del Norte

Posted on April 3, 2025April 8, 2025 by mewalsh1

John and I will be walking the Camino del Norte and the Camino Primativo after a brief weekend in Paris. We invite you to follow our adventures as we blog our way across the northern coast of Spain. We will take the train from Paris to Bayonne on in southern France and walk for 40 days. We plan to walk a total of 830 kilometers. We will average about 23 kilometers a day with several rest days built into our schedule. We will be staying in a combination of albergues (hostels), pensions (bed and breakfasts) and inexpensive hotels. We are looking forward to seeing beautiful scenery, checking out the historic and cultural sites on route, eating delicious food and most of all meeting and talking to fellow pilgrims from all over the world! We invite you to check back for updates as we trek across northern Spain.