Author Archives: lydia

About lydia

An avowed francophile who speaks very broken but earnest French, Lydia is married to Joseph, of ancient Basque and modern Mexican lineage who has spent the past several years studying his Spanish heritage. In the course of their 50 plus years together, they have been abundantly blessed by a wonderful family which now includes 9 grandchildren, many longtime friends, and the desire to search their roots. Since Lydia doesn't have any French roots, her love of France must have come from her highschool teachers and from her father who never lost his ability to recite "The Grasshopper and the Ant" in French. His reading her the horrible wonderful French fairy tales didn't hurt either. Lydia plans their trips and Joe has the power of veto, sometimes! Genealogy research in Spain has led to a wonderful friendship with our Artajona Banales family. Our love of the Camino de Santiago has led to a love of the Camino Real de California. And then, there's always France, and Ireland, and Croatia, and, and.... This blog is an attempt to share some of the stories as they happen to spare their family and friends when they get home. We hope you enjoy it.

10/2 Learning Lessons

First of all, there is no need to be four hours early for a flight. On the other hand, when you’re in a city that’s new to you and you don’t know where anything is, what are you going to … Continue reading

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10/1 A Bientot, Provence; Bonjour, Lyon

 How do we leave these lovely people and this lovely place? It was not easy. We got on the road to Lyon about 11 am and it was supposed to take about 2 1/2 hours to get there. Then it … Continue reading

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9/30 Last Day in Provence

  Ok, so I don’t transition well, especially when it comes to saying goodbye to people and places I love. We did a final round of the places we hadn’t seen for a while after mailing yet another box of … Continue reading

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9/29 A Day of Old Memories

  You may not be nostalgic to hear of Brantes, Roussillon, Gordes, Iles sur la Sorgue, Restaurant St. Hubert in Entrechoux; but all of these names mean so much to us – time spent with Roma and Terry, with Ine … Continue reading

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9/28 Another Beautiful Day in Paradise

This is exactly the time we needed to rest and recuperate. First thing I heard this morning was the muted roar of the harvesters as they worked from row to row, gathering grapes and then dumping them into the trailer … Continue reading

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9/27 Market Day; Harvest Day

Such a good day! We skipped breakfast and left for the Market at about 9:30. We were early and some of the booths werent’t even set up yet. But there were plenty of shoppers. This is Vaison le Romaine’s weekly … Continue reading

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9/26 – Monday-Transition from Spain to France

Our hotel in Barcelona was wonderful, 23 stories of modern brass and glass. The room was large, floor to ceiling windows on two sides, a cavernous shower, coffee service, and very comfortable beds. I always ask for twin beds because … Continue reading

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9/25 Sunday – A Day of Rest and Riding the Rails

Only one photo today and that’s of our meager picnic on the train from Santiago to Barcelona. And now they’ve just announced that it will arrive half an hour late, 10 pm. I’ve called the hotel and their cafe is … Continue reading

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9/24 Finishing Up in Santiago

  We had an amazing breakfast buffet at the Compostela Hotel. Then we packed a box for home. Sticks, boots, a few clothes we don’t need, a few souvenirs – 10 kg of stuff! And we had been carrying all … Continue reading

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9/23 Friday – Sarria to Santiago

We finished! After our first section of the Camino 15 years ago, where we walked the last 112 Km and received our Compostela, we have completed the circle. We started in Sarria and we ended in Sarria.We took a taxi … Continue reading

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