Camino Confidential: Le Puy in the rain

Wednesday, May 11, 2016

Le Puy in the rain

After breakfast in the hotel, I donned wet weather gear plus umbrella as the forecast was bad and it was already pouring down! I had a couple of important jobs to do first: buying a knife for making picnic lunches and getting a French SIM card for my phone. The first was easy: I found a pilgrim shop that sold everything you could possibly require, including anti-bedbug spray. The second was more complicated: you buy a blank card at a phone shop, but then you have to visit a Tabac to pay for the "recharge". This was all explained to me at the Orange phone shop, where the man used Google translate to get the message across.

After that, I continued my exploration of the Cathedral precinct and had to climb up and down all those steps again. I spent a lot of time looking round the Cloister, Chapter House and the museum of ecclesiastical costumes and other treasures and relics from the Treasury. Then I rewarded myself with a Pilgrims Lunch at the nice Aline & H Restaurant. This consisted of ham in mustard sauce with Puy lentils and salad, followed by a selection of 3 local cheeses and a small glass of red wine. Very delicious on a wet day! Now I know how to produce a tasty dish out of those lentils.