Saturday, June 18, 2016

The Way - the road to Compostela

The Pilgrims' Way passes by the end of my little street. The golden scallops mark the Way as it passes through the old part of Montpellier.

Corner of Rue Fabre
Walking one way would take me to Arles, one of three main starting points in France. People would be walking the other way though.  The destination of this pilgrimage is Santiago de Compostela in the north of Spain.


The shells lead me to several of my favorite places for coffee and to the market halls where I buy fresh local produce.

Following The Way through pedestrianised streets of Montpellier

Cafe in front of St Anne's, which has a refuge for pilgrims

Fun band playing What Shall We Do With The Drunken Sailor,
on the steps of St Anne's on a Saturday afternoon
They are dancing to the music!





The golden scallop shell markers lead on past these important places of pilgrimage to the Church of Saint-Anne, where there is a refuge that is open in the summer months, and then out along the remains of the Roman Aqueduct and off into the suburbs and eventually the hills around Montpellier.

Les Arceaux
Now marking a traffic roundabout

Saint-Anne over the rooftops





Well, EVENTUALLY it would take me across the Pyrenees and onwards. That's another story. This post is just concerned with the bit of the route that passes through Montpellier.

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