And onward

Things have since become hectic, after my return from Illinois.  Suddenly there was much to do!  To celebrate my late mother's birthday on the 28th,  I caught a movie at the RIO Washingtonian theaters called "All Saints," about the immigrant Karen community in Smyrna, Tennessee that revitalized a dying Episcopalian church.  The Karen are a minority population in Burma [Myanmar], and the largest minority to form an insurgency against the military government there. The conflict has continued for decades, and many Karen are currently refugees in Thailand. Some [mostly Christians] have resettled in Canada and the United States.  I found the film a bit too Hollywoodian for me, but the story was based on an actual account which gave it credence.  If you have a chance to see it, I think it is a worthwhile experience, especially in the light of today's volatile political climate.

Before the film I did manage to get in a little walking, as there is an asphalt path/wooden plank walkway, "the boardwalk," which encircles the man-made lake at the RIO Washingtonian center. If you are unfamiliar with the RIO, it is a complex of shops, restaurants, theaters, hotels, and the like, that has sprung up around what was once the lone Washingtonian Tower, a structure that has been there along 270 for as long as I can remember.  I was hardly alone, as there were many taking their exercise there, including not a few dog-walkers.

This place showed promise😙

And I am now in Paris getting reading to leave.  My bargain flight via Icelandair was uneventful, but the portion from Reykjavik a bit uncomfortable as I was near an exit and, despite ample leg room, the seats didn't recline. Passport control, however, was in Iceland, which sure beat the lines I have been encountering lately at Charles de Gaulle. As a result I was at my little Paris place in no time.

I have checked the long-range weather forecast, and have made some last-minute adjustments to my backpack.  It looks fairly good--mid-60's to mid-70's for daytime highs with frequent chances of showers almost daily, but no serious rain on the horizon. My train tickets to Aire sur l'Adour and my return from St. Jean Pied-de-Port to Bayonne have arrived so that is a relief, and I already have an e-ticket for my return flight to Paris from nearby Biarritz. The tricky part will be the short bus ride from Bayonne to Biarritz, which I can't buy in advance, but I have the bus schedules, and ample time allotted.

And my patch came! One of the woman in the Way of Saint James--Via Podiensis Facebook group created some patches for those interested in having one, and mine came just in time...  It shows the red and while trail blaze indicating a GR (Grande Randonnée--a major long distance walking/hiking trail in France). The yellow stylized scallop shell symbolizes the Way of Saint James, the GR65 and the Via Podiensis (the Way from Le Puy-en-Velay) indicate the particular trail in France which intersects at St. Jean Pied-de-Port with the Camino Frances in Spain, the most frequented pilgrimage route to Santiago de Compostela.

And a gift from Angela Bednarczyk, who is currently volunteering her expertise at a deaf school in Sénégal, is going to come in handy for my passport, créanciale [pilgrim passport], cash, etc. It has two zippered compartments.

 
I stopped again at the Tour Saint Jacques, but the tower tours are only on weekends so I will have to wait until I get back to climb to to the top for a view.  Hope I am in better shape than last year and will be able to do it! The tower was once part of a church built during the early 16th century known as Saint-Jacques-la-Boucherie (literally, Saint James the Butcher). It was the patron church of butchers and was frequented by the wealthy wholesale butchers who sold their goods at the nearby Les Halles market. Pilgrims used the church to meet before embarking on their long journey to Spain. The church was destroyed during the French Revolution, except for this tower, which was restored during the mid-nineteenth century.

 

The statue above is actually one of Blaise Pascal. Apparently in the mid-17th century Pascal chose to use the Tour St-Jacques as his laboratory, and conducted a number of experiments on atmospheric pressure there. As a tribute to him, this statue of him now stands at the base of the tower and a number of his meteorological instruments were placed on the roof.

I re-read the inscription, which, if you recall, reads:

  "Since the 10th century millions of pilgrims of all nationalities have left this place, where  the church Saint-Jacques de la Boucherie once stood, for the tomb of Saint James the apostle.

   To commemorate their memory, Mr. Albert Chavanac, President of the Municipal Council of Paris, inaugurates this plaque on June 13, 1965, given to the city of Paris on the initiative of the League of Friends of the Way of Saint James in Spain."