Last Tango in Paris...

 Ok, maybe just a really nice Caesar salad after a last day of sightseeing. I went out to Versailles today after a maddening train ride. It was really crowded there with another hour and a half wait for tickets in line, but somehow it seemed more worth it than the Eiffel Tower. I mean, Hall of Mirrors; wow. I've seen tons of pictures, but wow. 

 I'm ready to come home tomorrow. As a friend said; there is no place like home! Now, if I could just click my heels together three times....and avoid Charles de Gaulle airport. 

 A quote from John O'Donahue to finish Camino and Paris....

To Come Home to Yourself:

"May all that is unforgiven in you be released.

May your fears yield their deepest tranquilities.

May all that is unloved in you blossom into a future graced with love."

John O'Donahue - Bless the Space Between Us

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I'm going to start smoking...

 Why is it that It seems like all Parisians smoke? Especially young and older women. Somehow it seems ok in Paris to smoke even though it just as bad sitting downwind.

 I went to the top of the Eiffel Tower this morning. It was cold out and I waited in line for an hour and a half to take the crowded elevator to the crowded mid-level where there was another half-hour que for the elevator to the top. Somehow it just reminded me of standing in line for a ride at Disneyland, how they snake you endlessly through lines. It seemed less like Paris and more like Disneyland. 

The rest of the day went great.... Just wandered around taking pictures and had a nice lunch and wine at a bistro in the Trocadero.  I sat next to this young daughter and her mom. Even though I don't speak French, I could see this young woman telling her mom all her problems and her mom offering advise. Then the daughter said something that shocked her mom and she said No!? She got on her daughters phone and was talking strongly to someone and then on her own. I got the impression either the daughters husband and her own. She was really taking charge! It was kinda cute; moms are so universal....

 Went to Willi's bar for an amazing dinner with a really nice Chateaunuef du Pape wine. Thanks V. 

 I'm glad that I finished the Camino, and it does feel like I'm finished. I am enjoying my last couple days relaxing, eating, drinking and sightseeing. I do have a sense of happiness, accomplishment and gratitude for having done it. I'm pretty sure that I want to go back and walk just a few sections that were memorable and stay in some of the nicer Albergue's just to get that sense of community that I had  was missing some of. There is an instant connection with people doing it, that I will miss. 

On Waking:

 "I give thanks for arriving safely in a new dawn, for the gift of eyes to see the world, the gift of mind to feel at home in my life. The waves of possibility breaking on the shore of dawn, the harvest of the past that awaits my hunger, and all the furtherings this new day will bring"

John O'Donahue - Bless the Space Between Us

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Ahhh.... Paris.

As I sit here at breakfast in Paris thinking about the Camino; I realize I am filled with a new sense of awareness of things around me. People, weather, sights and sounds. It's cold and rainy here. I'm glad not to be on the Camino with this weather and just get to whine a bit about it while still able to duck into a building at a moments notice. 

I went to the Louve yesterday and got overfilled with people and information , so I left mid way through, but not before seeing a certain woman smile ;-)

I'm planning on just wandering today maybe doing some photography if the moments right. Somehow Paris doesn't seem as much Paris as I remember from 20 years ago. The Metro is updated with new cars and protection gates getting on/off. NYC subway almost has more personality than here. I did see a woman who was playing a bass and it's like really? You drug a bass down to the Metro? Respect! 

I went out to dinner last night at Le Relais du Venise; a place that got great reviews on Yelp. There was a line 50 people long waiting to get in. I must have some English in me. I saw a que and just blindly joined the line. It was good and very French experience even though it was steak and pommes frites (fries). Tonight Willi's bar that a former Parisian told me is great ;-)

Dave

For the Traveler....

Today's post may well be more for me than you. I was up early this morning and went walking in Santiago. I ended up at the Cathedral and went inside. I was about the only person in this huge place and decided to sit quietly for a moment to contemplate my journey. I felt an opening in my body and just pulled out my book of Blessings by John O'Donahue that I brought with me on the trip. I opened it right to this Blessing:

For the Traveller

"Every time you leave home,
Another road takes you
Into a world you were never in.

New strangers on the path await.
New places that have never seen you
Will startle a little at your entry.
Old places that know you well
Will pretend nothing
Changed since your last visit.

When you travel, you find yourself
Alone in a different way,
More attentive now
To the self you bring along,
Your more subtle eye watching
You abroad; and how what meets you
Touches that part of the heart
That lies low at home :

How you unexpectedly attune
To the timbre in some voice,
Opening a conversation
You want to take in
To where your longing
Has pressed hard enough
Inward, on some unsaid dark,
To create a crystal of insight

You could not have known
You needed
To illuminate
Your way.

When you travel,
A new silence
Goes with you,
And if you listen,
You will hear
What your heart would
Love to say.

A journey can become a sacred thing:
Make sure before you go,
To take the time
To bless your going forth,
To free your heart of ballast
So that the compass of your soul
Might direct you toward
The territories of spirit
Where you will discover
More of your hidden life,
And the urgencies
That deserve to claim you.

May you travel in an awkward way,
Gathered wisely into your inner ground;
That you may not waste the invitations
Which wait along the way to transform you."

John O'Donahue - To Bless the Space Between Us

Lands End & Stefano the Sardo

  I went out to Lands End at the lighthouse this morning about 3 miles outside Finisterre right at the point on the peninsula. It's the traditional ending point for the Camino where people historically burn their clothes they wore on the Camino as a new start. It was absolutely amazing out there in the morning light. I placed a couple stones that friends had given me to carry with me at the cross there and then walked out to the point where there were a few Pilgrims taking pictures. I saw all the different burn piles and I didn't bring anything from the trip to burn or offer. Finally I reached in my bike bag and put my failed brake rotor at the cross, but while appropriate, seemed a bit lame.

 Anyway, everyone left except this one guy who was taking a moment burning incense and making a pole for his flag which I didn't recognize. As we sat alone, we started talking. He is Stefano from Sardinia. His English was quite good and he just looked at me and said "You have to burn something" I looked a bit harder through my bags and couldn't come up with anything except what I had on. I decided on my socks and Stefano had a pair of underwear. We tried for maybe half an hour to light these things with his Chinese lighter in the wind to no avail. Finally, I pulled out some postcards from Leon I hadn't written and success! As they burned, I made the comment, I was't sure if is was my socks or his underwear, but something really stunk! We had a good laugh, it was the Lycra in both our items which we knew...;-)

 He also brought these Jamón (ham) flavored potato chips that we had a good laugh over as well. Who but the Spanish would make ham flavored potato chips!

 We stayed out there for maybe an hour just talking about the Camino and life. He brought some stones from Sardinia from home that friends and family had given him that he threw in the ocean. It was really poignant and he made a phone call back home. 

 Amazing time out there for maybe two hours just watching the light change on the ocean and "being there". It was the ending to the Camino that I was looking for. We took the bus back to Santiago this afternoon and we are going to go grab some Tapas and Tinto tonight. 

 BTW, for any single women reading today; Stefano is 27, a Dentist, into family, just broke up with his girlfriend and.... very much "Italian". ;-)

Buongirno...

Dave

Cherry on the top...

 Well, as if to end on a high note; I made it to Finisterra late this afternoon. To be sure, it was my longest Camino day; I left at 9am and didn't get here until 6 pm without stopping. It was exhausting, but so glad I came. It ended up being 54 miles of Camino pain and bliss. 

 Finisterra is a small beach town on a peninsula jutting out to the ocean. It' a working seaport that also has a bit of tourism from the Camino and others. I had a really nice seafood diner tonight after a very long hot shower. Tomorrow I'm going out to the very end of the peninsula another 3 miles where there is a lighthouse and a 5 room B&B to have a look before taking the bus back to Santiago. 

 This is exactly what I needed to finish the Camino. An exhausting day with some amazing views along the way ending up in a small quaint seaside village. I can say I'm done now... Somehow, ending up at Lands End and the sea did it. 

Buen Camino!

Dave

"We are surrounded by trivia. There is much to distract us from the inner path, but what profit is there in the outward journey if it is not accompanied by expanded awareness?"

Quote from Pilgrims Guide to Finisterre

Lost in Santiago....

 I found myself wandering around Santiago today, not quite sure what to do with myself. For the last two plus weeks; I have gotten up, had breakfast and for better or worse; been on the Camino. I got my Compostela yesterday and looks like all past transgressions have been forgiven...Thank God, I've had more than a few; but I find myself missing the experience.

 Maybe to extend the experience of find some finality, I have decided to ride out to Finisterre (end of the earth), about 50 miles to ocean. Almost everyone who adds this to the Camino, says that it is worth doing. 

 I had my bike in the shop again today; poor bike that has been through so much... Anyway, another new rear brake rotor and many other things that can wait to be replaced until I get home, it's ready to go again. It will be an all day ride and we'll see how my body does, but the forecast is for good weather the rest of the week. 

 I also decided to cancel my reservations at the hotel where I'm at in Santiago; the five star Paradores. While it's luxurious, it a bit too over the top stuffy for me. I booked at this really cute boutique hotel called San Miguel just a few blocks from the cathedral on a quiet side street.  Looks like I'm more of a three star guy. 

 I found myself in an open air market today where they had fresh produce, meats and seafood. I realized how tired I am of eating in bars and cafe's. I really miss cooking fresh food and eating it! Don't get me wrong, Pincho(Basque for Tapas) is good, but the same stuff in every bar and cafe gets old. The country runs on Jamon (Spanish ham) and Queso, Chorizo and bread. 

 As in any big town with tourists, there are street performers that are looking for money. Some are really bad and some are amazingly good. Last night, these two guys were singing Figaro; the opera and were really good. Turns out they are from Chile. 

 Anyway, I'm going to keep posting for the next few days. Thanks for reading and the support some of you have expressed. I got a call from my good friend Barry today congratulating me on finishing. He is the one who told me about the Camino, so thanks to you!

 Special thoughts for Betty tonight. Blessings... 

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Santiago...

  I'm here! In Santiago. I found myself pushing forward and holding back at the same time. It was weird. I wanted to finish, but trying to stay aware and remember the journey too. I wonder how this might stay with me.

 I arrived about 1 pm with great weather today the whole way. The forecast was for rain, so I was thrilled to be coming to Santiago on such a day. For the first time in over a week, I took off my windbreaker and long riding pants. There was tons of energy as Pilgrims were approaching Santiago; almost a celebration as we reached the outskirts of the town. The energy built as we got closer and closer to the cathedral. In a strange way, everyone kept to themselves at first upon entering as if to have some personal moment and then people came together as a celebration of the event. 

 I had gone back and forth for the past few days with two Italian mt bikers doing the Camino where we passed each other maybe each day. I saw them today a few miles before Santiago and they cheered me on as only Italians can...then we ended up in the square at the same moment and we celebrated together even though they didn't speak English. They wanted a picture of us together, so we roped a American tourist into taking pictures with their camera and mine. Sweet. 

 I checked into the posh Hostal de Reyes du Catholotics. Wow. Really nice. I went and got my Compostela certificate, but it was almost anti-climatic as I realized it was the journey that mattered.

I'm sure I'll have more to write as it sinks in....

"I've been on the Camino seven weeks. It's going to be strange tomorrow to wake up and not be walking"

Pilgrim who started the Camino in Seville