Day 1 - Setting Out on the Camino : Toronto to Paris

Setting Out on the Camino 

 
After a long year of saving, selling and planning we are finally on our way to Paris en route to St. Jean Pied Port and hopefully, after a month of walking, to Santiago! Our plan is to hike to Santiago along the historical "French Way" or Camino Frances from the border of France across Spain to the Atlantic Ocean. The past 24 hours have been a long and warm trek. Yesterday afternoon we were transported via an Airlink shuttle from our house in Simcoe to Toronto's Pearson International Airport for our 7pm flight.

Early for our flight, and not wanting to sit down we wandered the airport, had dinner, and sent out postcards to our friend at home, who is an avid postcard collector, and to my parents. 

Paris France

Our flight was Air Transat which left Toronto at 10:15 PM and arrived in Paris at 11:40 AM (local time). All in all, it was a peaceful and relaxing flight, save for the purple "night light" on in the plane the entire night and the in-flight movie which played several in a loop throughout the evening.   

We arrived on time at Paris' Charles de Gaulle airport were upon we collected our backpacks at Terminal 3 (Roissypole), took a shuttle to Terminal 1 and boarded the #4 Le Bus Direct to Gare Montparnasse. Though it sounds like a complex system the entire route is relatively easy to navigate and there is a fair amount of signage and assistance along the way.

Once we arrived at Montparnasse train station we hiked several blocks to our lodgings, the Best Western Bretagne Montparnasse. This hotel, while not an inspiring choice for an evening in Paris was nonetheless, reasonably priced, cozy, very clean, and comfortably close to the train station or our early morning departure the next day to Bayonne and St. Jean-Pied-de-Port.

After checking in we immediately noticed how much smaller doorways, hallways, elevators, and stairwells are in France making the task of manoeuvring our 35 and 50-lb backpacks somewhat challenging.

Exploring Paris

Hungry from our travel we wandered several blocks and despite being past serving time, the waitress was willing to have two sandwiches and salad made up so that we could enjoy lunch at a beautiful cafe near the Eiffel Tower. This act of kindness made the moment perfect and only added to how wonderful the food that arrived was. As we walked the tree-lined streets of Paris, we couldn't quite believe were here. We were also stunned by the heat, having for some reason imagined that Europe would be cooler in the fall. We made our way down toward the Seine River, trying to take everything in at once.

Our sole frustration today came when, Sean, clearly a North American and a novice at travelling in foreign counties was quickly targeted by a group of Gypsy ladies who eventually got 40 Euros out of him before moving off. A harsh lesson for him and a tough introduction to Europe.

After visiting the Eiffel Tower we walked down to the river and headed in the direction of the Musee D'Orsay, the Louvre, the Seine waterway, and Notre Dame Cathedral. We were amazed by the sheer number of river boats along the Seine, all seemingly offering cruises or dinner, or both. The pedestrian walkway along the canal was full of Parisians and tourists out enjoying the weather.

 

Although the heat and the jetlag were beginning to catch up with us, we eventually made our way over to our main goal, the Notre Dame Cathedral. This turned out to be a truly impressive structure. We had been hoping we could get our pilgrim passports stamped there, but sadly it was closed when we got there. Regardless, the walk around the cathedral and ice cream we enjoyed in the nearby shaded parkway was wonderful.

 

 

We sat outside the cathedral in a beautiful shaded courtyard for a while before heading back to the hotel on foot. By the time we reached it, we were both exhausted. As we continued to make our way around Paris, we were both stunned by the large number of police, military reserve units, and military and paramilitary personnel on the street. It made for a tense hike and one felt as though we were constantly being watched, recorded, and considered. Though I am sure these persons place their lives at risk daily for everyone's safety it makes us thankful to come from a country that does not require such extreme measures. 

On our way back to the hotel we took time to sit and put our feet in a water fountain in order to cool off, and later had dinner of Salad and Perrier at a cafe patio about 3 blocks from the Eiffel Tower for 60 Euros. As the sun began to set, our exhaustion began to catch up with us, this added to our need to get up for an early train ride meant that we were headed to bed at 7:30pm. By the end of the day, we walked around 15 kilometres in the heat following a time change and a fairly long flight. Not even the excitement of beginning our Camino tomorrow is enough to keep us awake much longer! 

** Revision Post Camino - If we had one recommendation it would be to take a day off after flying in and before heading out the following day in order to both better enjoy the sites of Paris as well as to be better rested for setting out to St. Jean Pied Port and beginning one's hike. 

See you on the Trail!
https://www.comewalkwithus.online/

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Practical information:
Distance: 6,017km
Max Temperature: 32°C
Accommodations: Best Western Bretagne Montparnasse, 33 rue Raymond-Losserand, Paris