1-2 Chapter 1 The next stop, the pilgrimage road

Set off

a month later.

2015, June 2nd.

With a soft suitcase and a small backpack on my back, I officially stepped into the departure gate of Taoyuan Airport and said goodbye to my high school friends who came to drop off the plane.

"Be sure to report safety!!!" From the eyes of her friend, you can feel her excitement, excitement and endless blessings.

I happily waved goodbye to her and went to the boarding gate. My mood was like the sea on a sunny day, very calm.

Although this was the first time I took a plane overseas by myself, I thought I would get lost in the airport, but when I came in, I found that it was not difficult at all. There are airport personnel everywhere who can ask for directions, and I am afraid to ask them.

This flight will have a layover in Shanghai and then fly to Paris. While waiting in the waiting room, I chatted with an Asian man in a polo shirt who was swiping his phone on a pole in the WIFI area. He is from mainland China and has been studying red wine in Paris for four years. My eyes lit up when I said that! I didn't expect him to say something like, "I really don't think it's worth mentioning studying red wine in France, and to be honest, sometimes I feel that my own Life is really bad enough. On the contrary, I envy you! I have never heard of the pilgrimage road, and I hope I can go there in my lifetime!" Then he told me that he would go there to learn red wine to cater to the family. The expectations of the elders, the family is a red wine supplier, hoping that he can have a deeper understanding of red wine and inherit the family business, so he sent him to France to learn red wine. It is understandable from his bleak expression to describe his study of wine in France.

After the conversation was over, we started to line up to get on the plane. At this time, a large crowd appeared, mixed with a lot of Western faces, most of them must be French! After entering the cabin, my Chinese friends sat not far from me. Sitting next to me is a French family, a father and a child who are going back to their own country. Although I don't speak French yet, I can still clearly distinguish the tones and accents of French. I slept almost the entire flight and finally landed in Paris after eleven hours. My heart, which was calm like the sea on a sunny day, just as the plane was approaching the European continent, was like a turbulent wave coming, and all the dream bubbles in my heart were swept up to Paris. After getting off the plane, "Wow! It's all in French..." This airport is more spacious and larger than expected, and a large number of people move here. I thought that such an international airport must have English indicators, but I didn't expect it. The language shown here is only French, and I can't understand all of them.

"Let me take you out of the customs!" Seeing that I would not be able to walk out on my own, my Chinese friends kindly took me out of the customs.

"Thank you! If you hadn't led the way, I think I'd have to spend double the time to get out!"

"You're welcome, then I'll leave here first. I wish you a pleasant journey and be careful on the road!"

"You too! Goodbye!" After saying goodbye to my Chinese friends, I didn't expect that the real challenge was about to begin. This trip to downtown Paris was ten times more difficult than I thought! I thought I had practiced before departure. Countless ticket-buying processes and conversations can easily handle everything.

After entering the country, there was a row of bus stops in front of me, and I couldn’t find the No. 351 bus to the city, so I went to ask one of the bus drivers, but he told me to go to the counter to buy a ticket, and even said that there is no No. 351. A bus?

"Please give me a ticket for the No. 351 bus to the city." This is a sentence I practiced many times on the plane, and I hope the other person can understand it. But from the look on the counter lady's face, she didn't seem to understand. I even showed her the French sentences I copied, but she still gave me a subway ticket. thing.... Although it is said that if I take the subway, I will not be able to see the sky and streets of Paris, but I still see a different scenery. Because after I got on the subway, someone took the initiative to ask me where I was going. I thought they were the staff of the subway station, but later I found out that they were also passengers. They not only helped me to confirm the destination I was going to arrive at, but also helped me to confirm whether I took the wrong train. I'm really flattered. Before I came to Paris, I read a lot of negative comments about Paris in books or on the Internet. They were all about the indifference and arrogance of the people here, and always beware of pickpockets by your side! But what I meet now is full of angels, I think this is the most beautiful scenery in Paris so far!

Today’s destination is Bayoone, a small town in southern France. I left from Montparnasse train station at 2:30 in the afternoon. I arrived at the airport at 6:30 in the morning, but it took me nearly two hours to find the 351 bus, so Arrived in Paris around ten o'clock. I didn't expect half of the people here to speak English! It seems that I have to learn French in the future, because in addition to buying the bus as a subway ticket, I finally got to the city, but I don't know where the exit is, because I have been looking for the word Exit, but I don't know that exit is in French. Sotir, it starts with S! Ask people in the subway, no one knows what I'm talking about, and they don't even understand what I'm using to draw! In the end, I just waited for another group of passengers to get off the bus and followed them out of the exit of the subway station, which took me another half an hour. I should download an offline French dictionary on my phone first and I think it should go all the way, I really lost my head!

"Pardon, do you know how to get to Montparnasse train station?" As soon as I got out of the subway station, I continued to ask for directions.

"Sorry I'm not sure, but...are you sure you want to go? It's far from my mind!" I asked a woman as I walked out of the subway station.

Then I asked a few passersby, but I didn't get a clear answer. It seems that there should be a problem with my French. Fortunately, there was a WIFI signal nearby, so I quickly took advantage of that moment to find out the location of the Montparnasse train station. I didn't expect to walk there in ten minutes.

On the way to the Montparnasse train station, I came across a beautiful place, because there was still a little time, so I decided to walk in and find a cemetery, but it was very attractive, like the Garden of Eden, very close to heaven, not at all. There is no gloomy or lifeless atmosphere. Each tombstone was filled with flowers, notes, and even small gifts that seemed to be fans, relatives and friends. I felt that they would be specially organized every day. I asked a tourist in the cemetery who could speak English. I know that there are many famous people in the arts and culture circles or officers and firefighters who died heroically in the line.

Saying goodbye to this Garden of Eden, my ride time is almost up, so I went straight to the train station, ready to take the fast train TGV direct to Bayoone, South France, tonight will also be at Bayoone's *[Note 1] sofa hostess Camille's house surfed for one night, and the next day took the bus to Saint Jean Pied De Port, the starting point of the pilgrimage route.

The Montparnasse station is really stylish, with a high hall design, a mix of Victorian and Gothic styles, people come and go, I went to the platform to check the timetable, but I didn't see mine. On the train, just when I was nervous, I saw a pair of Asians who looked like a mother-daughter stall, carrying a big mountaineering bag. I thought that they must also be pilgrims. I decided to go over and say hello to them,

"Hello! Excuse me, are you also going on the pilgrimage route?"

"Yeah! Are you too?" They smiled widely, seeming happy to see their fellow travelers.

"That's right! You're going to Bayonne too, right?" I asked.

"Yes! But we are also looking for the timetable to see the platform, but I heard that the platform number and our train will not be displayed until 20 minutes before the train departs."

"So, it's no wonder that I haven't seen my train even though I've been looking here for a long time. Thank you for your information!"

"You're welcome, where are you from?"

"I'm from Taiwan, how about you?"

"Japan, I took my mother with me."

"Wow...that's great!" I looked at them with admiration and admiration, thinking about the day I would bring my parents.

The Japanese mother and daughter seem to be arriving earlier than me because their platform numbers are already on the timetable.

"Nice to meet you, I hope to meet you on the road! Let's go to the platform first.*[Note 2] Buen camino!" Just like that, I waved goodbye to this lovely Japanese mother-daughter pair, maybe later You might meet them on your trip.

The departure time of my train is 2:00 pm. I finally saw my platform number on display at around 13:40. I am really grateful that I have at least done my homework in this regard and bought a very cheap breakfast. Bird tickets, I had already booked them on the website in Taiwan at that time. I walked directly to the platform, and after verifying the tickets for the ticket inspectors, I could board the train directly. This carriage is more spacious and comfortable than I thought. White and purple are the base colors of the cabin, but the overall tone is dominated by white. My seat is facing the person in front of me, which means face to face. Sitting across from me is an amiable uncle. He raised his head and gave me a friendly smile, and then continued to read the newspaper. Next to it is a seating area for four, sitting a group of lovely French families.

The train began to move, gradually leaving Paris, and the scenery outside the window began to change. It gradually changed from a city street scene to an open grassland green space. What a harmonious picture, my eyelids began to gradually close. Until now, I finally got on the train, and the exhaustion was swept away with sleep.

Four hours later, the train arrived at Bayonne. Camille, who received me, will be late for get off work, so I plan to wander around the city by myself. I started walking aimlessly from the train station. Bayonne is really an ancient town in southern France full of artworks and surprises. There are some unopened shops on the street. It's an early street view photo of Bayonne, you can imagine what an old and flavorful city full of history, just what I like. Then I accidentally bumped into a second-hand bookstore, which was like an ancient treasure box, and took me to dig for treasures, although almost all of them were French (I wish I knew), but the smell of this ancient book, against the faint yellow light Taking pictures, I couldn't help but pick up my micro-monocular and took a moment, which has become my eternal memory.

After saying goodbye to the second-hand bookstore, I decided to find a local shop to grab a local food to eat before Camille got off work, so I came to a shop that also sold meat, cheese and bread sandwiches. The owner looked like A kind mother, I pointed to the food in the cupboard that looked like a submarine bunker, "Oui! Si vous plait. Merci!" I only knew these few words in French, which meant "Yes! Please, thank you!" "Fortunately she understood. After smiling and saying goodbye to her, I took the submarine to a chair in the nearby school campus to enjoy it. Looking at the empty campus that seemed to have ended classes, I said, "Oh my God!" I didn't expect it. This seemingly simple sandwich bread is surprisingly delicious! It is filled with cucumbers, tomato, cheese, ham (Bayonne ham) and some pickled cucumber sauce that the proprietress may have made by herself. When I come back to this city, I must eat again.

After satisfying this wonderful appetite, I got up and walked in the direction of Camille's house, just when I saw her driving back,

"Hello Xiaoji! I'm sorry, I just moved recently, and I have a lot of things." Her car was full of large and small items,

"I'll carry it with you!"

"It's okay. I just have to carry this up, it's not heavy, let's go up first! My home is in this building." In front of me is an old apartment with blue and white as the main color, and this is the first time I came to South France. people's home.

Camille is a very independent woman, and because she is one of the few sofa owners in this small town, and it happens that this is the relay station before the starting point of the pilgrimage road, she has received many pilgrims, especially those from Eastern traveler. That night she prepared a very authentic Southern French dinner: lettuce salad, jam, cheese and bread. Dinner time is also a time for us to communicate with each other. I listened to her sharing the experience of the sofa guest she received before, while tasting this. During the rare time in southern France, I also admired Camille. She is such an independent woman who has her own job, her own beautiful rental place, and then does what she likes.

Although I knew that I would officially set off to the starting point tomorrow morning, I slept very soundly that night. Before leaving early in the morning, Camille stuffed me with some biscuits and provisions in my bag so I could eat on the road.

"Auvoire! Merci Beaucoup!" I said goodbye and thank you in French.

"Bon voyage!" she said to me, have a nice trip!

After saying goodbye to Camille, I headed to the bus station to get to the official starting point of the hike, Saint Jean Pied De Port, a small town in the foothills of the Pyrenees. The real adventure is about to begin!

*[Note 1] Couchsurfing: A free accommodation platform for travelers to mutually benefit.

*[Note 2]Buen camino!: It is a greeting on the pilgrimage road, meaning a smooth journey.