Day 56p: An unusually perfect Ending … (06/09/2019)
After what seemed like a small slice of eternity I finally crested a hill and saw the medieval town of Aubrac in the distance, and after what felt like yet another tiny morsel of forever I finally entered that same village and started looking for a place to spend the night … It turned out that Aubrac was (and still is) quite the tourist attraction, with its handful of still intact medieval buildings being a quite popular place to spend a Sunday afternoon. Maybe for this reason both locals and visitors alike were less than welcoming when yours truly first ambled into town … 🙁
That having been said, it didn’t take long at all for me to identify my emergency backup-shelter for the night (a medieval house that was in the process of being gutted & restored — it would have been cold, and yet at least it would have been dry), and it didn’t take much longer than that for the Kindness of others to gift me with a much cozier alternative — first via the kindness of fellow pilgrims Francois & Cecile (pictured in comment box #03 below) who intently listened to the tale of my Walk and immediately pointed me towards the local high-end hotel where registrations for the low-end pilgrims’ Gite d’Etape (pictured in comment box #01 below) were taken, then via the kindness of Marie Claude (pictured here at said hotel’s front desk) who heard the tale of my Walk and without hesitation offered me the very last available pilgrim-bed in town, and finally via the kindness of whomever left behind a bag of pasta in the hostel’s communal kitchen (seen in comment boxes #04-06 below) — a small but selfless gift that provided a tasty perfect ending to what had been an unusually perfect day … 😀
“My own heroes are the dreamers — and by that I mean those men and women who persistently tried to make the world a better place, whether in small ways or great ones. Some of them succeeded, some of them failed, and most of them had mixed results, and yet it is the stoicism of their efforts that was heroic. For win or lose or draw, we must choose to admire (and indeed emulate) those who fight the Good Fight — those who strive to liberate the oppressed, those who choose to be kind to the undeserving, and those who keep on giving to those in need.” ~ inspired by George R.R. Martin
P.S. This is The English Tower (where I spent that night) … Erected by the monks who founded Aubrac, this 30m tall spire was originally built to help protect pilgrims from the bandits & ruffians who tormented these parts during the 12th & 13th centuries. These days it served me as it has served so many modern-day pilgrims: as a hostel-shelter for the night … 🙂
And here is proof-positive that I was indeed given the very last bed available that day … 😉
P.P.S. A huge Thank you to Francois & Cecile as well … 🙂
P.P.S.S. Here is the tower-hostel’s communal kitchen, located on its almost top floor … 😉
P.P.P.S.S. Pasta & sea salt is extra delicious after a 35+km walk … 😀
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