While walking, I think about France, and some of its iconic art. I think of that painting of three peasants gleaning a field for food in The Gleaners by Millet.… Read more

How did Sigeric the Serious get to Rome? In asking that question, I must be careful. I could ask somebody. If there is a local sitting on the bench, should… Read more

Did Sigeric the Serious (what a way to be known by later folk!) have an ancient equivalent to Google maps? Nope! How did he get to Rome? We know that… Read more

It’s spring. It’s May. It’s the day before Mother’s Day! Here are some random photos of flowers and shrubs. Some of you can probably name many of them. I’ve definitely… Read more

What do I do when I’m in Champagna? I go to the “cradle of champagne”- Hautvillers. I’m skipping several of Sigeric’s Via Francigena stages between Reims and Vitry en Francaise.… Read more

What to write about cathedrals? Similar to writing about wonderful music, I probably should write nothing. Simply be quiet. Write nothing. But the various cathedrals compel me to acknowledge their… Read more

Slow traveling gives me time to participate in unanticipated events. I’m in Reims. Famous for its beautiful, beautiful cathedral. I’m entering a square and I hear a trumpeter practicing. On… Read more

Besides walking this area of the Somme, I visited three museums and the Commonwealth War Graves Commission’s Center. I forgot to mention in the previous post that soldiers had ways… Read more

Walking through the Somme and seeing the memorials and cemeteries, I wondered about the soldiers. From the displays I read the British tried to train or motor their soldiers as… Read more

Besides being quite small, the Picardy villages are very, very quiet. As I lived in two rural Illinois villages with barely 400 folks in each village (one had a very… Read more