Saint Jean Pied de Port- The Start of the Camino Frances

We used a company called mydaytrips.com (Great Company!) to pick us up at our hotel in Lourdes and drive us three hours to St Jean Pied de Port. This is the town where the Camino Frances begins. We spent an afternoon and a day in this very lovely small French countryside town. Our hotel is perfectly located and a 15 minute walk out of town. The hotel was previously a home that was no longer habitable. The new Owner, a Frenchman named John, purchased it and it took two years to renovate. It just recently opened.

In town we walked, visited the Citadel Fort, the Church of the Assumption of the Virgin, ate, went to the market, bought lunch for our first Camino day, and most importantly received our Pilgrim Passport. This Passport will be stamped every day along the Camino to verify we have walked the Way.

We are very anxious for the first day of the Camino and just want to get started.