Synopses & Reviews
Driven by curiosity, wanderlust, and health crises, David Downie and his wife set out from Paris to walk across France to the Pyrenees. Starting on the Rue Saint-Jacques and trekking 750 miles south to Roncesvalles, Spain, their eccentric route takes seventy-two days on Roman roads and pilgrimage paths--a 1,100-year-old network of trails leading to the sanctuary of Saint James the Greater. For Downie, the inward journey met the outer one: a combination of self-discovery and physical regeneration. More than 200,000 pilgrims take the highly commercialized Spanish route annually, but few cross France. Downie had a goal: to go from paris to the pyrenees on age-old trails, making the pilgrimage in his own maverick way.
Review
"An entertaining read. David Downie is fabulous company!" Jackie lyden, All Things Considered, National Public Radio
Review
"Downie's adroit, learned, and ambitious book reinvigorates my sense of travel, taking me back to the happy knowledge that the world is still large, and history unfathomably deep." Frances Mayes, author of Under the Tuscan Sun
Review
"David Downie is the master of educated curiosity. I have walked some of the city's streets with him, and reading this book is just as tactile an experience." Michael Ondaatje
Review
"Evocative and moving. Downie brings a deep and impassioned knowledge of French history, culture, and language to this pilgrimage. The result is an extraordinary account that illuminates France past and present." National Geographic Traveler
Synopsis
Part adventure story, part cultural history, an exploration of the phenomenon of pilgrimage along the age-old Way of Saint James in France.
About the Author
David Downie has called Paris and the Marais home since 1986. He has written for over 50 publications worldwide including Bon Appétit, The Los Angeles Times, Town & Country Travel, The San Francisco Chronicle, epicurious.com, and Salon.com. He is the author of the critically acclaimed Paris, Paris: Journey into the City of Light, three Terroir guides, as well as several cookbooks and crime novels. He lives with his wife, Alison Harris, a photographer, and creates custom tours via his "Paris, Paris Tours" blog site: