It took us all day to reach St. Jean Pied de Port, France, a medieval town founded in 716, but it was worth the trip. When we finally reached the Maison Donamaria B & B, Jean Francois and his dog Zubi were waiting outside to welcome us.

We planned to stay two nights to rest up before we set off. The highlight was checking in at the Pilgrim Office and  receiving our pilgrim passport, which will be stamped at each place we stay along the way, and a shell, the official symbol of the Camino, to tie on our backpack.

We took in all the sights of the town and agreed we felt as if time had stood still…until we headed back to our B & B and were taken aback to see a Roomba cleaning the hall outside our room.