The way of the stars

Once upon a very long time ago, back before electricity, people knew which way to go for the shrine at Santiago de Compostela because they could follow the Milky Way. Campus Stellae, the field of stars. Or was Compostela so named for the field where the shepherd Pelago discovered the body of St James under a guiding star? It's a point hotly debated.

Of equal debate is what we shall eat tonight. Shall it be the boiled eggs with clams and chive butter on soldiers? Or the veal kidneys and lobster with figs? For dessert, the soup of red fruits, perhaps? Because the Grand Hôtel Prouhèze in Aumont-Aubrac has a Michelin-starred restaurant and is the reason we are staying here. It also has the fattest cat (at 10 kilos) and dog I have ever encountered. Michelin-reared, and for that the chef and owner Pierre Roudgé makes no apology the next morning as he pours melted chocolate into my cup.

The Hostellerie du Clos in Chablis was our first Michelin star of the trip, although Au Pied des Marais in Normandy was well on its way. Sadly the three stars of Michel Bras in Laguiole were denied us this August, but the glittering star of the Hôtel des Pyrénées in Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port will fortify us for the ascent into Spain. A way of the stars, indeed.

It’s said that whether your pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela is religiously-inspired or not, everyone comes to know themselves more honestly than when they started. And so, I guess, we do.

5th August 2008