I woke up at 6:20 this morning with no alarm. The other lady I was sharing a room with had already gotten up, so I decided not to go back to sleep and instead slowly got up. They played music to wake everyone up between 6:30-7 which was a fun way to wake up.
I had breakfast at 7 which was some bread, spreads, hardboiled egg, coffee, granola, etc. They kicked us out at 8 for cleaning so I walked around Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port and went to the grocery store to get some snacks for along the hike. The walk though town was beautiful including passing a river, some very cute homes, and an awesome view of the Pyrenees.
I then went to a few sports shops to get some last minute items I needed like a crossbody bag (forgot mine at home ☹️), a Swiss Army knife, and hiking poles. I then went to the Pilgrim’s office (right across the street from my hostel) where they gave me my pilgrim passport, some maps, and I got my seashell! I went at about 10am and there weren't many people there. I’m glad I went when I did because I looked out my window at 3pm and the line was so long it went out of the building!
I made some friends in my room, Maureen from Washington state and Debbie from Australia, and chatted with them for a bit when I got back to the hostel. After I got back, I hand-washed my clothes and left them to dry and then showered. I spent some time relaxing, taking alone time, and resetting before the evening and tomorrow since tonight is going to be a lot of social activity and tomorrow is going to be a long day.
At around 7, Maureen, Debbie, and I went down for dinner and we met some of the other people staying here tonight. We did some icebreakers and Get To Know You's for the group and then we started on dinner. Dinner was a veggie soup, mashed potatoes, eggplant stir fry, hummus, quinoa salad, and a tomato cucumber salad. Dessert was tiramisu or a lemon custard.
After dinner, I got ready for bed and tried to go to sleep pretty quickly since I had a long day tomorrow.
