Friday, February 14, 2020

Bordeaux 5: The Way of St James through Bordeaux

Monday 10th February 2020.





Last October, I walked a part of the Camino pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostella in Spain, following these shell signs, the symbol of St James.




























Consequently, my eye was finely tuned to the shell symbol on this street sign.  One of the pilgrimage routes from Paris to Santiago de Compostella passes through Bordeaux, and is very clearly marked, as in this and many other street signs.





























In case you're not looking up, there are also metal studs on the footpath.  The symbol in the middle is the symbol of Bordeaux.  An explanation for this is that the river Garonne winds through Bordeaux in the shape of a crescent moon, and this symbol is a development of the crescent moon theme.






































A plaque in front of the church of St Peter, just around the corner from our apartment, tells us to look up at the doorway and see the statue of St James, (third statue up on the outer right) pointing the way to Santiago de Compostella with his right hand.







































Can you see the statue of St James pointing the way?
I can see why they added the plaque.  The average pilgrim would probably have missed this very obscure direction.  I know I would have.























St James pointing the way with his right hand (detail).  Not that easy to spot!

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