With the church at my back, I stared up at this impressive 4-story building. It appeared that people were entering and leaving by the open door on the first floor, so I said to myself "why not see what it's all about." I walked into a lobby area with a guest book, some chairs, some tables and brochures about the building. The brochure I picked up explained that this was the "Hotellerie Et Accueil" of Sainte Foy. My rudimentary French translated it to a hostel and welcome area for the church with rooms for individuals and groups wishing a place for retreat, a place to stay or sessions of pastoral counselling with the Brothers, 'Les Premontres.' Hmm...it didn't say you had to be a pilgrim. I wandered around the village a bit more and returned to the hostel. The church bells began to ring again, and I knew I had to leave (Laury and I had plans that evening), but I also knew I had to return. I felt moved to stay somewhere in the village and let my life be governed by the bells, at least for a little while. I wanted to experience life as the people in this village had for hundreds of years...life structured around the bells, their chiming of the hours and their call to worship. A week later I was back to gather more information about how to spend the night either here or some place else in the village. As I entered the welcome lobby, a woman asked if she could help me. "Yes," I replied, "can you tell me how one goes about making reservations to stay here?" "Tonight?" she asked and I gulped..."sure, why not?" "Madame, you are in luck. We have one room left."
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