Best Foot Forward: A Million Steps or More - One Woman's Solo Hike from La Rochelle to Lake Geneva

Description

At the age of 50+, Susie walks, all alone, across France... 500 miles from the West to the East with her tent on her back. ***** 'A book to inspire' – Good Housekeeping Magazine ***** 'There are a handful of authors who will achieve that elusive trick of making you laugh out loud. For me it's James Herriot, Bill Bryson & Susie Kelly.' French Entrée Magazine True story of English eccentricity, the Texan pioneering spirit & 2 women old enough to know better... Susie hands over her French farmhouse full of assorted animals to a total stranger from Texas she finds on the internet. As she doggedly tramps over unknown terrain from La Rochelle to Geneva, frequently lost and either too hot or too cold, Texan Jennifer copes heroically with lost dogs, erratic electricity, old men hiding in bushes, and a language she cannot speak.For each of them it is a life-changing experience. Both find their resourcefulness and ingenuity tested to the limit as, in their own ways, they explore and enjoy the culture, cuisine and people of Europe’s most fascinating country. ***** 'This is one of the best travel books I have read to date. I thoroughly enjoyed reading every drop of it.' – Vine Voice Reviewer ***** 'This author is becoming a fast friend to take to bed with me - Kindle & a glass of red and Susie Kelly - there is little to better it in the travel writing arena.' – Goodreads ***** 'Susie is able to paint a picture with words that makes me feel like I am beside her on her journey. Perfect for the Francophile, the armchair adventurer, and the lover of good literature for this is surely literature.' – Vine Voice Reviewer PERFECT for fans of THE SALT PATH by Raynor Winn In an attempt to withstand the relentlessly penetrating cold of a French January, I had taken to marching briskly around the wintry lanes and byways in my locality for several hours each day. This tended to be marginally warmer than staying in the house. But when you have started from and arrived at the same point for about the thirtieth time, you begin to feel that there may be more to life than going round in loops, and it was this that led me to decide to walk, instead, from one place to a completely different one. So I thought I would walk round the whole perimeter of the country, but once I looked at the map I could see it would take me a year. On the other hand the nearest coastal point west of home was La Rochelle, which, if you drew a straight line eastwards, lined up handily with Lake Geneva, only about four hundred miles away, a journey which I estimated should take about six weeks. It was not a project to undertake rashly, so I thought about it very carefully for twenty minutes before going to visit my friend and neighbour Gloria, to announce my intentions. ‘Guess what, I’m going to walk across France.’ Gloria liked to get straight to the point. ‘When?’ she asked. ‘1st May. The weather will be just right then.’ ‘Good for you,’ she replied. And that was it, really. I started planning. It couldn’t require anything more than a bit of common sense I thought. There were a few potential snags – I’d never hiked anywhere further than a three-mile radius from my house before, nor pitched a tent; I didn’t and never would understand how to use a compass. However, by far the largest obstacle to the venture were the animals: two elderly mares, six dogs, a cat, two parrots, some fish and a pair of killer geese, who were going to need someone to take care of them while I was away. My husband Terry couldn’t possibly leave his business unattended in England for several weeks; and, well, as a matter of fact, I hadn’t actually mentioned the project to him...