Walk in the center of Pau

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It's my first weekend here in Pau, so I decided to explore my surroundings. I always find that the best way to become familiar with a place is to get lost in it first. So, I had planned to meet up with a friend at the bus stop Halles at 10 am. I decided to walk to the bus stop that we were meeting at rather than to take the bus since my house is about 20 min away from it. I got there about a half an hour early so I just wandered around the area making sure that i was in the right place. Neither of us have cellphones, so it is very important to be at the right place at the right time. Finally around 10 I wandered over to the bus stop and stood around. An older woman came up to me and said something along the lines of "le bus n'arrete pas parce qu'il neige". When it snows apparently the buses no longer run. I think it is because they are not used to snow in this area. There are palm trees all around, so I am assuming that it is usually warm around here. I mean it was only a very light dusting of snow. I'm used to New England where there will be two feet of snow and everyone goes about their business. So, since the buses were not running I figured that my friend would not be meeting me anymore. Unfortunately, I was wrong and we just missed each other. C'est la vie. Since I was already in downtown, I decided to wander around by myself. First, I went into the farmer's market in this huge building called Halles. I'm pretty sure that the market is only open on Saturday mornings, but I am not positive. It was really neat inside. It reminded me of the Amish farmer's market in Lancaster County, PA. There was fresh meat and vegetables and pizza and candy and vine. After you walked through the area that looks like a big mall type area with stores, you would go through these double doors. Inside there was this big gymnasium with basketball hoops. People had set up crates and were selling their food. It was neat. Then, I decided to explore the church right nearby. As soon as I walked inside i felt the immensity of the building. I felt like the smallest speck of dust in the world. It literally made me put my hands up to my mouth and gasp in the cliche manner. I was all by myself and there was very dim lighting. The ceiling vaulted so high into the air, it makes you wonder how man managed to make such a structure. The statues seemed to follow me with their eyes. It was not scary, it just made me feel awe. These statues looked so real, they must be a creation of God themselves. I spent as much time as I dared in there, then I decided to move on. What the people lack to tell the unfortunate foreigners is that the Palois do not sand their roads as far as I could tell. So many of the streets around their just barely fit one small car, anyway. I had the brilliant idea to cross the street on a hill. So, I was slanted upwards trying the cross a road that was completely ice. Of course, I fell and of course it was right in front of a bunch of people. All you can do in that situation is just laugh, though. You already look like a fool, so you might as well act like you planned on doing that or something. My knees killed, and I was freezing cold, but I trudged on. Three guys stopped me. From the way they were speaking french I could tell that they were not acting like typical guys and flirting with the first girl they saw. So, I stopped and said that I did not understand because I do not speak much French. It turns out that one of them was American and the other two from Denmark and Belgium. They were missionaries, however, so I kindof wish I had not been polite and stopped. They asked how I would feel if their was another savior like Jesus who came to Earth. That really is one of the most ridiculous questions ever obviously that would be a wonderful thing. They kindof creeped me out, but I they really believed in their cause, so I let him talk for a little while. They wanted to sit down and talk with me for a while and spread the word. I had to decline because who knows what kind of people they were. It wouldv'e been interesting to talk with them though, not about God, but how they all came to be here and what they were planning on doing with their lives. My journey ended with a woman turning around and asking me pourrais-toi donne-moi ta bra. She need to use my arm to cross the sidewalk which was really icy. You meet all kinds of people in your travels. It seems that when you are by yourself you are more approachable. Sometimes this is not a good thing, but when it is you will find yourself talking with people from all walks of life.

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