Europe Potpourri - 9

---

Well, here I am again after the slowest of blogging starts. I am slowly trying to catch up although I must say that Jeanette probably took the best pictures with her fancy camera and none of them have yet been downloaded to my computer. That will be done when we return to Calgary unless I make an attempt before that.

We are about to leave Lourdes where we spent the night and head for Carcassonne, the medieval walled city, via Toulouse.

It was an unexpectedly wonderful evening as we attended an extraordinary event. We first visited the Grotto where Bernadette claimed to have had visions from the Blessed Mary, mother of Jesus. She was since made a saint after severe scrutiny from the Roman Catholic Church. Lourdes in one of the foremost pilgrimage sites for Roman Catholics and other Christians and receives six million visitors annually although in 2008 it welcomed eight million. We saw evidence of that last night as we participated with thousands of others in a procession from the Grotto to the basilica. Despite my deep reservations (based on Christianity) concerning the used of idols in this manner, I still have respect for the faithful Roman Catholics who participated in the event. However I also strongly believe that Mary herself, as the mother of the Lord Jesus and not an image of stone , must be held in the highest esteem, respect, admiration and homage.

I will try to download a few more pictures from earlier.

---