Blogs from Lourdes, Midi-Pyrénées, France, Europe
March 28th 2012
Hi all, Day 4. Made it to the foot of the Pyrenees. In a campsite south of Lourdes surrounded by mountains, simply stunning. The views take your breath away. The weather is still fantastic, beautiful blue skies and very warm. Rays broken out the shorts but Gill is still in GB kit. Owner of the site has given us bad news regarding our route over the mountains 3 passes are closed for repairs and snow. We now have to back track a few miles to a major road and take a long tunnel. That will stop the views, never mind perhaps they will be open when we return. Our progress is somewhat slow as we are not using any motorways, but we think you see more of the country you pass through. We still have 6 ... read more
My Life Be Like Ooh, Aah--CRASH
Published: November 14th 2011Europe » France » Midi-Pyrénées » Lourdes
November 14th 2011
I was getting into the swing of things, I really was. I was taking the bad with the good and enjoying everything I could. I was befriending strangers and hiking foggy mountains. I was sleeping on trains and feasting on unrefrigerated cheese. I was making plans and treating myself to excursions. I was caught by surprise by the half-way mark of my Adventure and worried that two more months wasn't enough. Sweden, Norway, and Finland werer beautiful, and Berlin was fun, and then-- I don't know exactly what happened. It's like I tried to sweep a tablecloth out from underneath a setting of dishes but didn't get it quite right, so all the dishes went crashing to the floor. It might be that I started to get too comfortable, formed expectations, and had those expectations smashed ... read more
September 12th 2011
La útima vez que estuve en Lurdes fue hace diez años en un viaje organizado por la Kutxa con mi amiga Virginia y su madre.... read more
September 2nd 2010
I am officially in the Pyrenees, after what was a comparitively simple day of skirting the North side of the real mountains for 95 miles. Having set off from Bayonne at just before 10, I immediately found myself going up a pretty steep hill surrounded by farm animals, which I hadn't really counted on. This was short lived as after a couple of miles I was heading back down which was was to be a recurrent theme throughout the day, a small taste of things to come no doubt. One thing I will say, is that the bugs in this part of the world are terrifyingly large. I swear something the size of a kitten landed on my leg at one point; my high pitch squeal seemingly scaring it away. Slight exaggeration, however it did scare ... read more
July 13th 2010
Stopped at Casteleret on the way to Lourdes. They were having a local Saturday flea market. Bought original oil paintings from the local artist, murano glass, and rosary beads for Lourdes. Lourdes was packed with people visiting this holy site where Bernadette saw the vision of Mary. Cart after cart was brought in of the ill visiting the site. We arrived just before mass so were able to talk with some of the priests (only in French though) and attend a little. At the holy spring, people were filling jugs, drinking, and washing with the water. There were candle after candle of prayer candles burning. Cauterets is a little ski village in the Great Pyrennes. There were hikers and rafters there that Saturday afternoon. We walked around the village and sampled the local food. A raging ... read more
November 5th 2009
I went to Lourdes because I wanted to visit the caves and to a day tour to the Pyrenees as mentioned online. However, when I arrived these (and nearly all other attractions) had closed 4 days before I arrived. Apparently 'through November' doesn't actually INCLUDE November. But that's okay because it was interesting eing in a tourist town when there are no tourists. Usually people flock here on a pilgrimage to see the Grotto where Saint Bernadette supposedly saw 'the immaculate conception' appear to her eight times. (I find it astounding that a whole towns prosperity and trade is still based on a story told by one little girl centuries ago). After the 31st of October this place has no spirit to it. Its incredibly quiet, even during the day until about 1pm. I did get ... read more
Monday, October 5, 2009 - Elciego to Lourdes
Published: October 9th 2009Europe » France » Midi-Pyrénées » Lourdes
October 8th 2009
Our original intention was to have a very short driving day to Pamplona, stopping at a couple of Rioja towns in the process. But after a chance remark about Lourdes, we looked and saw that we could detour through France, see Lourdes, and proceed through the Pyrenees, seeing Andorra on the way (we realized it was unlikely that we would get another chance to visit that country). It meant visiting Pamplona without spending the night, but that turned out to be a good choice. We started our day with a tour of the Marques de Riscal winery. Our hotel was the luxury hotel on the grounds of the winery, designed by Frank Gehry (designer of the Bilbao Guggenheim Museum). The tour was entirely in Spanish, so I did not understand a word of it, but Lucie ... read more
September 14th 2009
For those who don´t know, Lourdes is a popular pilgrimage place for Catholics from all around the world. In 1858, an apparition of the Virgin Mary appeared to a 14 year old girl in this small town. I had a great day - not really relaxing because I still did a lot of walking, but it was wonderful to have a day to slow down a bit, to pray, go to mass, etc. There is one main church but it also has another chapel upstairs, and another church in the area that is underground. Everything is beautiful and everyone who is there is friendly and excited to be there. A lot of people go there who are sick or searching for healing. It was really moving to go to mass and just experience the place with ... read more
July 20th 2009
Salut salut! Désolé, deux facteurs m’ont empêchés d’écrire hier : La fatigue assez prenante et la non-présence d’internet, ce qui n’aide pas les choses! Mais cela étant relégué au passé, voici un petit résumé dont vous saurez vous délecter! L’embarquement et le vol se sont très bien passés. Un léger retard au départ, mais c’est tout. Le repas était meilleur que l’été passé, à un tel point que j’ai terminé l’assiette de Renée et en ai prit une seconde (avec appétit, cette fois). Ça reste ordinaire, mais c’est mangeable! Même problème que l’été dernier : Incapable de vraiment dormir. Cela m’a valu une belle journée de 30-36h avant de fermer l’œil. Une fois à Toulouse, nous avons attrapé la bride de notre monture avant de filer vers Bagnère. Il faut noter que comme la voiture préalablement ... read more
