Blogs from Lourdes, Midi-Pyrénées, France, Europe

Pamplona schnell verlassene, wandte ich mich den Pyrenäen zu. Auch hier überrascht: steile Hänge, oben noch Schneefelder und wunderschön. Ich fuhr neun der Pässe, mehr war nicht drin aus Zeitgründen. Dann nach Lourdes. Die Stadt hat das wirtschaftliche Potential der Marienerscheinung erkannt und perfekt vermarktet. So viele Hotels auf einem Haufen habe ich noch nie gesehen. Ich fand meines lange nicht und fuhr am Schluss wutschnaubend in die verkehrte Richtung durch eine Einbahnstraße. Es schüttete und es kam keiner. Nur in Singapur hatte ich ein kleineres Zimmer. Dann ging ich zur GROTTE, die nicht verschlossen wird, weil außerhalb, unter der Kirche. Die Leute pressen Sachen an die Wände der Grotte, fahren mit den Händen die Felswände entlang. Bisher hat noch keiner geschrien, dass er wieder sehen oder gehen kann. Die Läden im Umfeld sind von der ... read more

We landed in this lovely place called Cognac. We had no idea this was a beaut. It is in the middle of wine country and not that far from Bordeaux. We had time to look around but that was all for we were only there for the night. It was very busy in the city. people doing their shopping and cafe's were full and lively. People sitting at terraces having a glass of wine or a beer. We did window shopping, but were not in any need of anything. We felt a bit flat so we stopped at a place that sold pancakes. A big Kiwi bloke was doing the baking. We talked with him, he wanted to now what two Aussies were doing in Cognac. He was telling us he used to play rugby and ... read more

The warming days of spring we have experienced of the last two weeks have deserted us today. The day has dawned with a high overcast and a forecast of some showers along with a high of 14C. Poking my head out the door it felt like about 5C. Deciding that we should get to the funicular earlier in the day rather than later we set off on the 3km walk through the town to where the attraction was located. We have certainly had the feel that we are closer to Spain here in Lourdes as the pace of life in the streets and shops seem more laid back. Walking through the narrow streets that lead down to the entry to the Sanctuary of Our Lady of Lourdes which we had visited yesterday the shops were slow ... read more

Our short stay at Taillon-Medoc has been comfortable enough even though the apartment was much more compact than the previous places we have stayed in on the BBA V3. Our host Wilhelm wasn’t home when we were ready to leave but he said just to leave the key in the door and he would know we had departed when he returned home. Another very trusting host. We chose the shortest road option on the GPS south to Lourdes and the first 50 odd kilometres was on the highway. Joining the highway from the rocade the speed limit quickly increased from 90kph to 110kph and then 130kph, the first road in France we have encountered this limit. Cars weren’t speeding past us as we came to grips with the higher speed limit then seemingly out of the ... read more

During the Tour de France the king of the mountain wears a red polka dot jersey! Our planned route led us to Lourdes to see the fourth last leg of the tour, and the gruelling mountain legs of Col du Tourmalet and Hautacam. Seeing the Tour de France has been a life long dream of George's, and our holiday motto of 'don't leave a man behind' meant we were all committed to a very long, but exciting day. The mountain legs were about a fifteen minute drive out of Lourdes, so we were up very early to prepare for our day. We had baguettes,water, snacks, wine, towels, sunscreen..even serviettes, the bags were very heavy. Thanks George, Jen and Michael for carrying the bags. After brekky we drove Pablo to a little town at the base of ... read more