Saturday 10th May - Lourdes and the Pyrenees

Rise late – breakfast on coffee and croissants on the square - find the supermarket – get lunch and breakfast –– head for Lourdes.

Approach Lourdes through beautiful Pyrenees valley – magnificent river with lots of rafting

Enter Lourdes – surprisingly easy to find parking at hospital

Take public lift down to old street level below

Shock! – horror! - how could people be so crass – everything kitsch related to the Virgin Mary for sale – too painful to describe – others should avoid the main street at all costs.

Recover from shock and enter the shrine itself – lots of people – more smiling faces than Fatima – many more infirmed than Fatima – many large pilgrim groups from European countries – no sign of anyone asking for money – no entry fees. Much less kitsch than expected – interesting to observe the people – all ages – all nationalities – remarkable number of people from the sub-continent.

On to the Pyrenees. Through countless small villages. Lunch in a light mist of rain on entry to the Pyrenees Atlantique national park

Smile as the we see the French cousins of our top guns on their Sunday ride .

Encounter the rain and clouds - Admire the scenery and the villages

Climb to Col du Soulor of Le Tour fame.

Descend through Valle de-Ossau – remain in awe of the Pyrenees – love the rain and mist but wonder about the majesty that this scenery would display on a bright day.

Home to Pau – dinner with nice wine - a wonderful day – love the Pyrenees –love to return .

Friday 9th May - Pau

Rise at respectable hour – tell Tommy to take us to Pau in France – he wakes up early and we have a smooth exit from Pamplona,

Oh what beautiful country side as we travel east along the extreme north of Spain.

More pilgrims – poor people – pouring rain - think of O’Donnell

Stop at the Supermercardo – morning coffee – turn north toward Francia

Rise and rise to the border tunnel - again in awe of the scenery – experience the longest tunnel so far – 10 kilometres? – enter France.

Descend and descend through the Vale d’Aspe – be in awe of the scenery – encounter more Pilgrims making their way up to the border and on to Santiago

Follow Pam lookalike down the mountain – obviously easier down than up.

Stop at Patisserie – cakes – bread and cheese – onwards down through the valley still in awe of the Pyrenees.

Turn east towards Pau – enter the town of 80,000. Nice open town – find way to parking station under the central plaza – walk to the hotel on the corner – very nice French male receptionist.

Siesta and then watch people scurry across the plaza in pouring rain.

Brave the rain - wander the city – find the home of St Bernadette – wander along the river and past the old palace – nice safe comfortable city – find nice restaurant – consume too much local food – get slightly intoxicated on very nice French dry white.