On Tuesday we left Bordeaux for the next stop, an overnight side trip to visit Lourdes.
A picnic lunch (with wine) on our train journey from Bordeaux to Lourdes.
Another enjoyable train journey seeing the rural countryside of southern France and eventually travelling along parallel with the Pyrenees Mountains which form part of the border of France and Spain. The weather was mild but the snow was evident on the tops of the mountain range.
Lourdes was very interesting learning some of the story of the young Bernadette who in 1858 saw an apparition of the Virgin Mary in a cave near to the township of Lourdes. There is the most hugh church built on the site and it is possible to walk through the small cave area where a small section of the original Grotto where she saw her vision. The walls of the cave have been rubbed smooth from the hands of the millions of visitors who have made their pilgrimage there.
The water coming from the stones of the cave has been tapped into many outlets for people to fill up any amount of containers and also baths that you can swim in but we didn't have enough time in our visit.
There is no shortage of supplies to be sold to the faithful.
After only one night in Lourdes, we boarded our next train mid morning for the journey south and over the border into Spain. We enjoyed that journey also but this time we had a change of trains in the middle of the trip with only a 6 minute window to be out of our first train (with luggage) and onto our connecting train (with luggage)...
Waiting at the door of the carriage ready to leap out, quick check of the board to ascertain our needed platform, down the stairs off the first platform, up the stairs onto the next platform, jumped into the first carriage near the stairs and we were off. Us and about 20 other travellers also made the quick transfer. Then slowly made our way through 5 carriages (with luggage) to our appointed seats. Definitely took a sigh of relief when the train departed with us on it.
So until next time, Adios from San Sebastion, Spain
Haha! I can just picture the two of you racing from train to train...was glad you got there in time mate! Those seats look so comfortable, more so than some plane seats I've been in..very civilised way to travel. Choni came around on Wednesday and we sat in the sun and had a good catchup, she and Grant may be leaving on their Tassie adventure today. And John put in his passport application yesterday, so one step closer for our trip, which is very slow in arriving.
ReplyDeleteLoving you blog Linda, Look forward to hearing about Spain. Till then, stay well. X x