Tag: Lourdes

Wow we really are moving a lot, this has been a fast paced trip and of course, just gives us an overview of some of the more popular spots in France. Some spots I would like to go back to and other spots, nope !

Lourdes was quite something. It is a world renowned Catholic pilgrimage site which attracts millions of people annually. I think most of the millions were there the day we were lol. So here’s the story………apparently in 1858, a 14-year-old peasant named Bernadette Soubirous proclaimed she had 18 encounters with the Virgin Mary so now Lourdes has become quite popular and is one of the most visited sites by Catholics in the world. We walked to the church and then we were in a lineup to walk past the grotto where Bernadette says she met the Virgin Mary. We were told there are 22 places to worship and over 107,000 volunteers help at this site. That is quite something, regardless of your religion or in my case, non religion.
There were lots of spots to have lunch on the street heading towards the church and while we were eating, a military band came up the street playing music.

We left Lourdes and headed to Biarritz, population 26,000 and situated on the Bay of Biscay, which is part of the Atlantic Ocean. (only about 35 kms from the Spanish border) We all got on a little train that took us around the city for a tour and we headed down to the water. The coastline was pretty spectacular and was known as a surfing spot. It was originally a whaling hub but was transformed in the 1850’s into a resort town.

Next post, we go to a city in Spain called Hondarribia and then back to France to St Jean de Lux!