Day 28: Lourdes, France

I am pretty shocked it has been one month.  My perception of the passage of time is pretty off...

The plan today was to wake up first thing and go to Les Halles to visit the farmers market.  Instead, Lauran and I slept in an extra two and a half hours. (I just couldn't get myself off of that floor. So nice.)  Around 8h 45, I finally got up and went home to shower and get ready.  Around 10h I met up with Laura again, and we went downtown.  I stopped at a jewelery shop on the way and picked up my music for the opera.  It is a REALLY fancy opera.  I then went to H&M, because I needed a few more shirts, including a black dress shirt for the opera.  We did stop by Les Halles briefly to see if anybody had any decent cheap shoes.

The flea market area outside of Les Halles.

We then quickly went home and dropped off some stuff, and I changed, and then met Laura and we walked to the train station.  We got to round trip tickets to Lourdes for 26 Euros.  Not bad.  

The first thing we did in Lourdes was visit Le Chateau Fort.  This is a heavily fortified fortress on top of a very steep hill.  This location was mostly likely first used by the Romans in their conquests of Gaul.  It became a highly valued due to its proximity to local trade routes. 

The "Saracen's Staircase" up the side of this rock face is probably the easiest way to get the castle.

Almost every vertical surface in the Chateau is packed with arrow slits.  There are probably hundreds in the castle.

Me in the inner courtyard area of the castle.  Note the arrow slits to the right.  The keep, behind me, was first built in 1314 and was rebuilt after a siege in 1406.

I really liked this stair case.  I suspect they were really only to provide access to the arrow slits lining the wall to the left (parallel to the Seracin's Staircase, and at the top is a sort of terrace with arrow slits and possibly room for artillery.

This is the Point de la Cavalier Sud, a defensive platform with 360 degree views.  It was used primarily for artillery, and the turret on the right was used as a watch tower.

Stained glass in the chapel of Le Chateau Fort

After the chateau, we headed to La Grotte de Massabielle.  This is where 14 year old Bernadette Soubirous purportedly had several encounters with an apparition of the Virgin Mary.  It seems that nobody questioned this.  I don't how to really describe what I experienced at the Grotto today...  It is an absolute circus.  The money that has been dumped into this place is absolutely astounding.  There is a cathedral built directly over the grotto(as per Mary's orders.  Although technically she requested a chapel) a massive plaza leading to the underground basilica, which leads to the cathedral. Everything is covered in tile mosaics and gold and bright colors.  It is hardly the place to come if you are actually interested in any sort of religious experience.  

It's not about the money.

This is the entrance to the underground basilica.  I wish you could see it all--this is the middle (and least colorful) 1/3rd of the entrance.

The cathedral at the top is a beautiful example of neo gothic architecture.  The vaults at the top have a very wide span, and a huge amount of light comes in through the stained glass windows.  It is quite impressive.

Mosaic floors in the underground basilica.  This building was also absolutely gorgeous.  The dome extends above the ground allowing lots of natural light in.

People filing in procession to visit the grotto, also as per Mary's orders.  Basically, if you touch the rocks here, you can be cured of whatever ails you.  I am skeptical.  At best.

This is people collecting the holy water of Lourdes.  I'm not sure exactly how it works, but many people left with many gallons of it.

 As skeptical as I may seem, I think I may have witnessed a miracle of my own.  I stood, for several minutes, (with Laura as my witness) trying to take a picture of a door.  I waited, without success, for the door to remain shut, for even a moment, so I could take a photograph of it.  Defeated and hungry, I gave up and walked away.  Yet, here it is, a photograph of the door.  I don't know how it got here, or why I was chosen to receive this photograph, but here it is:

La Port de la Vie!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 So, I'm glad I went and experienced this, and it certainly was worth my time.  I think the most frustrating and negative thing about the experience was the people there.  As a group, these were the rudest people I have dealt with, by far, on this entire trip.  I would also say that this was the only bad experience I have had with any group since I arrived in Europe.  People were impolite and were cutting people off and cutting into lines and just were, in general, like I said, very rude.  I was shocked to that as these "pilgrims" visited the basilica and cathedrals there was almost no regard for the masses that were being held.   Really, aside from the few participants, nobody seemed to really care that there was a mass going on at all.  I'm sure the Lady of Lourdes would be more than proud...

After the grotto, we went to dinner at a restaurant along the river.  I had a really fantastic view, and the weather was beautiful.  It was probably about 68 degrees and breezy.  Our dinner was good, and it was great to sit after a lot of walking.

My view.  Good luck taking the castle from this side...

After dinner, we got gelatto at a place nearby.  It was fine.  Not as good as Spain.

We then sat in a cafe for a while and I had a couple cups of coffee.  It was very nice to relax and enjoy the new environment  We then took a train back to Pau, and I headed home.