As we headed out of Spain, towards the French border we drove through some beautiful country side and across the Pyrenees. I almost said Spanish countryside, but the folks there would beg to differ. This was definitely Basque country. Even the official signs (road signs, etc.) are in Basque language. All the shutters, all the flags indicated this was not Spain. Pat said he read somewhere that Basque people actually have very distinct genotypes, that is not of European descent.
We found a little town there, and had the greatest lunch. In fact, it was probably the best meal I had in all of, well the Basque country.
Even the sheep wear Basque colors, and not the blue and red of France.There was an immediate difference when we crossed the border into France. We could read the signs! Then within 10 km, we found ourselves in a wine region that Pat and Bryan had drunk in Biarritz. Well naturally, at the first opportunity we had to stop for une degustation. And picked up a few bottles for us and for Bryan who we thought would be joining us again soon.
This was a Monday night, and as we headed into this small town where we had reservations our B&B called and asked if we would be interested in eating dinner at the B&B. The proprietare explained that we likely would not find an open restaurant along the way and that he was already making dinner for his other 4 guests. We had a fabulous meal, in the shadow of a 14th century monastery with a very delightful French couple and a South African couple. The Mr of the French couple was apparently like an infrastructure developer for municipalities and so the couple had lived all over the world, and were fascinating to listen to. The other couple was an architect and an attorney, originally Brits, who had lived in South Africa for over 30 years. The 4 course meal was excellent, and we were really happy for the warm bed, a deep bathtub and a delightful meal.
All this on the way to Lourdes, France. For those of you who are not Catholic, you may not know the story of Bernadette the shepherd who in 1950 something saw several visions of Mary and then detected a spring flowing in the rock that had never been found before. The spring and the grotto where it was found have noted healing powers. It is also the name of the parish where mon mari learned about Catholicism, so it holds kind of a special place in his heart.
This cathedral was interesting because it was built in the 20th century. On the surface, it appeared more like a religious theme park than a cathedral, but that’s because it was not so old, and was very well organized in a large wide open space with the grotto on a hillside under the church.
But, I will tell you that there was an amazing feeling when I walked into the area of the grotto. I couldn’t stop the tears from falling down my cheeks, and it was obvious everyone was in awe of their experience and that each person experienced the emotion in a very personal way.
