Luckily, our train was also 20 minutes late so we made it to our platform with plenty of time to spare. Once on board and on our way, we were speechless from the beauty we saw out every window. I tried to take pictures but they didn't come out very well. Hopefully the video helps :)
It was a very pleasant 25 minute ride to Lourdes... I think I might do this all the time!
We knew we wanted food right away when we got off the train but the reality is, you can't just get food anytime you want in France. If you want lunch, get it between 12p and 2p. If you want dinner, get it between 7p and 10p. We were hungry at 11a so we were out of luck. We decided to walk around and look for a place to eat while we were waiting for noon to roll around and saw the most beautiful sites! Lourdes is very small but, it not only used to be a fortified city, it is also the birthplace of Saint Bernadette and is home to the Grotto where Mary spoke to her. So while we came across about 200 people tops during the day, Lourdes was a very worthwhile place to visit.
The Pyrenees
The Château!
Lourdes
Finally... lunch! We went to a little hole-in-the-wall place that serves the same menu every day: steak or chicken. You have an appetizer (soup or salad) and a dessert (no choices with that one). I got the crab salad for my appetizer and steak-frites for my main course. A french classic: steak and fries! It was very good but really well done. And for dessert, Tiramisu and coffee. Yum! It was a cute little place too. There were maybe two other parties total for lunch that day; and there were three cages hanging on the walls that had tiny yellow birds and one parrot inside. It was an interesting and quiet lunch experience.
My salad
Dessert
Coffee with Roshanna
After lunch, we took our time walking and admiring as we made our way towards the things on our list: the château, the Grotto, and the Basilica. If you don't know the story of Saint Bernadette, it goes something like this:
Bernadette was born in Lourdes in the mid 1800s to parents who married for love instead of tradition. She was brought up in a strong, faithful, loving family but experienced many hardships. When she was young (a teenager, I believe) she became very sick with cholera and developed life-long asthma from the disease. Being sickly, her family made the difficult decision to send her away. After all, they were extraordinarily poor and sick Bernadette was another mouth to feed. She was sent to a home were she took care of 3 or 4 children as if she were their mother, all the while struggling with physical hardships. Basically, Bernadette was faced with incredibly difficult obstacles in life and most everything good in her life was taken away from her at some point. Most people give up when life goes this way, but Bernadette stayed true to her faith and never lost sight of God. One day she came to what is now the Grotto and prayed to Mother Mary. Mary was so impressed by Bernadette's ability to remain faithful when life has never been easy that she appeared before Bernadette to give her a gift. Mary brought forth a spring and told Bernadette that if she drank the water, she would be healed of her illness...
Okay, if you have heard the story before, please pardon my paraphrasing and any mistakes I have made. I heard the story for the first time today from Chantalle and then again in french.... which means I can't be too sure about how it all went. I can tell you, though, that I believe this story wholeheartedly. I believe it is true because I want to believe something like that could be true. And also because of what I experienced today. For one, Chantalle told us a very interesting story: her cousin visited the Grotto many years ago to see the spot where Bernadette was cured. Chantalle said that her cousin had been diagnosed with cancer and had a tumor growing somewhere inside. But after drinking from the spring, the tumor slowly diminished into nothing. Don't believe it? That's alright. I DO. And how at peace my heart feels to believe something so miraculous has actually happened. Another reason I believe the story: the entire city of Lourdes seems to be constructed in honor of Saint Bernadette. Her natal home and the home she grew up in are open for tours, there is a glorious Basilica constructed around the Grotto in her honor, and millions of people have visited that spot to pray to Mary and to drink from the spring. It was a great experience for all five of us, and I know a few in our group were profoundly impacted by the Basilica and Grotto.
On our way to the Basilica
The Crucifixion and a make-shift cemetery in front of the Basilica
The Crucifixion, the statue of Mary, and the center of the Basilica are directly in line with each other. Something about Mary facing the Basilica, her hands folded in prayer, and her son hanging on the Cross behind her is very powerful.
Crown for a King
The Grotto
"Place where Bernadette prayed, February 11, 1858"
I felt magnificently at peace after our 2-hour walk through the Basilica and Grotto and was ready for the next phase of our adventure: the massive château! It cost us each about 5 euro to get into the château, which makes choosing to walk through it a no-brainer. We saw too many unique features of the building to share each one on here but I'll go over some of the more interesting details: there were tons of alcoves in the walls where soldiers used to hide to be protected from the enemy while still being able to fire at those coming up the staircases; there are hundreds of slits cut into the stone all around the castle so that soldiers can fire down on the enemy without being seen or fired upon (it's all very majestic now but if you think back to when this castle was truly in use as a fortress, it is somewhat terrifying- if you stand in front of a lot of those slits, you tend to have a dead-on view of on coming stairways); there was a beautiful garden where royalty could sit in luxury and enjoy the spectacular view of the surrounding hills; and so much more. The best part was when we made it up to the top level of the château and could see out over the entire city... it was absolutely breathtaking. I created a video of that too to help you see what I got to see :)
The château behind me :)
Goin' on up!
We've reached the top!
After the château, it was time to head back to the station. I bought some Lays potato chips on our way because I've been absolutely craving them this week, and then we enjoyed the view back to Pau. What a wonderful Saturday and successful first journey outside of our program site! I can't wait to do many more of this weekend excursions :) It was dinner time when we got back to the University so the four of us (Selene headed home) decided to finally check out the McDonald's across the street. Yea yea, I know: "McDonald's for dinner? But you're in FRANCE!" It was the closest and cheapest food at the time! Plus, it ended up being a rather cultural experience to eat at McDo (the french term for the place) because it was nothing like an American fast food place. The building is two stories full of slick, shiny tables and very modern wall hangings and decor. When you walk in, there are probably five thousand or so people crammed at the front counter, but that's okay- you can just type in your order on one of the SIX standing computers and wait for it to be ready at the counter. If that doesn't work, just wait for the lady with the little hand-held computer to come around to type in your order and print out your receipt. With that you can just hand it to one of the 5 or 6 people working the counter and wait for them to put your tray together. It somehow was a fancy-feeling McDonald's experience. The restaurant was so clean and the food looked liked it had truly been cooked by french people: not greasy! Plus, my crispy chicken sandwich came with citrus sauce instead of ketchup or mayonnaise. When do we get one of these in the States?!
All together, I loved my day today. But you could already tell that, right? I'll add one final touch: I got to talk to my parents on my french cell during my walk home and told them all about my day. During the call, Lionel called me because he was worried about where I was (it was getting late). He said, "ma fille Américaine n'est pas ici" (my American daughter isn't here). =)
Goodnight all, and thanks for reading!
