During our two week stay in Pau, we made two separate day trips to Lourdes. Lourdes is a small city at the very base of the Pyrenees a little less than an hour drive from Pau.
The first trip we made was to Lac de Lourdes for a little picnic by the water. We started at the Halles de Pau, which is a really cool indoor market in the center of town to pick up pizza and cheese and bread to take with us. We had heard all about the lake being a destination for the area. What we didn’t take into consideration was that it would be chilly! In retrospect, the fact that it is described as a glacial lake, maybe should have clued me in a bit. We snagged a table in the sun and tried to make the best of it.
Always taking the best pictures.
Lunch
What saves a cold lunch? A playground, of course. Nora had a good time playing by the lake, while we tried hiding inside to block the wind.
After exhausting the playground and the nearby exercise area, which a 5 year old has no problem turning into a second playground, we decided to head off on a hike of the area. Hike is definitely an exaggeration. In truth, it was a nice easy walk around the lake and surrounding golf course. But it was 6.5 kilometers, which is about the limit for hiking/walking for Nora and as always she talked her poppa into carrying her for the last kilometer or so. Lucky girl.
We took our next day trip to Lourdes the following week and this time we visited the city of Lourdes proper. The most significant site in Lourdes is the Sanctuary of our Lady of Lourdes, which is a destination for sick pilgrims as it is believed that the water at the site provides miraculous healing. The story is that Virgin Mary appeared to two young girls at the site and told them that a spring would appear and now it is believed that the water provided by the spring provides healing to those in need. Watching the sheer number of people who came through asking for healing on just a random Thursday was pretty emotional.
This is the grotto where it is said that Mary appeared to the girls. There was a service going on at the time we visited. The priests read prayer requests while we were there.
The sanctuary itself is breathtaking in size and beauty, both of which are not captured by my photos. It really is a humbling to visit. Right exactly as I was walking up to the church a friend text me with bad news about another friend’s husband. I went inside and lit a candle and said a prayer asking for healing and blessings for that friend and her entire family.
I recently found out that things did not work out for that friend and that her husband died. It is a small comfort to me knowing that his name and her name were spoken out loud here and that a candle burned for them and that even though the healing I prayed for wasn’t granted, I still believe that there will be healing.
We also toured the Chateau Fort de Lordes, which is now a Pyrenees Museum. The fort is perched on a hill/rock overlooking the whole town, including the Sanctuary site.
I borrowed this pic from Wikimedia because I couldn’t get a good picture of it.
We toured the museum briefly (five-year-old in tow), but managed to get one or two mediocre quality photos from the top.
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