The Pyrenees (Pt 2)

This is our final night in the Pyrenees, so here is Part 2. We head off tomorrow for Bordeaux then fly to Venice the next day (we'll be there for 5 days). The last 3 days we've had a good look at Luz and surrounds. The weather has been pretty dodgy, but improving over the past 2 days. We've seen some very big mountains! We've also coincided with an annual festival here at Luz which has been very interesting and good fun. Here are some pics.......

Thursday was wet so we spent the day around Luz, including a few smaller walks. This is part of Luz from the ruined castle above the town. Luz has an alpine character similar to Switzerland or Austria....

The castle above town (Chateau Sainte-Marie Esterre) - with Marian and Laurie at the entrance....

Next to the castle is a little building (pictured) converted to a restaurant where we had a great lunch - exceptional Blueberry Tart (Tartelette Myrtilles).......

Luz-Saint-Sauveur was/is a spa town, where people come to take the waters. It was very popular in the mid 19th century. This is the part of town (Saint-Sauveur) with hotels and facilities supporting the spa....

In the middle of the old town, surrounded by small residential streets, is a fortified church (Eglise des Templiers). It is very unusual as the church is completely surrounded by crenelated defensive walls. They were put there by the Knights Hospitaller in the 13th-14th century. They were a Christian militia which survived the Knights Templar (this church is incorrectly named the Templar Church)......

On Friday we drove over the Col du Tourmalet, which is famous as a key stage in the Tour de France most years. There were plenty of bike riders struggling uphill. The scenery is huge....

A little museum at the top has some of the original bikes that made the journey - this one from the 1915 Tour de France - no gears!...

There is a ski area either side of the Tourmalet and a cable car up to an observatory high in the mountains (Pic du Midi de Bigorre). We took it up, hoping the weather would stay clear....

The view from one side of the observatory was awesome.....

The view from the other side not so much!....

As the weather was uncertain we only did a small excursion in the mountains from the Col du Tourmalet. We had planned a much bigger walk but given the visibility there wasn't much point. The little walk we did had a great alpine feel. Marian and Laurie are in this view.....

The festival started on Friday and continues to tomorrow (Sunday). It is historic, based on the shepherds bringing their stock down to market from the high country. It has drawn a huge number of people and, surprisingly, a large number of brass bands!....

Lunch time fun - very large man scaring the kids....

Sheep being run through town .....

Drumming group......

Today we headed up further above Gavarnie to the very high country near the Spanish border. It was initially cold, cloudy and snowy - but as the weather improved the mountains revealed themselves - spectacular. On the way up we met this chap (Marmotte) by the roadside (they're very cute and look like a Wombat sized Guinea Pig!).....

A short walk to a lake near the car park was very alpine indeed. The snow only lasted a few hours and melted after lunch....

We walked along the route on the right to the Spanish border. On the opposite side of the glacial valley was an awesome mountain face - I've marked a group of people who were specks next to a large rock....

This is looking into Spain from the border, high in the Pyrenees (2,210m)....

Finally, we walked along a different direction to a viewpoint way down into the Cirque de Gavarnie (which we visited in Part 1). You can see the 420m waterfall in the distance....

Looking back the other way to where we walked earlier. Our path is on the right....

Walking group....

More festival fun tonight. The town was so busy with music, drinking and partying. There seemed to be dozens of brass bands playing on every street corner....

Finally, unlike the pyrotechnics in Sarlat, you may try this at home. You'll need a large piece of cardboard for the hat, some streamers and feathers, a large sheep skin and two very large cow bells......

The Pyrenees (Pt 1)

The drive from Sarlat to Luz-Saint-Sauveur (in the French Pyrenees) was straightforward - picking up Laurie in Toulouse on the way. On the way to Luz, we stopped in to look at Lourdes, the famous pilgrimage centre in the foothills of the Pyrenees. We're staying just outside Luz in a nice little stone house, part of a small complex, with mountains all around. From here, it's about 30m drive in all directions to various mountain valleys with walking trails. We've had two big days of walks so far, with scenery far more spectacular than I thought likely or that photos can illustrate. Here are some pics......

On the street to the main shrine in Lourdes, there are countless shops selling all manner of religious fare - how to choose!?......

View back from the main church complex to the castle overlooking Lourdes.....

Main church complex (3 churches in one)....

The grotto which (below) which started everything, when (Saint) Bernadette saw visions of Mary as a young girl - hmmmm.....

This is our little stone house in Luz (on the left) .....

Long view to Cirque de Gavarnie (yesterday). It's easy to see why it's the most popular walk in the Pyrenees. The cows had bells....

The walking group....

Very picturesque scenery on the way.....

Water is everywhere and pumping due to glaciers and the scale of the landscape.....

As we got closer, we could see more and more waterfalls and the scale of the major falls (420m), being the highest in France. Look closely for the tiny specks of people below. Not everyone heads up to the falls from the end point, where we had a great lunch on a terrace looking at this view (with a very cute Westie!)....

Up close and personal under the major falls - random people show scale. All up it was about a 500m climb from the start of the walk, to the base of the falls.....

Today we headed to Cauterets and up to a mountain refuge for coffee. At least the first part was by a little gondola and chair lift. We climbed about 350m and came down about 600m, over 15km. But it was mostly rocks underfoot so slow going. The views were unbelievable the whole way. The wind at this first Lac de Gaube was incredible - almost blew us off our feet!.....

This is the destination, being a mountain face (Vignemale - 3,298m) with glaciers high in the Pyrenees. If you look close you can see Marian and Laurie at the bottom of the photo.....

We kept thinking we were almost there - wrong......

Marian on a bridge over the constant water presence throughout the valley - down the middle and down the sides......

Looking back along the glacial valley we came up.....

Finally at the end point where a refuge served coffee. A diagram inside showed about 30 different climbing routes up the mountain faces - hard core! Several people were continuing on up the mountains to other refuges - we headed back whilst the weather closed in a little.....

On the way back - looking back - Marian in photo at bottom - the scenery was epic.....

A short clip showing the view on the way down back to Lac de Gaube.....

Sarlat and Surrounds (Pt 3)

This is the last installment from Sarlat. We leave tomorrow morning for the Pyrenees and a week's walking in the mountains. We've spent the last week: 

1. Recovering from our intense touring with the Ketters! 

2. Doing several walks in the Dordogne countryside enjoying the scenery and looking for birdlife; 

3. Visiting gardens that we haven't been to before; and

4. Doing house maintenance including installing external window frames and mortar for 2 large windows. 

Here are some pics (remember to click on them if you want to see full sized - you can then scroll):

A particularly good entree at our favourite lunch spot up the street: Le Bistro de l'Octroi.....

Another new carpet - in the kitchen....

Busy Saturday market in Sarlat.....

Terrasson Les Jardins de l'Imaginaire was a very impressive modern French garden - lots of water play on a steep site next to the old town....

15th century bridge in Terrasson with Marian providing scale!.....

Overview of Terrasson from ramparts above the old town.....

Noice in the old town....

View of old Terrasson town from the garden....

Confluence of Dordogne and Vezere Rivers from Jardins Panoramiques de Limeuil. Set in typical Dordogne countryside.....

We did several walks that don't get many photos here, but this is the kind of medieval forest setting that is pretty common on those outings.....

There are footpaths all over and very well signposted. We also use the government app with detailed maps via GPS - it makes things pretty easy .....

Outside our front door....

Another market day.....

Les Jardins de Cadiot are nearby and were surprisingly colourful for this season..... 

The carpark was busiest on this day, when 21 Aston Martins turned up on their weekend outing to the Dordogne! We saw them a few times on our outings over the weekend....

We have an obscure nature guidebook that has great suggestions for routes and places that we'd otherwise not be aware of. This is a stretch of the Dordogne near Limeuil that was very beautiful with some locals soaking up the sun and having a swim.....

I've seen this view many times, but it's pretty impressive. The hilltop is Marqueyssac garden, the boat is one of several traditional Gabarre that take tourists up and down this stretch of the Dordogne. The view is from La Roque-Gageac. We canoe'd down this stretch last week....

A very nice path along the Dordogne next to a farm. We did a nice circuit using the GPS maps....

This weekend was the French heritage weekend, where buildings and activities are carried out all around France to celebrate its heritage. Here in Sarlat on the Saturday night they put candles out around the old town and had entertainment ....

The Cathedral lit up its windows from the inside which was nice....

A Triumph 1950s - 1970's car exhibition.....

Crazy performer dangling a fish from a renaissance palace in the medieval town.....

Another crazy man setting off a flare by hand - don't try this at home.....

The conclusion of the night was a bizarre pyrotechnic display by the troupe of dystopian characters glimpsed earlier. Their show was to electro beats via a DJ in the corner. There's no way you could meet Workplace Health and Safety at home with this show - this close to the audience! Definitely do not try any of this at home!.....

Now that's what I call a (steak) knife! Main course tonight (last meal in Sarlat this trip) - entree and desert were also great....