France – Aquitaine (Bordeaux, Biarritz, Pau, Mérignac) September 10-14, 2021
BIARRITZ
Plage de la Côte des Basques. One of the smallest and unusual beaches, there is the ocean, rocks, a stone fence, a road and tiny bits of sand with attractions – a skateboard ramp and bars.
Hôtel du Palais (originally the Villa Eugénie) is a hotel located beside the Atlantic beach in the resort town of Biarritz, on the Côte Basque in the French department of Pyrénées-Atlantiques. It was originally built for the Empress Eugénie around 1855 as a summer villa. It was due to the visits of the imperial couple that the village of Biarritz developed into a fashionable resort. In 1880, the villa was sold and converted into a hotel casino. It was devastated by fire in 1903, but was lavishly rebuilt and enlarged within the original walls. For many years the hotel attracted the international elite, including members of the European royalty such as King Edward VII of the United Kingdom, who paid several extended visits. Although the hotel later fell into disrepair, and closed for a period in the 1950s, it has since been refurbished and is again a luxury hotel. The hotel is a member of the Leading Hotels of the World.[The building is set on the main beach of the town, which lies on the rugged coast of the Bay of Biscay at the foot of the Pyrenees.[2] In 1854, the emperor Napoleon III and his wife Eugénie bought several acres of dunes in Biarritz and gave the engineer Dagueret the task of establishing a summer home surrounded by gardens, woods, meadows, a pond and outbuildings. Napoleon III chose the location near Spain so his wife would not get homesick for her native country.
Once isolated, the hotel is now at the heart of the modern town of Biarritz, accessible from the lower end of the main shopping street through great wrought-iron gates that encircle the property.
As of 2012, the hotel had 124 rooms and 30 suites decorated in period style. The hotel includes excellent restaurants, a bar and a pool. The decor is still reminiscent of the hotel’s past as an aristocratic gathering place, and prices are high. The hotel is set among historic grounds, reached by a grand driveway.
In the NM Hospitality Legends, this exclusive hotel doesn’t let you inside the gates.
Biarritz Lighthouse. Built in 1834, at 73 meters high above sea level, it has 248 steps. Oaks trees has been replaced by tamarisk trees. This imposing lighthouse is white, round and very tall.
From Biarritz, I decided to take a detour east along the Pyrenes with the final destination of Mount Perdu, a WHS, and then to see Lourdes and Pau.
Ainhoa. A NM small town, this is about 40kms from Biarritz nestled at the base of the Pyrennes, deep in the Basque country, and just across the border from Spain. All the houses are painted identically – white with rust-red shutters and doors and orange roof tiles. Lovely rock
House-Museum of Edmond Rostard, an early 1900s, neo-Basque home of Cyrano de Bergerac author. Has an ornate interior full of his artefacts, original paintings and furniture, The huge gardens are extravagant. 3
I passed through St Jean Pied de Port, the town at the beginning of the Camino Frances, the most popular part of the Camino de Santiago. I have been here once before on May 1, 2011, after walking about 650kms over 30 days on the Via Podensis from Le Puy-en-Valey, France. That route is hard with many ups and downs and I’d lost 25 pounds. In great shape, I passed 100 pilgrims on the pass over the Pyrenes. It was then another 850kms to Santiago taking me 34 days with 3 rest days in Pamplona. I averaged about 24kms/day for 64 days of walking.
The road had been great to there but turned into a narrow two-lane that seemed to climb to the top of the mountains. I slept at a quiet pull-off at the top.
The road continued to climb reaching at least 1157m at an unpronounceable pass. One campground and many chalet collections were passed, topping out at Chalets d’Iraty.
The road started to descend and there was a large group lined up on a small summit. They were 24 “volunteers” counting birds of prey and other birds crossing the Pyrenes. They are paid a small stipend and provided accommodation and food for their work. One fellow originally from Scotland filled me in on all the details. He also told me that the UK was about to lighten their travel restrictions in 4 days, making a visit to Jersey and Guernsey much easier. So maybe it was a good decision to make this detour well out of my way. I should be able to catch the ferry in about 4 days, all things considered.
The road then descends steeply to the village of Larrau. Then the Google Maps adventure began, directing me right along a very narrow road that turned into gravel and dirt, eventually telling me to park at a wide meadow. Two other cars were there equally confused and they continued along the road. Then two vehicles arrived who directed me back to Larrau to continue descending on the main highway to access the bridge from a trail that ascends to the bridge.
Along came an elderly couple walking the road who reassured me that I was on the right road and only had to keep driving until it is blocked by a barricade. Then walk from there. At the parking area were five guys from Bordeaux who were canyoneering down the river. They had thick wet suits and all the gear. They described the route as easy with the longest rappel being only 15 metres.
Passerelle d’Holzarte.
From the barricade, it was a 45-minute walk to the bridge in flip-flops. After about 4 minutes, a lovely creek cascades in several drops through mossy rocks. 30 minutes of that follows a level, partially muddy road, the French GR9 (Spanish GR8) that crosses the Pyrenes between France and Spain. Finally, you arrive at the first sign that actually mentions the bridge, along with multiple other directional signs to villages on both sides of the border (8.8kms back to Larrau was one of them). A sign directs you north down a .7km trail, the beginning of the GR11 (Traverse of the Pyrenes), that takes 15 minutes to descend to the bridge. I met 9 people coming up the trail and there were at least 40 others, all families with children, at the bridge. They appeared to have started from the Spanish side.
The bridge has modern cables and a metal deck suspended between two old concrete piers on either end that date to the original 1920 bridge. Below is a lovely steeped walled limestone canyon with a tiny stream at the bottom. From the end of the bridge, the trail appears to descend to the good paved road below Larrau, probably the best and standard access to the bridge.
MIDI – PYRENES September 12 2021
Mount Perdu WHS straddles the border between Spain and France in the Pyrenees mountain chain. The summit of Monte Perdido (French: Mont Perdu) is on the Spanish side of the border. The site was designated in 1997 and extended north in 1999 to include the Commune of Gèdre in France. The site includes two bordering national parks: the entire Ordesa y Monte Perdido National Park in Spain and the eastern part of Pyrénées Occidentales National Park in France.[2] The World Heritage site comprises a total area of 30,639 hectares.
This outstanding mountain landscape, which spans the contemporary national borders of France and Spain, is centred around the peak of Mount Perdu, a calcareous massif that rises to 3,352 m. The site, with a total area of 30,639 ha, includes two of Europe’s largest and deepest canyons on the Spanish side and three major cirque walls on the more abrupt northern slopes with France, classic presentations of these geological landforms. The site is also a pastoral landscape reflecting an agricultural way of life that was once widespread in the upland regions of Europe but now survives only in this part of the Pyrénées. Thus it provides exceptional insights into past European society through its landscape of villages, farms, fields, upland pastures and mountain roads.
Gavarnie Cirque. Pyrénées – Mont Perdu (France, Spain) © UNESCO
The calcareous massif of the Pyrénées – Mont Perdu, located on the border between France and Spain, is composed of classical geological landforms, notably deeply-incised canyons on the southern Spanish side and spectacular cirque walls on the northern slopes within France. Centred around the peak of Mont Perdu that rises to 3,348 m, covering a total area of 30,639 ha, the property offers an exceptional landscape with meadows, lakes, caves and forests on the mountain slopes. The northern slopes have a humid maritime climate while the southern slopes enjoy a drier Mediterranean climate.
Human settlement in this region dates back to the Upper Paleolithic period (40,000 – 10,000 B.C.) as the sites of the Añisclo and Escuain Caves, the stone circles at Gavarnie and the dolmen at Tella bear witness. Documents from the Middle Ages have recorded these sedentary settlements in history. They were located on the slopes of the massif and neighbouring valleys, formed by the hydrographical river network that irrigated the fields along the valleys in the north, and the trails and roads, bridges, houses and hospices (such as the espitau/hospices of Gavarnie, Boucharo, Aragnouet, Parzan, Héas and Pinet).
These installations were at the centre of an agro-pastoral system based on the movement of livestock, sheep, cows and horses to higher pastures during the summer months, clearly distinct from the use of the land in the neighbouring plains. The Mont-Perdu valleys and their passes served as links between the two communities, that had more in common with each other than with their respective communities in the plains. Consequently, the legal and political system specific to the region, established long ago, has a long history of independence from central governments.
The exploitation of high pastures such as those of Gaulis or Ossoue are an invaluable testimony to this transhumance system. This is one of the rare places in Europe where transhumance has been maintained over the centuries. By ancestral agreements, Spanish farmers also graze their herds on the French side. This practice strengthens the transboundary nature of the World Heritage property.
I drove as far as possible to Gavarnie and then walked a few kilometres to get great views of Mt Perdu. The valley is steep walled with few farms. The valley opens up at both Gavarnie and the small village before and pastures extend far up the mountainsides. Gavarnie is very touristry with many hikers.
I ended up seeing a lot of the Pyrenes, with many higher mountains than I thought existed.
LOURDES
Les Halles, Lourdes. Two lovely steel girdered buildings, the public library on one end and the market on the other with a selection of meat, cheese, wine and produce.
Basilica of Our Lady of the Rosary is a Roman Catholic church and minor basilica within the Sanctuary of Our Lady of Lourdes in France. Its main theme is a celebration and depiction of the Rosary.
The Rosary Basilica is the third of the churches to be completed on the site (after the Crypt and the Upper Basilica). It was designed by architect Leopold Hardy and completed in 1899. It was consecrated in 1901 and has a capacity of 1,500 worshippers. Its style is influenced by Byzantine architecture. In 2006-7 the interior and exterior of the basilica were extensively renovated and the mosaics (many of which were deteriorating) were restored.
The nave is open and circular, surmounted by a dome. The dome contains sixteen circular stained glass windows. The fifteen spaces between these windows signify the fifteen decades of the traditional rosary. The nave is surrounded by fifteen smaller side chapels, one for each of the traditional Mysteries of the Rosary. On the left of the nave are found the Joyful Mysteries; in the centre behind the sanctuary are the Sorrowful Mysteries, and to the right are the Glorious Mysteries.
Each side-chapel comprises a large mosaic with a central image depicting the theme of that Mystery, and an inscription in Latin. Incorporated within the larger image may be smaller images of related themes. For example, the side chapel directly behind the altar contains a depiction of the Crowning with Thorns, which is surmounted by an image of the Ark of the Covenant.
Most of the mosaics bear a date of around 1900. In each side-chapel is a small altar bearing six candles.
Mosaic depicting the Virgin Mary
In the upper wall of the sanctuary is a mosaic depicting Mary with outstretched arms and the caption Par Marie à Jésus (“Through Mary to Jesus”).[2] This depiction, of a very young woman facing directly forwards, is much more in keeping with Bernadette’s descriptions of the apparition than the iconic statue in the niche in the Grotto.
The gilded crown and cross surmounting the dome
The exterior of the dome is surmounted by a dramatic gilded crown and cross, which were a gift from the People of Ireland in 1924. The cross was regilded in 2000-2.
The Rosary basilica has a semicircular white marble entry facade, depicting Mary handing the Rosary to St. Dominic.
In 1941, the white marble side doors of the basilica were engraved with a message of gratitude to Marshal Philippe Pétain, who visited Lourdes in 1941 and allowed the Church to reclaim ownership of the Domain. In translation, this inscription read:
The exterior facade of the basilica has been modified in 2007 to include mosaics depicting the Luminous Mysteries, which were added to the traditional fifteen mysteries by Pope John Paul II in 2002.
This gorgeous round church has 13 great chapels, the dome above the altar and a large central dome all decorated with beautiful mosaics. On a Sunday morning, it was standing room only for mass.
The Crypt et Basilique had Bernadette’s relics along with donation plaques for many donors. It was the chapel requested by Bernadette during the apparitions and the only place she say before departing for the Convent of St Gildard in Nevers.
Sanctuaires Notre-Dame de Lourdes. Above all the below is the rather simple 3-nave church lined by donation plaques.
The Rose Garden of St. Vincent, Saint-Vincent. This small rose garden moves down a slope beside a restaurant. The roses were past their prime. 2
PAU
Beaumont Palace. Now a major theatre and convention complex for the city of Pau. It has auditoriums and a casino.
Château de Pau (and Museum) is a castle in the centre of the city of Pau, the capital of Pyrénées-Atlantiques and Béarn. It dominates that quarter of the city. Henry IV of France and Navarre was born here on December 13, 1553 and it was once used by Napoleon as a holiday home during his period of power.
Then the castle became a presidential residence in the Republic.
Musée des Beaux-Arts de Pau. It is currently a National Museum which houses the works preserved from the days of Henry IV and especially during the restoration made by Louis-Philippe. The collections are increasing every year around the theme Henricians. It currently hosts over 100,000 visitors annually, making it the most visited heritage site of the French department of Pyrénées-Atlantiques.
Seen only by guided tour in French. Labels are in Englsih but the tour is truly useless. 7€
Bridge across Rue Marca. This stone bridge dates to the Chateau connecting it to the gardens across Rue Marca.
Funiculaire de Pau.
Landes de Gascogne Natural Park
BORDEAUX.
Marche des Capucins. This very market has outside stalls around the outside and a normal market inside. All the usual.
Pont de Pierre or “Stone Bridge” in English, is a bridge which connects the left bank of the Garonne River (cours Victor Hugo) to the right bank quartier de la Bastide (Avenue Thiers). It is 487 m (1,598 ft) in length and 19 m (62 ft) wide. It constitutes the legal frontier between the maritime domain and the river domain in the port of Bordeaux.
Stone bridge” is the usual translation of “Pont de pierre”, however the real meaning of the french phrase “pont de pierre” is “masson bridge”. As a matter of fact, the bridge is built mainly of brick and not stone.
The first bridge over the Garonne River at Bordeaux, the Pont de pierre was planned and designed during the First French Empire, under the orders of Napoleon I. As he campaigned in Spain, he needed his troops to cross rapidly the river, and the original project envisaged a wood bridge, easier to build. Until then, it was necessary to cross the river by boat. Due to lack of resources, the construction took place subsequently, during the Bourbon Restoration, from 1819 to 1822. During these three years, the builders were faced with many challenges because of the strong current and the high tidal range, 6 m (20 ft), at that point in the river. They used a diving bell borrowed from the British to stabilise the bridge’s pillars.
The bridge has 17 arches (according to the legend the number of letters in the name ‘Napoléon Bonaparte’). On the sides, each pile of bricks is capped by a white medallion that were to receive the cipher of Louis XVIII of France, a double L.
Since 2016, the condition of the bridge makes it now permanently closed to traffic except for pedestrians, cyclists, trams and emergency vehicles.
Miroir d’eau. In the NM Urban Legends series, this “infinity” pool sits on the promenade across from Place de la Bourse.
Place de la Bourse. In the NM Urban Legends series, this is a large empty public square across from the water. It is one of the city’s most recognisable sights. Built from 1730 to 1775 along the Garonne River, it was a multi-building development. Finally, in 1869 the sculpture Three Graces was installed in the same location.
This square is one of the most representative works of classical French architectural art of the eighteenth century. In the north stood the Palais de la Bourse (current Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Bordeaux) and in the south the Hotel des Fermes (now Interregional Directorate of Customs and Indirect Rights, which houses the National Museum of Customs). The sculptures represent Minerve protecting the arts and Mercury favoring the commerce of the city.
Monument aux Girondins. It is on this square that the last executions of deputies from the Gironde, including Élie Guadet, and their supporters, took place in 1794. Exhibited at the Paris Salon in 1870, the project will not be carried out.
In 1881, the municipal council of the city of Bordeaux took the decision to erect a monument in memory of the deputies of the Girondins group.
Seven of the deputies mentioned on the plaque died executed. François Bergoeing naturally ended his life in Bordeaux in 1829, after having been one of the members of the General Security Committee.
It consists of a large plinth framed by two basins, decorated with horses and bronze groups, and surmounted by a column of 43 meters where the bronze statue of Liberty culminates (at 54 meters in height) breaking its chains.
Statue de la Liberte. In the NM Bizzarium series, it is a relatively small bronze replica of the Statue of Liberty. Frédéric Auguste Bartholdi (1834-1904) is the sculptor of the famous Statue of Liberty in New York. Its success led to the creation of replicas, of more modest dimensions, in several cities around the world, including Bordeaux.
In 1881, the inhabitants of Place Picard presented a petition asking for the establishment of a monumental fountain. After various adventures, a copy of the statue of “Liberty enlightening the world”, produced by Bartholdi himself, is therefore installed on Place Picard in order to adorn this fountain and highlight the Chartrons district. It was inaugurated by the President of the Republic, Sadi-Carnot on April 27, 1888.
In 1941, the German occupation authorities removed it from its site and melted it down as part of the recovery of non-ferrous metals.
In 2000, the statue returned to the square in the form of a resin molding made by the workshops of the Réunion des Musées Nationaux. Following the World Trade Center attacks in 2001, the city hall of Bordeaux decided to place a commemorative plaque on the pedestal of this statue one year after the tragedy. Degraded several times, the work was restored and reinstalled in its original location in March 2012 as part of the development of the square.
Cordouan Lighthouse, Gironde.
When you go online to find out how to get to the LH, all one finds is tours. One company based out of Verdon sur Mer (at the north tip of the Peninsula), Vedettes La Boheme, has regular sailings not on a tour. Reservations are necessary and this trip is often booked weeks in advance. Phone +33 0609733084 (the brochure says that they “would gladly answer you in English”), but I repeatedly got a French answering machine that spoke so rapidly, that I could not understand one word (apparently that is the busy answer and you are supposed to continue to phone back). Then you should apparently go to their website www:vedettelaboheme.com where it may tell when the next reservation is available. 49€
The sailings change daily according to low tide.
I could contact no one and didn’t have time to go to the website so drove 100kms from Bordeaux at high speed on mostly a secondary road with multiple round-abouts and villages, to see if I could go on the 14:15 sailing. At their office, there were no spaces. I complained about the French only answering machine and was told that I should have gone to the website “it is only logical”. The boss was an arrogant asshole, typically French, and would have none of my reasoning. I was hoping for a no-show to be able to go or if there was a possibility to fit one more in?
I took the ferry to Royan from Verdon sur Mer (9kms, 20 minutes, 31.50E) and continued on from there rather than drive all the way around.