LOURDES

Tuesday, March 17th, 1992 Toulouse

All the alarms went off and we were up and out of the hotel by 6:30 am. Walked to the bus stop and waited for 7:05 am bus to the airport. Cold but not raining. Bus was 70f and we arrived for our 8:55 flight to Paris. Very full plane. Big one and we were about the last to be loaded.

One hour later we were in Paris to catch our 10:55 am flight to Lourdes. Spent about 60f on coffee, candy, cards and a map. Flight to Lourdes/Tarbes took about an hour. 75 degrees when we arrived. Very comfortable without coats. Got out the sunglasses. Rented an Opel from Budget for about 500f. No mileage charges.

We drove south into the mountains to Lourdes and visited the chapels and the grotto. It was not at all crowded. But also most of the shops were closed. Took away some of the carnival atmosphere which was nice. Had a lovely lunch at a restaurant there for about 92f. Cheese omelets, salad, beer, plus two cards for 3 fr.

Then off to Toulouse by 2:25 PM. Lots of traffic and a detour, which turned the original one hour to two hours of driving. But we arrived and found a 3 star (???) La Carnival for 370f. Left our bags and headed for Carcassonne. About 45 minutes with pedal to the floor (90mph) all the way. But we made it before dark and well worth the 30f each way on the autobahn. Carcassonne is a medieval walled city restored and being used as a city with double walls, turrets, etc. They have a hotel there…would love stay overnight some day. (And we did a number of years later!) A slower return back to Toulouse and our hotel. Only spent 6f for cards at a shop.

By the way…round-d-rounds are used instead of overpasses at intersections. Really nice when you're not quite sure where you're going! You just keep going around and around and around until you finally figure it out or decide which one you’re going to try! Also, dogs fly in the passenger compartment on airplanes in France. We had three dogs on the trip to Lourdes.