Old World Beauty Writ Large

Daughter #1 got a crazy idea, daughter #2 sold me on it, we all enjoyed it!

Back in January of this year (2018), my eldest, Emily, was telling me about a trip she'd planned to the Pyrenees, based on a friend of her's recommendation. It sounded fun and I liked the concept: seven days walking from inn to quaint little village to cafe through the mountains along the French-Spanish border...but I'd sworn off international travel after retiring from a career of it the previous September. Then Julia (#2) concocted an email showing the whole family photo-shopped into a post card-like scene from the Pyrenees that was irresistible and the rest is history, to wit: one of the best family vacations in a lifetime of wonderful family vacations.

The key to all of this was that it was a walking vacation and I've always held that there is no better way to get to know the country, yourself or your companions than to go for a long walk. In this particular case, the countryside was beautiful: we were in the brilliant green foothills of the main range, decorated with millennial villages, farms and monasteries. Our route led us away from the main (and very modern) infrastructure, along trails and paths that give us a much deeper sense of geology, nature and history than we would have gotten otherwise. And all of this carrying just a daypack with water, lunch and snacks, as Sian, the lady who set this up for us, picked up our luggage and transported it from one quaint little Inn or B&B to another while we walked.

We generally had breakfast where we lodged, lunch on the trail, as mentioned, and dinners either at the inn (if they had the facilities) or at a nearby restaurant...all pre-arranged and booked by Sian. All of the food was good, some was outstanding. We were particularly taken with the meals at the Hotel Leon d'Or in Cauterets, where the family-run kitchen was a culinary marvel, however I can't remember a bad meal on the trip!

In terms of scenery, well I'd say that the justly-famous Cirque de Gavernie was my favorite, but the Lac de Gaube and the approach to it up the Chemin des Cascades and the Pont d'Espagna, wasn't far behind. And we were blessed with a gaudy display of wildflowers brought on by the combination of very wet weather prior to our arrival with glorious sunshine during our trek.

When it comes to spending quality time with companions, well on each day's hike we all circulated back and forth amongst our fellow hikers, chatting, laughing or just walking in silence....but the key was time: unforced, unhurried time that allowed thoughts to bubble to the surface, questions and ideas to be considered, observations made and discussed. Not at the pace of a text or a tweet or an instagram or facebook post, with an easy escape into cyberspace after dropping a bomb, but at that of the human gait and the prospect of hours and/or days face-to-face with your interlocutors! 

After our walk, Janice and I spent a couple of days in Lourdes, home of Bernadette Soubirous and site (in a grotto by the river Gave de Pau) of her visions of the Virgin Mary in the 1858. We participated in a rosary procession around the esplanade in front of the Basilica of the Rosary on the evening we arrived, the explored the town (especially the fortress that rises above it) for the next day and a half. We entered the Grotto itself with other pilgrims and were amazed by the number of people who’d come seeking healing, many accompanied by “angels” from their home towns. Their faith, hope and humility were inspirational. We collected water from a spigot fed by the spring, near the baths, in one of our water bottles to take home for friends.