Day 6 - Biarritz


It's time to leave Lourdes but before we do, we go and take a look at the Grotte that this place was built on (and the grot that it makes its money on). The grotto itself is open 24/7 and is free, as is the water you can take home in Virgin Mary shaped plastic bottles, and should you wish, the baths that will wash away your sins and ailments. 

 Given that this place has only been going 150 years, and that the church only ratified the miracle in 1933, it's amazing at how classic the basilica and all the surrounding buildings look. The grotto itself is only unusual for the crowds  around it and the queue to visit it. The stone walls on the way in have been worn smooth by people passing by and touching them. An entire city built on the vision of a malnourished 14 year old... No wonder its so tacky.

 Anyway, after breakfast, we're off to Biarritz in cloudless clear skies. The roads are stunning and although we get lost a couple of times and end up with an impromptu lunch at a hotel that was initially shut, we arrive in Biarritz in good time to go down to the beach for a chance to watch the world go by. Then off for a fab seafood dinner on the harbour wall right at the edge of the ocean, a couple of bottles of rosé and it's off to bed.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Day 7 - Bilbao or Bust

Image
And so our trip ends in much the same way as it began.. in the rain. But this time, there's no respite as we're going to have to get to the ferry... The picturesque way we had planned is out of the window (even if we had windows in our cars!) so it's a straight run to Bilbao. We drove through town to take a look and stopped for a brief lunch, But then it was on to the port and our ride home. The ferry journey was pretty uneventful as was the drive from Portsmouth home. So, how to sum up this holiday? Well, we may have been Andorra Adorers before we left, but since the two cars that got to Andorra didn't actually drive the roads, and I didn't even make it there, the title of this thread is a misnomer at best. And my false start put a real dampener on the break, too. But would I do it again. Yes, of course. When the weather was good, the roads were great and quiet and it was unbeatable - even by the high standards set by the Alps. In fact, I'd say that this
Read more

Day 1 - The ship

Finally, the day of departure, take two. After a morning of removing two days worth of clothing from my luggage and tidying the flat, I set off for the coast. Three points of interest, the first being the two most stupid questions I have ever been asked about the Atom... "Are you allowed to drive that?" answered by, "Well, I'm old enough", and "What is it supposed to be then?" Answered by, "It's not supposed to be anything - it's an Ariel Atom".  God, that kid was dumber than dumb. Second point, there was a cop with a radar gun on the A3. As I sailed past at 50 in a 50 he actually gave me the thumbs up... amazing for a radar slinger. And the third, of course, it rained. Torrentialy. I got soaked on the way to Portsmouth, but it was lovely and sunny for the last 20 minutes, so I managed to dry out. Getting onto the ferry was pretty straightforward, and having dropped off my luggage in a four berth cabin which was barely big enough f
Read more

The Prequel

Day -1 So, it's time to get ready for the Atom assault on Andorra. Bags packed? Check. Telepeage sorted? Check. TomTom programmed with routes? Check. GoPro charged? Check. Car sorted and ready to go? Che... oh, hang on... It's 4.30pm and the starter motor has just packed up. This is a disaster. I can't go anywhere without a starter motor unless I park on a hill ever time I stop, so this has to be sorted. Calls to all the local Honda dealers to source a replacement have ended in the frustration of dealing with robot humans tied to computers. The Ariel factory doesn't have them in stock. Even eBay is coming up blank. I'm stuffed. The ferry leaves tomorrow at 12 and I need to be meeting the others at Portsmouth for 11.00. As always with things petrosexual, I turn to the guru... Bachi has a plan. His engineer, Paul, might be able to help. A few phone calls later and a replacement starter is is on a van to be delivered at 7:00am. Paul will strip out the old starter
Read more