CHAPTER 16. SOUTH WEST FRANCE CONT.

We again come back to SW France ln mid Sept. of 1987 after three sweltering nights in Barcelona and two enjoying the cool mountain air at the Hotel Como in Andorra. There is just a “nod go thru” at the French border and we continue down to Ax-les-Thermes, where we take the side road across the high plateau to Quillan and again check into the Pierre Lys Hotel. We have a brief stop at the clinic to greet the doctors, and a good visit, including dinner at the Pierre Lys, and another at the Hotel Cartier with the Elefthérious during our two night stay.

The warm weather continues as we leave Quillan and take secondary roads northwest from Limoux thru pretty hilly wine grape areas, and later corn, milo, and safflower. We have a good three course lunch plus dessert in the very nice country inn ambiance of the Aubergue du Courdil in Labastide-Beauvoir, and finally arrive in the heavy traffic of Toulouse and park at the Victor Hugo Garage. The hotel we preselected is full, but the woman clerk calls several hotels and finds us a room in the Hotel François.

It’s cooler today as we take a walking tour to the Augustins Museum, seeing very pretty cloisters and lots of good medieval statues and paintings from the 14th century, and on by the city hall with its’ clock tower. We have a tasty salad and cassoulet lunch at La Boheme R. before seeing the crypts and ambulatory of the 12th century romanesque St. Sernin.

Leaving Toulouse and about half way to Auch we turn off the main road and take back roads to Saramon for an excellent lunch at the small R. Potage. We see more milo and safflower and pretty new looking farmhouses as we continue to Auch. There is a funeral in the cathedral, so we have to wait an hour to see the choir, but it is worth the wait. More back roads bring us to Mirande and the Hotel Maupas.

It’s cloudy, cooler, and with a few drops of rain today as we drive thru hilly country, then flat land with the road canopied by plane trees as we approach Tarbes, where we stop to change money and buy snack foods. With views of Pyrenees green mountains and sharp peaks we continue toward Lourdes and stop near it in Ade for an excellent lunch in a beautiful room at the H. Dupouey. We go 13 KM beyond Lourdes to stay two nights at Les Cimes Hotel in Argeles-Gazdat.

We aren’t aware that France goes back to standard time today, Sept. 29th, so we are at the dining room in Les Cimes Hotel for breakfast before it opens, but don’t have a long wait. It is cloudy with a light rain that lets up as we drive up thru Cauterets to Pont d’Espagne, seeing a rock gorge, pretty falls, and many ferns under the trees while the clouds hang a few hundred feet overhead. We have a good lunch back at the hotel, then an afternoon to rest, read, and write.

After checking out of the hotel we find an automatic laundry in town and wash and dry clothes before driving to Ade for another excellent lunch at the Hotel Dupouey. At Lourdes we park in a high rise garage and walk to see the underground cathedral, the grotto, and cathedral. There are many people, and many wheelchairs and ricksha like carriages. With part sun and part clouds but no rain we drive back roads to Louvie-Juzon and the beautiful old Hotel Dherete. Our room is large, with high ceiling and antique furniture.

Leaving SW France, we drive up the valley of the Ossau on the pretty, slow, and traffic free D934 road. We see 3 German hikers who ask directions to Spain. Near the Col du Portaulet the country is rocky, grassy and treeless, and becomes dry and desert like as we have lunch in Jaca and find a nice room in the rebuilt Monastery of Leyre. The rest of our ‘87 trip continues in #19, Spain Part II and #7, Portugal.