A rose between the thorns

Monday 29th May

Today we headed for another of the beautiful villages in France, a village called Camon. The road took us through (or just around) the town of Mirepoix. No idea what was happening in the town, but there were hundreds of cars and campers parked everywhere. We made ourselves scarce and continued to Camon. What a beautiful village! It's claim to fame is a rose festival in May. There were roses everywhere; gardens, pots, climbing the walls of houses. Most of the larger roses were labelled. Its close to the end of the roses but I imagine a couple of weeks ago would have been wonderful. 

We loved the village - definitely a rose between a few thorns (beautiful villages that have been a bit ho-hum) .

Chateau Lagarde - not open to tourists.
Just a pretty impressive ruin on a hill.

Camon - beautiful. 

The old abbey and Chateau at Camon.

Coffee time - resting before lunch.

Next up a visit to the Cascades de Roquefort. This was a lovely spot. Again, driving in, we thought this was a little known spot, but got to the carpark and it was chockers.  Don't know if its always like thIs, or was a result of the bank holiday. Set up at the foot of the cascades was a food and drink caravan. They would make a killing in nice weather (no icecreams left apart from 4 magnums).

Passing through another village and this sculpture caught our eye.

Cascades de Roquefort.

Great shot!

Tuesday 30th May

Just a quiet, relaxing day around the area. Drove down to the larger town of Foix - on the motorway. Think it's about the first time we have used a motorway this trip. Visited the tourist information  centre to get the lay of the land. We have found the tourist information offices to be excellent across most of France. There has been a tendency to close these offices down in Australia as everything is available online, but you still need to know what you are looking for. And not everyone is tech savvy - I'm one that likes a map in my hand with the touristy stuff marked. There is a fabulous looking castle in Foix - we may visit it tomorrow. 

A few photos around the town of Foix.

Tonight's dinner was at an Italian restaurant - le Don Camillo. We both had a delicious pasta/gnocchi dish with a creamy sauce, chorizo and petoncles, followed by panacotta with strawberry coulis.

Walking in the door of the restaurant and there is a glass floor that you hesitate to walk on.
And down below, the cellar. 

And for those who haven't done Google translate - petoncles = scallops.

Tiny Villages and finally some sun.

Saturday 27th May

Market day today and the town was crawling with people. It looked to be a huge market over several areas in the town, and not a park to be had within cooee. There was even a garden market square. We decided to give the market a miss - we really prefer the much smaller ones.

These cattle were being herded along one of the roads in town.
Border collies doing their job.

Time to check out some of the small villages in, lets call them the foothills of the Pyrenees. We headed out in a direction we hadn't been before, over another climb out of Bagneres de Bigorre and plotting our way with the tourist map through some tiny villages. Marsas, Balios, Asque,  Esparros - all charming in their own way.  You almost felt like you were driving through their backyards. The 'roads' were just gaps between the houses. None of the villages had any shops - a long way to go over twisty mountain roads for your daily baguette. 

We stopped at a gorge tourist spot to check out the waterfalls. We thought we were the only ones there until we got right in. The french people are very outdoorsy doing a lot of walks and enjoying picnics. I didnt see any kids out there having a picnic with their mobile phones attached.

Gorge d'Asque.

Mums, dads, kids and dogs all enjoying a picnic.

Gorge d'Asque

Lunch was a problem. Keep driving and stop at the first sign of food. We passed a sign advertising an auberge at 1km on left. It was a long kilometre, especially because the roads aren't travelled at 100kph. In the end though we found the restaurant and enjoyed a lovely lunch.

Just a pleasant drive in the country.

Sunday 28th May

Time to move on today, heading further east towards the Mediterranean.  First stop though was the supermarket for lunch and dinner provisions. Tomorrow is another bank holiday so we are trying to be prepared. 

Tower in Bagneres de Bigorre, where we spent the past 4 days.

Not a lot of views of the snow on the mountains, as there was a lot of cloud. We stopped in a small town along the way and enjoyed our picnic lunch - in the sun! Maybe the weather is finally improving. I think it hit 27 today so we might get in to the next layer of clothes in our suitcases.

The roads today were much more open, less hilly, but there were still a couple of areas Dora took us through which were more demanding. We came through one place on the way where there are caves to tour, and the main road actually runs through the caves for about 500m. It was very impressive. We might go back and do the tour if we find ourselves with spare time. 

These beautiful Maremmas came out to greet us as we drove past. 

We are now staying in a town called Pamiers for a few days. Tomorrow we will go to a couple of villages which are on the list of beautiful villages in France. 

What a Difference a Day Makes

Friday 26th May

We slept in - should have been on the road much earlier with sun and clear blue skies. So different to yesterday. Today was more mountain passes; some this years TdeF, and some past years. 

Today's weather -

Compared to yesterday.

First was Col d'Aspin at 1489m. Lots of cyclists on the way up and motorbikes and when we got to the top there were cars, tourist buses, motor bikes and push bikes. Everyone seemed to be as entranced by the views as we were. This would have been a great place to take a picnic and just enjoy the serenity - along with the cows and their clunky cowbells.

The Pic du Midi seen from the Col d'Aspin.
A much clearer photo than yesterday - even from a distance.

Odette loved her new cow friends,
and the snow topped mountains.

Down the other side and this seemed to be a narrower, more twisty, and steeper climb than the road we went up. Stunning scenery everywhere including looking down into the town in the valley. 

Time for more up - this time the Hourquette d'Anzican at 1564m. This road was narrower and hugged the side of the mountains. At the top we were quite a bit closer to the snow than previous view. The road has obviously been used in the TdeF in past years but now too narrow and not great condition - and they'd have trouble getting all the motor homes in there for spectators. 

Just herding his cows up the main road.
Guess they send someone out with a broom
before the TdeF cyclists hit the slippery stuff. 

Enjoyed lunch of lapin with mustard sauce and frites in the tiny village of Payolle.  It was lovely to be able to sit outdoors and enjoy some sun after some pretty ordinary days.

Lunch on the terrace in the sun. 

A lot of horses grazing around the nearby lake. 

Another mountain pass Col de Beyrede at 1417m. No traffic along this road and when we came to a route barree sign the choice was carry on and hope it was not closed, or give up our planned circle road trip. We continued and found that they had been doing some serious logging at one point on the road but 3pm on a Friday they had gone for the day. Onwards.

Continuing our trip back we stopped to visit the Chateau de Mauvezin. Perched on top of a hill as they all are, the castle had never been defeated. Dated from around 11th century. There was a busload of schoolkids at the chateau, probably 8 yrs old, having a hands on history lesson. 

And what a difference even a few hours makes.
This is looking back down to the snow topped mountains in the earlier photos.

Heading on from here we travelled on a piece of road with newly laid asphalt - another TdeF road (day 6). Back to base and the laundry done. Chinese for dinner.

Laundry day - the cat looked to be very comfortable
watching the passing traffic out the window.

Majestic mountain scenery

Wednesday 24th May

Time to move on from Pau where we have been very comfortable and explored a lot of the area. I'm not sure how I feel about Pau - it feels like a more modern city than a lot we have visited. Certainly the north end of the  city where we have been staying feels very modern. There are some large businesses with modern buildings, a large sports complex, racetrack, university and major hospital. The centre of the city and moving south of the river has that old town French feel.

Nothing in particular planned along the road today but passing through the town of Lestelle Betherram we crossed an old bridge and looking back there was a series of small chapels along a path up and out of the town. We turned back for photos and found that this village has been known for miracles, and has history from 1300s. 

The church at Lestelle Betherram
- and one of the series of small chapels along a path up the hill.

Headed towards Lourdes where we visited on our first trip to France,  we were passing through a small village where there was a market. A few purchases of cheese, ham and fruit, then lunch at the local boulangerie. It's good to be able to support some of these smaller local businesses.

Our final destination, Bagneres de Bigorre where we have a small apartment. We are here for 4 nights and there is plenty to do to fill our days. The village is a spa centre but I don't think we have time in our few days to visit.

Your dog of the day.
This dog stood there for ages watching the cat.
I think the cat was teasing him as he rolled over then sat up.

Thursday 25th May

I forgot to mention a couple of days ago - one of the passes coming up from Italy (Col de Pourtalet) is closed, so glad we didn't try to come that way. We assumed it was closed due to snow, but found out it is closed due to a landslide early May, with a 30 ton boulder on the road. The closed road comes over the mountains near the petit train that we did on Sunday and they are feeling the lack of tourists from Spain.

A drive day today to check out more of the Tour de France roads. If you are watching the TdeF in July we drove up the Col de Tourmalet. We couldn't go over the top and down the other side as it is closed for them to do roadworks ready for the tour. It was a beautiful drive - some of it sunny, some of it cloudy and foggy. A lot of cyclists out in the fog pushing their wheels up the mountain. It wasnt too hard to get around them but i was more worried about meeting them coming back down at breakneck speed. 

The scenery is just breathtaking - we could 'wow' for ages. We had a few clear patches for photos. Enjoyed a coffee at the ski resort town La Mongie near the top - at ski resort prices. From this town you can catch the cable car up to the Pic du Midi - in summer. We are a week too early - it opens 1st June.

Just a little bit cloudy.
Still a lot of snow around on the top peaks which make for stunning scenery.
Not snow for skiing, but enough to excite us tourists who don't see a lot of snow.

And a big bit cloudy.

A small hut on the roadside on the climb up Col de Tourmalet. 
Lovely artwork.  

A group of alpacas just wandering around on the mountain.
All different colours with a few babies.
We did see one marmot on our way back down
but he scarpered into his hole.

Not quite at the top
- just in case they aren't sure which way to go.

Just short of the top and looking down to the ski village of La Mongie.
We didn't actually get a sense of how high we were climbing
as the road has mostly gentle sort of  curves,
rather than the switchback roads we have seen on TV. 

The maps we picked up at the tourist offices mentioned a scenic drive through another Col (pass) on the return journey. Finding the road was a bit of a guess, but it headed in sort of the right direction. Well they didn't mention the road conditions in the blurb - it was sort of bitumen, and sort of not quite bitumen. Lovely scenery again, this time mostly forest. This took us up and through some of the logging areas - thankfully not another car on the road.

Ended up in a small town where the plan was lunch. Only one small eating place in the town so that was lunch. It advertised English fish and chips and was run by an English couple. No other choice on the menu as it is so quiet it is not worth them doing a full menu. I thought they would get most of their business during ski season but they are a bit too far from the actual ski resorts (only about 10k but that is a long way in France). Most of their business comes on the nice spring and summer days that get people out for a scenic drive, or randonneurs. Must say though, they were very nice English fish and chips.

Second scenic drive back - same issues as the first. Hard to pick the road as it was unsigned, and a couple of guesses on which way to go along the way - mind you only 2 or 3 road junctions. Again the same sort of road conditions as the previous one. No houses, no other cars, a lot of logging, and thankfully no timber jinkers. 

Griffon vultures.

A little bit misty. 

We made it back to base just in time before the rain started. They have forecast rain and storms late in the afternoon for the next few days. We had a very loud thunderstorm yesterday afternoon - Meg would not have been happy.