No snow for skiing - thermal baths instead.

Wednesday 31st May

A quiet day spent in and around Foix. We had a late start so it was really just a trip first to Foix where we had lunch, and then a short wander around the town. Found one patchwork/wool shop but not a lot to browse. Kept my money I  my pocket. 

While sitting at lunch we noticed on our table mats that we needed to book for the Riviere Souterraine de Labouiche - an underground river. We visited the tourist information centre - they have been so helpful everywhere in France where we have used them - and they rang and booked for us. I have tried ringing some places for bookings but when they answer in French and say they don't understand English, then I am stumped. Rob did the underground river by himself as I didn't think my knees would stand up to the 200 steps down, and then the long trek back uphill after the cruise. 

Your dog of the day. Whippet.

Love all these old houses.

A few photos of the underground river.

Where the river enters the underground cavern.

Another stream joins the river.

From there we headed to the church in Les Issards where there are beautiful frescoes- closed!

The welcoming committee at Les Issards. He had a lot of friends in town.
Wish he'd had the keys to the church.

Back to base and ready for dinner. 

Thursday 1st June

Moving on day today. We decided to have another go at the frescoes on the way - closed again! Give up.

Decided then to visit the town of Mirepoix which we'd skirted around the edges of a couple of days ago. What a great town. It had a lovely 'heart' with a small village square surrounded by covered walkways with lots of shops and eating places. It was a real surprise because we had steered clear of it a few days before because there was so much traffic and obviously something on in town. We sat in one of the coffee places and enjoyed a cappuccino while watching the passing parade.

Some lovely wall paintings around town.

I don't know that the photos give a really good look at the construction of these covered walkways. Huge crooked beams and leaning posts. Real character.

One of the many business shingles in town.

He really wanted to go and play with his friends.

These people were a group of painters painting scenes of the town.

The church in Mirepoix - first started in 13th century but many incarnations since.

Travelling on to our next stop of Ax les Thermes we took the scenic route over a couple of mountain passes. First up though was a road closed problem. Dora found a way around it but it was definitely the scenic route - and the road less travelled. We did get back on track but think we added about 20k to the trip. We saw a few cyclists on the roads but fortunately none speeding downhill towards us. From the writing on the road we assume that these roads had been used before in the TdeF though they'd be needing a lot of maintenance if they were to be used again. 

One problem when you get on to some of the lesser roads is finding a place to eat. Some of the really small villages don't even have a boulangerie/patisserie. What do these people do for their daily baguette? We did find a place to eat and the meal was lovely - though the long wait sort of spoiled it.

We are now staying in an apartment in the town of Ax les Thermes. This town is quite small and very quiet at the moment. It has a number of thermal spas and a few ski runs right up out of the village. I'm sure winter would tell a different story.