This is the mid-point in this 6-month journey. We started our trip in June in Portugal, moved on to France, and now, here we are in Spain. We plan to be in Spain until December. I will spare the details of our trip from Pau to Santander. I will simply say that some bus service …
Category Archives: Blog posts
Elegant Seaside Cities
We hesitated about going to Biarritz . . . we thought it might be just another beach town but we had the car . . . so why not? We left Pau in the rain and made our way via a super highway. The roadside scenery looked pretty much like we might be on any …
The Great Pyrenees Mountains
This could be our most exciting day yet. France is smaller than Texas but more than two times the size of the state of Colorado. And like Texas, the terrain and the culture vary from any perspective. The French Pyrenees are in the far south part of the country; they run east to west, from …
Toulouse!
Two hours by train and voila! We stepped into the old city of Toulouse. Wow, we were not expecting a big city. Toulouse compares directly to Boudreaux; it is a bustling big university city filled with young people. While Boudreaux is all about wines, Toulouse may be the cultural center of this corner of France. …
Lourdes, France
Pau is like the center of a star. It’s a great starting point for other towns, and day trips are something not to be missed. Fortunately, high-quality bus service and efficient train networks enable just that. I have to stop here. I am green with envy! The train service here is convenient, precisely on time, …
Chateau de Pau
We vowed not to tour another castle but this magnificent one looked interesting. It is very near to our apartment and is the heart, the focal point of this city. The other day when we walked through the castle gardens, we inquired about visiting. They told us it was too late for an entry that …
Orthez France
As our train sped onward from Bordeaux toward Pau last Tuesday, we passed through a town with an ancient arched bridge over a river with beautiful old buildings making up a town to the left. We both said, oh, we are coming back here. The town is called Orthez and it’s just a 20-minute train …
Pau, France
We are still trying to figure out how to pronounce the name of this town. It is Po? Poo? Pah? Puh? Is it like saying Paul but leaving out the “L”? With a French accent, that would be Puah, I think. Everyone says it just a little differently. The French accent is utterly unique! My …
Au Revoir Bordeaux
I have visited very few places that I did not love. That does not mean I yearned to live there; it simply means I appreciate each place and its uniqueness. Bordeaux is a lovely old city. Its center is filled with historic buildings, plazas, fine museums, churches, oh lots of churches, and plazas. While a …
Beaches of Bordeaux
When I think of France, I think of Paris, the Eiffel Tower, the cuisine, French couture, vineyards, and wine. I may even think of hiking or skiing in the French Alps, but I seldom think of French beaches. They just do not register; however, France is almost bordered in beaches. The entire western coastline is …