Our Lady of Lourdes

Yesterday I awoke to rather dismal weather so I decided to hit the road and head to Lourdes. Only about an hour's drive from Salies, Lourdes is a small market town located at the base of the Pyrenees in south-west France. The town itself has become incredibly famous, especially among Catholic circles for the Marian apparitions that are reported to have occured in 1858 to a 14 year old local shepherd girl named Bernadette Soubirous. The story goes that one day a beautiful lady appeared to her in the remote Grotto of Massabielle. The lady identifid herself as “the Immaculate Conception” and everyone believed her to be the Virgin Mary.

It was these Marian apparitions which are responsible for the tens of millions of Marian pilgrimages per year. About 5 million pilgrims visit Lourdes every year and within France only Paris has more hotels than Lourdes. Thus each decade, 50 million Catholic pilgrims visit Lourdes, based on Marian apparitions to one person on a remote hilltop.

There are many things to do and shrines to see in Lourdes. For example, you can bath in the spring which wells out from the grotto (thought to have miraculous healing properties), you can observe sacred processions, or you can purchase tall blue and white votive candles which are meant to be burnt as a devotional gesture in large metal stands called brulieres.

Not considering myself a religious person, I did not take part in any of these events. Nevertheless, I did observe these activities and I even visited the sacred grotto where the Marian apparitions are said to have occured. My favourite part of the experience was a visit to the beautiful Rosary Basilica and its exquisitly crafted mosaics which recount the 15 mysteries of the life of Jesus and the Virgin Mary.

The town itself works itsway from top to bottom. Narrow streets lined with hotels, restaurants, cafes and of course the infamous religious-trinket-souvenir shops which sell just about every kind of Marian paraphrenalia imaginable. Everything from candles to mugs and necklaces to statues. Near the top of the town one could expect to see one of these shops about every block or so. However, as you make your way down to the bottom of the town the more and more souvenir shops you see. Until finally that's all you see, as every store, on both sides of the street, is a souvenir shop. You're all probably wondering if I bought anything while I was visiting. And to answer your question, yes I did. I bought the tiniest little charm that you can put on a necklace. The charm is that of a rose with a depiction of Mary on the back. I think it cost 1.50 euro or something.

Hossegor - Surf Spot Extraordinaire

With its long stretch of golden scalloped sandy beaches, Hossegor has earned a reputation as having the best beach break in Europe and one of the best in the world. The summer is by far the busiest and the most inconsistent waves of the year. Yesterday, I woke up to a beautiful hot sunny day so I decided to head for the coast for some surfing. It was one of the best wave days we've had here in a while, and as a result one of the busiest. There must have been at least 30 surfers at the break I usually go to, all vying for waves. I was also doing my best to stay out of everyone's way, not get hit, and avoid being pummelled by big sets.
I have heard that September is actually the best time of year to be surfing in Hossegor, more consistent waves and far less crowds. Its also the time of year in which Hossegor hosts the annual Quicksilver Pro France contest.
Downtown Hossegor is surf city. Just about every major surfwear label from Rip Curl to RVCA and Billabong to Volcom has its own shop. Most have all the gear you need along with the price tag to match. Also to be found are local surf labels and one of a kind boutiques.

France and their Bread

Though gourmets the world over relish it, no one can get quite as passionate about French bread as the French. For them, the long crusty loaf notoriously known as the baguette is not only a gustatory delight and a dietary necessity but a supercharged political commodity as well. On the dark day in 1789 when a mob of hungry women marched twelve miles through the mud to Versailles to haul King Louis XVI off to his doom, their war cry was “Bread Bread!” and their fury was fed by Marie Antoinette's fateful “Let them eat cake.”

Although I was somewhat aware of this time in history and the idea of the baguette as an enduring symbol of France, I was however, rather unaware to the extent of which this was so. Since I've been here, I've come to the realization that the baguette is not just a symbol of France but infact an icon of French life. There are boulangeries and patisseries everywhere! We live in a tiny little medieval town and there must be at least 10 different independant bakeries here, not to mention the grocery stores. In bigger towns and cities I've noticed that you cannot walk a block without running into a boulangerie, its absolutely incredible. I see people walking out of these places with their arms full of nothing but baguettes. About a week or so ago I was sunbathing at the beach and was surprised to see a woman with her two little girls just eating a baguette as a snack.

I will say however, that the baguettes here are absolutely delicious. One thing I have noticed is that whole wheat bread doesn't seem to exist here. Why is this the case? Another important note of mention which I have come to discover is that baguettes are made to be eaten the same day as purchased. I have tried wrapping a leftover baguette in a tea towel; I have put it in a plastic bag overnight; I've sprinkled it with water and baked it in a hot oven, but the result is always the same – day-old French bread tastes like carpet slippers. You have been warned.

On My Own

Today was a bit of a sad day, as it was the day that Dennis left to go back to work. He will be gone for about a month, so until he gets back its just Rypien and I. I will admit to being a bit nervous about being on my own given the fact that I don't know a single person here. I imagine I will be a bit lonely at times.
Nevertheless, I am in France afterall, so I am going to be optimistic! I plan on keeping myself busy and entertained while Dennis is gone with small trips and lots of surfing!
Good news though - We have found a place in Capbreton (on the coast) and are set to move in the beginning of September! We can't wait.

Old Town, San Sebastian, Spain

On Monday we spent the day exploring San Sebastian's charming old quarter. Rich with historical treasures, its narrow cobbled streets were a virtual maze of street stalls, specialty shops, cafes, restaurants and tapas bars! The tapas were all laid out at all but the fanciest bars for delectable bites of special treats. We explored some of the main attractions which included the Baroque Church of Santa Maria, the Gothic Church of San Vicente, and the Museo de San Telemo, a former 16th century convent. San Sebastian is most definitley a place that exudes a certain air and charm - characteristics which can only be found in old places worn out by non-stop activity, history and festivity.

A Rainy Day in St. Jean de Luz

Well its was a rainy day here today. Usually when it rains it does so for just a few minutes in the morning and then clears up for the afternoon. Today, this was not the case, as it poured rain all day. We had planned to go surfing today but decided to hit the road and spend the day in fabulous St. Jean de Luz.
We decided to take Rypien with us on our little adventure - he's currently on probation as he hasn't been behaving too well lately. We decided to take him because we didn't want to leave him tied up outside in the pouring rain and we didn't trust him enough to leave him on his own in the kitchen - he has gotten into the garbage several times - a huge mess!
The drive to St. Jean de Luz only takes about 45 minutes. We weren't sure what or how many places would be open once we got there, given the fact that it was Sunday and everything usually shuts down for the weekend. However, when we arrived we were pleasantly surprised to see how many cafes and restaurants were actually open. We did some wandering and then stopped for lunch at a great restaurant in one of the town squares. It had a great covered patio and despite the rain almost everyone was sitting outside. I love how people here live very much outdoors. Dennis had a steak with shallots, frittes, a salade and a couple of beers, and I had a salade de chevre chaud with some red wine - it was great! After lunch I had my usual cafe creme - so tasty and delicious. After lunch we continued our meandering and window shopping and then stopped at a patisserie (the only one in town that I think was open)on our way back to the car to buy a baguette for dinner.
St. Jean de Luz is easily one of the most attractive cities in the Basque Country that I've been to so far. This endearing small beach city is just dripping with charm, from its port lined with colourful boats to its boutique shops. The delightful squares, quaint pedestrian shopping area all equal a visit that is sure to be unforgettable.

Life is like a box of chocolates...

Well we've been here just over a week now and lets just say that things haven't been exactly easy. We have been on the hunt for quite some time for a place in Hossegor, or pretty much anything on the coast or within 20 km of it. The reason for this one might ask? The surf! We did luck out one morning a few days ago and found a great apartment in Capbreton through a rental agency. However, when we went back with all the paperwork that afternoon at 2:00pm, when they were suppose to have re-opened, they were still in fact closed. We waited around until 3:30pm and then decided to head home and try again the next day. We had a surf lesson schedualed at 10:00am the next morning, the agency opened at 9:30am, so we decided to get there right when they opened, however, when we arrived and told them that we had all the paperwork in hand and ready to go they said the apartment had already been rented. We were devastated! Things really didn't get much better from there. The surf conditions for our morning lesson were rather terrible - very windy and lots of choppy waves - which made for lots of paddling around in strong currants and not much riding.
The next day we decided to hit-up just about every rental agency on the coast and everything wihin 20km of it with paperwork already in hand so as not to repeat the previous day's mistake (i.e Dennis's work contract papers which basically say he has a job, who his employer is and how much money he makes). The result was not much better, as all those agencies told us basically the same thing...'We can't rent any properties to you because your revenue does not come from within France'. We couldn't believe it! Basically if you want to rent a house or an apartment from a rental agency in France you better have a job based in France otherwise you're SOL.
And if that wasn't enough.....We stopped at the grocery store to pick up something for dinner on our way home. Note: We have to grocery shop every day because our fridge is the size of a tuna can - it's a beverage fridge. We were in the grocery store for maybe 15 minutes and when we came back we found that our wonderful dog had gone into terminator mode and destroyed everything in the car. He chewed the e-brake handle of our rental car, chewed the cord which powers our gps and shredded all of Dennis's proof of employment papers and work contract (thankgoodness he had an extra copy back at home)! I have tried to calm myself down in the day or so since all this has happened, but writing it all out like this certainly isn't helping so I think I might just end it here. Praying for positive things in the days to come.