Seeing the Pyrenees from our Windows

We don’t see the Pyrénées everyday, so they are special days when we do!  Today is one of those days.  We woke up to clear skies and can see the outline of the Pyrenees clearly on the horizon.  There is a saying in Lectoure, “there will be rain two days (or three days) after you see the Pyrénées.”  Rain would make us happy too!

 

Historic Abbayes and Churches

Papa and I left Saint-Savin after breakfast on the patio of Le Viscos, with it’s beautiful view to the south, of the Pyrénées and Chapelle Notre Dame de Piétât.  We took our time driving back to Lectoure, stopping at various churches and abbeys along the way.  

Chapelle Notre-Dame-de-Roume - 12th century chapel, surrounded by hayfields in the foothills looking south toward the Pyrénées.

Abbaye de L’Escaladieu - founded 1142 and an important pilgrimage stop on the Chemin de Saint Jacques de Compostela.

Chateau de Mauvezin - built in the 11th century

Notre-Dame-de-Garaison - chapel built in 1540, was a pilgrimage site for 200 years, it was used as an internment camp during WWI, and currently used as a highly regarded Catholic boarding school.  The chapel interior is covered in frescoes, dating to the 16th century.  

Eglise St. Laurent in Mond-d’Astarac - dating to the 15th century, with extensive interior paintings.

Eglise Sainte-Gemme in Chelan - 15th century

Eglise Sainte-Catherine in Ornezan - 15th century

L’église Romane St. Michel in Sansan

Churches in the Pyrenees

Papa says I never pass a church without going inside, but I did just that yesterday in Lourdes.  We drove slowly past Basilique Notre Dame du Rosaire without stopping.  There were people everywhere and no parking spaces available.  We visited Eglise des Templiers today, in Luz Saint-Sauveur, dating to the 13th century, and passed to the Hospitallers of Saint John of Jerusalem in the 14th century, it was a fortified church, with frescos, and a Baroque chapel.

On our way back to Saint-Savin, Papa dropped me off at Chapelle Notre Dame de Piétât, dating to the 11th century.  It is sited beautifully, on a hill overlooking a valley with sharp peaks of the Pyrénées surrounding.  The Chapelle was not open, so I walked around it and back into Saint-Savin.

Papa and I walked through the village of Saint-Savin to Abbatiale Romane de Saint-Savin-de Lavedan.  It was first a monastery in the 4th century, destroyed by Arab invasions in the 8th century, reconstructed by Charlemagne, and again destroyed in the 9th century.  It was reconstructed in 945, with work done at various times in succeeding centuries.  There was a wedding this afternoon, so we waited until everyone was gone to go inside the church, and explore around the grounds.

Pic du Midi

We had a wonderful dinner last evening and breakfast this morning, at our hotel, Le Viscos, in Saint-Savin.  By 9:30, we were headed east toward Pic du Midi, about an hour from Saint-Savin.  It took us a bit longer this morning, because there were so many bikers on the road.  We arrived by 11 at the base of the Téléphérique to Pic du Midi.  We bought 12:00 tickets and walked enjoyed the scenery until we boarded the téléphérique to the top.  The foundation stone for the observatory at Pic du Midi was laid in July 1878.  The first cable car began operation in 1952.  The observatory has contributed to international advances in the studies of cosmic rays, the sun, moon, and planets since.  We had a “top of the world” experience today!