biarritzy

We're having a bit of a breather in Biarritz, right near the border with Spain. We were going to drive to San Sebastian and stay there, but were put off by the thought of driving - we had a couple of days of long-distance driving & found it quite tiring. So, tomorrow we're going to Bilbao on the train. We had planned to go to San Sebastian today, but by the time we'd had breakfast (at a terrace cafe by the beach), found the railway station and made our way there by bus it was getting on; and then the next train wasn't for another three hours! You have to get the French train to the border, then change to a Spanish train. In the end we weren't going to get there until nearly 4pm. So instead we're doing laundry and internetting and generally lounging around.

Yesterday we went to Lourdes -- what a bizarre place. Fascinating to see so many faithful there, all looking for a miracle. The church etc is very beautiful and impressive, and the town has the most souvenir shops I've ever see anywhere.

We loved the Dordogne, it's lovely -- winding rivers, cliffs pocked with caves, lush valleys. We visited Lascaux II, a copy of the famous Lascaux caves, now closed because of damage to the paintings from tourists' breath. My favourite though was the Grotte de Font de Gaume, which has the most breathtaking paintings of bison. We also went to the Museum of Prehistory, which was excellent.

OK, I'd better go and relieve Pinky at the laundrimat.