Feeling confident that we would not be likely to run into another snowstorm this week, we again ventured into the mountains for a day out. This time we were aiming for Pic du Midi de Bigorre, one of the higher peaks in the Pyrenees. We also checked on the weather in that part of the country before leaving, hence the reason for our confidence. There is again a cableway up to the highest point, but it is really quite expensive at 25 euros per person and before we left home we decided that we would only ride on it if the weather was very, very clear. Which turned out to be quite a good decision in the end, as the cableway section only opens to the public on the 30th April! We had also thought that if we didn’t go on the cableway, we would continue on the road into the mountains which would then take us up and over the Col de Tourmalet (those of you who follow the Tour de France will recognise the name), and bring us back down again further along the range. However, that idea didn’t quite work out either as the road to the Col was closed to traffic because of the heavy snow in the area! But even if our ideas didn’t quite work out as planned, we had a wonderful day out. The little town at the end of the road to the Pic du Midi is called La Mongie and is principally a ski-resort. It is not an attractive town by any stretch of the imagination, as it appears to have been purpose-built. There are no pretty little mountain chalets, but instead large solid blocks of holiday flats and equally large and solid hotels line the road and climb up the hillside. Ski-lifts and cableways stretch out in all directions like massive spider legs, and in season I can imagine it being alive with hundreds of people wearing skis and colourful ski outfits. The day we were there though, it was very quiet. There were some people around, and a few families with small children were having fun tobogganing on a small patch of snow not far away. The shops were all closed, probably taking a welcome break after the winter season and before the summer season starts, but we found one café open that served coffee and sandwiches. Needless to say, he was doing a roaring trade! Somehow we do not seem to have great success with our trips to the mountains.
Coming back from shopping a few days back, we happened to pass the old barn which I took a picture of at the beginning of our holiday. The enormous oak tree next to it was quite bare and brown at the time, so I took another picture of it to compare the winter and the spring view. With the tree in full leaf, the old barn looks almost attractive and not quite so derelict!
Interestingly enough, although I had always considered Europe to be predominantly Catholic, Easter is not celebrated with a holiday weekend in France. Friday was business as usual at all shops and businesses, but Monday may well be a half-day holiday. All of the supermarkets have huge stocks of Easter eggs and chocolate bunnies, but there are no hot cross buns and no ‘Easter specials’. In fact, it is a complete non-event. We are quite amazed. As I so often say, ‘One learns something new every day’.
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