Category — Special Places

After having walked the good few kilometres up the hill to see the village of Labassère, I was initially slightly disappointed at the lack of, well, anything of interest there really. In total, there were a small school, a fountain, a monument of some priest who discovered a spring, a church, a few houses and the Mairie. Having taken a closer look at both the fountain and the monument, and tried the gate to the church only to find it locked, I was just heading back out of the village when I spotted a little grassy pathway gently climbing up the hill between some of the village’s houses.

Although I wasn’t entirely sure whether this pathway was public or not, I decided to follow it for a while anyway just to see where it went, and so I headed off up the hill. As I progressed, the path came out behind the houses and started to wind around a steep rock. Wooden railings then also appeared on the edge of the path as there was a steep descent to one side. Now fairly sure the pathway was open to the public, I wondered what this little village that didn’t even have a shop had gone to the effort of building a pathway and wooden fencing for.

Upon reaching to top of this rock, I felt simultaneous delight at the wonderful views that had become available to me, and wonder at what was so special about the 2 metre long strech of crumbling wall which seemed to be the focus of the hill top. There was also a large stone cross near it.

I got closer, but there was no sort of information or signage for either. Although I was mildly dissatisfied, and my curiosity was certainly not assuaged, I contented myself by just sitting down and appreciating the wonderful views.

To the south were the snow capped Pyrenees mountains.

There was a view over the village and church of Labassère to the east.

To the north, a rare strech of flat land could be seen.

The west side overlooked a valley spotted with a few small cottages.

I later found out online that the rock is called Castet, and that the couple of metres of stone wall is the remains of a 13th Century fortified tower, which was used for communicating with other such towers at places like Mauvezin and Ossun by means of fire beacons.

They really could put up a sign to tell visitors this. Or maybe there is no need because the only people who go up there from the village and therefore obviously know what it is. I can’t exactly see the village being a big tourist attraction actually, so that would make sense I suppose.

Le Château Fort et son Musée Pyrénéan
Rue de Bourg
651 000
Lourdes

Tel: 0(033) 562 42 37 37

www.chateaufort-lourdes.fr

Prominently perched on the top of a high rock in the middle of Lourdes, the Château Fort (or stronghold) is virtually impossible for anyone to miss when they arrive in the city. It was certainly the first thing that caught my eye after I had made my way from the train station into the centre of town.

Attracted by this imposing yet fitting monument’s reign over the city, I navigated the streets below, and weaved my way towards the jutting outcrop of rock that is the castle’s base. Easily guided by a constant view of my destination, I found the entrance fairly quickly- a little wooden cabin on the north east side of the castle. I enquired about prices, and found that they were as follows:

Adults: 5 euros
Students: 3 euros
Children: 3 euros
Children under 6: free
Family (of 4): 12 euros

After paying the entrance fee, you have the choice of taking the lift or the stairs up to the castle. Not wanting to miss any views of either the city or the exterior of the castle, and rather liking the idea of the walk up anyway, I took the stairs. Seeing the castle slowly approach as you climb the stairs was a wonderful way of experiencing it for the first time, and I would advise everyone to do so, unless there’s a real reason you need the lift.

After you have reached the castle, you are guided around its interior by white arrows, sometimes formed of mosaic on the floor, other times just painted on the walls. You follow these through a variety of reconstructed rooms, taking you from an 18th century kitchen to a 19th Century bedroom. Some are even complete with models of appropriately dressed people.

Some of the rooms you’re guided through are more museum-like, with glass cabinets of numbered artefacts ranging from ploughs to candle-holders. Amongst the topics of the rooms are: wine-making, agriculture, funeral candles, weaving, Samadet porcelain and Pyrenean costumes. Each display has information boards which I found interesting, but would be of little use to anyone who doesn’t have a fairly good level of French, as they are not available in any other language. There are free 8 page paper leaflets available at the entrance in multiple European languages however, which give you basic information about most of the rooms you are led through.

A highlight of this tour is the view from the defensive platform at the south end of the castle, which gives you a 360 panorama of the city and the mountains. It is far more impressive than the disappointing keep, which, though higher, has no open roof and is therefore not nearly as good for views, as you have to peer out of the small, low windows.

The majority of the courtyard at the base of the keep has been turned into a pleasing botanic garden which works well against the stone of the cobbled floor and surrounding walls, and presents some species of Pyrenean fauna.

Dotted about the botanic garden are delightful little 1/10 scale models of Pyrenean (both French and Spanish) architecture, which kept me entertained for a good while.

I then descended the on the west side of the castle planning to exit on a different side. More wonderful views met me on the steep and sometimes cobbly way down.

I reached the Pyrenean cemetery at the bottom, had a quick glance at the tombstones and sarcophagi, and headed towards the big wooden gate. It was locked. I didn’t mind much as there had been lovely views on the way down, and, on reflection, I probably would have gone down and up again even if I had known I couldn’t get out that way. For anyone who doesn’t want an unnecessary descent and climb however, you have been warned! The real ways of getting back down from the castle are the same as those to get up: the stairs or lift on the east side of the castle.

I climbed back up the slope and, once back in the main courtyard, was spotted by a caretaker who had seen me go down and come up again. Clearly assuming that this a pointless excursion had bothered me, he kindly directed me into the lift on the other side of the castle, and, obviously thinking I was desperately thick too, pushed the down button for me before I had a chance to think up the kindest way to tell him I didn’t want his assistance as I would far rather take the steps back down. Alas.

I would definitely recommend a trip to the castle for anyone visiting Lourdes. At just 5 euros for marvellous views and a visit to a castle, museum and botanic garden all in one, it is well worth the price. I went around the castle in a very relaxed way, reading most information boards, and spent just under 2 hours there. You would be pretty hard pushed to try and spend more than 2 and a half hours I think, but trying to fit the castle into say an hour however, would be both stressful and wasteful in my opinion.

Rue du Pont d’Arras
Les Grands Thermes Bagnères de Bigorre
France

Tel: 0(033) 562 95 86 95

Aquensis, a luxury thermal spa in the French town of Bagnères de Bigorre, takes its name from ‘Vicus Aquensis’, the latin for the town. This name shows what the Romans valued the settlement for- they were attracted by its natural warm springs, and Aquensis has cashed in on the town’s history to create an expensive luxury health resort.

Architecturally bizarre, Aquensis combines an ornate 19th Century building with a modern glass and wood porch surrounded with palm trees. I found myself automatically and involuntarily mildly offended by this seemingly misjudged disparity, before worrying I might be being a bit too conservative and deciding to make an effort to give this odd combination a chance.

I entered and found myself in a grand marble entrance hall with a strange strip of wiggly blue down the centre of the room, leading to a screen of glass and wood at the end.

Inexplicably drawn to the strange blue wiggle, I followed it along to the glass screen and peered between the beams of wood into what was obviously the main chamber of the spa.

Looking in at this room, I found myself close to laughter: it was as though someone, in a gesture of the greatest blasphemy, had taken the floor out of a small but pleasantly formed church (for some reason made of wood), inserted various random shaped pools and irrevently dropped in a few swimsuit clad heretics to complete the peculiar picture.

Aquensis itself describes its pools as `splendidly highlighted by an original architecture which sets up the site as a real Cathedral of the Well-being.’

At 16 euros for a two hour pass, I decided to give the spa a miss… I didn’t have any particular urge to mooch about in warm water for 2 hours at any rate.

I would advise anyone going to Bagnères de Bigorre to pay a visit to Aquensis to see its bizarre architecture at least. Whether you then decide to pay 16 euros (or more) to sample its waters as well is up to you… and your budget.

A sign seen in Kata, Phuket to Thailand during our summer vacation.  (August 2009)

The Stata Center at MIT is wonderful We were told that it was designed to reflect the social habits of baboons!

They do their social stuff on the ground — the labs and so on are on the lower floors. When they want privacy, they climb. The offices are on the higher floors. Check out the center’s website. 

We decided to spend two nights of this trip in Tijuana, Mexico. A lot of our friends wondered why. Well…

• I like to leave the United States every few months even if it only for a little.
• I wanted to discover the “other Tijuana.” I have seen the Avenida Revolución, but felt there must be other stuff to see.
• I had previously had good food experiences in Mexico, and I wanted to repeat them.

Carlsbad is a really pleasant place. The flowers, the sea, and the views were wonderful!

There is also a mall with restaurants and shops right opposite the Holiday Inn.  

Fans of Inpector Morse, the British television series about the opera-loving, ale-drinking, first-nameless detective, who lived and worked in Oxford, may recognize this house. Morse had an old Jaguar Mark II that would be parked outside while he would sit inside listening to opera and drinking wine! (The person who played the part was John Thaw in this series.)

Actually, Morse’s house is not in Oxford at all, but in Ealing, a London suburb and the location for many BBC television productions. Looking a little bit delapidated, the house is now up for auction.

The address is 23 Castlebar Park, Ealing, London w5. It’s on the corner of Castlebar Park and Victoria Road, which is about a 15 minute walk from Ealing Broadway station.