Lourdes - Day 1

We left Moissac, stopping by the public fountain for photos. 

The wild poppies are blooming along the train tracks, 

and are very pretty.

Arriving in Lourdes, 

the first thing we were happy about 

was having the proper electric convertor

for my iPhone!

The hotel was average.

Good enough for two pilgrims!

We did the thing always first on the pilgrim's to do list -

Laundry!

 Breakfast (included)  next morning was quite substantial for a hotel breakfast.

We even had eggs!

We then spent 7 hours exploring Lourdes. 

We stood in line to touch the grotto, 

The Holy Spring in the Grotto

Candles were 2.50 Euros

We took our candles to the outdoor stands 

where you light them and they burn hundreds at a time. 

We attended Mass at the Basilica then saw people lining up to bathe at 10 a.m. 

Where the baths do not open until 2 p.m.!

 We found a nice little East Indian restaurant for lunch 

and spent a total of 13 euros for the two of us 

for curry chicken and rice for me. 

Joe had another doner kabob. 

He loves them!

 We filled our water bottles from the holy fountains 

and had afternoon coffee in town.

Our Lady of Guadalupe Niche 

It's all made from 2-3 inch pieces of glass

People told me I couldn't miss the CROWN - they were right!

 Dinner was picnic. 

We found nice sliced sandwich meat for 90 cents, 

cheese for 2,50 euro and bread for 60 cents. 

We bought a can of local duck pate and hard local sheep cheese, 

oranges and bread for tomorrow's walk. 

We spent a total under 10 euros.

So far we have stayed well below our budget of 20 euros per day for food.
That is each. 

We have averaged about 30 euros per day for two.

 Joe is now out checking tomorrow's trail while I catch up on laundry. 

 We hope to make Asson in about 6.5 hours tomorrow

I will post more Lourdes photos in the next section.