3 days hiking in the French Pyrénées

A week after coming back from the Alps we decided to visit another French mountain: the Pyrénées

20, 21 and 22 August, 2013

Lourdes and Cauterets Pont d’Espagne are among the 4 major Resorts of the Hautes-Pyrénées

Picture dated June 21, 2013

Lourdes the very famous commune of the 

Catholic pilgrimage site has been left devastated in June 18, 2013 by the river Gave de Pau, which has burst its banks

La basilique Notre-Dame-du-Rosaire today, after less than 2 months works rehabilitation

The Massabielle cave where the Virgin Mary is said to have appeared to 

Bernadette Soubirous was partially flooded 

Before (left) and after (right) the flood

One of the few still apparent damage

Cauterets Pont d’Espagne

 The Pont d’Espagne (1496 m) is a protected place 

         of Pyrenees National Park 

        

The most beautiful waterfalls that can be seen in the Hautes-Pyrénées







That place gives access to the Gaube valley, with its lake ...


... the Lac de Gaube which is approximately 1hr and 30 minutes walk from Cauterets 

or can be accessed by a chair-lift from the Pont d'Espagne

The top end of the valley leading to the lake is closed off by the north face of the Vignemale, the culminating point of the mountain range on the border with Spain

The Cirque de Lys is accessible by cable car from where there are panoramic views over the Pyrenees

The crests of the Cirque du Lys with the lakes and high surrounding peaks

Faraway the Ilhéou lake

Summer 2013 vacation in the French Alpine area

For 10 days, from Aug 3 to Aug 13, 2013, we spent this year vacation in the Alps mountains

Notre Dame de Bellecombe , the typical Savoyard architecture of the center of village...

Le Village’s apartments where we stayed,
are in traditional wood buildings

...situated in the mountains at an altitude of 1150m,    15 km from Megève 

Chamonix and its Valley of Mont Blanc located in the Haute Savoie department of the Rhone-Alpes region, 45 km from ND de Bellecombe

The “roof of Europe”, the highest peak in the Alps and Western Europe, has an altitude of 4810.90 

meters

The Mer de Glace, the Ice Cave and the Montenvers Train are one of the biggest attractions in the Chamonix valley 

Departing from Chamonix, the famous little red rack railway brings you to the Montenvers site at 1913 m. 

Panorama of Chamonix from the train

The Mer de Glace, the largest glacier in France, 7kms long and 200m deep, is one of the worlds 

most visited natural sites 

Cable-car station

The Ice Cave/Grotto accessible either by a path (about one hundred step between the cable-car station and the Ice Cave entrance!) or by cable-car.

Ice sculptures

The Ice Cave takes you into the heart of the glacier: carved every year since the glaciers are moving about 70m every year, the ice sculptures illustrate scenes from alpine life in the early 19th century. 

Puygros

The vacation ended in family in Puygros, a little village located in the Savoie department at an altitude of about 770 meters.

We have visited the "Puygrolains"
(the inhabitants of Puygros)

A two days stroll to "the Marais Poitevin"

It took place July 9 &10, 2013

The ‘Marais Poitevin’

a remarkable place, is a marsh located in the Poitou area

At 970 square kilometres, the second largest marshland in France, stretches from just west of Niort in the Deux-Sèvres through the south of the Vendée and the north of the Charente-Maritime just above 

La Rochelle

The Marais is made up of natural water channels, man-made canals as well as meadows, wooded places …

The most common tree is the poplar usually planted in rows and their roots are an excellent holder for the soil of the banks

Some areas are still inaccessible by road, a paradise for the wildlife

The traditional boats used here are flat-bottomed

The best way to travel the Marais Poitevin's network of canals, rivers and waterways is canoeing or boating

We chose to have a guided boat tour (cf. video below)

Coulon village

Coulon, one of the region's most beautiful villages,
is considered the capital of the Venise Verte (Green Venice)

The House of the Marais Poitevin is located on the banks of the river Sèvre Niortaise, in the heart of the village of Coulon

The museum reveals the secrets of the marshes

The “Maraiscope” big screen movie, lights game, sound effects, explains the main stages of the construction of this very particular territory 

Our lodging located in the town of Niort, give us the opportunity to visit the Château de Niort, a medieval castle. It is normally called today as the Donjon de Niort

The two donjons are the only remaining part of the castle consisting of two square towers, linked by a 15th century building. It dominates the Sèvre Niortaise valley.

 From the 18th century, the castle served as a prison

May vacation, stay in London

Early May is the period for our grandchildren to be in vacation.

Good opportunity to travel with them to London and discover or rediscover the England Capital.

Departure flight from Bordeaux on May 5 and return on May 9, 2013

The best introduction and welcome to London, is to travel around the capital using an “open-top sightseeing bus”. We chose the red route starting at Victoria station close to our hotel 

The route takes in the capital's most famous sights including Buckingham Palace, Big Ben & the Houses of Parliament, Downing Street, Madame Tussauds, The London Dungeon, Tower Bridge and The Tower of London

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                         

                                                                                                                                      

 In April 2012 British Telecom confirmed that just 11,000 of the 51,500 public kiosks remaining are "traditional red boxes", but this number is likely to reduce gradually 

Tower Bridge built 1886–1894, a bascule bridge over the River Thames close to the Tower of London from which it took its name.                                                                                                                     

A new building!!! The Shard (of glasses) opened to the public on 1 February 2013, stands at 309.6 meters (1,016 ft) high as the tallest building in the European Union

The changing guards of Buckingham palace 

This colorful and crowded ceremony is probably the top attractions in London! 

The London Eye is a giant wheel located on the River Thames banks

The entire structure Is 135 meters (443 ft) tall and offers a marvelous viewing point in the city.

It's the most popular paid tourist attraction in the United Kingdom, visited by over 3.5 million people annually. 

Hyde Park

Crowded people taking advantage of the warming sun on the serpentine lake’s bank 

Even the swan, very proud, appreciated  the nice weather

London Zoo is the world's oldest scientific. 

Today it houses a collection of 755 species of animals, but we were a little disappointed because lot of these animals were hidden or may be absents … difficult for a giraffe to be hidden

The British Museum dedicated to human history and culture 

...learning how to wrap the body…

We had a long stop at the Antiquities from
Egypt department discovering numerous mummies...

Madame Tussauds London is a major tourist attraction recreating famous people and celebrities in wax 

My granddaughter preferred to meet her favorite band “one direction” instead of meeting with her President!