If this is the Off Season

I can't wait to come in High Season.


   Five priests from Chicago sat behind me in a bistro called Navarre. It boasts quite rightly some of the best basque regional cuisine. They are only here for three days and didn't know where anything was. I should be a guide of sorts I thought. Yes, there are two houses where Bernadette lived I informed them; the rather nice one where she was born and the prison holding cell pit of a residence called the Cachot where they had to live because her father became disabled-lost his sight due to an accident which meant before the days of social security, he lost all his income. A milliner could make a good living- except if you were blind and could not see the grains.  If you were disabled then you lost your income and ability to support your family. The town housed them all in a prison holding cell and you can see it to this day. Its tiny  Then another American priest, this time from Philadelphia entered seemingly just to use the bathroom. I told him Rigali could be Pope and he chuckled, then felt remorseful (guilty even) and said "maybe." A prophet is not without honor except in his own home I thought.

    This morning the town (above chatchkiville which is the souvenir part of town surrounding the sanctuaries and grotto) there was a huge market- think Eastern Market times ten on a Saturday. The real town, not the touristy part is a typical but more prosperous than some small french village town. Its charming. It has all the typical french town stores like the Monoprix (that's where you get underwear-better than Target), the Carrefour (supermarket) and boulangerie and pattiserie stores that make Paul's look like the McDonalds version of french pastries. But even the McDos here (as they call McDonalds) has croissants and colorful macaroons.

There was a stand at the outdoor market today overtly evangelizing, giving away tracks on the book of John and selling bibles and other spiritual literature. Try that at Eastern Market. There was a flower market, ski jackets for around $20, ski underwear, gloves, hats, vegetable markets, kiddies clothes (adorable)  the local cheese maker guy with rows of cheese, the guy who canes chairs and a woman who charmingly paints scenes on the mountain slate they mine in the region. If you just went to chatchkiville, you missed half the town's magic and charm. The above photo is one done by a woman who was born here- Carole Costes who has a blog at carole-costes.over-blog.com you can find HERE
The portrait of Bernadette was done on the local slate.

If you want her to paint anything she can and also works from photos. email: costes.carole@gmail.com

She has a gallery called Galerie de Caro.

This is a woman

who makes honey at her local farm in all these varieties. Who knew honey

came in so many varieties and colors!

Here above is Carole- the true Lourdes native who paints on the local slate. Her stand is next 

to the provence tablecloths (because where do you think people from provence go in the winter:-)