We left Nice in our new hire car (an upgrade) and refuelled with a quick brunch (KFC). How could things get any better?
Our first stop on our French road trip was Carcassonne, a town famous for its gigantic medieval fortress, complete with turrets, drawbridge, moat and daily jousting battles. Not so famous, but no less noteworthy, is the board game Carcassonne that we received as a wedding gift (thanks, Justin and Gina!). Surprisingly, it was not to be found in the fortress town.
Surprising, because clearly the people of Carcassonne see their purpose as the exploitation of all things medieval for the tourist dollar. Dozens of stores dedicated to swords, elves, magic crystals, knights, wizards, Harry Potter and Lord of the Rings. I wonder how many satisfied shoppers return home glad to have bought that crossbow or chain-mail suit.
Her worldwide search for a plastic mace now over.
A bargain at €2200, but difficult to fit into luggage.
Life-size replica of ye olde French students and idiotic tourist.
From there, we travelled to Lourdes, the site where 150 years ago, a young lass by the name of Maria happened to see Jesus Christ Himself. Subsequent miraculous healings further bolstered the town’s status as a place of pilgrimage for Catholics the world over.
Today Lourdes is home to a ridiculously large church, and plays host to a nightly procession of pilgrims who have travelled long distances, sometimes from the other side of the world, hoping to be healed in the presence of Maria of Lourdes (or at least her statue, which leads the parade).
The procession is both touching and macabre. The pilgrims walk in groups, and we saw a group of about 20 kids with cerebral palsy being pushed by volunteers, followed by a squadron of lederhosen-clad pilgrims from Bavaria, followed by a cohort of wheelchair-bound demented nursing home residents, followed by some Vietnamese guys in robes, and so on. Being bystanders felt a little voyeuristic but it was also moving to see them sing hymns and raise their candles as one. As darkness descended they all assembled beneath the silhouette of the massive church built on the site of the initial miracle, sang some more, and received some sort of benediction before dispersing into the night.
Below the church, pilgrims to queue up to touch/kiss/scrape off part of the wall of the grotto where Maria saw the vision of Christ. Adjacent to this is a series of taps where hundreds of people come daily to collect, in large bottles, what must be considered holy water. The streets approaching the church are lined with souvenir stores devoted to Catholic artefacts and trinkets. Faith is big business in Lourdes.
The grotto.
Holy water collection point.
Holy water in all shapes and sizes. Just don’t leave it in your hand-carry.
No comments:
Post a Comment