Our pilgrimage experience

Samuel would not wake up! Everyone else was showered and dressed while he slept on. Tom bought chocolate and butter croissants and a baguette but couldn't find any take away coffee so we filled our tummy with pastry ready for the day's adventure.
We set off through the Pyrenees to pay homage to Le Tour de France. This would be the second time Tom and I had been to the tour and I had fond memories from last time.
I was navigating through beautiful albeit wet country side, and we pointed out cows with horns, eagles perched in trees and chateaus atop hills.
With only a couple of wrong turns and a brief moment of driving on the wrong side of the road, we made it to the point where the riders would come through and tried to negotiate a good view. While Tom was scoping out a vantage point Adalia decided it was a good idea to swing on a chain. I heard her head hit the concrete and anticipated the screaming. She didn't disappoint.
Tom decided that we would stand on the side of the road that had a steep drop off into a sewage stream. My worst nightmare. I continually repeated to Adalia that she was not to step foot on the grass as I did not want to pluck her out of the sewer.
We waited in the drizzle for about an hour, watching as the team cars came through. No one was ready when the first breakaway came past. They were much faster than anticipated. A few minutes later and the helicopter came past indicating the peleton was near. We waved our Australian flag and cheered for the twelve seconds it took for it to all be over. Immediately after everyone packed up and left. We zigzagged through crowds and traffic back to our car and slowly made our way back to Lourdes, stopping along the way at a chateau.
For lunch we had the very best quiche I have ever tasted and two crepes- Nutella and salted caramel butter. Divine. We will return tomorrow for sure.
After lunch we wanted to check out the massive basilica we saw yesterday. Little did we know we were about to make our "Lourdes Pilgrimage". From my limited research I have discovered that the basilica is at the sight where the Virgin Mary revealed herself in a vision to St Bernadette as many as 17 times. And of course it is a place of miracles thanks to a pure water source that Bernadette discovered.
What a crazy experience, there were thousands of people doing their pilgrimage; nuns, priests, elderly and ill, groups of children, all buying candles, (we saw one candle that was 50kg, as tall as me and €210- and people were buying it) filling up canisters with holy water and rubbing their hands over a sacred stone. We thought there must be a special event going on, but it is just an ordinary pilgrimage day.
The Rosary Basilica was a sight to behold with amazing mosaics picturing Jesus' life. The Basilica of Immaculate conception atop the rosary basilica was dark and stuffy and I wanted to leave. Masses were gathering with expensive candles for a service so we decided to have a drink of holy water since we were thirst, and leave quickly.
We stopped to buy some ice cream, then home for a little rest before we dined at a French restaurant for dinner. Poor Adalia chose steak and chips and was given a lump of mince. Sammy enjoyed his cheese omelet. I suffered from poor ordering having what tasted like duck jerky for entree, lamb stew that was fatty then for desert I ordered tiramisu but for got raspberry mousse! Oh well, you win some you lose some...Read more