Europe Driving Trip 2015

We had a group of four people flying initially to Paris, then drive through major cities in France, Spain, Portugal, Monte Carlo, Italy and Switzerland.
Helen and Susan, two sisters and our close friends agreed to join the two of us, I and my wife Mala. The whole trip would take one month. Our plan was to fly to Paris, then lease a vehicle from the airport and drive to all the destinations returning back to Paris to take the flight home.
We have booked all our flights, a vehicle from the airport and all the hotels so that we knew exactly where we were going to be on any particular day.
Our Emirates flight was through Dubai. The first part of the trip from Sydney to Dubai took nearly 14 hours. The next part from Dubai to Paris was only 7 hours. We purposely selected flights that use 380 planes. They have slightly bigger seats and more space between rows. The main advantage is to have more leg room.
We landed in Paris, Charles De Galle airport on March 26th Thursday at 12:30PM. We then collected the vehicle from the airport and drove to Bourges which was our first stop. We took a long time stuck in the traffic trying to get out of Paris and eventually arrived at our hotel in Bourges around 9:00PM. We had a booking in Hotel Novotel Bourges for one night.

Novotel Hotel in Bourges

We had no time to visit any attractions in the evening. The next morning, we had early breakfast and left the hotel to see the Bourges Cathedral locally known as Cathedral Saint-Etienne de Bourges. Bourges Cathedral is a Roman Catholic cathedral, dedicated to Saint Stephen, located in Bourges, France. It is the seat of the Archbishop of Bourges.

Cathédrale Saint-Étienne in Bourges

The present Cathedral was built as a replacement for a mid-11th-century structure, traces of which survive in the crypt. The date when construction began is unknown.

Sue,Helen and Mala near the Cathedral

Important figures in the life of the cathedral during the 13th century include William of Donjeon who was Archbishop from 1200 until his death in 1209 as well as his nephew, Philip Berruyer (archbishop 1236-61), who oversaw the later stages of construction.
The cathedral was added to the list of the World Heritage Sites by UNESCO in 1992.

Bernadette's clothes

Next morning we drove to the small town Nevers which was only 60 km from Bourges. We visited the church of Gildard in Nevers. That is where St Bernadette's unperished body is kept. It is said that her body was exhumed several times before finally laid to rest in the chapel of the church of St Gildard. The body was on display in a glass case. Her face and the hands were the only exposed parts of the body and have been covered with a thin layer of wax. She looked more like a statue.

Picture of an art work in the Nevers Museujm

There are several museums in Nevers and we took the opportunity to visit one museum called Musee de la Faience de Nevers and see the art works and pottery done by various artists.

Ceramic atrwork in the museum

The history of the town, and in fact the whole of France can be traced through the pottery in this museum. From Italian origins, this heavily patterned china depicts scenes from the ancient régime, to the Revolution in miniature on plates and ornaments. The Montagnon factory, Du Bout du Monde, founded in 1648, still carries on the traditions of generations. Now a significant collection is on view at the Musée de la Faïence de Nevers in the beautifully renovated Abbaye de Notre Dame.

A Statue in the museum

This fine museum at the heart of Nevers celebrates the rich social history of the town. Within the exhibition are some of the best collections of earthenware that have been assembled in France. The majority of the work locally made, there are many pieces of exceptional ceramics dating from the 16th and 17th Century as well as some more modern pieces. The facility is also well known for having a large collection of spun glass on display, a technique that is dying out, but has been preserved here in some of its finest forms

Mala standing near a painting in the Nevers Museum

We left Nevers late in the evening and finally arrived in Bordeaux just in time for dinner.

Bordeaux is a fairly big city on the bank of river Garonne. We have booked Novotel hotel in Bordeaux for two nights. The hotel is not in the city, but has a tram station which takes you to the city . We arrived at the hotel very late and had dinner in the hotel. It was raining when we arrived in Bordeaux. The temperature during day time was less than 10 degrees.

Bordeaux is the world's major wine industry capital. It is home to the world's main wine fair, Vinexpo while the wine economy in the metro area takes in 14.5 billion euros each year. Bordeaux wine has been produced in the region since the 8th century. The historic part of the city is on the UNESCO World Heritage List.
Bordeaux has a long history going back to 300 BC. However, the 18th century was the golden age of Bordeaux. Many downtown buildings, including those on the quays, are from this period.
Victor Hugo found the town so beautiful he once said: "Take Versailles, add Antwerp, and you have Bordeaux".

The main mode of transport in Bordeaux is the Tram. There are three lines to cover the entire city. We could buy tickets for a single journey or for a whole day. A day ticket is valid for 24 hours. You can use it on any tram line and for any number of journeys. The next morning, we had breakfast in the hotel and then took the tram to the city centre. There is a mobile tourist office in the city center close to the Quinconces tram station. We were planning to do a wine tour, but the wine tour organized by the tourist office was already fully booked. There were other wine tours organized by private parties, but would involve spending the whole day. Added to that, it was raining making any outdoor activities difficult.

Helen near the sight seeing open vehicle in Boedeaux

The tourist office has a city tour in an open vehicle which looked like a toy train with several compartments. We joined this trip which was the best option to see the tourist attractions in the city. The vehicle or the open bus took us through all the narrow roads in the old city . There were many old residential buildings which have been built several hundred years ago. The bus stopped briefly at all the interesting places and gave us the opportunity to take photos while sitting inside the bus. After this trip, we walked to some of the important landmarks in the city.

Four of us in Bordeaux open vehicle

One important landmark is the Place De La Bourse. This impressive collection of architecture along the river was designed to welcome and impress visitors. The square was built between 1730 and 1755 by members of the Gabriel family of architects. In the center of the square is the Fountain of the Three Graces, surrounded by two beautiful pavilion-like buildings: the Bourse (Stock Exchange) and the Musée des Douanes (Customs Museum). These graceful quayside buildings stand just above the banks of the Garonne River.

Four of us in Bordeaux

Cathedral Saint Andre or the Cathedral of Saint Andrew is another important building in the city. This Cathedral dates back to the 12th century. Declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site, this cathedral was part of the Route of Saint James pilgrimage trail. Pilgrims traveled through Bordeaux from the Médoc, Tours, and the British Isles on their way to Santiago de Compostela in Spain. The Cathedral of Saint Andrew compares to the Notre-Dame in Paris in its grandeur and features an impressive facade with sculptures of the Last Supper, the Ascension, and Christ in Majesty. Interestingly, the western front side of the cathedral is completely unadorned, since it was originally too close to the old town walls.

Another important landmark in the city is the Esplanade des Quinconces. An expansive public space in central Bordeaux, the Esplanade des Quinconces is considered to be the largest square in Europe. This tranquil retreat in the heart of the city is just a few blocks away from Le Grand Théâtre. The esplanade offers peaceful waterfront views. Built from 1818 to 1828, the square's monumental fountain honors the Girondins, the group of republican politicians from the département of the Gironde who were deputies in the Legislative Assembly during the French Revolution. (Many Girondins were sent to the guillotine during the Terror). The original fountain was destroyed during World War II and later restored. There are also statues of Montesquieu and Montaigne. Another noteworthy site nearby is the Jardin Public, where you can visit the botanical gardens and the natural history museum.

Paella dish at Bordeaux Sunday Market

We had lunch in a small restaurant and then got on to one of the trams and just rode it from one end to the other. That way, we were passing most of the city buildings. Once you pass the old city, you come across newly built apartments where most of the ordinary people live. We also walked along the Garonne river banks. We were leaving Bordeaux on Sunday. We decided to spend a few hours visiting the Sunday Food market in Bordeaux before leaving. This market is held only on Sundays. There are many food stalls erected along the river banks.

Mussels in white creamy sauce at Bordeaux Sunday market

There was an amazing collection of cooked and uncooked food items in the market. We bought containers of Paella, Mussels cooked in whiter source, various cheeses, sausages and bread. We sat at a table near a stall which served coffee and ate our food that was bought at the market.
After eating as much as we could, we still had extra food. We kept this food to be eaten as lunch on our way to Lourdes.

Helen, Sue and Mala having breakfast at Bordeaux Sunday Market

Finally when we left the hotel it was nearly 12:30PM.

We had breakfast at the hotel and left Bordeaux in the morning. We started driving towards Lourdes. This was a long drive close to 525KM and we knew we would take a long time to reach Lourdes. On our way, we stopped near a public park and had our lunch. Mala, Sue and Helen made sandwiches using bread and cheese bought at the Sunday market. We also had prosciuitto and sasauges purchased at the market.

Having lunch in the park on our way to Lourdes

We have been to Lourdes before. It is a very special place for Catholics. You find people from all over the world visiting Lourdes specially during the summer time. Lourdes is a small market town lying in the foothills of the Pyrenees. It is most famous for the Marian apparitions of Our Lady of Lourdes said to have occurred in 1858 to Bernadette Soubirous. At that time, the most prominent feature of the town was the fortified castle that rises up from a rocky escarpment at its centre.
Catholics believe that the Virgin Mary has appeared to Marie-Bernadette Soubirous on a total of eighteen occasions at Lourdes. Lourdes has become a major place of Roman Catholic pilgrimage and of miraculous healings. The 150th Jubilee of the first apparition took place on 11 February 2008 with an outdoor Mass attended by approximately 45,000 pilgrims.

Lourdes Cathedral

Today Lourdes has a population of around 15,000, but it is able to take in some 5,000,000 pilgrims and tourists every season. With more than 250 hotels, Lourdes has the second highest number of hotels per square kilometre in France after Paris. Since the apparitions, Lourdes has become one of the world's leading Catholic Marian shrines and the number of visitors grows each year. It has such an important place within the Roman Catholic church, that Pope John Paul II visited the shrine twice: on 15 August 1983, and 14–15 August 2004. In 2007, Pope Benedict XVI authorized special indulgences to mark the 150th anniversary of Our Lady of Lourdes.

We arrived in Lourdes in the afternoon and booked into Hotel Astrid.

We booked the hotel using Booking.com and somehow due to a mistake, we have made a double booking. We contacted Booking.com and managed to sort it out. Otherwise we would be charged twice for the rooms. The Astrid hotel is a fairly new hotel very close to the cathedral which was the only good point. The rooms and the facilities were very basic compared to other hotels. In Lourdes, the large number of pilgrims who arrive annually, has made the demand for hotel rooms very high. Hotels, restaurants and souvenir shops do a roaring business during the season.

Mala and Andrew lighting candles at Lourdes cathedral

We took a rest in the hotel and later in the evening visited the cathedral. There was some construction and renovation going on near the cathedral. The Grotto was not accessible due to renovation work. We had to cross the bridge, walk down to the end, then cross over again on a foot bridge and walk back to be able to light candles. We lit the candles and walked back along the same route. Sue and Helen joined us in our lighting candles.

Sue lighting a candle in Lourdes

One important mission was to collect a can of water from the spring. This water is supposed to have healing power. Once again due to construction work, this area has been barricaded. We had to wait in a queue and give our can to a warden who filled it up for us and brought it back to us.

Underground Basilica in Lourdes

We visited all the chapels in the cathedral and took photos. One place we have missed in our previous visit was the Basilica of St. Pius X, known as the Underground Basilica. This is the largest of the Domain's churches. It was completed in 1958 in anticipation of the enormous crowds expected in Lourdes for the centenary of the Apparitions. A modern, concrete building, it is almost entirely underground. When full, it can accommodate 25,000 worshippers, the largest Catholic church in the world. The underground church was designed by the architect Pierre Vago. The nave is oval, 191m long and 61m wide, and slopes gently upwards from the center, where the sanctuary is situated on a raised platform. The ceiling is low, at only 10m high, and is supported by 58 pre-stressed concrete pillars which meet 29 concrete beams which cross the ceiling, giving it the impression of an upturned ship. This design creates a very large open space, of 12,000 square metres, for maximum visibility from any part of the nave.

The walls are decorated with Stations of the Cross, a depiction of the Rosary, and a depiction of the Apparitions, making a total of 52 images, all in the local Gemmail style of overlapping stained glass.
We carried some letters and offerings given to us by our friends to be made at the Lourdes cathedral. This place was closed due to repair work and we were directed to a new office above the information centre where we made the offerings and collected acknowledgement cards to be given to the friends.
While we were in Lourdes, we were able to take part in the procession that takes place at about 9:00 PM, when pilgrims join the Torchlight Marian Procession from the Meadow to the Esplanade in front of the Santuaries of the Immaculate Conception and the Rosary.

Many pilgrims join the procession at the top of the avenue, and then turn and process back to the Esplanade, where they line up in front of the sanctuaries. Those in wheelchairs or otherwise unable to process assemble in front of the sanctuaries. Other pilgrims and tourists stand on the ramps leading up to the Basilica, filling the ramps with light. The picture above was taken from the top of the ramp, looking down on the Esplanade at the throngs with their candles.

Candle lit night procession

A group of people carry a well-lit statue of the Virgin at the head of the procession. When they reach the Esplanade, they bring the statue to the top of the Rosary Basiica and display it in front of the golden crown. The rosary is recited in at least six or seven languages.

During our stay, we had lunch and dinner in nearby restaurants. Most of the restaurants and hotels open after April 1, when the actual season starts. There were a few open restaurants where we could have our lunch and dinner.

Andrew and Mala with the statue at the entrance to the Funicular

One popular tourist attraction in Lourdes is the Funicular Le Pic Du Jer. We took this Funicular and went to the top of the mountain to get a panoramic view of the entire Lourdes basin. We could see the range of snow capped Pyrenees mountains on one side and the Lourdes town down below.

Helen posing with the statue near Funicular

The basic principle of funicular railways resides in the balance between two vehicles linked by a cable: when one cabin is at the lower station, the length of the cable is such that the second cabin is at the upper station. In order for the cabins to be able to cross each other, there is a two way loop at the mid-point. The initial movement is achieved through the driving force of electricity. There is a 185 horse-power Electric engine in the higher station to start the carriage movement. The cable driving the two cabins is 1155 metres long. Each cabin, weighing 5500 Kg when empty has a capacity of 80 people. One way trip can take from 6 to 11 minutes.

Funicular cabin from a distance

It was windy and cold on the top of the mountain. Helen and Sue went for a quick walk while I and Mala opted to stay behind and enjoy a hot coffee in the restaurant.

The next morning, we had breakfast in a restaurant near the hotel and started our drive towards the next destination San Sebastian.

Our next destination was San Sebastian in Spain. We knew we were crossing the border at some point and entering Spain. There were no border checking. We realized that we entered Spain only when the road signs started in Spanish. Both Spain and France use Euros and people can freely move from one country to the other without any restrictions. The distance from Lourdes to San Sebastian is only about 200 km. We decided to start late and visit the fishing town called Hondarribia. This town is well known for its buildings and the beach. It is only 23km from San Sebastian.

Apartments on either side of the road in Hondarribia.

We arrived in Hondarribia around lunch time and found an empty parking slot on the road near the beach. The parking ticket machine was in Spanish only and we had difficulty in getting a ticket. A Spanish couple who were behind us to get a ticket for their car helped us to press the correct buttons and get a ticket. Our problem was that at one point the machine is asking us to key in the registration number of the car. We did not understand what the machine was asking us to do and kept on pressing various buttons. The Spanish couple helped us to key in the right information though they did not speak English.

A colourfully painted and decorated house in Hondarribia

There was no proper beach, just a concrete pavement with many boats anchored in the water. We walked along the pavement and then moved away from the sea to see the buildings. The houses and the apartments had their own architectural designs. The apartments were not high rise modern apartments you find in many parts of the world. The bright coloured small apartment blocks had only two or three floors. They had their unique appearance and merged with the streetscape. Passages between the rows of apartments have been paved with stone bricks.

When you are walking along the passages, suddenly you find a restaurant with outdoor tables among the group of apartments. These apartments and houses are not cheap. I had a peek at one of the real Estate Agents window and found the houses in this village to be very expensive.

Mala and Helen having a soup in a restaurant in Hondarribia

We walked back to the beach and had lunch in a small restaurant. I tried one of their seafood plates and found the food to be delicious. I later found that most Spanish restaurants serve fish like Hake, Salmon and Cod.

We arrived in San Sebastian in the late afternoon. Our hotel NH Collection San Sebastian is one of the best hotels in the area. It is a real five star hotel unlike the previous hotels. In Bourges and Bordeaux we stayed in Novotel hotels. They used to be very good hotels. They are not in the same class as NH hotels. I was disappointed with their declining standard. In both Novotel hotels, we were comfortable and had good service, but I found the furniture and carpets both outdated and needed updating.
Our hotel was only a five minute walk to the world famous La Concha beach. We were in no hurry to explore the city. We decided to relax in the hotel room and then go out for dinner to the city centre. In Spain, people take a siesta after lunch.
A siesta (Spanish pronunciation: ˈsjesta ) is a short nap taken in the early afternoon, often after the midday meal. Such a period of sleep is a common tradition in some countries, particularly those where the weather is warm.

The siesta is historically common throughout the Mediterranean and Southern Europe. It is the traditional daytime sleep of Spain and, through Spanish influence, many Hispanic American countries and the Philippines. Siesta is also common in Southern Italy , where museums, churches and shops close during midday so that proprietors can go home for a long lunch and perhaps a snooze during the day’s hottest hour.

Spanish people, after their siesta, work till late and then start going out for dinner around 9:00PM. We did not want to have dinner at the hotel restaurant. Being in Spain for the first time, we wanted to taste authentic Spanish food. Out of the four of us, only Sue has been to Spain with her husband about twelve years ago. We asked the hotel reception and their advice was to take a taxi and go to the city centre which is full of well known Spanish restaurants. Taxis in San Sebastian are not expensive. Four of us could go in one taxi and it was better than driving to the city and looking for parking space. We went to the city centre in a taxi and walked around to become familiar with the restaurants in the area. There were all types of restaurants including Italian, Japanese and Mediterranean ones. We selected a Spanish restaurant that serves Pintxos.

A pincho or pintxo is a small snack, typically eaten in bars, traditional in northern Spain and especially popular in the Basque country. They are usually eaten in bars or taverns as a small snack while hanging out with friends or relatives; thus, they have a strong socializing component, and in the Basque country they are usually regarded as a cornerstone of local culture and society. They are related to tapas, the main difference being that pinxtos are usually with a skewer or toothpick, often to a piece of bread. They are served in individual portions and always ordered and paid for independently from the drinks. They're called pintxos or pinchos because many of them have a pincho typically a toothpick or a skewer.

The tradition is to select your pintxos and add to your plate from the vast selection laid out on the table, and then pay for them and your drink. Some people sit on bar stools and have them with their drinks. Some take their plates to sit at a table. Four of us managed to find a good table inside the restaurant. We ate pintxos for dinner. Around 9:30, the restaurant was packed and we saw people having their food and drinks standing outside the restaurant.

After dinner, we spent some time going round and buying some sweet stuff from another shop and finally came back to the hotel in a taxi.

Guggenheim Museum from a distance

We had two days in San Sebastian. On the second day, we got up early and drove to Bilbao which is about one hundred kilometres from San Sebastian. Bilbao is another big city in Spain and has become famous for its Guggenheim museum. We wanted to visit this place and come back to see the attractions in San Sebastian. Guggenheim museum was designed by the famous architect Frank Lloyd Wright. It was hailed as a master piece and opened to the public on October 21, 1959, six months after his own death, and was immediately recognized as an architectural landmark. The Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum is arguably the most important building of Wright's late career. A monument to modernism, the unique architecture of the space, this museum continues to attract visitors from all parts of the world and provides a unique forum for the presentation of contemporary art.

Figure of Dog with flowers near the Museum

There was an exhibition of modern art going on at the time of our visit. We bought tickets and went in. We were not allowed take any photographs inside the museum. The art pieces had very little connection to real world. They were creations of famous modern artists who used unusual methods to create them. Most paintings were created by splashing paint over the canvass arbitrarily.
We did not take time to look at other attractions in Bilbao and drove back to our hotel in San Sebastian after lunch. After a short rest, we decided to walk up to the La Concha beach and then walk along the beach to reach the same area where we found the restaurants. Part of the sandy beach was covered with water due to high tide.

San Sebastian Cathedral

We walked along the paved path quite a distance and then cut across to visit the Cathedral in San Sebastian which is locally known as Plaza del Buen Pastor. It was a fairly long walk.

Mala,Helen and Sue stadnig near the Cathedral

La Perla restaurant on La Concha Beach

On the La Concha beach we saw the well known restaurant La Perla. which has been named a Michelin star restaurant in 2007. We walked back to this restaurant and dinner there. We walked back to the hotel fully exhausted to fall into bed.

Our next destination was Madrid. We have booked the hotel Holiday Inn for two days. The driving distance from San Sebastian to Madrid was more than 450 kilometres. We looked at the feasibility of spending a few hours in Pamplona, but that would make the trip much longer. We drove directly to Madrid and arrived at our hotel in the late afternoon.
Madrid is the capital and the largest city of Spain. The population of the city is almost 3.2 million. It is the third-largest city in the European Union, after London and Berlin, and its metropolitan area is the third-largest in the European Union after London and Paris.
We were tired after the long drive and decided to have dinner in the hotel and take a rest. We had another full day to explore the city. but that day happened to be good Friday, a public holiday in Spain. Some shops were closed, but most of the tourist attractions were open.
We decided to use the Metro system to visit the tourist attractions. Our hotel was only a five minute walk from a Metro station.
Our first visit was to the royal palace of Madrid. This is the most important landmark in Madrid.

A side view of the Royal Palace

The Royal Palace of Madrid or the Palacio Real de Madrid is the official residence of the Spanish Royal Family at the city of Madrid, but is only used for state ceremonies. King Felipe VI and the Royal Family do not reside in the palace, choosing instead the more modest Palacio de la Zarzuela on the outskirts of Madrid. The palace is owned by the Spanish State and administered by the Patrimonio Nacional. The palace is accessible from the Ópera metro station. Several rooms in the palace are regularly open to the public except during state functions.

People gathering near the entrance of the Royal Palace

When we arrived at the palace, it was still not open and already a queue has formed. We joined the queue and waited nearly 30 minutes before gaining entrance to the palace.

Helen and Mala on the staircase of the Royal Palace

Part of Royal armoury collection

We then visited the church right next to the palace and later went to the Plaza Mayor. Plaza Mayor is a large square in central Madrid. It serves today as a meeting place for tourists and locals alike, and has played host to a variety of festivities throughout history, including bull fights, soccer matches, and executions during the Spanish Inquisition.

An artist drawing Mala's portrait

The plaza was built in the early 17th century during King Felipe III's reign. Forming the outer walls are a series of three-story residential buildings with balconies overlooking the center, providing excellent views of the action below. There are also several shops and eateries that occupy the ground level of the buildings. Plaza Mayor was full of tourists when we went there. There were several artists who draw portraits of people and Mala got her portrait done by one of them.

Having lunch in a restaurant in Plaza Mayor

Being Good Friday, there were three processions happening in the city. One was starting near 'Museo Nacional Del Prado' or Prado Museum. We went there in a taxi and spent nearly two hours visiting the great art work collection in the museum.
The Prado Museum is Madrid's top cultural sight, and one of the world's greatest art galleries. Its dazzling display of works by the great European masters such as Velázquez, Goya, Raphael, Rubens, and Bosch, are housed in an 18th-century Neo-Classical building that opened as a museum in 1819.

Statue of the famous artist Goya outside gthe museum

When we came out of the museum, already the streets were full of people who came to witness the procession. We walked a long way to the closest Metro station and took the metro back to the hotel.