After Barcelona I travelled to south-west France to the city of Pau, nestled in the Pyrenees mountains. The train from Barcelona went to Narbonne where I had to change trains to travel to Toulouse and then another train to Pau.
Travelling by train through Europe is generally easy and straightforward and I have done it in a number of times in various places. I found it quite odd though when I researched going from Spain to France and the process of trying to get tickets. Whilst still in Barcelona I checked routes online and registered to buy tickets with one of the online agencies but every time I got to the point of actually entering my Visa to buy the tickets there was always an error. I even called my Visa company to check with them if my card had been cancelled which sometimes happens when travelling i.e. the company thinks the card may have been stolen with purchases popping up in different countries. I usually do not have problems because I travel in many countries for work; regardless, my Visa had not been cancelled and there were no holds or issues. The next day after finishing my Spanish class I arrived at Sants station and decided to ask the Renfe http://www.renfe.com agent for help. I had found some schedule times and even train numbers from my online searching which made it a little easier, however buying the ticket from Toulouse to Pau was only possible in France. Yes, I could not pre-book to insure I had a seat but had to take a chance there would be room on the train to get me to Pau. I was going to visit a friend I had not seen in about 10 years since visiting in Paris, and she was making plans to get to the station to meet me etc. and I really did not want to have to text from Toulouse and say “Sorry, I cannot get a ticket to Pau!!” Quelle domage…but what choice did I have? European Union? Oui, c’est vrai.
When the day arrived I made my way to Narbonne on a full train but very comfortable and lovely scenery along the way. In Narbonne I tried to remember my rusty old French and proceeded to buy a ticket from Toulouse to Pau. Yaay!!! It was general seating so I did not actually have a seat but I could get on the train which was all I needed. I was also told the train was usually not very busy anyway and it was never a problem going from Toulouse to Pau. Ok, great.
I arrived in Toulouse where I had a few hours to wait before the next train. Train stations are always interesting places to people watch. The weather was about 23C so I was able to sit outside and watch people coming and going, along with armed guards walking back and forth through the station inside and out.
About 20 minutes before the train departs the platform is announced and indicated on the board. I went inside to watch for the number to pop up beside my train. There were a lot of people waiting, but there are also a lot of trains so I never thought much of it. The platform number popped up and everyone started moving to the stairs to get to their train. I was one of the first people onboard and got a seat; still remembering what the agent had told me “There is never a problem getting a ticket because the train is never full.” Famous last words. People kept coming onto the train and soon every seat in the car was filled and as more people kept entering it was standing room only. A girl seated across from me asked in French if this train was always full like this. I understood in French but answered mostly in English (not sure what I would have said in my poor French!) “Oh you speak English” she said, so she then spoke in English. She was from France but currently living in San Francisco and had no idea this train was so busy. She spoke to a few other people and apparently there was construction on the tracks beginning the next day thus this train travelling from Toulouse onwards to Lourdes, Pau and then further, was the last train on this line for a number of days or even weeks depending on the progress of the repairs. There are a number of stops along the way and at each place the number of people getting on the train vs the number of people exiting the train was far greater. People were packed in the aisles standing room only. It was night time by now and no more beautiful French countryside to watch out the window. I did however get to see the packs/flocks/herds?? of Pink Flamingo’s earlier in the day which was quite unique.
About halfway into the trip one passenger and her companion were very unhappy about something and proceeded to get up from their seat to turn around and face the other passengers and begin yelling about various things related to France and immigration and work etc. Oh my. Not something I wanted to get involved in! After a few minutes of this they turned around, sat down and were quiet for the rest of the trip.
After 8:00pm I finally arrived in Pau and my friend and her son were there waiting and it was great to see them after so many years. We drove from Pau up to another town called Morlaas where they lived. It was lovely even from what I could see by the streetlights.
I was only planing on spending a couple days visiting but as it turned out we were having such a great time I extended my stay to 5 days after which I would return to northern Spain.
The next day we went back into Pau to the market to buy some fresh fruits and vegetables, meat, cheese and of course bread. The bread in France is really the best. Walking along the Boulevard des Pyrenees http://www.pau-pyrenees.com/pau/le-boulevard-des-pyrenees/tabid/315/offreid/24aa6ce9-6a46-4f81-8211-d4b2ef11f0ca is beautiful.
Pau is known for a few things such as being the capital of the ancient French region of Béarn (yes – Béarnaise sauce). Five centuries ago it was elevated to become the joint capital of the kingdom of Navarre, which stretched across the Pyrenees into Spain and the other capital, Pamplona. In the 16th century one of Pau’s famous citizens became Henry IV of France, named “The Good King” and also rumoured to be quite friendly with the ladies (actually not rumoured, it’s a fact he was a player with something like 70 or more mistresses!) http://southweststory.com/the-story-of-king-henri-iv
Lunch at Le Berry http://leberry-pau.com if ever in Pau, eat here. Highly recommended but make sure to get there for lunch by about 11:45 as it fills up very fast and they do not take reservations.
We walked around Morlaas every day, through the tiny streets weaving around parks and shops and a very old Catholic church in the centre of the town.
The day before I left we made a day trip out to the area of Montrejeau to tour caves with ancient hand paintings La Grotte de Gargas http://www.grottesdegargas.fr I think the paintings have been dated around 26,000 years old. We did lunch at a place on the lakeside in Montrejeau called the GC Cafe. Interesting to say the least. Apparently this place has been mentioned in the Michelin guide so we thought we should try it out. The food was fine, we chose a set menu for lunch, the view onto the lake was very nice. The decor was absolutely bizarre. There was a beach theme going on with thatched roof umbrellas and tiki dancer dolls, sea shells and sailing memorabilia….beside some random Roman columns and whole covered hams hung to dry on the wall. It can only make you smile, trust me how bizarre! Walk by the bar area and it is neon lights, chrome and glass (??)
My visit was coming to a close and s much as I wanted to stay in France I had to make my way back into northern Spain to continue my travels. I would definitely return to Pau and Morlaas especially as I am so fortunate to have great friends who are also wonderful hosts!
Another challenging exercise getting from Pau back to northern Spain but all in all it worked out well. I managed to catch a bus from Pau to Biarritz on Ouibus http://www.ouibus.com/?gclid=CO_H19XujNACFY-GaQodB7gDPw (a Very cheap ticket and the bus was comfortable and only a few minutes late leaving Pau). From Biarritz I was flying back to Spain but as there are no direct flights to Oviedo where I was going next, I had to fly to Madrid then up to Oviedo with Iberia airlines. The airport in Biarritz is only a few km from the bus / train station so I figured I would just catch a taxi as I had about 1.5 hours to get to the terminal. The bus arrived in Biarritz across from the train station, dropped us off on the sidewalk and left. I looked around for a taxi stand. Nope. Nothing. I walked into the train station and thought I better ask someone as my 1.5 hour window was closing in. An agent in the station told me I must take a bus to the airport, number 8 across the street at the bus stop. Merci…I went to the bus stop and was looking at the route and did not see the airport. Hmm….I asked another person waiting for the bus and she told me, oh no, these busses do not go to the airport you must go over there – as she pointed to a stop across the street maybe 50meters away. Ok, Merci…There were a few people waiting there and they confirmed this was the correct bus to get to the airport and it took about 10 minutes to get there. No problem. One of the people waiting actually worked at the terminal and made sure I made it to my stop. Thank you to some very helpful strangers!
Au revoir, A bientôt France!
It was now back to northern Spain and the city of Oviedo…