Wednesday, March 27 2013
Delays, delays, delays. Saskatoon to Toronto - left late,arrived late,and we sat in the plane for an hour and a half waiting to deplore. Toronto to Frankfurt - left late, light tail wind, arrived late, waited for twenty minutes to deplore. Frankfurt to Toulouse - left late,arrived late, but everyone was safe.Had a late supper after a 2 hour ride to Lourdes...now Thursday night.
Friday, March 29 2013
Orientation tour of Lourdes followed by lunch and then a Petit Train ride to the bottom of a 980m. mountain and the funicular ride for the Pic de Jour climb to the top of the mountain. We saw a beautiful 360 degree view of the Lourdes area, including the snow covered Pyrenees mountains 8 km in the distance. Some shoppingupon our return to the centre of Lourdes and then an evening visit to the Grotto of St.Bernadette (in the rain).
Saturday, March 30th 2013
Rain, rain, rain. A morning tour of the three churches at the Grotto. In the p.m. we saw a movie of the story of St. Bernadette in a brand new theatre. In the evening we attended the Easter Vigil mass in the underground church of St.Pius X.
Sunday, March 31 2013
This morning we toured the area where Saint Bernadette's family lived
and then we followed the path her family took to the Cachot (former
jail) where they lived in one small room for a period of time. In the p.m. we traveled to the save of Betharram for a fantastic hour
and a half tour. When we returned to Lourdes, most if us went to the
fortress in Lourdes. After supper, we carried a twenty-two pound candle
down to the Grotto where we lit it and said prayers and intentions.
(The candle was decorated with a green ribbon and flowers and had
RIVIER ACADEMY along with the names of some of those who are in need of
our prayers.) Then it was off to bed for the early departure in the morning.
Monday, April 1 2013
This morning at 7:00 a.m. While at breakfast, our Lobstick Travel
leader informed everyone the cost of our stay in Lourdes had been
miscalculated. Each one of us, including the students would have to
hand over an extra 20€ to pay for the error.
The money was collected, with a certain amount of grumbling. Then "APRIL FOOL'S." We got even with her by convincing her that a box of chips she paid for was filled with garbage. We had the chips in the end and she had to share. Judy also got a 3:40am call from Europe. Payback time for all those tricks played on Sr. Mary over the years. She took it like a good sport. A rainy bus ride took us to Carcasonne by 12:00 noon. Shopping, lunch
pâte testing and we were back on the road by 2:00. Still raining, at
times quite hard. By 6:45pm, we arrived at the convent to settle in,
each member of the group with there own special room.
Tuesday, April 2 2013
Today, it's off to Montpezat(birthplace of Mother Rivier) and Thuyets
(first school)in the mountains. Temperature, high of 16. We all
started our suntans! We had to abandon our plan to climb the mountain
due to slippery rock on the Roman road. On our way back to Bourg St
Andeol we went through the Gorges (canyons) of Ardeche. What a
spectacular view! Upon return we visited an old area of the city where we saw the wash house of days gone by. It resembles a Roman bath. Evidence of the passage of the Romans is seen in the altar carved in the wall of rock nearby.
