Montpesat

April 6

Monday morning, all is ready, everyone is on time! Today we left Lourdes and the wonderful owners of the Gave Hotel. We all had rooms on the facade of the hotel. Therefore we all had balconies! Braedan and Cole will miss their relaxing moments in the fresh air... The group travelled from Lourdes to Carcassonne where they spent a few hours in the old Roman city that has skillfully been preserved. The Bascilica was visited and a few of the girls sang for the visitors. They made us proud as they shared their gifts. The afternoon was spent back on the bus as we went on to Vivier. The group experienced a Traffic jam, a bouchon, Thankfully it did not last too long. We are now experts regarding "turn abouts".

In Vivier we are staying in a former Monastary that also served as a prison during the French Revolution. We had delicious lasagna for supper and some free time exploring our new lodgings. Some of the students took advantage of the time to learn the game of "crib". Tomorrow we are off to Rivier country.

Pictures from Lourdes & Vivier

April 4

Today started off with us gathering at the shrine for 10:00 a.m. to begin our Way of the Cross in the mountain. The hardest part was getting to the first station. It is quite steep for westerners used to the plains of Saskatchewan. This was a prayerful time for all of us. You were remembered in our intentions. Guaranteed teenagers like adults around. The all followed us to an Italian outdoor restaurant were we had lunch! Free time and than we gathered
For the viewing of the movie Bernadette. This viewing helped to clarify details and make sense of all they had heard. One student put it this way. "She (Bernadette) had a harder life than I thought she did. Supper was followed by the Easter vigil in a large underground Church. Six of the student were in the offertory procession. The service was long as usual, but meaningful!! Then it was off to bed, but wouldn't you know it. The Easter bunny found us in Lourdes. Easter bunnies were resting on our pillows!


April 5

The day started quite normally although it was quite gloomy in the morning. This day was looked forward to by all of us. This was the day we would visit the Castle of Lourdes. Important things first!! First we went to visit the Cachot, Bernadette's house. There we saw how tiny the house was. It was quite shocking to see how 6 people were able to fit in to this one room in an old prison.

Following this we got to explore the castle for an hour and a half. We roamed about discovering fantastic sights. We saw some incredibly old graves, some dated back to 1753. Other highlights of the Castle were the tower and the gardens. Several of us went to the top of the tower to view the surrounding area. We then walked down to Bernadette's birthplace. Here we got first hand info on the size of the people by observing the length of the beds. They were short! We all saw the mill her father owned. A bit of free time and a lunch were enjoyed afterwards. The afternoon was spent visiting the Grottes de Betharam. It was here that we received an underground tour filled with magnificent stalactites and stalagmites. The history of these formations was really interesting.

After our return Braedan carried a 23 pound candle back to the hotel. On the candle we put the names of people we wanted to pray for.

Supper was delicious soup, Cornish pastry, roasted chicken, fries, an a delicious dessert. And of course French bread.

We then made our way to the Grotto with our candles and the big one. This one we lit and left burning. It was a beautiful Easter evening so we stayed for the Rosary. After the lighting of our candle we went to the front of the Basilica. Large number of people gathered to pray the Rosary in different languages. At the end the wheelchairs were moved to the front for the blessing of the sick. Quite impressive. This was our last night in Lourdes so bags needed to be packed and ready for an early departure Monday morning.

April 3, 2015

At 7:15 this morning we were awakened by a noisy buzzing sound. As it turned out, it was a false fire alarm set off by Gerald, the hotel owner, burning his toast. He was very apologetic and it wasn't even an April fool prank. 

After breakfast, at 9:00 a.m., Mr. Sander and Sr. Mary gave the group an orientation of the town of Lourdes. This included one hour at the Lourdes market. Radishes, smoked duck, pastries, strawberries, and the odd item of clothing were some of the early trip purchases. 

At 11:15 the group stopped outside the Grotto grounds for lunch at their favorite restaurants ad some shopping in some of the many "souvenir" type establishments. 

Shortly after 1:00 we boarded the Petit Train to ride to Pic du Jour, the mountain tourist attraction of Lourdes. We ascended the mountain on the Funiculaire, a Cale car that travels 593 meters up the west side. At the top we toured a cave that passes through the mountain. This was followed by a climb to the summit for a view of the Lourdes area. From the top we could see a large section of the snow-capped Pyrenees Mountains to the south. 

After taking the train back to town, many of us went to the local wax museum. A little more shopping finished off the afternoon. 

Supper included delicious baked ocean white fish and a dessert of mocca-flavored  ice cream.    

The day concluded with our first trip to the Grotto. Kamryn blessed the Grotto area and France in a traditional First Nations tobacco ceremony. Sister Mary prepared us for the Lourdes experience by sharing the story.We finished the evening with a deep sense of why we were at Lourdes.

April 2, 2015

We finally arrived in Lourdes late Thursday evening. This is promising to be an eventful trip. All went well in Toronto until the electrical power went down in the plane as we were settling in. Needless to say we wondered if they would make us get out and change planes. It didn't happen and we took off. All went smoothly until an hour or so from landing in Frankfort when a lady stood and passed out. Joanne tried to hold her but needed more assistance. They called for medical assistance and a physician came to her rescue. We were wondering if we would have to make an emergency landing. The doctor stayed with her until we landed. She actually walked from the back of the plane where we were to the front. Then we are ready to leave for Toulouse when we are informed that our plane is delayed for at lease an hour due to the airport shutting down one of its two runways. That was on top of a five hour layover. There was a good tailwind and the pilot made up for the delay a we were happy to see Andre's face (our chauffeur), by close to ten we were sitting down to a lovely supper and then straight to bed. That was Day 1 and 2 in a capsule!!  To be continued. Happy Easter to all!

April 24, 2014

Quite the day!
As we woke the morning of the 24th we expected nothing out of the ordinary to occur. The plan was to leave Vivier, France on a bus to Nice, France and fly straight through to Stockholm, Sweden but the trip was moving too smoothly, something was bound to happen. We left Vivier, France at 8am to arrive in Nice, France for our flight departing at 1:20pm but a miscalculation in time left us with 5 minutes to bored and check luggage, therefore we missed our flight. This is the first time a Rivier travel group has missed a flight. After waiting in the middle of the Nice, France airport for 1-2 hours, we found an available flight to Brussels, Belgium taking a connecting flight to Stockholm, Sweden with exactly 42 seats available (the amount needed.) as they tried hard to get the seats we got 37 and 5 adult travellers flew in on a later flight. After a long afternoon, pitstop in Brussels (chocolate) we arrived at our hotel at 11:30pm and went straight to sleep. It was an eventful day but hey we got an extra country to add to the list!
Danielle Dore and Morgan Balan

More Pictures From Bourg St. Andeol

April 22 - 23

April 22, 2014
Bread for breakfast!
In a continent far, far away, in the land of bread and blue cheese deep in Mother Rivier country the grade 11 students continue their march in her footsteps. In Montpezat we travelled the path, covered in dog dodo, on the way to the "desert ". We visited the church of Marie Rivier's baptism and followed the stations of the cross up a small hill to reach the top for a magnificent view of the surrounding French countryside.
  A short walk from there took us to the home where Marie was born where we happened to meet one of the Rivier descendants. We followed the roman road she followed on her way to the "desert" to pray, the backyard of the family home where Marie gathered the children is now surprisingly occupied by a swimming pool.
  We then loaded the bus and headed to Thueyts where we had lunch in the playground of the school there. After lunch we toured the convent where we saw the chapel where she prayed, the kitchen location of the wheat bin miracle, and her bedroom.
  Returning to Viviers! we followed a very narrow, winding road through the Gorges d'Ardeches. Nobody even threw up! The bus we were on for the day was too small so three of the men got to ride with a sister in a Persio 106 (thanks Michaelin).
  After returning to Viviers we explored the old monastery/jail/seminary that we were staying at. We toured the cathedral here that Sacred Heart in PA is modelled after. One of the bishops here was named Bishop Pascal.
  Even though most students napped on the bus, Sr. Mary wanted everyone  in bed by 9:30. Bonsoir.

Wednesday, April 23
This morning we travelled to Bourg St-Andeol. The weather was beautiful, sunny and very hot (27) ; perfect tanning weather. First we explored the open-air market that was full of many things from food to fashion. As the market closes at noon we went to the convent for lunch. After a delicious meal of sliced pork and fries, Sr. Mary gave us a tour of the convent, starting with the garden where enjoyed the fountain and the plush greenery. The highlight of the tour today was the chapel, which was magnificent. Even better though, was being blessed with the chance to see the bones of Blessed Marie Rivier which is a very rare opportunity and hasn't been done in many years. After the tour Mr. Sander led us on a walk around town where we saw the place where the ship sailed from to carry the sisters to Canada. Along this walk, we went into a church with very high ceilings where some of our choir members sang "Look at the Cross". They sounded amazing! The last thing we saw was an old Roman bath house. On our way back to the convent Sr. Mary very kindly bought us all ice cream.
  We returned to Viviers where while we were packing we were startled with a very loud thunderstorm. Overall, we had a great day full of many treats that we are all very thankful for.