Rain day, to Gavarnie and to Nimes

Thursday, August 15th:  Yesterday was too wet for regular hikes, so instead, we drove east to the Gavarnie Valley.  We parked at the edge of the village of Gavarnie.  We walked up through the village, passing several climbing supply stores and tourist souvenir shops.  We indulged for a miniature painted cow bell as our annual Christmas ornament.  We continued up the main road to its ultimate end at a viewpoint for the Cirque de Gavarnie which backs up to the French/Spanish border.  We took some photos and then retreated back down, stopping at the first available bar/tavern for cappuccinos and tomato slices with a hard boiled egg on top for us; Jan and Ron had omelettes which they raved about.

Typical village structures.

Ditto, but notice the "stair steps" on the gable ends -- unique to this valley.

A warning message.

This is an Izard, the local deer-like animal, which we did not see.

The Cirque de Gavarnie as we saw it.

The waterfall is one of the tallest in Europe.

A photo of a photo at a shop of what can be seen on a clear day.  

A photo of the sign at viewpoint, naming the mountains (but you won't be able to read them).

A nice looking stone bridge over the River Gave.

Our B&B for the last four nights in Cauterets - Le Clot de la Hount.  Innkeepers Ameile and Araund provided great breakfasts, were helpful in pointing out the best sights to see, and keep the B&B immaculate (we weren't suppose to eat our rooms (no problem we didn't) and when we had snacks after getting back from hiking we were asked to have them outside on the deck.  The rooms were exceedingly neat and orderly, though with sloped ceilings that resulted in bumped heads by everyone.

The main floor 

The gondola that leaves from 'downtown' Cauterets and goes up 3,000 feet in elevation -- great for skiers.

Our dinner place two prior nights (acutally 3 prior nights now) -- La Ferme Basque.

Friday, August 16th:  NOTE --  We had a power outage last evening so the following photos were not able to be added to this post until now.  We successfully made it to Nimes (about 5 hours driving) with a stop for lunch in Narbonne.

Dinner of soup and hot dogs two nights ago in Cauterets (after the rainy day).  This is the "simple dog."

This is the "gourmet dog."

The early morning view from our room at Le Clot del la Hount in Cauterets.

Dinner last night (paella) in Nimes.

Margaritas all around.

We are happy to be here.