Lourdes

Sadly, you will have noted recently that there was a bomb scare at Lourdes, but thankfully it was just that (and also not the case when we made our visit). Why people even still contemplate doing this, let alone put this thought into action is bizarre beyond belief.
We travelled to the site on some of the routes taken annually by the cyclists on the Tour de France – more on the Tour 'Down Under' hopefully in a few months time.
Getting back to France though and, perhaps more predictably, when we were approaching the entrance to the cathedral site, there were a plethora of vendors and beggars lining the streets and entrance and perhaps some of the oddest things on sale, as seen above, including containers to take your holy water home, and some interesting statuettes complete with fairy lights. Talking of the holy water, whilst we were there we were also a little thirsty, so took a few handfuls from one of the 'standard' taps. You can see the cathedral is very imposing and impressive from the outside, with the most colourful mosaics, stained glasses and decoration inside too.