Traveling to Lourdes!
"Once a year, go someplace you've never been before." -The Dalai Lama
There are so many fantastic ways to arrive in Lourdes!
It is quite a hike from the USA! So why not land in one of Europe's world class cities -
Paris! London! Barcelona! Milan! Rome! Brussels! etc!
and spend a night or two- if you can-and see the sights!
Then hop on a train or take a short flight into Lourdes!
Dream a little! I've listed some fun routes, that I have taken, down below,
as well as some helpful info!
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The 5 fun cities that have flights directly into Lourdes!
London! Paris! Barcelona! Milan! and Brussels!"
...and in 2015 Rome was just added!
You can also go the pilgrimage route via Assisi and Fatima, etc!....and explore many other great sights enroute to Lourdes!
Oh! The places you'll go!"
- Dr Seuss
and they all have great and inexpensive fun "hop on an off" bus tours, which I am a big fan of! In some places they also add in a river cruise !.... and if you fly into Rome or Milan, you can just hop on a train to Assisi for a quick visit!...www.hoponhopoffbus.com
BARCELONA, SPAIN!
AND MONTSERRAT!
I loved the hop on and off bus in
Barcelona! I took the train from Lourdes ...next time I would probably fly! ...there were a lot of train changes on the way... so it was a bit challenging with a suitcase! *Starting on June 23, 2013 there will be 2 weekly flights (Tuesday and Saturdays) to Barcelona,
Spain with Vueling!
Just a short train ride away from Barcelona is "Montserrat",
an extraordinary place high up in the mountains,
where I stayed inexpensively in the monastery there..
Absolutely breathtaking!
The Black Madonna!
Make sure you visit the
"Black Madonna" inside!
As I bowed my head, I felt an enormous amount of shakti/healing energy! It is the number one pilgrimage sight in Spain!
Montserrat also has the oldest boy's choir in Europe!! They sing daily at 1:00 in the Basilica up there! It was absolutely beautiful to hear them sing! (But if you go, check the times!..things change)
PARIS!
...is always a great idea!
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I hopped off the hop on hop off tour bus,
while enroute to
my fall journey to Lourdes in 2012
and visited the Garnier Opera House, Notre Dame and all the fantastic sights!...make sure to
cruise down the River Seine!
Then hopped on the high speed train to Lourdes the next morning! ...
You can also get a direct flight into Lourdes from Paris!
There are 3 daily flights to Paris-Orly with AIR FRANCE,
Go through London!
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Take a tour of Kensington Palace!
Home of Prince William, Kate and Prince George! You can easily buy tickets inside!
...and stop in at the Orangery Restaurant
for high tea or a delicious English lunch!
Visit the
Royal Palaces!
Make sure you also visit Kensington Gardens
Who cares if its cold and raining! lol!
Here's a couple more great suggestions!
Buckingham Palace!..
Has the state apartments, etc...
open for a few weeks every year usually from late July through September. So, if you are traveling around Europe for awhile, stop in for a visit! Make sure you buy
your tickets in advance! It is spectacular inside!
Just go to: www.RoyalCollection.org.uk ..
The "Royal Mews" ,
where they store the Queen's carriages!...
is usually open from February through November!
...I loved this place! You don't need
to buy your tickets in advance!
Westminster Abbey!
Westminster Abbey is spectacular inside!
Try to buy your tickets in advance if
you can, as the wait was about 30 minutes to get your ticket!
There's also a great new cafe inside and
fun souvenir shops inside and out!
Go on a tour of Windsor Castle! The castle is spellbinding and the
quaint town of Windsor and nearby
Eton is fabulous! It's about a one hour comfortable train ride west of
London! You can catch the train
at Paddington Station and it will go directly to the
Windsor-Riverside stop!
See a show
in the Theatre District!
Piccadily Square is fun to walk around!
Pop in to the theatre district and take in a show!
Covent Garden is just around the corner
and a fun place with great shops,
street performers, etc...
*You can easily get to a lot of these places on the London Hop on off Bus!....which includes a cruise down the River Thames
- which I thought was great fun!
*After visiting London, I took the Coach bus to Stansted Airport from Victoria Bus Station
(which was about 2 hours and only cost 10 pounds!)
spent the night at an airport hotel and hopped on a 7:00am Ryan Air
flight the next morning that went directly into Assisi!
You can also get a direct flight from London to Lourdes
on certain days of the week from Stansted Airport!
You can also take the Stansted Express Train (about 30 pounds).
The only drawback is that you'd need to take the underground or
taxi to get there and can be a pain with a big
suitcase and more expensive...
Once at Assisi Airport, I then caught a taxi for about 28 euros for the 15-20
minute ride to my hotel right in town!
Then I flew back to London from Lourdes!..which has
direct flights on certain days of the week!
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Visit another great pilgrimage sight!
ASSISI!
On the way to Lourdes in 2013, I stopped by this
beautiful medieval hilltop town for 3 nights!....
is a power spot for sure!
You can definitely feel the shakti/sacred power
there ! A great idea, before you go, is to watch the recent movie made about St Francis and St Clare's lives in Assisi!...it was filmed there!
Then when you're walking around,
visiting all the
great places to see in Assisi,
they'll draw more
meaning ! I was glad I did!
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These places are the most important in Assisi.
Just press on the arrow on the right for a bigger picture and little description!
Assisi Castle!
Hike up to the top of Assisi for spectacular views!..or take a taxi up and walk back down like I did! lol!
there's a little cafe on top with great
snacks and a nice spot under the olive trees to rest!
This is new in Assisi! The walk starts outside of
St Francis's Basilica and goes down to this nice
little nook with a great restaurant, little church and souvenir shop! It was such a beautiful walk - the sacred woodlands were enchanting! and I loved all the purple flowers!
The Walk of St Francis!
Just walking around
this quaint medieval town!....
is amazing! Everywhere I went there were beautiful views,
fantastic cafes. and quaint shops with great frescoes around every corner...
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Bellagio and Varenna on Lake Como
.....in Italy's Lake Region!
After Assisi , I took the fast train to lake Como - about a 5-6 hour ride!.. Keep in mind! - I was hoping to see beautiful scenes of Tuscany along the way...but instead I was mostly in dark tunnels! However, if you take the slow train - you will see the spectacular views!
Once in the town of Como - take a short taxi ride to the ferry dock! The scenic ferry ride to Bellagio was absolutely beautiful!...
..and after a long travel day, when you are feeling and looking a bit haggard - your own lake front balcony room at a deep discount - because it is the end of the season- is the perfect way to relax!
I took this pic of the ferry from the balcony of my hotel room - and the next day hopped on it for the 15 minute crossing to Varenna!
I stayed in a converted monastery on top of the mountain in Varenna!
The views were amazing!...(www.eremogaudio.com)....You have to take 2 funiculars to reach this place! ...and had spectacular views of the little village below!
The next morning, I took the morning train and bus shuttle to Milan Bergamo Airport then hopped on the noon direct flight to Lourdes , which was about a 1 hour 45 minute flight!
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Milan
Milan is also close to Venice and the Lakes Region!
They have two flights a week right into Lourdes!
(Tuesdays and Saturdays) starting from late March
from Milan Bergamo Airport with RYANAIR
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Brussels
There are 4 weekly flights (Monday to Friday) from April to October,
to Brussels with JET AIR FLY and THOMAS COOK AIRLINES *
*(Flights are always opening up and changing-so make sure you check!
This info is from spring, 2013!)
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IRELAND
Go through Dublin IRELAND!...(flights are usually cheaper from the USA!)
Then take a puddle jumper to Bordeaux, France...
Then take the train right into Lourdes!
Visit a castle!..
There's a great
one I went to in 2015,
in the seaside village
of Malahide
just north
of Dublin!
BORDEAUX!
The flight to Bordeaux is just under 2 hours!
They have a fun tourist train that will take you all
around this beautiful city!
I thought it was great fun!
Other great journeys to take
on the road to Lourdes!
"The world is a book, and those who do not
travel read only a page."
- St Augustine
This is a great book to have! There is great info on
Never where Bernadette lived for several years in the convent
there until her death.
You can stay in the actual convent by booking in advance!...
and I also read that it was important to learn some French, ..because most people
do not speak any English in the small French towns!
Convent in Never where
Bernadette's body rests.
Then you can hop on the train back to Paris
and connect to another train
station in order to get to the town of Liseaux,
the home of St Therese!
Then later, you can take the train to the Orly airport
in Paris and fly directly
into Lourdes! Awesome trip!
NOTE! On your way back, you can fly back to the
Orly airport and hop on the
airport bus that has many departures
to Charles de Gaulle airport!
A one way ticket is only about 19 euros,
which you can purchase online in the US!
(You can also purchase it from the bus driver).
The bus company is Air France Coaches: www.lescarsairfrance.com
Getting to CDG from Orly is quite a distance and not that easy by train
and a private car/taxi would have been pricey. So, a travel agent advises
that this is the cheapest and quickest way to go about all this!
Looking forward to bringing
you all up
to the Pic du Jer!
Hot tip on places to stay! lol!
*Europe has a wonderful tradition of offering quite inexpensive
places to stay in monasteries and convents!
I know Assisi has great monasteries to stay in as well!
So be creative and dream a little..
if you have a little extra time and money!
*Quick note! Our retreat will begin in Lourdes!
I'm just giving you a little shout out
about really wonderful ways to get there!
Looking forward to bringing
you up to the Pic du jer!
Beautiful place to light candles
along the River Gave
