Day 15: Last Full Day in the Pyrenees

We decided to spend our last full day in the Pyrenees a little closer to Arreau. After breakfast we took a short drive up into the mountains to the village of Jezeau which has a small church with frescoes that make it affectionately called the Sistine Chapel of the Pyrenees. The village and church were very quaint, but unfortunately the church is only open on Mondays and Thursdays between 4-6 pm.

We then headed toward Bangneres du Luchon, which hosted both a finish and a start in this year's Tour. The route to Luchon took us over the Col du Peyresourde, so we got to travel over the final climbs for stages 16 and 17. We drove past both of our viewing sights; it looks so much different, very pastoral, when the crowds of the Tour aren't there. We also drove into ski resort of Peyragudes which was the finish line for stage 17. Of all the ski areas in the Pyrenees that we have seen this looked like the nicest.

The drive into Luchon was easy and we ended up with a great parking space right on the main street. We visited a lot of shops since this was our last chance for souvenir hunting. We had a great lunch of typical Pyrenean fare: onion soup and tartiflette, which is a casserole of eggs, potatoes, onions, and ham.

After lunch we took the gondola right off main street to the ski area of Super Bangneres, which has an elevation over 8000 feet. The fog was still present at the higher elevations, so out best views were of Luchon from the Gondola.

Upon returning to the main street of Luchon, we shopped a little more and then headed back to our hotel in Arreau, which is only 35 km away.

Our last dinner at the L'Hotel d'Angleterre was wonderful. Salade Nicoise for a starter, steak with carrots baked in a pastry shell, Robechelon cheese, a tiramisu mousse for dessert, and a fine red Bordeaux to wash it all down....the diets start tomorrow night!

Tomorrow we get up early, drive 100 km to Toulouse for a 10:20 am flight, then spend seven hours laying over in Paris. We plan to take a cab into Paris, visit the Musee d'Orsay, maybe catch the end of the Tour, and a quick bite at a cafe before our 7:29 flight to Boston.

Then it's back to reality...but who can complain after a vacation like this?