As the most beautiful weekend of spring (so far this year) comes to a close, I recall that last year we experienced winter weather well into June. Craving sunshine, I remember the day we headed south to Pau for
une petite escapade.
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| War memorial in Pau |
Pau, described in more than one guidebook as "an elegant city," is the capital of Béarn in the Pyrénées-Altlantiques department. We drive south, through the lovely Landes forrest and are met by sudden views of the snow-capped Pyrénées, which remind me of my first trip to Tahoe. At the time, I fantasized that the Sierra were my own personal Pyrénées, since I could only dream, back then, of someday seeing the real peaks of Europe (much left living close by).
After we check in to notre hôtel, we set off in search of déjeuner. The square along the rue du Château offers plenty of options at reasonable prices. At L'etena Ristorante, I am able to mooch a slice of my husband's roma pizza in exchange for a forkful of my salade niçoise.
Fortified with food, beer and kir, we begin our sightseeing with Pau's most famous site, the Château de Pau. Despite it being the first Saturday of summer, there are only a few visitors and we have arrived just in time to join a tour. On this day, the tour is offered only in French, although we are given an English cheat sheet. Usually, we enjoy tours in French for the opportunity to practice our oral comprehension skills, but this particular tour is so packed with history and lasts so long, that our minds wander. The slow pace through the castle rooms seems more tedious than fascinating. We agree with a Texas couple on the tour that we would have preferred to wander around the château at our own pace.
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| Château de Pau |
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| Château de Pau |
Château de Pau holds exquisite examples of decorations and furnishings of the mid-1800s. Dozens of tapestries depict everything from mythology to the simple pleasures of the aristocracy. A welcome respite from the usual biblical scenes, I enjoy the humor and whimsy contained in the tapestries' threads.
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| Château de Pau |
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| Château de Pau |
We complete our sightseeing that evening with a walk through the mansion-lined pedestrian streets, through the jardins of Parc Beaumont and along the boulevard des Pyrénées, where small signs identify the various mountain peaks to the south.
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| Parc Beaumont in Pau |
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| Funicular in Pau |
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| View of the mountains from Pau |
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| Signage along boulevard des Pyrénées in Pau |
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