Day 2, July 13

Our first full day in the Pyrenees started with breakfast at the Hotel d'Angleterre...and when I really think about it, this may be one of my favorite experiences of our trips to France.  Croissants, pain au chocolate, tartines with butter, OJ, and coffee with hot milk.  

After breakfast we drove over the Col d'Aspin and the Col de Tourmalet, two of the iconic climbs in the Tour,

 and headed for the Cirque de Gavernie, which is an outdoor amphi-theatre that spans 6.5 km across seven peaks and has a 1500 meter vertical.  It's a lot like Tuckerman's Ravine, only bigger.  There's some religious connection that escapes me as I write. 

We arrived in the village of Gavernie a little after noon, so we had an outdoor lunch at a restaurant with a view of the cirque.  Joni had a salad and I had trout.  Fantastic lunch.

We then spent the next two and half hours hiking to the foot of Europe's longest waterfall which is part of the Cirque de Gavernie.  We almost made it before Joni pooped out and we turned back.  It was 93  degrees so we easily burned off our delicious lunch.

Got back to Arreau by 6 pm, took a few pix of this beautiful village, showered, and then went down stairs to the dining room for another wonderful dinner which included a salad with honey roasted goat cheese, our main dish of roast veal, and a peach dessert...rose wine and coffee we part of this event too.

Could go home tomorrow and be satisfied...but we won't.  This last pic was taken from our balcony.