Today has been another short road journey day from Toulouse to Pau with stops at Tarbres and Lourdes to keep me fit. Tarbes appears to be a steel town and right in the middle is a large garden, the Massey, which was a perfect place to stretch my legs and enjoy the peacocks in pleasant lunchtime sunshine. In fact after a cold grey start it has been very sunny, although not hot, which make a change. My second stop was at Lourdes to observe the pilgrims. ( No John Wayne jokes needed). Where were they? It was only near the end of my walk that a large group arrived. There is a medical centre and I mused if I had gone in with my Dupuytren contracture their suggested treatment might have been “Take a glass of holy water, spend 10 minutes in prayer and if that does not cure it visit your doctor when you get home.” As you will guess I am a sceptic. The immaculate main site is quite a contrast to rather shabby and tawdry souvenir stores, hotels and restaurants. I was in Pau in plenty of time to check in to my ibis in the centre and enjoy a stroll down to the Promenade des Pyrenees, offering a panoramic view of the said mountains. Although a little distant haze took the edge of the view it is still a classic, last seen by me in 1978! I continue to get great pleasure from revisiting some places long almost forgotten. The headline picture is from the Promenade des Pyrenees in Pau and the first below was an early glimpse of the mountains from the car while approaching Tarbres. I should note it was on autopilot when I took the photo. The next five photos are from the garden in Tarbres with a strange sculpture either signifying victory or something else by the bandstand. After the short run to Lourdes I processed down the Chemin Bernadette Lourdes, better known as the Rue de la Grotte passed shops selling industrial storage containers for your holy water etc. My first impression was “Where is everybody?” I took a walk around taking in another group of shops before, et voila, there was a large group of pilgrims who were posing for group photos in front of one of the basilica. My visit was complete so time for the further short run to Pau. It is runs like today's that are perfect for my Tesla. 214km using 23.58kWh which when translated into a full battery range is 540km (340miles). Moderate temperature and average speed between 60 and 80kph is the recipe and that included climate control for most of the journey. In Pau my hotel is on the edge of the town centre 10 minutes from the Promenade des Pyrenees and as, everywhere in France it is “Rose Octobre”, breast cancer awareness month, and in Place George Clemenceau they had a wonderful display of pink umbrellas. I’ve added a couple of snaps looking to the Pyrenees and one with the funicular. Just like Scarborough really but with mountains and warm sunshine, French cuisine…………Speaking of the latter, as mentioned in a FB post, I had a wonderful dining experience at Les Papilles Insolite, a wine bar and bistro. I usually ask at the hotel for a place where they might eat but as I was walking back from the Promenade I looked in what looked like a restaurant for a menu but the owner told me it was just a bar but if I wanted an excellent meal to go to the Papilles just up the street. He was right.