Toulouse/Lourdes

Toulouse and Lourdes
We left Avranches in the morning after breakfast, and headed down to Toulouse, where we eventually arrived in the evening. It was a long hot day, the further south that we travelled the hotter and hotter it got. Marcel wasnt wrong when he said it would be an extra ten degrees hotter than Avranches. It was 30 deg, but doesnt have the humidity that Auckland has. We were all aware that although this is hot it is likely that Spain and Greece will be hotter!
Eventually we arrived in Toulouse and found Jivans house where he lives with his dad Olivier. They were welcoming and had cooked us a lovely dinner, which we ate with cheese and wine. It was a nice evening spent chatting together.
When I got up next morning JOsh Dillon and Jivan were just returning from their night out. I pottered around for a while and then Dom and I went to Lourdes. Lourdes is where Mary the mother of Jesus allegedly appearred to a young girl, a long time ago. It is in the pyrenees mountains. Many people go there to touch the cave, where Mary appearred, they believe that they will be healed in doing so. They also fill bottles of spring water, with the belief that the water there has healing properties. I remember going there as a little girl. We took part in a night procession. Back then there were walking sticks and wheelchairs hanging up where people had been healed and no longer needed them. They were no longer hanging there.  We visited the big church above the grotto/cave. They have lots of services during the day, so we attended one of them - didnt understand a word, and because we arent catholic we had no idea what they congregation of people were repeating back either.
We walked around the town. Instead of a seaside souvenir place it was a religious souvenir place - just as tacky as the seaside ones, but perhaps worse as i hadnt expected that. Shop after shop after shop was selling cheap plastic containers in the shape of Mary mother of Jesus. you could get little ones and huge ones. People then went and filled them with spring water from the cave, taking them home for their healing properties. Yes we bought two small ones, and yes we filled them with the water. The first one was for someone who asked me to bring him back some. The second one was simply as a cheap tacky souvenir to take home. We also drank the water from the spring- because it was cold as on a hot day, although as we drank i did wonder if i might get sick from it - but more than 12 hours later i am ok :)
I left Lourdes feeling that it was the ultimate spiritual rip off-  a big money making thing, and not much spirituality at all. Yes that may be judgemental but it was how i felt.  I wondered why i drove the 400km from Toulouse and back to see it.