Several Good Places 2

Andorra
We traveled out of the country on Saturday February 21. We were headed to the small country of Andorra to ski in the Pyrenees. The Pyrenees are only about an hour and a half away from Toulouse, so it was a short, fast trip. I have to admit I was excited. I hadn't skied in a awhile, but all the better to re-learn what you've known in the past. Especially if it involves skiing in unknown awesome territory like the Pyrenees. We were with our new friends Lisa and Philip Snell, they had gone once already but were also looking forward to the trip.
We were told before going on the trip that Andorra was one of the largest ski "resorts" but it isn't like any American ski resort. There are places to rent ski's of course, but they are just the little shops that are in between the touristy shops. They aren't all under one roof like you'd expect to find in America! But one good thing about these shops is that you can rent ski's for the whole day for 15 euro! Much cheaper than at home. The lift tickets were a little expensive, but you knew that the lift ticket would be good for the entire day all over the mountain, not just at the place where you started from. We were lucky also to have such a wonderful bright sunny day, after we got our skis we hiked a little way to the nearest bunny hill, all of us were feeling the heat tramping around in our ski boots.I was thankful we started on a bunny hill because its been quite awhile since I've skied and I knew if it was like any other time it would be like riding a bike, I could just hop on and get my ski's beneath me like any other person. (That is know how to turn and stay safe on a mountain). After some times down the bunny hill we felt ready to tackle the real runs...even if they were just greens. Unlike at home the greens are a little steep, but we all took it carefully being aware of what skiers were around us as well as what traps lay before us. Ben was having fun, I was as well. We continued some more on a couple more greens and then headed to the next mountain over, which required a lift ride up it and skiing down the other side. It was a good run, even though it really took some mental composure and can-do to get down it. I was done, my ankles were unfortunately hurting a lot and I soon learned why, I was forming huge blisters on my ankles. Lisa and Philip continued to ski for a few more runs and then we were all ready to go home. It was a good day despite the mishap of blisters and the tiredness. It was all worth it to see the jagged mountains above us and knowing we had skied down those treacherously awesome slopes.

Auch
This slightly confusing to pronounce town is a neat place to go. I went with Lisa on Thursday, February 26, she had found out some interesting little tidbits about it, such as that it was the fictional birthplace of that famous musketeer D'Artagnan. You could even go see a statue of the famous musketeer! We did in fact on our little walking tour of the town which took us past Auch's cathedral. It was a touring cathedral in similar shape to the one in Albi for it still had its wooden choir blind which was made with wood from a river (I cannot remember which one). Like the Albi cathedral the blind had unique pictures of several of the disciples, some of the pictures even told stories. One of the stories was of course the story of Adam and Eve, the picture was interesting because the serpent had a torso and head, to represent a somewhat human like form. Other stories included the story of Jesus and his disciples as well as stories of the various saints. All these representations I'm sure helped people better understand the Bible, but nevertheless it was fascinating to see. Continuing through the cathedral we saw an interesting sculpture of Jesus getting laid to rest (as in the tomb). In medieval fashion, the people laying Jesus to rest were wearing what someone would wear if they were a lord or lady in the middle ages. Besides the people laying Jesus to rest there were Knights standing guard over the burial place I suppose to represent the Roman guards. It was a intriguing sculpture.
The cathedral was not the only stop on our walking tour of Auch. On one side of the cathedral is a prison. We could not go inside but the map we had said it was a fearsome place in its heyday. I wonder what they scared the prisoners with, holy water? Next to the prison is a "grand staircase" which leads you to the statue of D'Artagnan. It also has a memorial to those lost in a flood that had threatened Auch. It was the story of Noah and his family. As we followed the staircase up, we could see the former city gate and the walls that blocked the entrance into the city. It was a neat little place.
We did not stop at Auch though, we found another interesting little village called Montegut which had a chateau. The chateau was called Roquetaillade and it jutted its mighty head out of the hill in which it stood. We also took a little hike to a small fortification of a tower. I'm sure it was a look out for the Chateau in its heyday. Montegut was a cute little town to see. If anything to see the dramatic unburned countryside of France. When we got home to Toulouse we got the car parked right before a massive protest marched through Lisa's neighborhood. I had to go the the post office that day and was stopped by the massive progression of people passing by. It is only the fourth protest that I've seen in France. Ah, such is life.