St. Petersburg – off the beaten track

My previous post was about the classical sights of St Petersburg – this one will cover the sides of the city that a typical tourist never sees and some of the wild adventures that always seemed to happen to me or my team when I visited. My second trip to St Petersburg was during the Russian New Year holidays in January, in the middle of the Russian winter. Not surprisingly, it was very different to my visit during the summer. On a sunny day, the city would look beautiful under a light coating of snow….

St Petersburg on a sunny winter’s day – magical

The view from the tower of Smolny Cathedral

But on an overcast day, it would look like this – very damp and dark.

Although the temperature was slightly higher than in Moscow where I was living, it felt a lot colder, due to the high levels of dampness – it was a cold that rapidly reached your bones and made you shiver, even with warm clothes on. The days were even shorter than in Moscow’s winter, with sunrise at 10am and sunset at 4pm. The foreign tourist crowds were gone…….to be replaced by crowds of locals all trying to visit the same famous attractions like the Hermitage or (below) the Kunstkamer (a collection of biological freaks assembled by Peter the Great) at the same time with their children.

Queuing to enter the Kunstkamer on a winter’s day

Fortunately, less well-known museums like the excellent Russian Museum were still almost empty.

One of the many excellent paintings in the Russian Museum, St Petersburg

After my winter visit, I started going to St Petersburg on business at least once a month and visited the districts outside of the impressive centre. In these less touristy parts of the city, many of the buildings might once have been beautiful but were now old and crumbling. St Petersburg suffered terribly during WWII, when the siege of Leningrad by Finnish and German forces caused the death by starvation of around a fifth of its population and resulted in the destruction of many of its buildings. A huge restoration effort has gone into the most famous areas of the city, but much of the rest looks rather neglected.

Off the beaten track – typical St Petersburg suburb

Not all of St Petersburg’s suburbs are run-down though. The islands to the north east of the historic centre used to be undeveloped land, but have now received massive new investments and are home to a brand new football stadium, expensive homes, trendy restaurants and flashy new office buildings – like Gazprom’s 87-story skyscraper at the Lakhta Centre.

My many visits to St Petersburg allowed me to absorb and enjoy the city’s unique atmosphere – more laid back and arty than Moscow, occasionally slightly seedy, but usually lots of fun. As a result of befriending local residents, I had many adventures. On one occasion my chief editor was forced to ride a horse around St Isaac’s cathedral at 2am, after a drunken evening with the Russian publishing company we had just agreed a deal with.

Riding a horse around St Isaac’s Cathedral at 2am

On another, I was invited to a rather hazardous excursion across the rooftops of the city. This is a popular, semi-official, activity for Russian tourists, but I found it pretty scary…….

In any case the view is not as good as the one you get from the more traditional tourist attraction, the towers of St Isaac’s Cathedral….

On another occasion my chief editor again got into trouble, at a trendy restaurant on one of the city’s many islands during the St Petersburg Economic Forum……

What an evening that was! The Forum takes place in June, and just as days are very short and dark in winter, in June they are long and light – although the sun sets at 10.30pm, it never seems to get completely dark before it rises again at 03.30. On this particular evening the setting sun was reflected in the many windows of the Winter Palace, making it look like the Neva River was on fire. This “White Nights” version of St Petersburg is the one I will remember forever. Some of my adventures in the city are described in my book, for more details click here.

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31st July 2025 4

Saint Petersburg 1 – Classical sights

The second post in this series about Russia is devoted to Saint Petersburg. This is the Russian city most familiar to western visitors, and indeed its centre is a very pretty place well worthy of a few days’ stay, with world class attractions like the Hermitage and the royal palaces. My first visit was a holiday in the summer, which followed a classic circuit of the city’s highlights, but later I visited in winter and then I started to go there frequently on business. This gave me a very different perspective of the city and led to some of my most bizarre and fun adventures in Russia. I will cover the different sides of St Petersburg in two separate posts.

First, I will describe the classic St Petersburg that most tourists see. The city was founded in 1703 by the tsar Peter the Great, on boggy land on the shores of the Neva River – territory that had only just been claimed by Russia after a war with Sweden. Peter employed an Italian architect to design some beautiful classical buildings, whilst the labour force for its construction included many Swedish prisoners. Maybe not surprisingly, the centre of Saint Petersburg looks like other European cities built in the same period, with majestic houses along the Neva River and the surrounding canals. A boat trip along these waterways is a popular way for visitors to get a first impression of the city.

A boat trip on the Neva River, Saint Petersburg

The centre of St Petersburg has many magnificent buildings, like Kazan Cathedral (first picture in this post) or the Church on Spilled Blood, built on the spot where tsar Alexandra II was assassinated in 1881.

The Church on Spilled Blood Saint Petersburg

One of the highlights of the centre of St Petersburg is the famous museum, the Hermitage, which owns a staggering three million items – of which only a small proportion are put on display. It was founded by Catherine the Great in 1764 as an extension to her Winter Palace in order to house her growing art collection and acquired its name from its being an exclusive, inaccessible place that only the tsar’s family could visit. The collection steadily grew, and new buildings were added to house them – although a few major works were sold by the cash-strapped communist regime in the 1920s. The communists also transformed the tsars’ former Winter Palace into yet another part of the museum, and today is the second largest in the world by surface area.

I have visited the Hermitage many times, and indeed its collection is amazing. Highlights include this incredible golden Peacock Clock and a collection of old masters that includes works by da Vinci and Rembrandt.

The Peacock Clock at the Hermitage Museum

However, I think I actually simply prefer walking around and admiring the magnificent interiors of the former Winter Palace -such the Grand Gala Staircase or the Malachite Room, which was the home of the Russian Provisional Government formed after czar Nicholas II abdicated until the Hermitage was stormed by workers and sailors at the start of the Bolshevik Revolution.

The Grand Gala Staircase at the Hermitage

One of the quieter rooms in the Hermitage

Magnificent palaces are not confined to the centre of St Petersburg. A short distance away from the city are several of the Russian tsars’ summer palaces. One of the most spectacular is Peterhof, built by Peter the Great and most easily reached by a short ride in a hydrofoil. Peterhof is a huge palace, famous for its many fountains, of which the most impressive is the Grand Cascade, which sits between the palace and the sea.

Close up of the fountains of the Grand Cascade

The palace itself is also beautiful, although what you see today is a reconstruction after the Nazis demolished the original structure during the siege of Leningrad.

Another huge palace complex near St Petersburg is Catherine’s Palace, located about 30km from the city in a town called Tsarskoye Selo or Pushkin. This is even bigger than Peterhof and was also completely gutted by German forces during WWII – so what you see today is again mostly restoration.

One of the highlights of Catherine’s Palace is the Amber Room, a chamber decorated with amber panels, which has a mysterious history. It was originally located in Charlottenburg Palace in Berlin but was given by the Prussian king to his ally, Peter the Great. Eventually it was moved to the Catherine’s Palace where it was feted as the “eighth wonder of the world”. When the Nazi forces occupied the area, they took apart the Amber Room and shipped it to Konigsberg in Germany (now Kaliningrad in Russia) – but when advancing Russian troops captured the city in 1945, no trace of the room could be found even after years of searching. Eventually it was decided to rebuild a new Amber Room in the restored palace, a project that was took 23 years and which finished in 2003.

Sadly, the Amber Room was closed for maintenance on my visit, so I had to content myself with the rest of the palace. This was certainly opulent, but in my humble opinion, not always in the best taste – the architects seemed to have been instructed to cover the walls of every room with gilt, and after a while this endless dazzle of gold became a bit repetitive….and even a bit tacky.

One of an endless series of over-gilded rooms, Catherine’s Palace

My favourite St Petersburg Palace was the Yusupov Palace, located on a canal in the centre and a complete contrast to Catherine’s Palace and Peterhof. It was originally built in 1776 by a French architect, and over the years went through many modifications. In 1830 it was bought the Yusupov family, the second richest family in Russia after the Tsar’s.

The Entrance Staircase at the Yusupov Palace

I liked this palace because of the range of architectural styles used to build it, its more human scale and its tasteful interior decoration. One of its highlights is its small theatre, where plays are still performed for the general public.

The Yusupov Palace is also famous as the place where the monk Rasputin was assassinated in 1916. Many Russian nobles had become deeply worried that his influence over the Tsarina was damaging the standing of the royal family and adding to the deep social unrest Russia was experiencing. A group of them, led by Prince Felix Yusupov, heir to the Yusopov fortune, lured him here for a dinner of pies laced with cyanide. This though failed to kill Rasputin, so instead they shot him three times and dumped his body into the nearby river. Felix escaped serious punishment for the murder, but his actions didn’t stop the revolution, which forced the whole family to leave their palace and flee to France with their best jewels and paintings.

The Yusupov Palance seems an appropriate place to end my blog on the traditional sights of St Petersburg – the scene of an unsuccessful attempt to forestall inevitable social change. Wandering around the excessive opulence of the Winter Palace, Peterhof, Catherine’s Palace and the many magnificent building of central St Petersburg, it is not surprising that the 1917 revolution happened. Especially when one contrasts the extravagant centre of the city with the its poorer areas, located only a short walk away – which I will cover in my next post.

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27th July 2025 5

Russia – the Solovki (Solovetsky) Islands

For the next few posts, I am going to do something a bit different by going back to the past. I lived and worked in Russia for a total of seven and half years, from 2008-9 and 2013-2019. I travelled extensively, from Karelia to the Caucuses, to the frozen Siberian north in winter, to lake Baikal (twice), and magical Kamchatka. I also completely crossed the country by train, on the Trans Siberian and then the “BAM”. On my return to London, I wrote Caviar, Vodka and Tears, a book about my experiences living, working and travelling in this unique country.To accompany the launch of my book, I am going to do a few posts about my travels, as a memory of happier times, before the Ukraine war. Hopefully at some point there will be peace, and it will be possible and morally acceptable again to travel in Russia. The next few posts will describe the amazing travel experiences I had whilst living there.

The Solovki (or Solovetsky) Islands sit in the White Sea in the Far North of Russia

I will start with one of my favourite destinations – the magical Solovki or Solovetsky Islands, located in the White Sea in Russia’s far north, just outside the arctic circle. To get there you can fly via Arkhangelsk, but the flights are often cancelled due to strong winds or fog, which make landing dangerous. So instead I took the train to a small town called Belomorsk, and then a ferry – which is the best way to go because it was what the islands’ earliest settlers did, and because you get this wonderful view as you slowly approach the famous Solovetsky Monastery….

My first glimpse of magnificent Solovetsky Monastery from my ferry

The monastery was founded by monks who made the then risky trip across the sea in the 15^th century and has had a tumultuous history that mirrors that of Russia as a whole. By the 16^th century it had become an important pilgrimage centre, though the journey there was still fraught with danger, and it added protective walls against marauding Finns and German Teutonic Knights. It was also one of Ivan the Terrible’s favourite prisons for people he disliked but could not be bothered to execute. During the Crimean war the monastery was even attacked by a British warship, but its cannonballs bounced harmlessly off the thick walls and the enterprising monks later sold them as souvenirs to pilgrims.

Inside the walls of Solovetsky Monastery

In 1926, under the early years of communism, the monastery became the centre of Russia’s first Gulag for political prisoners and was notorious for its harsh conditions. Thousands of people died from cold, starvation or overwork – or were simply shot.

The “Kartser” of the Gulag, now a lighthouse

This photo of an apparently peaceful building, sitting on a hill on the end of the main Solovetsky Island, shows one of the saddest places in Russia. It was originally a chapel but became the kartser or punishment cell of the Gulag. Few of the people sent here survived – most either froze to death, because the building was not insulated, or were shot and their bodies thrown down the nearby hill. Today, volunteers have dug up the remains of some of the victims and have given them a proper burial, with a cross to mark their graves.

One of the graves near the Kartser – this one is for 26 Gulag prisoners, whose bodies were nearby

Away from the monastery, the main Solvetsky Island has an extensive system of lakes joined by canals. These are great fun to explore now by hiring a rowing boat, but back in the gulag days, this was the site of the hardest work for the prisoners – chopping down trees and floating their trunks along the canals – often in freezing water -to a central sawmill.

In a boat on one of Big Solovetsky Island’s canals

Around the main Solovetsky Island there is a constellation of smaller islets, mostly uninhabited, which can be visited by a short boat trip. Some of these have strange spiral structures or “labyrinths” made out of rocks, left by some ancient and now forgotten previous inhabitants – no one knows what their purpose was or who made them.

An ancient stone labyrinth, Solovetsky Islands

Let’s return to the monastery. The Gulag was also the first to close in Russia, in 1939, and the monastery building later became a training centre for naval cadets. After the collapse of communism, monks began to return to the island and now Solovetsky Monastery is once again a thriving religious centre.

My visit coincided with that of Patriach Kirill, head of the Russian Orthodox church. He is a controversial figure who in one of his earlier jobs made a fortune for the church by importing cigarettes and other goods duty free and then reselling them in Russia. Today he is a strong supporter of President Putin who has declined to criticise Russia’s actions in Ukraine.

Patriach Kirill visits Solovetsky Monastery

During Kirill’s visit the sign below appeared in the island’s only shop. It says that due to the special event, sale of alcohol is banned for three days. I saw a local man taking a photo of this notice and asked him why, to which he replied: “My wife sent me to buy vodka. If I come back empty-handed, she will think I drank it all myself.”

Disappointment for the Solovetsky locals!

In total I spent three days on the Solovki Islands, also visiting their interesting botanical gardens and the Gulag Museum. Somehow, the islands have a very special, spiritual feeling, that is hard to describe. Was it the influence of an ancient religious centre, now back in its prime? Or the souls of the thousands of prisoners who perished here? Or simply the pleasant breeze and the smell of the sea air? I will never know.

For me, this photo captures some of the special atmosphere of the Solovetsky Islands

On the way back on the ferry to Belomorsk, I was treated to a beautiful sunset that perfectly rounded off my visit to the islands and the reinforced my sense of inner peace.

Leaving the Solovki Islands – sunset over the White Sea

Whilst waiting for my train at Belomorsk station, I had a completely different, very Russian travel experience – which you can read more about on this link.

Check out my book’s webpage on this link.

21st July 2025 4

Back to France – Foix and Carcassonne

Today I headed back to France from Andorra. I drove north, passing through some of the tiny country’s ski resorts, before a long tunnel brought me to the border. The scenery was immediately different in France – greener, with lots of pretty flowers on the slopes of the mountains.

My first stop was at Ax-les-Bains, a pretty spa town, where I had a coffee and studied my guidebook’s recommended driving route. They suggested a detour to see an impressive rock formation deep in the mountains, so I set off along a steeply rising and winding country road, and then into a forest, and then up a hill along a very narrow forest track with space for one car only and a sheer drop on one side. I drove up carefully, praying that I would not meet anyone coming the other way, and at the top saw a sign for the Pas de l’Ours viewing point. The spot was obviously very rarely visited, since the short path to reach the belvedere was heavily overgrown. After I had fought my way through some aggressive vegetation (and even more aggressive ants) an amazing view opened up, which I stopped to admire. To add to nature’s impressive show, in the distance on a different mountain was perched the castle of Montsegur, which must have been totally impossible to take by storm.

The Amazing view from the Pas de l’Ours -1

The Amazing view from the Pas de l’Ours – 2 – Monsegur Castle is just visible to the right

Soon I needed to continue my route. I squeezed my car along some more kilometres of forest track before I eventually ended up back on a proper road. I was now running behind schedule; the view from the Pas de l’Ours had been really wonderful, but I was beginning to wonder if it was really worth the nearly two hour detour I had made along bumpy tracks to see it. My next destination was Foix, a charming small French town with a very photogenic castle (whose construction started in the early tenth century).

Memorial to members of the Resistance and to the Deported, Foix

My penultimate destination for the day – and of this trip – was Carcassonne, famous for its Unesco-listed medieval citadel. The city came into prominence in Roman times, and was later an important stronghold of the Visigoths. By the 12th century, it had become an important center for the Catharism – a religious sect distinct from, but borrowing elements of, Christianity. As such Carcassonne was the target for the Cathar Crusade (or Albigensian Crusade) , a military campaign initiated by the then Pope and executed over 1209-1229 by the French crown. The crusade aimed to crush the Cathar movement but also to extend the authority of the king of France in the South. When Carcassonne was captured, its people were allowed to leave alive but without any of their possessions; some of them settled nearby and founded what is now the lower part of the city. Today, they city has an exceptionally preserved fortified medieval city, imposingly located on a hill, and a very pleasant and slightly less ancient lower town.

Approaching the Citadel (sorry, terrible light for this photo)

I parked in the lower town, made the classic climb up to the citadel’s main gate and entered to explore the streets of the ancient city.

The walls of the citadel from the outside

It was indeed incredibly well-preserved and very pretty – despite the occasional tacky souvenir shop. It was a blisteringly hot day, so I darted from one patch of shade to another. I found further respite from the sun by going to the city’s castle, a visit which includes the option to walk a complete circuit of the ramparts of the citadel.

Exploring Carcassone’s citadel took me a couple of hours. I could have stayed longer, but the heat was oppressive and I needed to carry on to my next destination, a party thrown by friends of mine in a stylish “chateau” just outside Toulouse. We ate, drank, chatted and danced under the early morning. The next day I got up early, drank a lot of coffee, and drove back to Toulouse airport for the flight home.

The venue for my friends’ evening party….

Well, that’s it for this series of posts. The Pyrenees have really impressed me – usually pretty, sometimes spectacular, and very varied, with their contrast between the dry Spanish side and green French part. They join a very small list of places that I plan to return to – next time I will try to do more hiking and less driving, and to properly explore Ordesa and Monte Perdido.

Previous Post: Andorra

24th June 2025 2

Beauty and the Beast – from Bielsa to Andorra

Today I began the long drive back to Toulouse via the tiny country of Andorra – a tiny principality sandwiched between Spain and France in the Pyrenees. First, I made a short detour driving up the Valle de Pineta from Bielsa to reach a semi-circular wall of mountains similar to the Cirque de Gavarnie that I had visited a couple of days before. I did not have time for a walk, so simply stopped to admire the view and take photos.

The magnificent scenery of the Valle de Pinetas

The road to Andorra was pleasant rather than spectacular. Occasionally I would stumble across pretty mountain villages but mostly the countryside was dry and deserted.

My main excitement during the drive was watching the low fuel warning light come on and anxiously checking where the next petrol station might be – I had seen none for miles – but in the end I made it to the small border city of La Sue d’Urgell, which had one. The entry to Andorra, a few km further ahead, was marked by a large customs and immigration post, and suddenly the road changed completely. It still went through pleasant mountains but was much busier and lined on either side by shopping centres and (suddenly) endless petrol stations. As I approached Andorra la Vella – the country’s main and only city – the traffic became denser, and the ugly modern constructions more oppressive.

After fighting my way through traffic jams and roadworks, I found my hotel and set off to explore on foot. The city was unlike anything I had seen anywhere before. It completely filled what might once have been a pretty river valley, surrounded by mountains. There was a tiny old town, accessible by walking up a hill or taking an elevator, where I stopped for some inventive cocktails in one of the many cheap bars.

Enjoying cheap drinks in Andorra’s old town

Outside of this area, the city was a dense mass of duty-free shopping, traffic, building sites and road works. Its main landmark was the fast-flowing river La Valira that flows right through the centre – it seemed to me that the water was rushing to revert to nature and escape the ugliness of man’s work.

Having bought some presents for my friends, I thought the best use of my time would be to treat myself to dinner in a good restaurant – and I was reward by an excellent and well reasonably priced feast. Andorra la Vella had been a strange experience. It has lots of duty free shops, good hotels, and some excellent value bars and restaurants…but frankly it is an ugly city. I was glad to see it once, but also glad to be moving on back to France the next day.

Previous Post: From the Canyon d’Añisclo to Ordesa and Monte Perdido National Park

Next Post: Back to France – Foix and Carcassone

23rd June 2025 9

From the Canyon d’Añisclo to Ordesa and Monte Perdido National Park

Today I set off from Bielsa on what turned out to be a spectacular driving tour. I headed south, before turning off onto a small side road to the Canyon d’Añisclo. The road entered a deep river gorge, with steep sides before splitting into two separate one-way tracks.

My route wound along the side of a small river, with steep cliffs towering far above me.

I made slow progress – not because the driving was difficult, but because I made so many stops to take pictures of the amazing scenery.

I arrived at a small parking area and got out to stretch my legs and have a look around. The car park offered spectacular views up and down the canyon, and to the other side where some sort of chapel had been carved into the cliff face.

Is that…..a little chapel in the cliff face?

A sign advertised a short circular walk named after San Urbez, a local hermit who lived in the area.

An interesting forest in the Canyon d’Añisclo

The path led down through a pretty forest, crossed a bridge and then climbed up to the chapel – which was furnished with simple pews, as if it was still in occasional use.

After the chapel I had the choice of using an ancient bridge or a new one built on top of it to regain my car.

I spent another hour driving through some impressive mountain scenery, noticing that the Spanish Pyrenees are different to the French ones – steeper, and much drier. I stopped for a drink at Torla, a pretty old town that is the gateway to the Ordesa and Monte Perdido National Park.

The road into the park followed a gorge with steep mountains on either side, finally arriving at a large car park. Looking around, I felt myself transported to some of the most spectacular national parks I had seen in America – on all sides mountains towered above me, some of them twisted into fantastical shapes. I had read that the car park was the starting point for some amazing hikes, but sadly I did not have the time to do anything more than stroll a short way up the river valley and absorb the jaw-dropping views. I resolved to come back and explore Ordesa properly another time.

In Ordesa and Monte Perdido National Park

Amazing mountains in Ordesa and Monte Perdido National Park

Finally, it was time to head back, and in a couple of hours I was back in Bielsa – for once, getting home early enough to be able to relax a bit, sort out my photos and write my blog. I stopped by the local supermarket to buy dinner and stock up on a typically Spanish tradition – sweet, fortified wines and sherries served directly from big casks.

The minimum amount you could buy was two litres, which cost a derisory seven euros. I bought some sherry and enjoyed a glass sitting on the town’s main square in the early evening sun, reflecting on an exceptional day.

As my regular readers know I am a well-travelled bear but finding such scenery in a place only a few hours flying/driving from London was something really special. I will be back.

Previous Post: Cirque de Gavaranie

Next Post: From Bielsa to Andorra

22nd June 2025 4

The Cirque de Gavarnie – a Pyrenees Classic

Today I enjoyed one of the Pyrenees’ most famous sights – the Cirque de Gavarnie. This time I set off from Tarbes without a cloud in the sky and was soon driving up a beautiful river valley towards the high mountains. The road passed some pretty spa towns, but my busy itinerary for the day did not allow me the time to stop at any of them. After an hour and half, I reached the village of Gavarnie, the base for my hike.

The hike to the Cirque de Gavarnie is one of the most famous and popular in France, and when I arrived at 11.00, the car park was already quite busy. Along with many other walkers, I set off on a flat easy track which followed the banks of the valley’s fast-running river – the same one I had been following on my drive to get here.

The cirque seen from the start of the walk at Gavarnie

Even from the walk’s starting point, there was quite a good view of the cirque – a semi-circular wall of mountains with waterfalls cascading down their sides. This view got more and more impressive as I approached my destination.

After a few kilometres the easy, wide path ended at a bar/restaurant and turned into a mountain track which passed over a mini glacier. At first, I wondered whether this was safe to cross – the ice had two large holes, through which you could hear the river bubbling below. But the much heavier human walkers set across confidently, so I followed in their footsteps (literally) and was soon clambering up the rocky scree that lies at the base of the cirque.

I sat down and had a long picnic, soaking up some of the most beautiful mountain scenery I had ever seen.

A well-earned break inside the Cirque de Gavarnie

Rested, I put on waterproofs and clambered up to the largest waterfall – La Grande Cascade – getting a close as I could without getting totally soaked.

I chose to return to Gavarnie by a different, more difficult track that climbed up the side of a mountain. I turned around frequently to see the cirque flitting in and out of view, as if it was playing hide and seek with me. The path also offered impressive views of other mountains….

A final bonus of my return route was spotting a large group of butterworts (carnivorous plants) clinging to the rock face. These plants secrete a sticky liquid onto their leaves which traps insects, which the plant then digests.

A Butterwort – the black spots on its leaves are dead insects

I got back to my car later than I had expected – probably I had spent too long sitting contemplating the beauty of the site – and my satnav gave me the unpleasant surprise that I had two and half hours driving to reach my destination for the night, the small town of Bielsa in Spain. On the sinuous mountain roads (which Google always underestimates) I knew it would probably take me even longer.

At first, I enjoyed the drive, as it passed some spectacular high Pyrenees sights, including the famous Col de Tourmalet…

View from the top of the Col de Tourmalet

….and the Pic Du Midi, an observation point served by a very expensive cable car, which due to lack for time I had to drive past (I was also not sure that the view would really be any better than what I had seen already, and probably not worth the exorbitant 60€ cost of the ride).

Descending from the Col de Tourmalet I felt tired so stopped to refresh myself in the pretty village of Arreau, before heading on towards the Tunnel de Bielsa leading into Spain.

The pretty town of Arreau in the Pyrenees

I finally reached Bielsa at 20.30, but my driving was not over. Google kept proposing routes to reach my lodgings along tiny lanes so narrow that even a motorbike would struggle to get through. I called the house’s owners and explained my predicament in faltering Spanish. When they eventually understood me, they send their daughters to help guide me through the maze of streets, and I finally arrived in my room a tired and slightly grumpy teddy around nine o’clock. I had probably tried to tackle too much in one day, and all I wanted to do now was to sit down and have a drink in the café on the town’s main plaza. Although Bielsa was a very small town, there were several bars and restaurants still open and small groups of people sitting on tables in the square. The pleasant atmosphere and cold beer helped improved my mood and prepare me for a good night’s sleep after a very long but fulfilling day.

Previous Post: Pau and Tarbes

Next Post: The Spanish Pyrenees – Canyon d’Añisclo plus Ordesa and Monte Perdido National Park

21st June 2025 4

Tarbes and Pau

Today I pulled back the shutters of my room to reveal thick clouds handing over Tarbes. My plans for walking in the high Pyrenees would have to be postponed for another day. Instead, I headed along the autoroute to Pau, a historic city less than an hour away from Tarbes. I was heading for Pau castle, but on entering the city was caught in an impossible one way system and ended up parking and walking the last kilometre, passing along a pretty promenade which would have yielded wonderful views of the high Pyrenees had the weather been better.

The Chateau de Pau is an impressive structure built up over many centuries. At its centre is a typical chateau fort of purely defensive nature – with thick walls and few windows. Around this structure were built the wings of a renaissance castle, built to impress and to be comfortable to live in. It was originally the base for the kings of Navarre, an independent French province in the Middle Ages. The Chateau de Pau is most famous as the birthplace in 1553 of Henry, later to become King of Navarre and still later Henry IV – one of France’s most famous kings and founder of the Bourbon dynasty.

I enjoyed a guided tour of the castle, admiring its state rooms and many statues of Henry IV – a king always depicted with a slight smile on his face.

One of the highlights was the display of the shell of a sea turtle, which had been the traditional crib for the newly born kings of Navarre, including Henry. During the French revolution, anti-royalist feelings ran high, and the authorities decided to remove and destroy this relic. However, a local royalist heard about this plan and managed to substitute the original shell with a different one. The copy was removed and destroyed, only for the original to be returned after it the restoration of the French monarchy.

After the visit, I strolled around the city of Pau. After its glory as the birthplace of Henry IV, it had another golden era as a spa town, and has some wonderful old houses built along a promenade looking out over the Pyrenees. However some of these grand old “maisons” were replaced by rather tasteless modern constructions, and the city today is an odd mix of the old and the new, its boarded-up branch of Galeries Lafayette a witness to its glorious past and uncertain present. Barber shops and tattoo parlours on its high street further emphasised the impression of a city in decline.

I headed back to Tarbes, which at first on a cloudy Sunday afternoon felt a bit like the slightly depressing city of Pau. However a stroll around town showed that with a little digging, Tarbes was a pleasant an interesting place – albeit well off the main tourist trail. Its cathedral dates from the 12^th century and has an impressive interior – including, for some bizarre reason a marble plaque carrying Louis XVI’s last will and testament before his execution.

A further stroll brought me to the Haras, a stud farm and centre of equestrian learning established by Napoleon in1806 and now owned by the French army. I was lucky enough to visit during a show jumping competition, something I never seen before.

Show jumping competition at the Haras of Tarbes

I enjoyed watching the competition before heading back to my hotel – La Maison aux Murs Anciens – for the evening. It deserves a special mention as one of the most memorable places I have ever stayed. It was a house built into the old walls of the city of Tarbes, and converted by its owner, an architect and mason, into a small hotel. The room I stayed in had had one other famous guest – Bernadette Soubirous, the girl whose visions of the Virgin Mary in 1858 eventually caused Lourdes to become a major pilgrimage site (and ultimately grow into a much bigger city than Tarbes). She stayed – or was kept – there for a year as the Catholic church investigated her story.

In the same room as Bernadette Soubirous!

It was one of those days where you have to adapt your plan and expectations to the weather. In the circumstances, I had quite enjoyed my exploration of a couple of small Pyreneen cities. It turned out that a relaxing day exploring some low key attractions was exactly what I needed ahead of two exceptionally busy days in the high Pyrenees.

Previous Post: Bagneres-de-Bigorre and St-Betrand-de-Comminges

Next Post: The Cirque de Gavarnie

20th June 2025 5

Driving in the Foothills of the Pyrenees – Bagnères-de-Bigorre and Saint-Betrand-de-Comminges

The Bear is Back! After my last trip to far away New Zealand, this one is much closer to home – the Pyrenees. I flew from London to Toulouse in just under 2 hours (compared to 25h for my return from Auckland), picked up a hire car and was soon in my hotel in Tarbes, my base for the first few days (more about Tarbes in a future post).

The next day I set off in the direction of the high Pyrenees, ready to tackle the demanding hike to the Breche de Roland, a gap in the mountain range which by legend was formed when the hero Roland, mortally wounded at Roncesvalles, through away his sword. It landed 200km away and cut a cleft in the mountains. However, just after leaving Tarbes I noticed that the high mountains were covered with thick cloud, and I was unlikely to see anything on my walk. So, I changed plans and went for a driving tour of the Pyrenees foothills.

My first stop was the spa town of Bagnères-de-Bigorre. I refreshed myself with a coffee before exploring the many interesting buildings in the town, including a museum built by a rich resident…

…the main thermal complex…..

…quaint old houses…

….and an ancient tower, all that is now left of a former church.

From Bagnères-de-Bigorre my trip took me deep into the countryside to the former Cistercian abbey of Escaldieu. The abbey and its grounds were the setting for a rather good contemporary art exhibition. The outdoor exhibits were particularly imaginative….

Escaldieu Abbey and some impressive modern art

After the abbey, I passed the impressive castle of Mauvezin…

….before driving east through pretty countryside to Saint-Betrand-de-Comminges. This small town started as a Roman settlement, which eventually became an important centre of the Christian faith. It fell into decline after the fall of the Roman empire but remained a bishopric and came back into prominence when Bertrand of Comminges, a French knight, was nominated as its bishop in 1083. He organised construction of the cathedral that stands to this day, was later canonised, and gave his name to the town that he had put back on the map.

Saint-Betrand-de-Comminges’ cathedral seen from below

Today, Saint-Betrand-de-Comminges is a wonderfully preserved and peaceful medieval French town.

Street scene, Saint-Betrand-de-Comminges

Aside from the tomb of St Bertrand himself, its cathedral has cloisters with a great view of the surrounding countryside…

…. some beautifully carved wooden stalls….

The stalls in the cathedral, Saint-Betrand-de-Comminges

….and a huge organ, supported by wooden beams and hanging in mid-air.

The magnificent organ, Saint-Betrand-de-Comminges Cathedral

I spent a pleasant hour soaking up the atmosphere and enjoying a cold drink before heading back to Tarbes, over mountain roads that hinted at the grandeur of the high Pyrenees that I would see over the next few days.

It had been a great day – pretty French towns, some modern art, a medieval castle, and an ancient cathedral – all against the backdrop of the beautiful green countryside of the low Pyrenees.

Next Post: Tarbes and Pau

19th June 2025 2

Farewell to New Zealand – Wai-o-Tapu and Te Puia

Today was my last day in New Zealand. I have been here nearly four weeks, and the time has flown past. I visited one last geothermal park outside of Rotorua called Wai-O-Tapu. My visit started at Lady Knox Geyser, which erupts at 10.15 every day. I was a little puzzled by the precision of this event – surely a natural phenomenon like a geyser should be at least a bit variable, and what happens when New Zealand goes from summertime to wintertime (as it just had)? All was revealed when I joined a large group of tourists sitting in an amphitheatre around the geyser. One of the park employees explained that the geyser had been discovered when a group of workers had been washing their clothes in the nearby hot springs. They introduced some detergent into the water, which triggered a spectacular eruption (and panic amongst the surprised workers, who ran around naked to escape). In modern times, at 10.15 every day, a park employee puts some detergent down the hole of the geyser to trigger an impressive, if partially artificial, spectacle.

With the geyser show over, the crowd headed to the park’s main entrance to start out on a path through a prehistoric landscape of bubbling mud pools, smoking hot springs and tranquil lakes. Wai-O-Tapu park is particularly known its brightly coloured rock formations, including the famous Champagne Pool.

After a couple of hours exploring Wai-O-Tapu, it was time for a complete change – a tour of the Maori cultural centre Te Puia. After the slightly sad experience of visiting the neighbouring village of Whakarewarewa, my expectations were not so high, but I was pleasantly surprised. The visit started with a visit to a training centre where students learn Maori crafts like sculpture (a male activity) or weaving (a female one), where we got to see some wonderful pieces of art.

Next, there was a rapid visit to a kiwi conservation centre where I got a glimpse of their recently born, but still very large, kiwi chick. The birds are nocturnal, so during tour hours their enclosures are kept in near darkness, and no photos were allowed. After that was a visit to the Pohutu geyser area, for yet another look at Rotorua’s geothermal area. The viewing area at Te Puia was much closer than at Whakarewarewa, so I could get a really good look, but sadly Pohutu was not very active.

After a buffet dinner our group was treated to a performance of Maori songs and dances in the marae, the large meeting house found in all Maori settlements. Before we could enter, there was an elaborate ritual in which a succession of warriors came to challenge and intimidate the leader of our group, swirling their weapons through the air, sticking out their tongues and making their eyes bulge.

Warriors line up to challenge visitors at Te Puia marae

When that didn’t work the final warrior put down a leaf on the floor in front of our leader, a peace offering showing that we were welcome to visit them. Once everyone was inside and seated, there was another Maori tradition, the powhiri, or speech of welcome – spoken only in Maori. With the lengthy formalities over, our hosts switched to English to welcome us and explain the series of Maori songs and dances they presented, including the famous haka war dance.

This all probably sounds very touristy, and of course, it was. However, the show was presented with such enthusiasm that I soon found myself thoroughly enjoying the occasion and clapping wildly at the end. The evening still had not quite finished though, and we were invited for one last look at Pohotu – this time at night, with the geyser lit up by floodlights. Around the observation area there were stone terraces heated geothermally, and I sat on one to watch as the staff distributed hot chocolate. I stayed nearly an hour, as our Maori hosts passed among the crowds chatting to people, and was finally rewarded by a small eruption of Pohotu.

It had been a great day and a good way to end my trip to New Zealand and Australia. Tomorrow I will make the 2-3 hour drive up to Auckland airport, and then the even longer twenty-nine-hour flight back home to London via Doha. New Zealand has been a special place with many amazing things to see, but it is a looooong way from anywhere. Memories that will stay with me forever include flying around Mount Cook, seeing blue whales in Kaikoura, the geothermal areas around Rotorua, hiking to Mount Aspiring’s glacier and sailing Milford Sound. Had the weather been kinder to me, maybe the Marlborough Sounds, Abel Tasman Park and the Tongariro Alpine Crossing would also have made my list of highlights. I think I will be back one day to give them another look, and to visit some of the areas I missed this time – like the country’s sub-tropical far north. But with the huge distance, I suspect it will be part of a round-the-world tour rather than a dedicated trip.

Previous Post: Rotorua – Kaituna Falls and Waimangu

17th April 2025 3