13th September 2008

The Pope is visiting our region of France today. No - not to visit me! (I'm not Catholic). He's visiting Lourdes to celebrate the 150th anniversary of a famous apparition. Until 1858 Lourdes was just an ordinary small town of 4,000 people situated in the foothills of the Pyrenees, until a 14-year-old local miller's daughter called Bernadette told everyone that she had seen a beautiful lady, who directed her to a mountain spring now said to have healing properties. And now the tiny unimportant town of Lourdes has been transformed into the 'Disneyland' of the area, selling tacky over-priced religious souvenirs to the increasingly gullible public. More than six million - mostly Catholic - visitors arrive every year making it one of France's most popular tourist attractions. Where that tiny town is going to put them all today is anyone's guess as the VIP walks the first stages of the Jubilee Way, a brand-new pilgrim-age route. Of course, the fame of the Pope will clash with the other - he would say greater - VIP. I talk of M. Sarkozy himself, who will be in Lourdes today. Well, our Nicolas doesn't miss a photo opportunity. I wonder if he'll bring the beautiful Carla? The mind boggles at the thought of this particular threesome together. With her (some would say sordid) background, will the Pope shake her hand? But that's what miracles are made of.
P.S. Tomorrow begins a new serial on buying your dream home in France. Don't miss it!