Day Five - Taull, Pyrenees

Day Five

Date:     3 April  2013

Place:    Taull, Pyrenees

Weather:   Sunny clear conditions.  4 degrees to 16 my mid-afternoon.

Accommodation:  Santa Maria de Taull

Breakfast was served in the dining room overlooking the village of Taull……the snow peaked through the Alpine trees, snow covered the mountain tops and the six-storeyed belltower of St Climent’s stood tall over the stone houses.  Yes, it was heaven.  Our host, Alex, brought us hot strong coffee, freshly squeezed orange juice and various breads to enjoy with home-made jams.  We couldn’t stop smiling at our luck!

It was a quick stop at Boi only a few minutes down the road to get some information regarding the area and time for a quick look at the beautiful St Joan - another Romanesque church.

 

St Joan of Boi





We headed for a day of exploring the Val d’Aran the next valley which leads into France.  Vielha is the main skiing town which is reached via a five kilometre tunnel.  First we drove into France and had a quick look at St Beat before driving further – our mission to have a French cup of coffee.  We stopped at Chaum and managed to order two extremely bad coffees and a hot chocolate.  As it only cost six euros eighty for the lot we probably got we paid for!

Picturesque St Beat just over the border into France. 

 

We turned around and headed back to Vielha passing through old villages many of which had derelict houses.  We stopped again at St Beat and explored two churches - one was built in the 12^th century and featured the typical three apses of the Romanesque style church.  The other church stands on the cliff overlooking the village.  Cameron spied the stairs to the church between some shops so we walked up the windy path between blossoming wild flowers to obtain a great view of the village.  The interior of the church is out of bounds and standing on tippy toes we could see why as it is in a severe state of disrepair.

 

Following the wild flower strewn path to the hill-top church at St Beat.

 



Our next stop was for lunch and there was a sense of urgency to find a place before two o’clock as everything seems to shut down then until dinner time.  We found the restaurant in Vielha that we had been to before and with the Romanesque St Miqueu as a backdrop in the square we enjoyed pizzas with goat cheese salads. 

The travellers enjoying the pizza, goat's cheese salad.....and the heaters under the table!

 

St Miqueu is famous for a 12^th century wooden panel on the back wall behind the altar.  It is in dark hues of blue and red with gold.  The church is lovingly tended with fresh flowers, burning candles and is obviously a living church in the centre of town.

A stroll around Vielha confirmed we had chosen a great venue for lunch as everything else was shut!

Our drive back home was not without adventure as we missed our turn off to the Val de Boi and drove on a further thirty five kilometres before noticing!  I hope we can sort out the GPS soon!

We stopped off at Boi and my travel friends indulged me with another visit to a Romanesque church at Erill la Vall.  We walked from Boi following the well-marked path down past a rushing stream and up to the old village.  The church honours the village’s Saint Eulalia.  The tower is in the same style as the one in Taull and is six storeys high.  Cameron and David climbed the tower with the warning sign that the bells ring every fifteen minutes however we did not hear them ring in the time we were in the village.

The wonderful Romanesque church of Erill la Vall.

After our walk we freshened up and took our chances on finding a restaurant (anything!) in Taull.  We multiplied our chances by not setting off until 8.30pm and managed to find one.  I think the fellow behind the bar and the two drinkers were very surprised to see us tourists standing there as the ski season had finished on 31 March.  After much gesticulating and the barman's English translation we ordered a set plan including rustic pate, crepes and beef stew followed by delicious desserts.  We were helped by an English fellow, a long time Spanish resident, who enjoyed discussing the woeful state and corruption of the Spanish economy.

The lit tower of St Climent which we strolled by until we found the only restaurant open in Taull!

 

The weather was very cold as we walked back up the hill and I rushed inside to the warm haven of our very Pyrenean accommodation. 

It was a special day all round!