Even that is Lourdes

Praying makes you hungry or thirsty - this thesis is, in my opinion, not too far-fetched. And since eating also brings body and soul together, this means that many things revolve around food outside the holy area. On the one hand, there are guests who are provided with half board or full board in the hotel, and on the other hand, there are the restaurant shops that are open to the street, with seating right up to the edge of the road, everything relatively close together. A waiter with 90kg at a height of 1.70m doesn't stand a chance. Many guests, short stay - that's the motto; the food comes quickly to the table. The waiters are true all-round geniuses, they master the necessary components of the English, Italian, Dutch, and German languages ​​to serve people, speak to people on the street who seem to be looking for something to eat. They are usually in a good mood and charming. When I think of the corresponding personnel in German gastronomy, I can't help but suspect that it is sometimes different there.

Pilgrimage groups sit in bistros, bars, or restaurants, they are generally in a good mood, and there is a lot of laughter! Later in the evening, you can sometimes hear an 'Ave, ave' from the tavern 'Jeanne d'Arc', directly above the Gave bridge. And I also heard bagpipes playing somewhere.

Naturally, the souvenir shops are also there, outside the holy area. Sterile Germans may be bothered by the flood of plastic Madonnas and other souvenirs. To these people I would like to say: a) you don't have to buy anything, b) the holy area is free of such things and you can pray undisturbed, and c) should we blame other people with different temperaments and manifestations of piety for using such a shop? In addition, there are also shops with very high-quality and good articles, while in other shops you often find similar or the same articles - sometimes I had the impression that there is a central purchasing department.

Lourdes is shaped by the events in the Grotto of Massabielle and by the approximately 6,000,000 pilgrims annually.