Saint Girons, French Pyrenées

Our friends Simone and Sebastien came down from Paris to visit us in Toulouse and we drove out to the Pyrenees with them. Driving out there, we passed a village called Balacet, at the bottom of the mountain we climbed the next day. In the main streets there were goats, sheep and dogs walking in the middle of the road without a care in the world. We stayed at a small hotel in St Girons. Because we were there in the first week of January, which is off-peak time for tourism, we pretty much had the place to ourselves. We ate at a nearby restaurant, and this is the view from the balcony of the restaurant where we were having lunch on the day we arrived.

The next day we spent some time climbing a 300 metre ascent in the Pyrenees in December 2000 and had a picnic at the top where we rested and admired the view. At the end of our walk, Yves sat on a grave in the village of Balacet (pictured above) to get a fantastic shot of a cross blocking the sunshine.

We also visited a called Lake Bethmale. Looking into it, you're suddenly unsure about whether you're looking at the surroundings, or the lake. The reflection is as perfect as a mirror. We walked all around it, and although it was cold, it was a very beautiful place to be.