A whirling parade of fruity flavours filled my senses, delivered by the chilled vintage Jurançon wine, as I sat on the terrace of Café La Munia, while I looked out on to the snow-capped Pyrenees blazing with the colours of fall. It was that blissful moment of realization that all the shenanigans for a Schengen visa are worth experiences like these.
A few days earlier, I had touched down at the Pau-Pyrénées airport, which services the region that lies between the Pyrenees and the Atlantic Ocean in southwestern France, called the Pyrénées-Atlantiques. At the Pau train station, I had hopped on to the Intercity 14140 train, a 25-minute non-stop service to Lourdes.
After spending a day in Lourdes, I headed further south on a series of local buses, many of which had passengers as fragrant as if they had been marinated in Ricard.
A much-loved French aperitif, Ricard's flavour is derived from star anise, fennel seeds, liquorice, and aromatic plants from Provence; it is a favourite in rural France and is quaffed over a long and lazy Sunday.
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