Brive (pronounced breeve)

I thought this town was going to be another bust like Tours. I did what research I could at the hostel for things to do here. After having missed out on the grotto up in the Tours area, it was really lucky for me that there were quite a few grottoes around here. That was good because there's not much more. Up and at 'em early today to make sure that I didn't miss any excursions that might be going out in the morning. I had my directions to the tourism office- "go left from here, turn right at the traffic light and then soon you will see the, um, the . . .big theeng. That is toursim"
The 'big thing" is a lighthouse kind of thing but I got side tracked when I arrived because Saturday is market day here in Brive. Good thing, too because the hostel is one that does not include breakfast so I was one my own. The market was huge. There were fresh cut flowers and today's vegetables all cuts of meat including a kind of scary table that had two boxes of live rabbits right next to a cold case filled with rabbit, uh, carcasses all skinned and dressed. I was wondering how you say "For meat of pets" in French!
After getting stuff for breakfast and a picnic lunch (no rabbit), I found headed to the tourist office and arrived just as they opened. Turns out my punctuality was for naught. The grottoes I had the brochures for were either closed or had no public transpo headed that way and there are no other tours operating this time of year (that's going to be my motto). However, Brive does happen to have its own grotto, open year 'round AND free! We like free. Just 2 kilometers through town. Of course these free ones weren't nearly as spectacular as the pictures for the ones I didn't get to but these had the added bonus of being the Grotto of St. Antoinne which means these were not just pseudo cavelike entrances that didn't "go". Each of the grotto was shrine and had a statue and you can go there and make an offering, light a candle, pray for something, etc. I prayed for transportation to a cave. So far I have not been answered but maybe that's cuz I couldn't get my candle to light. Cave, grotto-they all leak.

That adventure took about two and a half hours or so 'cause I wandered up the hillside next to the grotto to look at the statuary up there, too. Still had a bunch of day left and no real direction so I went back to the market because there was stuff there besides food. I've been thinkin' ahead a bit to the India portion of my trip. I'm not sure my western wardrobe is gonna work overthere. I've always had an androgonous look about me but the culture there is so different, that might be trouble. I wasn't too concerned about it because I was pretty much going to go right into a tour group and had kind figured on the safety in numbers kind of thing but I've had to make some travel changes and I will be in India on my own for the first five days. I will of course be in Mumbai which is modern up to date kind of place but still a different culture. So I wandered through the market in Brive and bought a scarf. I figure that'll get me started in Mumbai and I'll get the rest of what I'll need when I get there.

After that tremendous shopping spree, I was ready for a hot cup of something. In my search of a Starbuckslike place I realized I was on the street where I lived, so I just headed back to the hostel and took a nap instead. A bit later I was up and out again with still not much to do so I headed towards the Fine Arts Museum I had passed by earlier in the day when it was closed. Along the way, I noticed that lots of people were going the other way. Well, sometimes my herding instinct makes sheep look like independent thinkers and I started following the crowd. I wound up at my first professional (coulda been semi-pros) rugby match. Brive vs The Other Team. The stands were packed, the players were in a fist fight less than two minutes into the game resulting in one opposing player being sent off, I had hardly any idea what was happening but I think the score was close at half time when I left. I'll have to find out who won later.

And that's the end of this day. Long long travel day ahead tomorrow for final French destination at the foot of the Pyrenees, or maybe it's in the Pyrenees. I'll find out tomorrow.