Hotel du Portugal

Today was the second day of the Heritage weekend. We gave another bell ringing demonstration after the service and explained some of the intricacies of change ringing. In the afternoon, the Hotel du Portugal was open. It is normally only for retired military personnel. We had a tour of some of the rooms and a lecture on the history of the building and thermalism in the village and the important British connection. At the beginning of the 20th century, the weather forecast in the Times included London, Edinburgh, Dublin and Vernet les Bains! There were many famous people who stayed at the hotel including Rudyard Kipling, Princess Beatrice, daughter of Queen Victoria, and other members of the European aristocracy.