Thursday, March 19
What a rush! We had travelled far and wide but our journey was not finished. We wanted to see what Spain was like. So after getting up late in the day my family and I headed by car to Barcelona. Ben and I had heard of other people planning and achieving a pleasant trip to Barcelona via car, so it seemed quite nice. It is only 2 hours from Toulouse, a wee bit crazy, that in a few hours one could be in a whole new country, but we headed out confident that it may be a long trip, but worthwhile.
An hour or so later, we stopped at a neat little rest stop. It faced the Pyrenees and one could get a decent picture of them if they decided to stop and look. The rest stop was actually quite nice, it felt like you were in a little village, in fact I think the word "village" was in its name. There were a few restaurant choices so we picked their fast cafe. Which served what Ben called "work food." It was OK. Edible versions of French cuisine, but not like a five-star restaurant. But c'est la vie. We had a pleasant time wandering around the "village" and grabbed a few postcards and some more pictures of the beautiful mountains. Soon we were ready to hit the road again.
Our trip to Barcelona was soon over, we reached its limits in no time. What a traffic jam! If one could call it that. Cars crept toward one another at a slow pace, hoping they would get to their destination on time. My Dad was an expert driver, despite the GPS having a trouble not knowing where we were. Finally, after a long awaited time, we reached the center of the city, where our hotel was. But the center was no different from the outskirts. Cars raced toward the nearest roundabout only to get stuck entering into it. We were stuck for a time and could not even get across to where we needed to be, so taking the next road we ran into the place (by shear luck I am sure) where our hotel was located. We tried to see if there was any parking near the hotel but our car was too big for the nearest lot (rather underground parking). So we crepted out into the pedestrian way and somehow, by the kindness of a pedestrian just sitting by the sidewalk we got out of the pedestrian mess out into the traffic mess once again. We travelled a little further, probably 3 or 4 long blocks and found another "P" indicating yet another parking spot. We found our way into it through the droves of people and hectic traffic. Without much ado we found a good parking spot. Scrambling out of the car we excited our underground parking to the world of Barcelona. It shouldn't have surprised me, but I could tell who were tourists and who probably weren't. But there were several tourists within a few yards of each other, from all walks of life and different countries. We had to find a map and easily found one, Ben knew where we had to go to reach our hotel, it just was a matter of finding where we had ended up and which direction we should go. After acquiring the map we headed more or less in the direction of our hotel which was through all the busiest streets of central Barcelona. We passed several touristy shops and Mom was excited to find Lladro, the small porcelain statues one can only find in Spain. We peeked into those windows hoping to find the right one. After going down the street filled with touristy shops we noticed it was probably The Ramblers, the main street full of shops and markets that is famous in Spain. Once realizing it was the Ramblers our hotel was easily found, just off the busy street in a little inlet of shops and pedestrian walkways.
The hotel was extremely modern, but in good taste. Up the elevator and just a few steps down the hallway we were upon our room, which of course held the same decor as the rest of the building. Two twin beds formed the "double bed" and bunk beds were just beyond the double beds behind a fake wall. The double bed was against one wall and in the middle was the TV, computer and desk and down a small hall was the bathroom. Everything was nice and well taken care of and I expected a fairly decent stay. The boys headed back out to fetch our bags abandoned in the car and us girls headed out to shop. Once out again we easily found the shops we wanted. Not all of them held Lladro, but they did hold Lladro's close sister Nao which is made by the same company and is the same quality as the original Lladro, just a touch less expensive. Nao also doesn't have quite the unique colors and delicacy as Lladro but just as nice. I easily found a Nao I liked and quickly purchased it. With a bit of bargaining even! I had not expected to bargain. But I got a slightly better price than was offered. Mom also was successful getting several gifts here.
We took our purchases back to the hotel, eagerly putting them in a safe place. The boys returned with our bags and reported they found a tour bus that took you throughout the city and would give us some good info. So resting for a bit more, we headed out once again to take the tour. The tour was great, especially the first half. We were able to see some of Gaudi's works an apartment building and a house he had built (I fail to remember their names). We also passed several historical things of Barcelona. One statue we passed was created by Roy Lichtenstein in honor of Barcelona, it was quite amazing. Unfortunately the tour grew long and things became a little less interesting. But Barcelona was a fun lively city and rather cool if one is on the top floor of a bus in the open air at night. It was also interesting to see some of the buildings that were left after the Olympics one such building got turned into one of Barcelona's finest apartment buildings, for its location to the ocean and its connection to the Olympics. All in all the tour was great, knowing that you had seen some of the great architectural works of the world. But admittedly that was the only touristy thing we did in Barcelona. We did not spend much time looking at Gaudi's other works or at any of the museums. I kind of regret not doing that, but if anything I saw and felt the beat of the city and sometimes that is all you need.
Our tour of France and Spain was over, it was a fast one, but good enough to glean some knowledge. Such as how Carcassonne was once a Cathar city and that the Eiffel Tower was built for the World's Fair or that the Louvre was once a royal palace. All interesting facts one could tell their friends or show them the pictures of the amazing works of art that were more amazing up close and personal. Such is life of a traveler. This was a fun trip and I hope to soon take another!
Friday, April 10, 2009
Monday, April 6, 2009
A Whirlwind Tour: D-Day Beaches and Carcassonne
D-Day Beaches
We were still in Paris on Monday, March 16 for we headed to the train station bright and early, before any well-meaning Frenchmen would be up. But surprisingly it was pretty full, the Gare Lazare station. We watched the train times expectantly, impatiently waiting for ours to show up. Sure enough it showed up, just not on the board we were watching. It was headed to Caen, the town in between Paris and Bayeux. Bayeux is where I read was a good place to start when looking at the D-Day beaches. The train would take us straight to Bayeux, with one small change in Caen.
Once in Bayeux, the plan was to find a rental car, so Mom and I waited for the men to find one. Unfortunately the nearest rental place had completely rent out all of its cars. After finding that out, we thought about a tour. But the place we looked at a possible tour was leaving to late in the day. We grabbed a taxi instead (keeping with our original plan) which took us to yet another place to rent cars, unfortunately the didn't have one big enough for four people and all their luggage (we were headed back to Toulouse that evening). Thankfully the cab driver stayed with us and we headed to our third rental place. Luckily it had a car big enough for all of us! So if someone wants to see the beaches, I would definitely suggest renting a car before you get to Bayeux or if you're adventurous, take a tour.
The car worked quite well and we were able to use our map skills to find our way out of Bayeux and to our first stop, German gun batteries that had survived the attack. These were quite interesting to see, to see the living conditions and what the soldiers who were housed in them were expected to do. One gun had in fact remained in pieces after an Allied bomb or gun had blown it apart. It was crazy to think that the guns actually had a use in the war and that that war had involved the country I call home. We had grabbed lunch in Bayeux and decided we were going to eat at that particular beach, for the sun had decided to warm us as we explored the former German guns. We joyfully basked in the sun as we ate and spoke about how amazing the views and the history was. After we were done, we headed to Omaha beach were the Americans took the most casualties. We found the beach next to the American Cemetery, as we entered it we could hear soft chimes filling the peaceful sun soaked air with soft music. We walked a little ways down to the beach and contemplated what the American soldiers had to go through, with bombs going off and rapid fire coming from the guns located on the beach. It also shook our world to see what a steep-like incline the soldiers had to mount if they were to get anywhere on the beach. It was a crazy and dangerous time, I'm sure that is also why so many Stars of David and crosses dot the American Cemetery today. We spent some time viewing the Cemetery itself, its large beautiful monument displaying the tactics of the Americans and other allies attacking the beach as well as taking in all the headstones that dotted the green grass. We soon headed into the building on the property that housed an exhibit showing the stories of men who lived and died on Omaha beach. Their stories took your breath away and humbled you on the spot. It was a remarkable place to see and I know it has touched my life to see the bravery of young people who stood for a cause that they believed in.
We soon were done with our tour of the beaches and caught the next train to Paris, to hopefully reach our plane in time to head back to Toulouse. Luck must have been with us, because we reached Paris to find another excellent taxi driver who took the right route to the airport. We reached our plane in the nick of time. It ended a successful, slightly hectic day.
Carcassonne
We went back in time a few centuries on Wednesday, March 18 as we went to the famous medieval city of Carcassonne. It is a walled city, sitting strategically on a hill. But I suppose it is not like every walled city because it had two walls. One wall protects the very outskirts of the city and it is yards from the inner wall. You could just imagine this first walled area to be swarming with peasants and merchants, all trying to get the best deal on bread and wine. The inner wall holds a castle, cathedral and the city itself. It all dates back to the 13th century. It used to house the Cathars, a religious group that the Francs did not appreciate. In fact they did not like them so much the Francs forced them to vacate the city, just the walled city mind you. They could place themselves outside of the wall and they did just that. Today there is a rather large city where the Cathars decided to live after the Francs made them vacate it.
When you explore the inner city you can see the castle. It seemed like a rather small castle, with a grand courtyard and a small great room. There also were several places one could defend the castle, shooting arrows out of the slits in the walls or tossing rocks onto people's heads as they mounted the hill that Carcassonne is located on. It was a great little visit, learning the tactics of people wanting the city and how some of their attempts failed. Another interesting factor when visiting the castle, you can see a film showing you how an architect tried to figure out the origins of Carcassonne. It was interesting to see his thoughts of how Carcassonne could have been built and why there were so many different layers of stone that were built on the to create the walls. (One can tell where one wall stopped and another one on top of it began) It is also evident of what was covered up. Some windows and doors were covered when building the walls. Thus the mystery of Carcassonne continues. But as a city Carcassonne feels like a small town. You could continually walk around and around the inner part of the city and feel you have hardly walked very far. It was a great place to go and I certainly hope it wasn't the last time for me to see it.
We were still in Paris on Monday, March 16 for we headed to the train station bright and early, before any well-meaning Frenchmen would be up. But surprisingly it was pretty full, the Gare Lazare station. We watched the train times expectantly, impatiently waiting for ours to show up. Sure enough it showed up, just not on the board we were watching. It was headed to Caen, the town in between Paris and Bayeux. Bayeux is where I read was a good place to start when looking at the D-Day beaches. The train would take us straight to Bayeux, with one small change in Caen.
Once in Bayeux, the plan was to find a rental car, so Mom and I waited for the men to find one. Unfortunately the nearest rental place had completely rent out all of its cars. After finding that out, we thought about a tour. But the place we looked at a possible tour was leaving to late in the day. We grabbed a taxi instead (keeping with our original plan) which took us to yet another place to rent cars, unfortunately the didn't have one big enough for four people and all their luggage (we were headed back to Toulouse that evening). Thankfully the cab driver stayed with us and we headed to our third rental place. Luckily it had a car big enough for all of us! So if someone wants to see the beaches, I would definitely suggest renting a car before you get to Bayeux or if you're adventurous, take a tour.
The car worked quite well and we were able to use our map skills to find our way out of Bayeux and to our first stop, German gun batteries that had survived the attack. These were quite interesting to see, to see the living conditions and what the soldiers who were housed in them were expected to do. One gun had in fact remained in pieces after an Allied bomb or gun had blown it apart. It was crazy to think that the guns actually had a use in the war and that that war had involved the country I call home. We had grabbed lunch in Bayeux and decided we were going to eat at that particular beach, for the sun had decided to warm us as we explored the former German guns. We joyfully basked in the sun as we ate and spoke about how amazing the views and the history was. After we were done, we headed to Omaha beach were the Americans took the most casualties. We found the beach next to the American Cemetery, as we entered it we could hear soft chimes filling the peaceful sun soaked air with soft music. We walked a little ways down to the beach and contemplated what the American soldiers had to go through, with bombs going off and rapid fire coming from the guns located on the beach. It also shook our world to see what a steep-like incline the soldiers had to mount if they were to get anywhere on the beach. It was a crazy and dangerous time, I'm sure that is also why so many Stars of David and crosses dot the American Cemetery today. We spent some time viewing the Cemetery itself, its large beautiful monument displaying the tactics of the Americans and other allies attacking the beach as well as taking in all the headstones that dotted the green grass. We soon headed into the building on the property that housed an exhibit showing the stories of men who lived and died on Omaha beach. Their stories took your breath away and humbled you on the spot. It was a remarkable place to see and I know it has touched my life to see the bravery of young people who stood for a cause that they believed in.
We soon were done with our tour of the beaches and caught the next train to Paris, to hopefully reach our plane in time to head back to Toulouse. Luck must have been with us, because we reached Paris to find another excellent taxi driver who took the right route to the airport. We reached our plane in the nick of time. It ended a successful, slightly hectic day.
Carcassonne
We went back in time a few centuries on Wednesday, March 18 as we went to the famous medieval city of Carcassonne. It is a walled city, sitting strategically on a hill. But I suppose it is not like every walled city because it had two walls. One wall protects the very outskirts of the city and it is yards from the inner wall. You could just imagine this first walled area to be swarming with peasants and merchants, all trying to get the best deal on bread and wine. The inner wall holds a castle, cathedral and the city itself. It all dates back to the 13th century. It used to house the Cathars, a religious group that the Francs did not appreciate. In fact they did not like them so much the Francs forced them to vacate the city, just the walled city mind you. They could place themselves outside of the wall and they did just that. Today there is a rather large city where the Cathars decided to live after the Francs made them vacate it.
When you explore the inner city you can see the castle. It seemed like a rather small castle, with a grand courtyard and a small great room. There also were several places one could defend the castle, shooting arrows out of the slits in the walls or tossing rocks onto people's heads as they mounted the hill that Carcassonne is located on. It was a great little visit, learning the tactics of people wanting the city and how some of their attempts failed. Another interesting factor when visiting the castle, you can see a film showing you how an architect tried to figure out the origins of Carcassonne. It was interesting to see his thoughts of how Carcassonne could have been built and why there were so many different layers of stone that were built on the to create the walls. (One can tell where one wall stopped and another one on top of it began) It is also evident of what was covered up. Some windows and doors were covered when building the walls. Thus the mystery of Carcassonne continues. But as a city Carcassonne feels like a small town. You could continually walk around and around the inner part of the city and feel you have hardly walked very far. It was a great place to go and I certainly hope it wasn't the last time for me to see it.
Thursday, April 2, 2009
A Whirlwind Tour: Paris
(Sat. March 14)
My parents came for a visit and they had decided that Paris was a great place to start. It was! We only had to meet them in the airport. Ben and I were able to catch a cheap flight into Paris and once we got there we saw that all the planes coming in were radically on time. So we found the only flight coming from Cincinnati, luckily it was not far from where Ben and I picked up our bags and got off our flight. Then the waiting begun, it seemed to take awhile, but I kept reminding myself that they had to go through customs because they had come straight from the U.S. . After what was a truthfully a long, impatient wait, they came out! We gave them hello hugs and got situated. We all wanted to get a taxi and head into the city and drop our bags at our hotel. We found a taxi driver who dropped us quite near our new doorstep, at the Hotel St. Dominique. Our hotel had started off as a monastery, so the rooms were all unique and the stairs old and worn, but it was comfortable. Soon we were all ready to go out and see what there was to see of this famous city.
From the beginning I thought it would be good to start on the island where the Cathedral Notre Dame was. So we took several small metro trains to the "la cite" stop. The island was hopping with tourists and after figuring out which direction to head on the island, we ran into some people from Cyprus wondering where the cathedral was as well. So they walked with us asking where we were from and what brought us to Paris. We told them we were from Iowa and were just as curious about what Paris had to offer. The Cathedral of Notre Dame was quite majestic in the darkening sky, I kept wanting to peak up and see if I could see Quasimodo peak from the bell towers. One thing that did take me a bit off guard was the statue of Charlemagne that was prominently riding his horse into some battle next to the cathedral. Immediately all our eyes gazed on the statue wondering who it was and we forgot about the great cathedral that was before us. So after some debate as to who it was we took some pictures and headed inside. Another thing that took me off guard is that Notre Dame is still very much in use! We entered the cathedral listening the voice of a priest. I admit I do not know what sort of Mass he was giving but it took me off guard because it still is hard to get used to that some historical buildings in Europe are still in use. Behind the priest was a large statue of Jesus and Mary, it looked quite beautiful, but one was not likely to get a very close look at it. The things in the cathedral you could look at were amazing. It held quite a bit of fabulous stained glass. Just enough windows to let some light shine into building. Like a typical cathedral there were elaborate chapels that lined the way around the altar. Some chapels even held places for confession. The inside, like the outsides was everything that I had imagined. It had domed ceilings and bright cheery stained glass throughout. The choir blind also still stood in the cathedral. The outside of the blind was lined with stories of Jesus and his works in the world. They were ornate little pictures of those events. After we were done exploring the inside of the cathedral we headed out to the place area of the cathedral, we took a few more pictures of the spectacular sculptures that were on the outside of the building then we headed to the little archaeological museum that was below Notre Dame.
Inside the museum was the Romanesque history of Paris. It showed the Roman baths as well as where certain people of high rank used to live and why. It also explained the logic of some the the Parisian roads, some of them still exist to this day. It is amazing what the past can tell you about the present! The museum was interesting, seeing the ruins firsthand and imagining what they looked like when they were new. We soon headed back up to the world of present Paris. Present Paris was still bustling like it had when we left it. But there were still a few more things to see on the "La cite". There was one particular thing I wanted to see that didn't do much with medieval Paris but with booming nineteenth century Paris. It was the Shakespeare and Company bookshop. While we have been here I read the book A Moveable Feast by Ernest Hemingway. It is about Hemingway's experiences as a young married writer living in Paris. He frequented the Shakespeare and Company bookshop when it still lent books out to people. But now it is just a nice antique bookshop still lending itself to selling English books. If anything, visiting there made me feel like the book I read had come to life and I was in Hemingway's shoes looking for my own English book to pass the time and improve my writing. As he was trying to perfect his style when he moved and lived in Paris.
Our tummies were grumbling and we were all ready to eat, there was a rather large cafe right next to the bookshop that we stumbled into. We shared two pizzas, a Salmon one and a regular ham pizza (I think). They relinquished our appetites and we were ready to step out again. Ben and I had heard that Saint Chapelle was a wonderful sight to see, so we all headed in the direction of the chapel. After going through bit of security we entered a court yard which led to the chapel's entrance. When we entered into the chapel you just see a few stained glass windows and painted walls, somewhat disappointing, but once you climbed the stairs you entered into a room with a very high ceiling and huge stained glass windows. One cannot fathom each picture that was made into the glass because it reaches so high above you. I know each of us stood there in awe trying to decipher each one of the dramatic scenes that the stained glass artisans decided to create. The chapel was built to house the supposed crown of thorns. Which was displayed on a high altar above every one's heads. It also was quickly built, only taking five years to build with one architect (As Rick Steve's comments in his book). It was a fascinating sight to behold and one certainly not to miss if they are in Paris.
We went back to our hotel then, to comprehend what we saw and to rest our eyes from the tremendous amount of beauty that creeped into them. After our legs had had a rest and our eyes had closed for a few minutes, we headed out to the Eiffel Tower. The walk to it was rather slow, one expects to see it just around the corner, because it can so easily be seen above one's head! But when we finally reached the park in which it stands, one cannot help to look up! I was taken aback for sure and in my ear Mom was saying "Can you believe we're in Paris?" At that moment I certainly couldn't. I kept my eye on the thing hoping it wouldn't go away, but reluctantly I turned my back to have a couple of pictures taken. As we neared the tower, it seemed as if a party was going on. I could hear music playing. As we neared I realized it must have been entertainment for the people waiting in the long line to even climb the massive tower. Once we got in line it didn't seem to take long to get up into the lift and watch the steel rivets go by. We soon were on the second floor, if you will, of the tower. I could just hardly make out the Arch de Triumph and possibly the Louvre. According to our guide book you should be able to see them from that spot on the tower. But it was dark and I was concentrating on not being cold. For it was windy and quite chilly being about 200 feet up into the air, suspended by the steel body that is the tower. Before we had even reached that level, we had seen the tower glisten with powerful strobe lights in the night sky, as we waited for the line to progress. Soon we were ready to eat again, for dinner time was near. So we reluctantly headed down the tower to the ground level. Heading away from the Eiffel Tower, we took it in again. Its lights gleaming in the night sky. It was still beautiful.
On the way back to the hotel we found a Toulousain restaurant and we tried our first foie gras. I thought it was rather tasty. This particular foie gras was peppery and smooth to taste. No bad after taste, just an enjoyable little bite of something splendid. I also ate a Toulousain tradition and favorite, Cassoulet. The beans were wonderful little treats and the meat was OK. I know I am not used to the sausage here so that might have spoiled me a little bit. But despite the interesting flavor of the sausage, it was a good dish. Our day was busy, but it was wonderful.
Sunday, March 15 marked the day when we entered the Louvre. What can one say about it? First of all, the property in itself is incredible! I could've got lost in its gardens and towering arch statue. It also amazes me how much beautiful artwork is in its space. So much done by popular artists taught in schools all over the world. We started our Sunday there to a great crowd. All there to see what treasures were available to see with wide eyes.
One of the famous paintings I saw was the Feast of Canaan, I probably only remember it from High School art class, but we had to memorize it for the class. It was a large painting that took up the entire wall that it was displayed on. I must say the picture I saw in art class did not do its immensity justice, for one could feel like they were in the feast and took part in it. In fact I took a picture that looked liked all the tourists that were captured in it were there. This painting happened to share a room with the Mona Lisa, which was on a different wall behind glass. I could see why it would disappoint some people. You could not even get close to it to examine its little details. I would've liked to do that, but it was not worth it to shove past the people all trying to take a picture of it. We stood next to it for a little bit and then continued on into the other rooms that the museum held. Before we knew it were next to more famous paintings, but this time by French artists. One particular painting I do remember from High School art class it was the Crowning of Josephine. It is such a dramatic, fascinating picture. On the right of the picture is Napoleon, holding the crown above his wife's head and all of the French bureaucrats and political powers looking on. It is one painting to take in, to look for something fun, or something to make it even more fascinating. We saw some famous sculptures as well, but alas they are hard to describe. One that I am sure most people have heard of is the Venus de Milo who is a woman posed in such a way that she is an artistic and unique triumph for the unknown artist. She was actually holding a crowd as big as the Mona Lisa, but she is just famous for the fact that an ancient artist had a knack for carving out beautiful lines in stone.
Our walk through the Louvre was complete and we headed toward the Champs-Elysees and the Arch de Triumph. Both famous in there own right one for being the greatest road for shopping and one for being Napoleon's great dedication to his soldiers. The Arch de Triumph was a splendid arch, names covering its inside and the dramatic sculptures beaming on the outside. It was fascinating to see all the cars around it deciphering which way to go on the Arch's many roads leading from it. It was also neat that from the arch you can make out the Eiffel tower in the city distance. Admittedly, we were quickly done with the arch and were soon back on the street headed toward the Champs-Elysees. We hit some souvenir shops on our way down the Champs-Elysee where we picked up some great Parisian things for our families at home. We also ran into a huge Louis Vuitton store. I suppose it deserves the right to be huge being the original store. Things there were ridiculously priced. You could not even buy a key chain without dropping 200 euro. It was also crazy how many people were buying it as well. We were all awed at the fact people could afford it. Because the average American definitely could not. It was neat to see the range of things you could buy though. You could buy Louis Vuitton shoes, ties, billfolds, shirts and much more. But I suppose you expand so you can reach as many customers as possible, especially if they are able to pay the prices. We soon tired of the prices and found ourselves in the Swatch store, which seemed to have fairly reasonable prices. They also had some great watches as well! So many different creations one could wear on their wrist. One last stop on the Champs-Elysees was the Peugeot store. It showed off its newest cars and an assortment of memorabilia. It was interesting but we did not find anything worth buying. The Champs-Elysees, despite its steep prices at a few places was a great experience, it certainly made you feel like a Parisian, if even for an instant.
My parents came for a visit and they had decided that Paris was a great place to start. It was! We only had to meet them in the airport. Ben and I were able to catch a cheap flight into Paris and once we got there we saw that all the planes coming in were radically on time. So we found the only flight coming from Cincinnati, luckily it was not far from where Ben and I picked up our bags and got off our flight. Then the waiting begun, it seemed to take awhile, but I kept reminding myself that they had to go through customs because they had come straight from the U.S. . After what was a truthfully a long, impatient wait, they came out! We gave them hello hugs and got situated. We all wanted to get a taxi and head into the city and drop our bags at our hotel. We found a taxi driver who dropped us quite near our new doorstep, at the Hotel St. Dominique. Our hotel had started off as a monastery, so the rooms were all unique and the stairs old and worn, but it was comfortable. Soon we were all ready to go out and see what there was to see of this famous city.
From the beginning I thought it would be good to start on the island where the Cathedral Notre Dame was. So we took several small metro trains to the "la cite" stop. The island was hopping with tourists and after figuring out which direction to head on the island, we ran into some people from Cyprus wondering where the cathedral was as well. So they walked with us asking where we were from and what brought us to Paris. We told them we were from Iowa and were just as curious about what Paris had to offer. The Cathedral of Notre Dame was quite majestic in the darkening sky, I kept wanting to peak up and see if I could see Quasimodo peak from the bell towers. One thing that did take me a bit off guard was the statue of Charlemagne that was prominently riding his horse into some battle next to the cathedral. Immediately all our eyes gazed on the statue wondering who it was and we forgot about the great cathedral that was before us. So after some debate as to who it was we took some pictures and headed inside. Another thing that took me off guard is that Notre Dame is still very much in use! We entered the cathedral listening the voice of a priest. I admit I do not know what sort of Mass he was giving but it took me off guard because it still is hard to get used to that some historical buildings in Europe are still in use. Behind the priest was a large statue of Jesus and Mary, it looked quite beautiful, but one was not likely to get a very close look at it. The things in the cathedral you could look at were amazing. It held quite a bit of fabulous stained glass. Just enough windows to let some light shine into building. Like a typical cathedral there were elaborate chapels that lined the way around the altar. Some chapels even held places for confession. The inside, like the outsides was everything that I had imagined. It had domed ceilings and bright cheery stained glass throughout. The choir blind also still stood in the cathedral. The outside of the blind was lined with stories of Jesus and his works in the world. They were ornate little pictures of those events. After we were done exploring the inside of the cathedral we headed out to the place area of the cathedral, we took a few more pictures of the spectacular sculptures that were on the outside of the building then we headed to the little archaeological museum that was below Notre Dame.
Inside the museum was the Romanesque history of Paris. It showed the Roman baths as well as where certain people of high rank used to live and why. It also explained the logic of some the the Parisian roads, some of them still exist to this day. It is amazing what the past can tell you about the present! The museum was interesting, seeing the ruins firsthand and imagining what they looked like when they were new. We soon headed back up to the world of present Paris. Present Paris was still bustling like it had when we left it. But there were still a few more things to see on the "La cite". There was one particular thing I wanted to see that didn't do much with medieval Paris but with booming nineteenth century Paris. It was the Shakespeare and Company bookshop. While we have been here I read the book A Moveable Feast by Ernest Hemingway. It is about Hemingway's experiences as a young married writer living in Paris. He frequented the Shakespeare and Company bookshop when it still lent books out to people. But now it is just a nice antique bookshop still lending itself to selling English books. If anything, visiting there made me feel like the book I read had come to life and I was in Hemingway's shoes looking for my own English book to pass the time and improve my writing. As he was trying to perfect his style when he moved and lived in Paris.
Our tummies were grumbling and we were all ready to eat, there was a rather large cafe right next to the bookshop that we stumbled into. We shared two pizzas, a Salmon one and a regular ham pizza (I think). They relinquished our appetites and we were ready to step out again. Ben and I had heard that Saint Chapelle was a wonderful sight to see, so we all headed in the direction of the chapel. After going through bit of security we entered a court yard which led to the chapel's entrance. When we entered into the chapel you just see a few stained glass windows and painted walls, somewhat disappointing, but once you climbed the stairs you entered into a room with a very high ceiling and huge stained glass windows. One cannot fathom each picture that was made into the glass because it reaches so high above you. I know each of us stood there in awe trying to decipher each one of the dramatic scenes that the stained glass artisans decided to create. The chapel was built to house the supposed crown of thorns. Which was displayed on a high altar above every one's heads. It also was quickly built, only taking five years to build with one architect (As Rick Steve's comments in his book). It was a fascinating sight to behold and one certainly not to miss if they are in Paris.
We went back to our hotel then, to comprehend what we saw and to rest our eyes from the tremendous amount of beauty that creeped into them. After our legs had had a rest and our eyes had closed for a few minutes, we headed out to the Eiffel Tower. The walk to it was rather slow, one expects to see it just around the corner, because it can so easily be seen above one's head! But when we finally reached the park in which it stands, one cannot help to look up! I was taken aback for sure and in my ear Mom was saying "Can you believe we're in Paris?" At that moment I certainly couldn't. I kept my eye on the thing hoping it wouldn't go away, but reluctantly I turned my back to have a couple of pictures taken. As we neared the tower, it seemed as if a party was going on. I could hear music playing. As we neared I realized it must have been entertainment for the people waiting in the long line to even climb the massive tower. Once we got in line it didn't seem to take long to get up into the lift and watch the steel rivets go by. We soon were on the second floor, if you will, of the tower. I could just hardly make out the Arch de Triumph and possibly the Louvre. According to our guide book you should be able to see them from that spot on the tower. But it was dark and I was concentrating on not being cold. For it was windy and quite chilly being about 200 feet up into the air, suspended by the steel body that is the tower. Before we had even reached that level, we had seen the tower glisten with powerful strobe lights in the night sky, as we waited for the line to progress. Soon we were ready to eat again, for dinner time was near. So we reluctantly headed down the tower to the ground level. Heading away from the Eiffel Tower, we took it in again. Its lights gleaming in the night sky. It was still beautiful.
On the way back to the hotel we found a Toulousain restaurant and we tried our first foie gras. I thought it was rather tasty. This particular foie gras was peppery and smooth to taste. No bad after taste, just an enjoyable little bite of something splendid. I also ate a Toulousain tradition and favorite, Cassoulet. The beans were wonderful little treats and the meat was OK. I know I am not used to the sausage here so that might have spoiled me a little bit. But despite the interesting flavor of the sausage, it was a good dish. Our day was busy, but it was wonderful.
Sunday, March 15 marked the day when we entered the Louvre. What can one say about it? First of all, the property in itself is incredible! I could've got lost in its gardens and towering arch statue. It also amazes me how much beautiful artwork is in its space. So much done by popular artists taught in schools all over the world. We started our Sunday there to a great crowd. All there to see what treasures were available to see with wide eyes.
One of the famous paintings I saw was the Feast of Canaan, I probably only remember it from High School art class, but we had to memorize it for the class. It was a large painting that took up the entire wall that it was displayed on. I must say the picture I saw in art class did not do its immensity justice, for one could feel like they were in the feast and took part in it. In fact I took a picture that looked liked all the tourists that were captured in it were there. This painting happened to share a room with the Mona Lisa, which was on a different wall behind glass. I could see why it would disappoint some people. You could not even get close to it to examine its little details. I would've liked to do that, but it was not worth it to shove past the people all trying to take a picture of it. We stood next to it for a little bit and then continued on into the other rooms that the museum held. Before we knew it were next to more famous paintings, but this time by French artists. One particular painting I do remember from High School art class it was the Crowning of Josephine. It is such a dramatic, fascinating picture. On the right of the picture is Napoleon, holding the crown above his wife's head and all of the French bureaucrats and political powers looking on. It is one painting to take in, to look for something fun, or something to make it even more fascinating. We saw some famous sculptures as well, but alas they are hard to describe. One that I am sure most people have heard of is the Venus de Milo who is a woman posed in such a way that she is an artistic and unique triumph for the unknown artist. She was actually holding a crowd as big as the Mona Lisa, but she is just famous for the fact that an ancient artist had a knack for carving out beautiful lines in stone.
Our walk through the Louvre was complete and we headed toward the Champs-Elysees and the Arch de Triumph. Both famous in there own right one for being the greatest road for shopping and one for being Napoleon's great dedication to his soldiers. The Arch de Triumph was a splendid arch, names covering its inside and the dramatic sculptures beaming on the outside. It was fascinating to see all the cars around it deciphering which way to go on the Arch's many roads leading from it. It was also neat that from the arch you can make out the Eiffel tower in the city distance. Admittedly, we were quickly done with the arch and were soon back on the street headed toward the Champs-Elysees. We hit some souvenir shops on our way down the Champs-Elysee where we picked up some great Parisian things for our families at home. We also ran into a huge Louis Vuitton store. I suppose it deserves the right to be huge being the original store. Things there were ridiculously priced. You could not even buy a key chain without dropping 200 euro. It was also crazy how many people were buying it as well. We were all awed at the fact people could afford it. Because the average American definitely could not. It was neat to see the range of things you could buy though. You could buy Louis Vuitton shoes, ties, billfolds, shirts and much more. But I suppose you expand so you can reach as many customers as possible, especially if they are able to pay the prices. We soon tired of the prices and found ourselves in the Swatch store, which seemed to have fairly reasonable prices. They also had some great watches as well! So many different creations one could wear on their wrist. One last stop on the Champs-Elysees was the Peugeot store. It showed off its newest cars and an assortment of memorabilia. It was interesting but we did not find anything worth buying. The Champs-Elysees, despite its steep prices at a few places was a great experience, it certainly made you feel like a Parisian, if even for an instant.
Monday, March 23, 2009
Several Good Places 2
Andorra
We traveled out of the country on Saturday February 21. We were headed to the small country of Andorra to ski in the Pyrenees. The Pyrenees are only about an hour and a half away from Toulouse, so it was a short, fast trip. I have to admit I was excited. I hadn't skied in a awhile, but all the better to re-learn what you've known in the past. Especially if it involves skiing in unknown awesome territory like the Pyrenees. We were with our new friends Lisa and Philip Snell, they had gone once already but were also looking forward to the trip.
We were told before going on the trip that Andorra was one of the largest ski "resorts" but it isn't like any American ski resort. There are places to rent ski's of course, but they are just the little shops that are in between the touristy shops. They aren't all under one roof like you'd expect to find in America! But one good thing about these shops is that you can rent ski's for the whole day for 15 euro! Much cheaper than at home. The lift tickets were a little expensive, but you knew that the lift ticket would be good for the entire day all over the mountain, not just at the place where you started from. We were lucky also to have such a wonderful bright sunny day, after we got our skis we hiked a little way to the nearest bunny hill, all of us were feeling the heat tramping around in our ski boots.I was thankful we started on a bunny hill because its been quite awhile since I've skied and I knew if it was like any other time it would be like riding a bike, I could just hop on and get my ski's beneath me like any other person. (That is know how to turn and stay safe on a mountain). After some times down the bunny hill we felt ready to tackle the real runs...even if they were just greens. Unlike at home the greens are a little steep, but we all took it carefully being aware of what skiers were around us as well as what traps lay before us. Ben was having fun, I was as well. We continued some more on a couple more greens and then headed to the next mountain over, which required a lift ride up it and skiing down the other side. It was a good run, even though it really took some mental composure and can-do to get down it. I was done, my ankles were unfortunately hurting a lot and I soon learned why, I was forming huge blisters on my ankles. Lisa and Philip continued to ski for a few more runs and then we were all ready to go home. It was a good day despite the mishap of blisters and the tiredness. It was all worth it to see the jagged mountains above us and knowing we had skied down those treacherously awesome slopes.
Auch
This slightly confusing to pronounce town is a neat place to go. I went with Lisa on Thursday, February 26, she had found out some interesting little tidbits about it, such as that it was the fictional birthplace of that famous musketeer D'Artagnan. You could even go see a statue of the famous musketeer! We did in fact on our little walking tour of the town which took us past Auch's cathedral. It was a touring cathedral in similar shape to the one in Albi for it still had its wooden choir blind which was made with wood from a river (I cannot remember which one). Like the Albi cathedral the blind had unique pictures of several of the disciples, some of the pictures even told stories. One of the stories was of course the story of Adam and Eve, the picture was interesting because the serpent had a torso and head, to represent a somewhat human like form. Other stories included the story of Jesus and his disciples as well as stories of the various saints. All these representations I'm sure helped people better understand the Bible, but nevertheless it was fascinating to see. Continuing through the cathedral we saw an interesting sculpture of Jesus getting laid to rest (as in the tomb). In medieval fashion, the people laying Jesus to rest were wearing what someone would wear if they were a lord or lady in the middle ages. Besides the people laying Jesus to rest there were Knights standing guard over the burial place I suppose to represent the Roman guards. It was a intriguing sculpture.
The cathedral was not the only stop on our walking tour of Auch. On one side of the cathedral is a prison. We could not go inside but the map we had said it was a fearsome place in its heyday. I wonder what they scared the prisoners with, holy water? Next to the prison is a "grand staircase" which leads you to the statue of D'Artagnan. It also has a memorial to those lost in a flood that had threatened Auch. It was the story of Noah and his family. As we followed the staircase up, we could see the former city gate and the walls that blocked the entrance into the city. It was a neat little place.
We did not stop at Auch though, we found another interesting little village called Montegut which had a chateau. The chateau was called Roquetaillade and it jutted its mighty head out of the hill in which it stood. We also took a little hike to a small fortification of a tower. I'm sure it was a look out for the Chateau in its heyday. Montegut was a cute little town to see. If anything to see the dramatic unburned countryside of France. When we got home to Toulouse we got the car parked right before a massive protest marched through Lisa's neighborhood. I had to go the the post office that day and was stopped by the massive progression of people passing by. It is only the fourth protest that I've seen in France. Ah, such is life.
We traveled out of the country on Saturday February 21. We were headed to the small country of Andorra to ski in the Pyrenees. The Pyrenees are only about an hour and a half away from Toulouse, so it was a short, fast trip. I have to admit I was excited. I hadn't skied in a awhile, but all the better to re-learn what you've known in the past. Especially if it involves skiing in unknown awesome territory like the Pyrenees. We were with our new friends Lisa and Philip Snell, they had gone once already but were also looking forward to the trip.
We were told before going on the trip that Andorra was one of the largest ski "resorts" but it isn't like any American ski resort. There are places to rent ski's of course, but they are just the little shops that are in between the touristy shops. They aren't all under one roof like you'd expect to find in America! But one good thing about these shops is that you can rent ski's for the whole day for 15 euro! Much cheaper than at home. The lift tickets were a little expensive, but you knew that the lift ticket would be good for the entire day all over the mountain, not just at the place where you started from. We were lucky also to have such a wonderful bright sunny day, after we got our skis we hiked a little way to the nearest bunny hill, all of us were feeling the heat tramping around in our ski boots.I was thankful we started on a bunny hill because its been quite awhile since I've skied and I knew if it was like any other time it would be like riding a bike, I could just hop on and get my ski's beneath me like any other person. (That is know how to turn and stay safe on a mountain). After some times down the bunny hill we felt ready to tackle the real runs...even if they were just greens. Unlike at home the greens are a little steep, but we all took it carefully being aware of what skiers were around us as well as what traps lay before us. Ben was having fun, I was as well. We continued some more on a couple more greens and then headed to the next mountain over, which required a lift ride up it and skiing down the other side. It was a good run, even though it really took some mental composure and can-do to get down it. I was done, my ankles were unfortunately hurting a lot and I soon learned why, I was forming huge blisters on my ankles. Lisa and Philip continued to ski for a few more runs and then we were all ready to go home. It was a good day despite the mishap of blisters and the tiredness. It was all worth it to see the jagged mountains above us and knowing we had skied down those treacherously awesome slopes.
Auch
This slightly confusing to pronounce town is a neat place to go. I went with Lisa on Thursday, February 26, she had found out some interesting little tidbits about it, such as that it was the fictional birthplace of that famous musketeer D'Artagnan. You could even go see a statue of the famous musketeer! We did in fact on our little walking tour of the town which took us past Auch's cathedral. It was a touring cathedral in similar shape to the one in Albi for it still had its wooden choir blind which was made with wood from a river (I cannot remember which one). Like the Albi cathedral the blind had unique pictures of several of the disciples, some of the pictures even told stories. One of the stories was of course the story of Adam and Eve, the picture was interesting because the serpent had a torso and head, to represent a somewhat human like form. Other stories included the story of Jesus and his disciples as well as stories of the various saints. All these representations I'm sure helped people better understand the Bible, but nevertheless it was fascinating to see. Continuing through the cathedral we saw an interesting sculpture of Jesus getting laid to rest (as in the tomb). In medieval fashion, the people laying Jesus to rest were wearing what someone would wear if they were a lord or lady in the middle ages. Besides the people laying Jesus to rest there were Knights standing guard over the burial place I suppose to represent the Roman guards. It was a intriguing sculpture.
The cathedral was not the only stop on our walking tour of Auch. On one side of the cathedral is a prison. We could not go inside but the map we had said it was a fearsome place in its heyday. I wonder what they scared the prisoners with, holy water? Next to the prison is a "grand staircase" which leads you to the statue of D'Artagnan. It also has a memorial to those lost in a flood that had threatened Auch. It was the story of Noah and his family. As we followed the staircase up, we could see the former city gate and the walls that blocked the entrance into the city. It was a neat little place.
We did not stop at Auch though, we found another interesting little village called Montegut which had a chateau. The chateau was called Roquetaillade and it jutted its mighty head out of the hill in which it stood. We also took a little hike to a small fortification of a tower. I'm sure it was a look out for the Chateau in its heyday. Montegut was a cute little town to see. If anything to see the dramatic unburned countryside of France. When we got home to Toulouse we got the car parked right before a massive protest marched through Lisa's neighborhood. I had to go the the post office that day and was stopped by the massive progression of people passing by. It is only the fourth protest that I've seen in France. Ah, such is life.
Friday, March 13, 2009
Several Good Places
Well, do to technical difficulties we are without a computer and internet. My computer decided to die on us for some random reason and that has left us without internet (even though we have the capabilities). So this is a time to catch up from the several weeks without a computer and a means of communication.
Condom, France
I went to Condom Thursday, February 12, I went with some ladies whose husbands are here working for Airbus. Despite the name of the town, it was an interesting place to go. When we got there, as the tradition on these trips we went to a café and drank some pretty good coffee, not to strong and not to weak, I suppose perfect for the American taste buds that were having it. Since there was no bakery attached to this café we went next door to the local bakery and got some excellent pastries to eat with our coffee.
One of the key places to visit in Condom is an Armagnac brewery. Armagnac is a cognac like drink made specifically in France. The brewery we went to has been run by the same family for several generations. We visited the brewery of the Rhyst Dupeyron family. The first thing we saw when entering the family’s brewery was a video based on the making of Armagnac. This area of France is good for making Armagnac because how the grapes grow in this soil, as well as the type of oak used for the barrels that the alcohol is brewed in. While we were watching the video we could smell the wonderful aroma seeping through the barrels we were sitting amongst. After the video we were picked up by our pleasant blonde tour guide. She was not able to speak English very well, but was very animated when telling us about the process. Lisa Snell, who is learning French via private lessons was able to interpret some as well. So we who did not know much French were able to get the gist of the process it took to make Armagnac. After the tour we were able to taste some of the Armagnac. The first taste was of a 20 year Armagnac. It was smooth and tasted good and went down nicely. The next one we tasted was a dessert Armagnac which was made with a mixture of champagne and blackberry. It was quite sweet. But it also had a wonderful flavor. One downside to the dessert Armagnac is that one needed something salty to taste afterwards, it was that sweet! Of course, both drinks had there low points and high points it certainly was nice to taste something that you had learned about before taking a sip.
After the Armagnac brewery visit, we went to Condom’s Cathedral called St. Pierre. It was a bit like Albi’s having part of its choir blind still up. This Cathedral also had wonderful stained glass, displayed nicely in each of its little chapels. Each chapel seemed to have its own religious art which was incredibly indescribable.
Before going home we decided to make one more stop, to the town of Larrissingle. It is a little fortified village on a hill out in the countryside. It was a domineering site with its high stone walls and drawbridge complete with what was once the moat. Once inside you could walk along the tiny streets and see the tiny little houses and what looked like a chapel from the outside. Unfortunately nothing was open because it was either lunch or a school holiday, we couldn’t decide. Outside of the fortification was a display of medieval war machines. They were fascinating to look at an imagine what destruction they could of caused. All in all it was a fascinating look at the medieval architecture and an interesting look at how some French cognac was made.
Musee des Augustins: Toulouse
On Sunday, February 15, Ben and I decided to at least see one museum here in Toulouse. It is called Musee des Augustins. The museum is housed in an old monestary and church. The building itself was history, much less the fact that it was displaying important pieces of art in history. It was full of medieval sculptures from various churches around the Toulouse area which included the art on the side of Cathedrals, tombs and statues of the saints. They all were fascinating to look at as well as imagine the wood carver holding his hand steady as he tried his best at molding the stone. Another great thing about the museum was it had several awesome paintings. These paintings could be as big as the wall or as small as a portrait, there wasn’t a single space not covered by some sort of painting. They all seemed to tell of some dramatic happening, like the capture of a city, the crowning of royalty or just people enjoying themselves on a nice day. It was nice having an afternoon just to enjoy art for what it is something to stare at and take in at a slow pace.
Cahors and Rocamadour
This particular Thursday, there were only two of us to go exploring the far reaches of France. This was February 19. We had decided that we were going to two towns Cahors and Rocamadour, each having there own specialties. We started in Cahors as it was on our way to Rocamadour. Cahors specialty was its bridge, which I read was there to keep the English away. It spanned over the Lot river with its high towers to keep watch. It was all white stone with rushing beautiful waves under it. It very much reminded me of a castle over the water with its worn down steps and ramparts guarding the way. After walking across the bridge we took a little hike up a large hill and saw a beautiful view of the bridge. Thus many pictures were taken of the immense bridge. Unfortunately the only good thing we saw in Cahors was the bridge, there were other interesting sites, it was just that they were closed to the public or hard to reach.
Rocamadour was a different picture all together. On our way there we spotted high a top a cliff a small chapel facing the sun, the wind and the rain on its bitter peak. It was a chapel dedicated to St. Roch. Then on the road to Rocamadour we took an extremely winding road that the GPS thought was a great route. We were thankful we didn’t meet many people and the one person we did meet we were able to get safely to the side of the road in a little village. When we finally came to Rocamadour the view as spectacular and we were not even in the town. We were on the opposite mountain seeing the sheer cliff that the Chateau hung to and the town below it. Once we were in the town we first looked at the Chateau ramparts. Getting in was the fun part we squeezed three people in a turnstile. Oops! But it was worth it. The view as quite good, looking down one got a great bird’s eye view of the village below. Looking across the way one could see the neighboring mountains. We took a small trail down the mountain; it was called Chemin de le Croix or The Way of the Cross. It was the whole story of Jesus’ trial to his death on the cross. It was interesting to see the little wood paintings that were dotting the trail (Jesus’ suffering). Then once down the trail we came to three littler “sanctuaries” they called them. All were sweet and dramatic in there own right. One held a little relic that was black depicting the Virgin Mary. It was interesting. The views of this place were spectacular. I would have liked to have stayed there to maybe see the city and what it had to offer. I would definitely go there again.
Condom, France
I went to Condom Thursday, February 12, I went with some ladies whose husbands are here working for Airbus. Despite the name of the town, it was an interesting place to go. When we got there, as the tradition on these trips we went to a café and drank some pretty good coffee, not to strong and not to weak, I suppose perfect for the American taste buds that were having it. Since there was no bakery attached to this café we went next door to the local bakery and got some excellent pastries to eat with our coffee.
One of the key places to visit in Condom is an Armagnac brewery. Armagnac is a cognac like drink made specifically in France. The brewery we went to has been run by the same family for several generations. We visited the brewery of the Rhyst Dupeyron family. The first thing we saw when entering the family’s brewery was a video based on the making of Armagnac. This area of France is good for making Armagnac because how the grapes grow in this soil, as well as the type of oak used for the barrels that the alcohol is brewed in. While we were watching the video we could smell the wonderful aroma seeping through the barrels we were sitting amongst. After the video we were picked up by our pleasant blonde tour guide. She was not able to speak English very well, but was very animated when telling us about the process. Lisa Snell, who is learning French via private lessons was able to interpret some as well. So we who did not know much French were able to get the gist of the process it took to make Armagnac. After the tour we were able to taste some of the Armagnac. The first taste was of a 20 year Armagnac. It was smooth and tasted good and went down nicely. The next one we tasted was a dessert Armagnac which was made with a mixture of champagne and blackberry. It was quite sweet. But it also had a wonderful flavor. One downside to the dessert Armagnac is that one needed something salty to taste afterwards, it was that sweet! Of course, both drinks had there low points and high points it certainly was nice to taste something that you had learned about before taking a sip.
After the Armagnac brewery visit, we went to Condom’s Cathedral called St. Pierre. It was a bit like Albi’s having part of its choir blind still up. This Cathedral also had wonderful stained glass, displayed nicely in each of its little chapels. Each chapel seemed to have its own religious art which was incredibly indescribable.
Before going home we decided to make one more stop, to the town of Larrissingle. It is a little fortified village on a hill out in the countryside. It was a domineering site with its high stone walls and drawbridge complete with what was once the moat. Once inside you could walk along the tiny streets and see the tiny little houses and what looked like a chapel from the outside. Unfortunately nothing was open because it was either lunch or a school holiday, we couldn’t decide. Outside of the fortification was a display of medieval war machines. They were fascinating to look at an imagine what destruction they could of caused. All in all it was a fascinating look at the medieval architecture and an interesting look at how some French cognac was made.
Musee des Augustins: Toulouse
On Sunday, February 15, Ben and I decided to at least see one museum here in Toulouse. It is called Musee des Augustins. The museum is housed in an old monestary and church. The building itself was history, much less the fact that it was displaying important pieces of art in history. It was full of medieval sculptures from various churches around the Toulouse area which included the art on the side of Cathedrals, tombs and statues of the saints. They all were fascinating to look at as well as imagine the wood carver holding his hand steady as he tried his best at molding the stone. Another great thing about the museum was it had several awesome paintings. These paintings could be as big as the wall or as small as a portrait, there wasn’t a single space not covered by some sort of painting. They all seemed to tell of some dramatic happening, like the capture of a city, the crowning of royalty or just people enjoying themselves on a nice day. It was nice having an afternoon just to enjoy art for what it is something to stare at and take in at a slow pace.
Cahors and Rocamadour
This particular Thursday, there were only two of us to go exploring the far reaches of France. This was February 19. We had decided that we were going to two towns Cahors and Rocamadour, each having there own specialties. We started in Cahors as it was on our way to Rocamadour. Cahors specialty was its bridge, which I read was there to keep the English away. It spanned over the Lot river with its high towers to keep watch. It was all white stone with rushing beautiful waves under it. It very much reminded me of a castle over the water with its worn down steps and ramparts guarding the way. After walking across the bridge we took a little hike up a large hill and saw a beautiful view of the bridge. Thus many pictures were taken of the immense bridge. Unfortunately the only good thing we saw in Cahors was the bridge, there were other interesting sites, it was just that they were closed to the public or hard to reach.
Rocamadour was a different picture all together. On our way there we spotted high a top a cliff a small chapel facing the sun, the wind and the rain on its bitter peak. It was a chapel dedicated to St. Roch. Then on the road to Rocamadour we took an extremely winding road that the GPS thought was a great route. We were thankful we didn’t meet many people and the one person we did meet we were able to get safely to the side of the road in a little village. When we finally came to Rocamadour the view as spectacular and we were not even in the town. We were on the opposite mountain seeing the sheer cliff that the Chateau hung to and the town below it. Once we were in the town we first looked at the Chateau ramparts. Getting in was the fun part we squeezed three people in a turnstile. Oops! But it was worth it. The view as quite good, looking down one got a great bird’s eye view of the village below. Looking across the way one could see the neighboring mountains. We took a small trail down the mountain; it was called Chemin de le Croix or The Way of the Cross. It was the whole story of Jesus’ trial to his death on the cross. It was interesting to see the little wood paintings that were dotting the trail (Jesus’ suffering). Then once down the trail we came to three littler “sanctuaries” they called them. All were sweet and dramatic in there own right. One held a little relic that was black depicting the Virgin Mary. It was interesting. The views of this place were spectacular. I would have liked to have stayed there to maybe see the city and what it had to offer. I would definitely go there again.
Wednesday, February 11, 2009
Connections
Through life one learns that adventures can take many forms. From that of their first experience drinking wine, attending a ballet or making new friends in what seems desolate circumstances. I have had an adventure of the latter, friends have come out of the woodwork! My adventure starts riding a bus across Toulouse. It was Thursday, February 5th. I was headed to Sept Deniers, a suburb of Toulouse close to the airport. I was headed there to attend a informational meeting about TWIG or Toulouse Women's International Group. Ben was unsure about me taking the bus, but I was unsure about walking all the way there, it may not have been really far away, but a bus to me seemed less vulnerable. Plus one has to learn about public transportation at one point in time! Before leaving I grabbed the rates for each ticket, I figured I'd point to the fare I wanted and the driver than would give me that fare. It worked brilliantly! But that is not the end of my journey, I had become nervous that I would miss my stop. So anxiously I got up ready to get off the bus at a stop that looked like it could be the right one, I got off confidently and stopped walking. It didn't look right. I grabbed my trusty map after looking at the road sign I realized I had gotten off at the WRONG stop. I figured out what stop I needed to be at and waited for the next bus. I knew there had to be another one coming, and sure enough one came. After a short ride I was at the correct stop. Immediately I started walking, but again it didn't look right, a little flustered I gave up and was able to call the host of the meeting. She told me which way to go and I headed in that direction hoping this time I knew what I was doing. It was a long walk but I found the correct road and luckily the host poked her head out of her gate. I was there!
The meeting had already started, I grabbed some coffee and cake and headed in, not sure what to expect, but there were several kind looking women in the room. I sat down embarrassed I was late, but happy to be in the right place. They then started the meeting quickly explaining that the group was an international group with the tying factor of speaking English. They have various sub-groups for other interests that any member could join. A slightly unfortunate fact about them was that they had members all over the Toulouse area and most meetings would not be in the city center but at the outlying homes of the members. After the introduction of the group there was a time for questions and telling why you were in Toulouse and how long you expected to stay. They all seemed kind but the transportation factor of the group was a bummer. I do not have a car and would have to rely on public transportation to places I was unfamiliar with. Despite the small disappointments it was nice to meet all of these women in similar circumstances. One woman in particular was my age. Her name is Aurele. It was nice to find that she lived very close to us on a road just off of Place Saint George. Another fascinating fact is that she had lived in a couple English speaking countries of Australia and Canada (of course Canada has French as well). We exchanged numbers and took the bus home together.
After getting off the bus and back to Place Saint George I asked her if she maybe wanted to get together the next day. She said sure, "for coffee? At 2 or 3 or 4?"
"That sounds good" I said nodding my head in reassurance.
"OK, I'll give you a call, nice meeting you, see you tomorrow" she said and headed towards her road.
The next day (Friday the 6th) I received a call at one o'clock, Aurele was wondering if 4 o'clock worked for me to drink coffee. I told her I was still free. Four rolled around quickly and I headed to our assigned meeting place of the Place Saint George. When she arrived I received my first a bis or cheek to cheek kiss. We drank our coffee and had a pleasant time. I learned that she was originally from a suburb of Paris and that she had a younger brother studying history at a University in Paris. She had just recently got a job at a school teaching history, so part of this shopping trip was to get a book for her students.
"Luckily I only have two students" she said when she spoke about her class. I was surprised she only had two, but she had mentioned something about the students having to take some sort of exam to get into the school. We parted as friends, hoping to get together soon with our "boyfriends" (as it seems that that word is interchangeable with husband). It was a good time and I hope we can get together again someday.
On Sunday we had determined it was time we find a church. I was able to find one online that was in the Toulouse area that spoke English. It is called Toulouse International Church and is in yet another suburb of Toulouse. The church service was wonderful, they sang contemporary songs and had a visiting American missionary gave the message. He spoke about learning French and how much he felt like a child again, not knowing what to do or understanding people who would start talking to him in French. He related it to how God wants us to come to him like children, trusting him through and through because he wants what is best for us, just as human parents want the best for their children. After the service we met several American families that had come to Toulouse to work for Airbus. One family is a rather new family, Lisa and Philip Snell were married they same year Ben and I were. So we immediately found things to talk about with them. Lisa is in the same position I am in, not working while her husband works for Airbus on contract. She also told me some great things about the church, that there was a women's Bible study that meets every Tuesday morning and that the ladies usually took trips on Thursdays while their husbands were at work. It all sounded great! It was even better to find out that they only live a couple of blocks from us as well. It was a glorious week for meeting new people, some who are in the exact same position as us and some who are truly friendly. I look forward to the adventure these friendships will bestow.
The meeting had already started, I grabbed some coffee and cake and headed in, not sure what to expect, but there were several kind looking women in the room. I sat down embarrassed I was late, but happy to be in the right place. They then started the meeting quickly explaining that the group was an international group with the tying factor of speaking English. They have various sub-groups for other interests that any member could join. A slightly unfortunate fact about them was that they had members all over the Toulouse area and most meetings would not be in the city center but at the outlying homes of the members. After the introduction of the group there was a time for questions and telling why you were in Toulouse and how long you expected to stay. They all seemed kind but the transportation factor of the group was a bummer. I do not have a car and would have to rely on public transportation to places I was unfamiliar with. Despite the small disappointments it was nice to meet all of these women in similar circumstances. One woman in particular was my age. Her name is Aurele. It was nice to find that she lived very close to us on a road just off of Place Saint George. Another fascinating fact is that she had lived in a couple English speaking countries of Australia and Canada (of course Canada has French as well). We exchanged numbers and took the bus home together.
After getting off the bus and back to Place Saint George I asked her if she maybe wanted to get together the next day. She said sure, "for coffee? At 2 or 3 or 4?"
"That sounds good" I said nodding my head in reassurance.
"OK, I'll give you a call, nice meeting you, see you tomorrow" she said and headed towards her road.
The next day (Friday the 6th) I received a call at one o'clock, Aurele was wondering if 4 o'clock worked for me to drink coffee. I told her I was still free. Four rolled around quickly and I headed to our assigned meeting place of the Place Saint George. When she arrived I received my first a bis or cheek to cheek kiss. We drank our coffee and had a pleasant time. I learned that she was originally from a suburb of Paris and that she had a younger brother studying history at a University in Paris. She had just recently got a job at a school teaching history, so part of this shopping trip was to get a book for her students.
"Luckily I only have two students" she said when she spoke about her class. I was surprised she only had two, but she had mentioned something about the students having to take some sort of exam to get into the school. We parted as friends, hoping to get together soon with our "boyfriends" (as it seems that that word is interchangeable with husband). It was a good time and I hope we can get together again someday.
On Sunday we had determined it was time we find a church. I was able to find one online that was in the Toulouse area that spoke English. It is called Toulouse International Church and is in yet another suburb of Toulouse. The church service was wonderful, they sang contemporary songs and had a visiting American missionary gave the message. He spoke about learning French and how much he felt like a child again, not knowing what to do or understanding people who would start talking to him in French. He related it to how God wants us to come to him like children, trusting him through and through because he wants what is best for us, just as human parents want the best for their children. After the service we met several American families that had come to Toulouse to work for Airbus. One family is a rather new family, Lisa and Philip Snell were married they same year Ben and I were. So we immediately found things to talk about with them. Lisa is in the same position I am in, not working while her husband works for Airbus on contract. She also told me some great things about the church, that there was a women's Bible study that meets every Tuesday morning and that the ladies usually took trips on Thursdays while their husbands were at work. It all sounded great! It was even better to find out that they only live a couple of blocks from us as well. It was a glorious week for meeting new people, some who are in the exact same position as us and some who are truly friendly. I look forward to the adventure these friendships will bestow.
Tuesday, February 3, 2009
A Little Trip
Ben came home one day, "Don't expect to go anywhere tomorrow" he said. I must have looked at him questioningly because he continued "they have planned a strike for tomorrow, all the buses, metro and other government run operations will not be going."
"So the employees are striking then?"
"Yes"
This was Wednesday, January 28 and on Thursday, the strike began. In all honesty, if you don't use the bus on a daily basis the strike hardly interrupted my day at all. I just saw a very pronounced police presence, I do not know if they were protecting the citizens of Toulouse or if they were just showing off as to what they were striking for. Oh, I also stopped at the Post Office, but it was still open, it just had two person to ask questions if needed and all the unmanned machines which distribute stamps were still open. I just needed stamps. Ben's day on the other hand went a little bit different. He was able to get to work OK but coming home... well lets just say it wasn't fun. The police had blocked the boulevard in which Ben had to take, so Ben had to take a two hour long detour (this is with the amount of traffic on the road) to get home. I kept trying to get a hold of Ben wondering if he was OK, he kept telling me he was fine, he just needed a snack and requested I walk down to the canal and hand him one. I didn't, but the fact that the traffic was that backed up told you something...this strike was a big deal. Ben figured the police were in it. I mean why not? They blocked off an important road for what appeared no apparent reason. But we are just innocent bystanders and cannot get involved in such things as strikes. We just have to watch from the sidelines.
Besides the excitement of the strike, we were able to do some more "touristy" things. We went to go see Albi, a pleasant little city about an hour away from Toulouse. This town holds a massively striking and dominating Cathedral called St. Cecile. It's side door is completely ornate, with angels, vines and flowers. Also on the sides of its walls were gargoyles budging out their heads in defiance of whatever may enter. Once inside, you are taken aback by the beauty of the walls. They are covered in frescoes. They may just be a pattern covering the wall, or a scene of some saint defending our Father in heaven, whatever the case they were beautiful. The ceiling was also covered in these beautiful frescoes. These frescoes were painted by Florentine artists. According the the Rick Steve's guidebook it was a "good call." Indeed it was, they still are just as beautiful as the day they were painted. In the front of the Cathedral there is a large fresco depicting something specific, the Last Judgement. It is elaborately done, showing pious priests, monks, bishops and archbishops as well as the common believer going to heaven as was promised by God. It also shows the common believer rising from the ground to be counted. It shows what happens if you dare not chose the living God. You are thrown to the devil for spite. One cannot describe its beauty or awe-inspiring thrill to see a wall covered in the glory and wrath of God. Did it perhaps bring new believers to church? Whatever its initial plan it was one of the lucky and largest frescoes to survive the reformation. Throughout the Cathedral are little chapels depicting martyrs, priests and saints all beautiful in there own right, but one of the main attractions is the choir blind. Blinds were used in the Middle Ages to bring mystery to the service, one could not see the voices singing praises to God nor the priest in whom would give the message. This is another lucky save from the reformation. It's stone walls are just as ornate, if not more than the side door. The front of the blind contained Old Testament people while the walls of the blind had angels, each unique. Again one cannot express the amazement or beauty that such art and care hold.
Next to the beauty of the St. Cecile Cathedral we spent some time in the Toulouse-Lautrec museum. This museum was quaint next to the Cathedral, but nonetheless showed the growing of an artist. It started with the artwork when he was just learning. He still was living in Albi and had nothing but the landscape and magazines to go by. He had beautiful impressionistic landscapes of the area Albi, its bridges, its people etc. Some were just portraits of people he saw sitting at the cafes and drinking their coffee or wine. Others had people in action, playing the piano or getting ready to hunt. The further into the museum you went it showed how Toulouse-Lautrec was coming into his own as an artist. The main thing I wanted to see was his prints. They are probably his most famous. Prints of people in the Moulin Rouge in Paris as well as advertisements which kept food on the table. It was a nice little art museum.
After we had attended to the museum and cathedral we went for a bit of a walk. We found a winery and got some local wine. After tasting it we think its pretty good, at least a good recommendation from the man who was in the shop. For our lunch we went to a little restaurant called Le Papillon. We had an enjoyable meal of duck breast and chimichangas. The glorious thing about this restaurant is it is run by two Americans. Our meal was so good I think we'll probably return to have a dinner there. Our meals were served with a soup of the day which was a broth vegetable soup and our dessert was a dainty and tasty spice cake. Both were excellent. The restaurant was not expensive, at least not as expensive as the ones here in Toulouse are. We had a pleasant day in Albi, I hope we return, if anything to enjoy the food at the Le Papillon again.
"So the employees are striking then?"
"Yes"
This was Wednesday, January 28 and on Thursday, the strike began. In all honesty, if you don't use the bus on a daily basis the strike hardly interrupted my day at all. I just saw a very pronounced police presence, I do not know if they were protecting the citizens of Toulouse or if they were just showing off as to what they were striking for. Oh, I also stopped at the Post Office, but it was still open, it just had two person to ask questions if needed and all the unmanned machines which distribute stamps were still open. I just needed stamps. Ben's day on the other hand went a little bit different. He was able to get to work OK but coming home... well lets just say it wasn't fun. The police had blocked the boulevard in which Ben had to take, so Ben had to take a two hour long detour (this is with the amount of traffic on the road) to get home. I kept trying to get a hold of Ben wondering if he was OK, he kept telling me he was fine, he just needed a snack and requested I walk down to the canal and hand him one. I didn't, but the fact that the traffic was that backed up told you something...this strike was a big deal. Ben figured the police were in it. I mean why not? They blocked off an important road for what appeared no apparent reason. But we are just innocent bystanders and cannot get involved in such things as strikes. We just have to watch from the sidelines.
Besides the excitement of the strike, we were able to do some more "touristy" things. We went to go see Albi, a pleasant little city about an hour away from Toulouse. This town holds a massively striking and dominating Cathedral called St. Cecile. It's side door is completely ornate, with angels, vines and flowers. Also on the sides of its walls were gargoyles budging out their heads in defiance of whatever may enter. Once inside, you are taken aback by the beauty of the walls. They are covered in frescoes. They may just be a pattern covering the wall, or a scene of some saint defending our Father in heaven, whatever the case they were beautiful. The ceiling was also covered in these beautiful frescoes. These frescoes were painted by Florentine artists. According the the Rick Steve's guidebook it was a "good call." Indeed it was, they still are just as beautiful as the day they were painted. In the front of the Cathedral there is a large fresco depicting something specific, the Last Judgement. It is elaborately done, showing pious priests, monks, bishops and archbishops as well as the common believer going to heaven as was promised by God. It also shows the common believer rising from the ground to be counted. It shows what happens if you dare not chose the living God. You are thrown to the devil for spite. One cannot describe its beauty or awe-inspiring thrill to see a wall covered in the glory and wrath of God. Did it perhaps bring new believers to church? Whatever its initial plan it was one of the lucky and largest frescoes to survive the reformation. Throughout the Cathedral are little chapels depicting martyrs, priests and saints all beautiful in there own right, but one of the main attractions is the choir blind. Blinds were used in the Middle Ages to bring mystery to the service, one could not see the voices singing praises to God nor the priest in whom would give the message. This is another lucky save from the reformation. It's stone walls are just as ornate, if not more than the side door. The front of the blind contained Old Testament people while the walls of the blind had angels, each unique. Again one cannot express the amazement or beauty that such art and care hold.
Next to the beauty of the St. Cecile Cathedral we spent some time in the Toulouse-Lautrec museum. This museum was quaint next to the Cathedral, but nonetheless showed the growing of an artist. It started with the artwork when he was just learning. He still was living in Albi and had nothing but the landscape and magazines to go by. He had beautiful impressionistic landscapes of the area Albi, its bridges, its people etc. Some were just portraits of people he saw sitting at the cafes and drinking their coffee or wine. Others had people in action, playing the piano or getting ready to hunt. The further into the museum you went it showed how Toulouse-Lautrec was coming into his own as an artist. The main thing I wanted to see was his prints. They are probably his most famous. Prints of people in the Moulin Rouge in Paris as well as advertisements which kept food on the table. It was a nice little art museum.
After we had attended to the museum and cathedral we went for a bit of a walk. We found a winery and got some local wine. After tasting it we think its pretty good, at least a good recommendation from the man who was in the shop. For our lunch we went to a little restaurant called Le Papillon. We had an enjoyable meal of duck breast and chimichangas. The glorious thing about this restaurant is it is run by two Americans. Our meal was so good I think we'll probably return to have a dinner there. Our meals were served with a soup of the day which was a broth vegetable soup and our dessert was a dainty and tasty spice cake. Both were excellent. The restaurant was not expensive, at least not as expensive as the ones here in Toulouse are. We had a pleasant day in Albi, I hope we return, if anything to enjoy the food at the Le Papillon again.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)