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Reims is a Cathedral Town, and yet so much more was happening here! We found the cathedral to be truly magnificent. We gaped in wonder inside (as we usually do!), wondering about the people who had built this masterpiece, and how they were able to accomplish construction at this height without modern equipment or building techniques. It is a stunning church in which you just sit with your mouth open, amazed. What was neat was that for once, we couldn’t see it all over the Old Town as we wandered the streets. We knew it would be massive, and tall, but we turned a corner and it was suddenly there in front of us, in all of its proud beauty. It was really a thrill.
Reims also has a lively pedestrian street just jammed with restaurants and cafes. Everyone was out, drinking something. We visited what felt like one park divided by a highway and some roads, but the locals name them as three different parks. There is an interesting looking ancient Roman ruin in Reims, the Cryptoportique, which is a lovely ancient colonnade from the second century. We walked and walked to see it, as it was free, and open every day from 2 pm to 6 pm. When we arrived at 3:00 pm, it was closed. A restaurant worker shrugged and said, “It is not open today.” A British man, also wishing to enter, also told us it was closed. “But Google Maps says it is open every afternoon from 2 pm!” we said. He also shrugged and said, “That’s Google Maps!”
In Reims there is also Carnegie Library, free to enter and look around. It is situated just behind the cathedral and is in Art Deco style. We found it to be just beautiful, a little chunk of architectural history. All in all, the city is very vibrant and alive, filled with things to see, great food and shopping, and very welcoming. We are enjoying every minute that we are in France.
Reims Cathedral. Height: 266 feet! It makes you wonder, with no modern technology, how the construction workers built that massive a structure in the 1200s!You can see in the previous photo that the three front arches are lined with statues of saints. At first, we thought this figure on the right was sculpted to be bound. When we got closer, we realized the bindings were a heavy plastic and were bolted to the wall, probably to keep it from falling on someone.The inside arches just loom over you on the main aisle. We sat in here for quite a while, looking up, feeling the immensity and grandeur of the environment. We were awed. How many people worked on completing this? How many died doing this work? How many were scared to be on rickety scaffolding, so high up, in pre-OSHA times???Looking to the rear of the church, this set of rose windows with a vertical panel in between is most impressive.A close-up of the gorgeous lower rose window was just necessary for your viewing pleasure. It is so detailed and intense! And…check out the engravings in the stone on the sides of it!This is the side aisle. Because it is a narrower aisle, the arches and vaults are condensed, creating an unforgettable image.This far shorter, more intimate set of arches is no less impressive.These stupendous windows in a rear chapel are by Marc Chagall, and date to 1971.The Andrew Carnegie Library, the Bibliotheque. It was built during the Art Deco period in the 1920s.Oh, yeah! The chandelier, the wallpaper, the iron-grated windows and doors – all Art Deco and just glorious.Ready for your close-up?The beautiful Reading Room, accented with a stained glass skylight and fabulous tall windows.Walking down a street, we came upon the old Art Deco Opera House. If you can enlarge this, look at the wavy-line architecture and the stained glass up close, as it is really lovely. We don’t know what the refurbishment/remodeling will bring, as the city has a new opera house.The main pedestrian drag – an entire street called the Place Drouet d’Erlon. (Usually, “Place” means Plaza or Square.)You can see the Sube Fountain down a little ways.The Fountain of Solidarity, also on the main drag.The historic Porte de Paris, a city gate, that one reviewer called “a feast for the eyes.” We agree!Kiosque a Musique – the kiosk of music, or in English, a bandstand!Two peaceful scenes in the Jardin d’Horticulture...…which was a real break from all the tourists in town.The Porte de Mars, the longest preserved Roman arch in the world. It was built between the 2nd and 3rd centuries, and was rediscovered in the 16th century. It took another 300 years to clear and restore it. Magnificent!Two thousand years old, and we can still see the carved features and other elements.A large fountain that the children were using as a swimming pool. If you can see the little boy laying on his stomach near the front – he was body surfing along the surface!The Chapel of Our Lady Queen of Peace, but more commonly called the Foujita Chapel after the Japanese-born artist Tsuguharu Foujita, who painted all of the remarkable frescoesin this tiny chapel.The chapel was consecrated on October 1, 1966, and donated to the City of Reims two weeks later. It is listed as a historic monument.This is Foujita’s depiction of the Seven Deadly Sins…don’t they look nasty???Our Lady of the Harvest. We love how Foujita has Mary casually sitting on a cask of wine, holding grapes, as the harvest is gathered.All of the stained glass windows in the chapel at the far end had skulls, skeletons, and little demons like you see at the very top.We just liked the way this house looked!A museum, half-timbered and turreted.A beautiful half-timbered building, now with an array of retail shops at ground level.A Venetian Carousel. Every European town seems to have at least one carousel – we counted three in Reims!
One of our fondest memories of our European honeymoon in 2003 is visiting Brussels for two days, and needing a break on Day 2, we found a small square, ordered some drinks, and sat and watched the world go by for a few hours. It was a good plan, and one we still subscribe to: don’t try to do everything in every place without rest! This time, we did walk somewhere every day we were here, although rain threatened each day. We explored on our own, met with new friends who also got rid of their home to just travel, took a free walking tour, wandered the streets aimlessly, and walked to a local church for a concert.
We had the best guide on our free Sandemans walking tour! Fraser is Scottish but has been a tour guide here for 14 years, even though he hardly looks old enough! He was fun and funny, and we saw the highlights of the city, learned a lot, and went back to see some of the places that we had just breezed by on tour. We met two couples who had also been on our tour in Antwerp, and we met new friends from Ireland. That is the best part of this life of ours – meeting and chatting with people from all over, and finding out about life in their corner of the world.
We went to Notre Dame du Finistere Church for the weekly Monday afternoon organ recital, only to be surprised with an hour-long organ concert with four soloists. It was glorious. Everyone came in, and turned their chairs to the rear of the church, toward the organ. We did likewise. Nobody applauded after the first five pieces, so neither did we. Out of the blue, they applauded for the next piece, then not again until the end. We just follow the locals! Beneath the organ pipes, on three sides, you can see inscriptions in Latin. We translated them: (1) They shall rise up from the ends of the earth, singing to the Lord with instruments. (2) The ends of the earth scatter at the sound of the pipe organ. (3) From the ends of the earth, praise the Lord with strings and organ.
Please don’t take offense, but in the photos you will see the most famous statue in all of Belgium, dating to the 15th century! People search the city for it, thinking that it certainly will be prominent, in the center of a city square, of course. But it is tiny, in a corner, and now apparently is always costumed according to the day or season. The city museum holds his array of costumes! Every souvenir store sells replicas, in all colors, no less. Chocolate shops sell him in Belgian chocolate form. It is like a mania. If you know what the statue is, you are smiling by now. If not, see him in the photo below! But squint – or enlarge your screen, as he is hard to see!!
Beautiful Brussels! Looking down the hill at the Jardin du Mont des Arts. You can use the City Hall tower for directional guidance in this area. The pretty clump of trees on the extreme left can be seen close up in the next photo.They’re nice to look at, huh?Opened in 1899, Old England was a department store housed in an Art Nouveau building. Today it is a museum of musical instruments, holding about 2,000 items!The Royal Palace of Belgium.16th Century Cathedral of St. Michael and St. Gudula. A wedding was taking place, and our tour guide remarked that it must be one of Brussels’ elites, as not everyone can be married there.The Queen’s Gallery Shopping Arcade. It is opposite the King’s Gallery, which looks identical, and the main business in each appears to be Belgian chocolate shops.Here is one of the chocolate shops, Neuhaus, founded in 1912. We liked the leaded glass insets above the shop window.Our tour guide, Fraser, of Sandeman’s Tours. We have NEVER had a tour guide like him! He verbally parried with guests, asked trivia questions, spoke like a Shakespearean thespian, cracked jokes, and most importantly – knew the history of Brussels inside and out. He was the best! (Behind him to the left is THAT statue!)This is actually a more modern advertising sign for Breda Beer, as it was founded in 1538!Everything down this street, starting with the church of St. Nicholas, is named after St. Nicholas, since he evokes smiles and joy.A cute shop – with no room for a name!We walked through the LGBTQ area of Brussels and saw lots of street art like this.A pretty Art Nouveau mosaic advertising La Terrasse restaurant.Jammed with visitors (don’t ask us why!) is the famous, infamous (tiny, tiny) statue of the Manneken Pis. He now has a “dresser” who changes his costumes. Yes, as you can surmise, it means “the little boy pees,” and is one of the best-known symbols of Brussels and Belgium. The statue was in place by 1619, although it is first mentioned in a document dating to 1451!Guild halls on the Grand Place, the largest square in Brussels and called the most beautiful in all of Europe.These mutts are for sale, along with the Manneken Pis statues on their left. Actually, the statues are EVERYWHERE in Brussels, and are the favorite souvenir for purchase!Guild halls across the square. We were gathering for a free tour, and so were about 10 other groups – hence, the umbrellas to “find your way.”Grote Markt Huis, on the Grand Place, mainly used for exhibitions.City Hall, also on the Grand Place, whose tower can be seen from most points in the Old Town.Brussels City Museum is housed in this building with stunning architecture. In here, you can see the 1,000 costumes designed for the Manneken Pis!A pretty pedestrian street decorated with garlands of silk flowers.See? A view of the tower led us around this part of Brussels!Originally built in 1697, this gorgeous building, Le Roy d’Espagne, was named for Charles II of Spain. It is the baker’s guild headquarters. We were attracted to the lovely gold statue on top.Our Lady of Finistere Concert, with the inscriptions below the pipes.An impromptu parade of college students. She looks like…the Queen of Beers???A chocolate shop with its old facade, in French. In Brussels, Dutch, Flemish, French, and English are all spoken!A colorful high-heeled camel.A sad excuse for a funny sign…but it’s funny because it’s not!This is called “The Cyclist,” featured outside of a bar/restaurant in Brussels.This was a sandwich at Fritland, one of the best places for Belgian fries in Brussels. There is some sort of meat under the fries. We were shocked that anyone could eat bread loaded with fries!
The legend as to how Antwerp got its name is the best story, so we have to start with it. The green fountain in the first two photos depicts the legend of Brabo, who killed a giant who demanded a high toll for ships entering the city. If crews couldn’t, or wouldn’t, pay the toll, the giant cut off their hands. Brabo was fed up and wasn’t going to take it any more. He fought the giant, cut off his hand, and threw it into the river. So, Antwerpen comes from the two words, hand werpen, meaning “to throw a hand.”
The city has quite an ancient history, having been invaded and occupied by both the Romans and the Vikings. The River Scheldt brought commerce and trading to the city, making it the leading port in medieval times, but it also made the city vulnerable to invaders. In the photos, we will show you a few things the Romans and Vikings left behind.
We found this off-the-beaten-track city to be quite wonderful, but didn’t schedule enough time to explore it fully. We took a tour to get an overview, but still missed most of the main shopping street and pedestrian walk, the Meir. We would also love to see the central train station one day, as it is very ornate and said to be the one thing you should not miss in the city (but unfortunately, we missed it!). There are also several museums we would love to explore, but there just wasn’t enough time. In the future, we plan to visit fewer cities wherever we go, but stay longer.
Grote Markt Antwerpen, the main square. You can see the beautiful Town Hall behind the Brabo statue.The Brabo Statue, dating to 1887, with Brabo at the top throwing the hand of the Giant Druon Antigoon into the river. We loved that the fountain has no boundaries, such as a wall or fencing. The fountain spurts into the surrounding square. Sometimes the fountain is turned off, and if you are standing adjacent when it turns on again, unknowing, you will get wet! The next day after taking this photo, there was a little boy standing under it and splashing, just laughing and having the time of his life.These guild halls from the 16th and 17th centuries are quite beautiful. (Some are reproductions, but we don’t know which ones.) Each represented a certain guild (occupation), and showed off their status, power, and wealth. The gold statues on the roof represented their profession.More guild halls across the street.In the Handschoenmarkt square is this lovely old well, with an elaborate black wrought iron top.The Cathedral of Our Lady of Antwerpen can be seen from many points in the Old Town. The outside is covered with scaffolding. As with most old buildings and churches, there is always something that needs to be done! (And again, notice the McDonald’s in the Old Town!)The Het Steen, Antwerp’s castle and oldest building, sits on the river. Some of the lower parts were established by the Vikings, and it “grew into” the castle it looks like today.Another view of Het Steen, which, additionally, was used as a prison from 1549 to 1824.At the castle’s entrance is this statue. Meet Lange Wapper, a Flemish folklore giant and trickster. This statue is by Albert Poels and dates to 1962.This statue at Het Steen is dedicated to all “who have resisted and fought for the liberation of Antwerp, September 4, 1944 – September 4, 1989.”A view of the Scheldt River, which brought invaders, and then prosperity, to Antwerpen. It is still the second-largest port in Europe after Rotterdam.We liked this collection of buildings!The beautiful baroque tower of St. Paulus Church.Our tour guide, Flip, who is doing tours “for fun” in his retirement. (Even though he lived in the US for a few years, he had never heard of Flip Wilson, the only other Flip we know of. We enlightened him.)On our tour, Flip pointed out what is left of the old towns defensive walls – the dark stone on the right near the man with the blue shirt. You can see on the walkway that where the rest of the wall was torn down, the city paved it in dark stone as a remembrance. There is another part of the cobblestone, back just beyond our group, that is different from that you see in the front. It dates from Viking times!Vleeshuis, the Butcher’s House, built between 1501-1504 of red brick and white sandstone. As an ancient guild hall, it provided space for 62 butchers to prepare animals for sale.St. Charles Borromeo Church, opened in 1621 as the Jesuit Church of Antwerp and dedicated to St. Ignatius of Loyola, the founder of the Jesuits. There originally were 39 ceiling pieces by Peter Paul Rubens that were destroyed by fire in 1718.These angels, and a bank of carved medallions and other figures, did survive the fire. They were carved by Jan Pieter van Baurscheidt. We liked how they look as though they are dancing, holding drums above their heads (but we confess we couldn’t find info as to what they are supposed to be holding).Antwerpen had one of the first stock markets in the world, originally kind of a trading post. These are the three Stock Exchange buildings as they progressed – the first, on top, is now a cafe. The third, on the bottom right, was originally an open air building, but they built upward, and the date of 1872 is when the roof was placed.When you climb these steps, you are on the highest “hill” in Antwerp!A glorious array of 14 items – our Moroccan Salad from Msemen Moroccan Restaurant. It was so good! – a feast for both the eyes and tastebuds!This is Msemen’s pretty back yard seating area. We also had a msemen, a grilled Moroccan bread stuffed with ricotta cheese, honey, cherry tomatoes, greens, sunflower seeds, paprika, chickpeas, and spicy olives. It was heaven, as was the salad above. With mint tea, and followed by a dessert made of couscous with cream, we were stuffed – and VERY happy!One of the many fun streets we got to walk.These are on the corners of many buildings in Antwerp – shrines to the Virgin Mary, all topped with an umbrella-type top, shieldingMary and her baby from the sun and rain.Such a pretty shop!We loved this takeoff on “Antwerp!”The Wild West lives….in Belgium! Gotta love that embroidered men’s shirt with two horses!We liked the name of this exhibition, although we initially thought it was a publication.
“Bruges is very touristy! You don’t want to go there – go to Ghent instead.” That was the advice from a man we met in the laundromat last week, who helped us buy tokens for the machines. But we had visited Bruges years ago and had a very positive memory of it. Besides, we made hotel reservations in July 2021, so we were heading for Bruges regardless of his opinion. Are we glad we did! It’s fa – bu – lous!
The entire Old Town and all of its buildings are a World Heritage Site. There are towers everywhere, gorgeous facades, Dutch architecture buildings and houses, Belgian beer, and Belgian chocolate, chocolate, chocolate just EVERYWHERE! In fact, there are so many chocolate shops that the city has banned any more from opening their doors – they have decided that enough is enough. Only 17 of the hundred or so that we have passed are artisanal – that is, actually made in Bruges. The others have chocolates imported from China and other countries, which is not what you want when purchasing “Belgian chocolate.”
There is also a lot of water in Bruges – as in canals! It makes for a very pretty walk around town as you cross ancient bridges decorated with flowers. All of the squares are very lively and are just beautiful, already filled with lots of tourists. When we drove into Belgium from France a few days ago, it was very strange. We saw no people out, and there were few cars on the road. It was as if time had stopped, or like the beginning of a weird horror movie. All was well as we arrived in Bruges, as it was jammed with people and activity.
City Hall on Burg Square was pretty impressive, with its towers, flags, and ornamentation. But it is nothing compared to the Gothic Room inside. Wait until you see it! It took our breaths away, and we snapped many pictures, sat down just to soak it all in, then took more pictures. We did not want to leave. You will see why, but the photos probably won’t do it justice. If you are ever in Bruges, with all there is to see, do, and eat, City Hall’s Gothic Room is the one stop you MUST make. It is thrilling, to say the least.
Beautiful, beautiful Bruges – called the Venice of the North. It is cross-crossed by canals whose bridges are almost always festooned with flowers.Except for the cars, this view down the street looks like it did hundreds of years ago, with a bridge, ancient buildings, and cobblestone.A row of striking Dutch-architecture houses. The best indication of the Dutch influence is the single large window on the top floor, initially designed to move large items onto the top floor. In the Netherlands you will often see a wooden arm (like a 4×4) sticking out for several feet above that window. They would attach a pulley system to that arm to lift the items to the level of the window. This style of home is everywhere in Bruges.We love arcades. This is the only one we saw in Bruges.Horse-drawn carriage rides on Grote Markt, the main square in Bruges. In the back is the towering Belfort – if you climb to the top, it is only 366 steps! (No, we did not partake!) We heard its carillon, which plays every 15 minutes, and it was charming.This interesting building is now an interactive history museum called the Historium, but was built between 1910-1914 as a private residence, although it has never been used as such.Adjacent to the Historium is the Provinciaal Hof, the Provincial Court. Construction began on the building in 1887 and wasn’t completed until 1920. In the 13th century, this site was the Water Hall, where boats would come to the doors via canals and unload cargo. It was demolished in 1787, and the canal is now covered by the cobblestones of the square. We took a walking tour of the town and were told by the guide in several locations that we were standing above a canal that had been made subterranean. As time has gone by it has become more important to make room for cars to travel around town than boats.The Jeruzalem Kerk, a private chapel complex built as almhouses for the poor and a chapel for the Adornes Family, who have continuously lived in Bruges from the 15th century.Inside, there is this downstairs altar, built of skulls and symbols of Christ’s Passion, and an upper, more traditional altar.This is the upper altar, with a huge vaulted dome – the dome seen in the photo of the chapel’s exterior.A view from the upper altar to the lower area. The pulpit on the left is strange – the only way in is to leap from one of the stairs into it! (Jan sort of tried it, as Mike looked on in horror, even though the gate to the pulpit says No Entry, but we were afraid the entire structure would break and tumble down.) The white area in the middle is where the tomb of the original owners/builders will go once they (the tombs, not the bodies) have been restored.A view of the opposite side (where there is no pulpit that we could try to break into).This is a small sacristy off the upper altar area. Note how worn the stone steps are! When you walk on them, it is very uneven and slippery. We found steps like this in several places in Bruges – well-worn, indented steps.The Brugse Vrije dates to the 12th century, was used partly as a courtroom, and is still used as amuseum on the first floor with offices in use above. It is so beautiful and pristine! The gold stands out in Burg Square, along with the Ukrainian flag!A beautiful gold-decorated archway and walkway, to the right side of the Brugse Vrije, as seen in the previous photo.As the Vrije (“Liberty” or “Justice”) was a courtroom, this walkway connects to City Hall.The interior of the Vrije, the ancient courtroom. This is the front fireplace, decorated richly in carved wood, along with the ceiling! There is a piece of wood that had to be cut out due to termites, and they think this glorious woodwork may have to be dismantled to eliminate the infestation.This table had two gold vessels that we tried to figure out…turns out they were used for ink, as this was a courtroom. The same people who made the laws, judged the cases (conveniently). The cord in the middle was pulled to signal that it was time to hear the next case.The theme of the courtroom in the Vrije was punishment and retribution, as we were told by a friendly guy named Tommy, who works in the museum. This painting was on the wall, showing a man being skinned alive.City Hall, built in 1376. This former palace was the seat of the Count of Flanders for many years.If you think this is impressive, wait until you see the inside!!!The Gothic Room, upstairs in City Hall, looking forward toward the fireplace, one of the most magnificent rooms we have ever laid eyes on. We think it beats out Versailles!The Gothic Room, looking toward the back of the room. We couldn’t get enough of it.The side view, with sunshine pouring in.The opposite side across from the windows, richly painted and ornamented with Bruges history.That ceiling!!!We liked this poster in the adjacent museum, announcing a jousting tournament in Bruges from July 24-28, 1907. It appears that the prize is gold.We liked this array of towers along the canal.The flags – the bicycles – the people – the glorious facades! All of it is really neat. This is another side of Grote Markt, opposite the Belfort.On the left of this roof are two snails! In ancient times, when there were no street signs, people would put sculptures atop their homes to tell people which was theirs. No idea why they chose snails, but they are still there after many generations.The exterior of the Basiliek van het Heilig Bloed (Basilica of the Holy Blood) on Burg Square. The Upper Chapel holds a Holy Blood relic, said to be a piece of cloth that Joseph of Arimathea used to wipe Jesus’ body. It made its way to Bruges in the 1200s and is exhibited daily for a few hours under the close watch of a church minister.This is the highly decorated main chapel, but the relic is brought on in a side altar to the right of this main area.You can’t see it very well, but the Holy Blood relic is kept in a glass container with gold ends and just looks like a white cloth with some red stains. People filed up onto a viewing platform to look at it. The person keeping watch is a woman in vestments who looks like a priest or deacon, but this is a Catholic Church, so clearly she is not.Another pretty scene along one of the canals.Believe it or not, THIS is a beer pipeline….or rather, a place that trucks can drive up to, pull out a hose, and fill up on beer. It is in the De Halve Maan Brewery, the only actual brewery left in Bruges. This project was paid for through crowdfunding – if you donated at least €7,000, you get free beer for life! Some creepy chocolate mask thingies – don’t know how they sell these!A clothing store with a cool name.Selling chocolates and happiness! Yes, please.Some goofy flamingos in a shop window. What can we say? We liked ‘em.Saint Jan’s Street? A fan of Saint Jan? Mike nods his head vigorously. Jan says – not so fast! I’m no saint! (But ever aspiring to be better.)
Lille, France, is one of those large, small towns. But now that we’ve looked at the city’s statistics, that might not be entirely true, as it has a population of about a quarter of a million people. The feeling is that of a small town, however. The Old Town in the city center is very compact and very walkable. There are two enormous churches in the Old Town, but only one of them is a cathedral. There are ancient buildings and a modern train station. Every restaurant has outdoor seating, regardless of the view offered. We passed an Italian restaurant whose view was of buildings covered in graffiti across the street, and we wondered why anyone would eat there rather than in one of the pretty squares, or along the pretty cobblestone streets. We can only guess that the food makes it worth it, but we didn’t verify that ourselves.
We caught a little of the European Heat Wave here that we have been hearing so much about on the news. It was very hot walking from place to place, and even relatively short walks felt oppressive. One thing we have found in France is that the businesses don’t provide us with much humor. In other places, we are always seeing goofy windows and funny signs in front of businesses. We did see a lighthearted barber shop, as you will see below, but it isn’t overtly funny, just subtly. And now, we are off to Belgium once again!
Lille Chamber of Commerce Building with its stunning Belfry.Opera de Lille, built between 1907 and 1913.This magnificent structure is a newspaper headquarters. The facade is decorated with the coats of arms of the cities related to the newspaper. On top of the building are three golden statues representing the areas of Flanders, Hainaut, and Artois.Vieille Bourse de Lille, the glorious 17th century Stock Exchange.The Bourse’s inner courtyard, comprised of 24 identical houses, formerly used by the traders. Today the courtyard hosts mostly booksellers, chess players, and florists.Notre Dame de La Treille Cathedral of Lille, built in stages over many generations between 1856 and 1975! The modern facade completed the construction in 1999. The rather plain exterior is now covered in scaffolding, but the Gothic inside is thrilling.This is the entrance to the church, taken from the altar. Its stunning window is said to represent the cycle of death and resurrection, and (somewhere) features astronauts and UFOs.A contemporary statue is framed in the soaring arches.La Sainte Chapelle, featuring a statue of Mary from the 12th century. It is a chapel behind the main altar, but looks like a complete church all on its own.Some of the contemporary Stations of the Cross…all of them were quite moving.A modern Death and Resurrection.One pretty street in the medieval Old Town.A building with an arch leading to another street off the Bourse plaza.The pretty – and lively! – square where the Bourse is located. If you look carefully at the back bank of buildings, a McDonald’s is hiding there. Every ancient, honored place in France seems to have a McDonald’s.Another view down a cobblestoned pedestrian street.We liked the architecture, and brightness, of this building.St. Maurice Catholic Church. If you didn’t know better, you might think this is the cathedral…it is huge, soaring, takes up quite a lot of space – and, who would think a relatively small city could support two massive churches?St. Maurice has left the “high altar” in the back, with the altar at the front and the ambo for reading scripture in the middle of the assembly. The chairs faced all directions. It was beautiful to see.A great face on a building, up close.All pink! Note the pretty bicycle in the back……and they sell a – Donutshake! It looks incredible, but how do you deconstruct it? With a fork, spoon, straw, or fingers? One thing for sure – it looks messy!We like the concept of a barber shop with a bar named “Vilians” that uses King Kong with a bow tie as a mascot. It all seems to fit, right?OH DADDY DAY! Happy Father’s Day to all the dads who read our stuff!
Visiting the beaches of the Northeast coast of France/Northwest coast of Belgium is quite an experience. First, it is very windy on the beaches, which makes it chilly when you are out of the sun. Second, you apparently don’t need to see any water when you visit – getting sun is the important thing. And third, views of the beach are somewhat obstructed by rows and rows (and rows and rows) of beach huts. They are small cabanas, and act as a refuge from the wind as well as a place to store your beach items and clothing for the day. It is very different from other beach areas we have been to.
First up, Dunkirk was our favorite beach, although we favor the French spelling, Dunkerque. (Why do we anglicize actual names, instead of honoring the way the country itself spells things??) There is a small area with beach huts (in the photo below painted as “Malo -Les-Bains”), but most of the rest of the beach is wide open. It has restaurants, crepe/waffle/and ice cream stands, and loads of people. There was a basketball tournament taking place, and grandstands were set up for spectator viewing. Of course, Dunkirk is known for its beaches in 1940, as 300,000 soldiers waited for evacuation back to Great Britain, just 50 miles away or so by sea. We watched the movie Dunkirk the night before to refresh our memories about the historical importance of the area. It is quite sobering to see the calm beach today, and imagine it crowded with over a quarter of a million desperate soldiers.
Downtown Calais was more enjoyable than its beach. Town Hall can be seen from around the city, and it is some stunning architecture. The sculpture of the Burghers of Calais in front of it is very moving…and magnificent! The beach was jammed with beach huts, some not in great shape, which made the beach seem a bit degraded. Many people sunbathed in Calais with no view of the water whatsoever, which we found so strange.
De Panne, Belgium is the location of our hotel, just over the border from Dunkerque. Ditto on the beach huts crowding the beach. But we must say, it was very crowded, with both children and adults enjoying the boardwalk area, eating, walking, and biking. We can just imagine it in another month, in the middle of summer, bursting at its seams.
We visited these three cities yesterday. Today we are taking a break, resting and reading in our hotel room. We try not to treat our travels as a vacation, where every single thing needs to be seen (there will be other years, after all), but as our life. Lying here on the bed and sitting in the chair, with the window open, we are feeling the breeze and listening to various birds cooing a hundred times in a row. It is nice. We have a view of trees and gardens, and there is no traffic noise. And Mike just “put the kettle on” for some afternoon tea. Heaven!
Dunkirk’s beach was very inviting. This is the reason people come here.There was a basketball competition in this area of the beach. We saw several boys with Lakers shirts!After the basketball court area was the children’s playground – you can see that the giant slide is a castle.Not intentionally, we captured a photo of Bikini Beach with a woman in a full burqa walking by.Malo Les Bains, one of the WWII embarkation beaches in 1940. Today it is a part of Dunkirk, and is just for leisure and sunbathing.The older residential buildings have a Dutch character.The ice cream store: ice cream not in FLAVORS, but COLORS!This Victorian beauty is right on the beach.On to Calais! This is their very impressive Town Hall, only dating to 1925 but looking much older.Rodin’s sculpture, The Burghers of Calais, dating to 1895. During the Hundred Years War, Edward III demanded that six leading citizens of Calais were to leave the besieged city with ropes around their necks, and he sentenced them to execution by beheading. In this sculpture, they are unaware that their lives will be spared through the intercession of Edward’s wife, Philippa.A Balloon Street! How fun!We liked this old-time poster, announcing that a stage of the Tour de France will breeze through Calais on July 5.In front of the lovely Town Hall garden, which is in front of the Burghers of Calais sculpture, which is in front of Town Hall, we find a bicyclist, likely a nod to the upcoming Tour de France visit. We don’t know whether the rainbow colors are in honor of Pride Month, or just to be festive.Mike saw it first: this topiary peacockin Parc Saint-Pierre looked undone, without a tail, until he noticed that the flower bed behind the peacock’s torso was in the shape of, and formed, his magnificent tail!It was somewhat disappointing to see Calais Beach for the first time and find it just covered in small beach huts, with no real view of the long sweeping beach possible. Being from California, our idea of a perfect beach is an uncluttered one, but some people rave that they love the view of the beach huts in Calais!Behind the beach huts, away from the sea, was this long boardwalk with wooden lounge chairs for sunbathing. There are snack stands up and down the area.We saw four friends sunbathing between the huts and boardwalk, with absolutely no view of the ocean (seems crazy to us!).Calaisfornia! Everyone wants to be in the US!On to De Panne, Belgium! Bike riding is huge here, with the lane on the walkway to the left reserved for bicycles. Apparently, there is a tradition that children shriek loudly and constantly while riding bikes!Restaurants and bike rentals lined the walkway along the right. The seagull sculpture and the bank of flags seem to mark a central point on the beach.The yellow and white canvas was erected so that you can sunbathe with some blockage of the wind that the English Channel beaches are famous for.A cute old house on the beach squeezed in between newer construction.Along the beach, as far as the eye can see, are rows of beach huts...oh, and bicyclists!A big attraction in De Panne is – get ready! – an amusement park called PLOPSALAND, whose name is taken from two TV shows: “Kabouter Plop” and “Samson and Gert.” Take Plop from the first, and Sa from Samson, and you get Plopsa – add “land,” and a park is born! This is the elaborate Plopsa Hotel adjacent to the park, since everyone learns from Disney!
Amiens was a big surprise for us. We went for the cathedral, but got canals, hortillonnages, Jules Verne’s final residence (and final resting place), some peaceful and pretty walks, and the chance to eat a wonderful local specialty. It is great when a city gives more than you were expecting, rather than less.
The cathedral’s entrance is magnificent, with more sculpted figures than we have seen on the exterior of a church. And rather than repetition, each one is different, with even different characters acting as pedestals. And it was the first time we have seen gargoyles on this trip! Gargoyles are a noteworthy feature on Notre Dame in Paris, but we couldn’t get close enough to see them with all the construction going on.
All of the water features in Amiens were really nice. Not many people were out in the morning, and as we strolled along the water, it was easy to imagine that it was many decades ago, a more serene time, not 2022!
After the cathedral, the highlight was Jules Verne’s house. There were many artifacts there that were his personal possessions, and even furniture from when he lived there was on display. As we have seen in other museums in France, however, we had free use of/could roam the house, with nobody telling us what to look at, nobody shushing us, nobody saying, “NO!” (Not that we, ever-obedient, would ever touch anything we weren’t supposed to! Huh-uh. Not us.) Verne died in 1905, so it all gave us a glimpse into a largely-untouched home of the turn of the last century. It was very moving to be there and see how the family lived. And then, we visited his grave, to see that he would love to live again!
A pretty scene, walking along Amiens’ canals. This is likely almost the same view people had hundreds of years ago.Another view, this time with modern buildings.Les Hortillonnages, 40 miles of floating vegetable gardens of the “hortillons,” market gardeners who have done this since medieval times.Awesome clouds.“Marie-sans-Chemise” (Marie, Shirtless), Albert Roze, 1897. This sculpture caused some commotion in its day. The rococo clock, created by the architect Emile Ricquier, has three faces that were once lit with gas.Eglise Saint-Leu. On Easter Sunday, 1581, a violent storm destroyed the roof, and it collapsed, killing 68 people. On Easter Sunday! Outside of its use for Mass, it is not open to the public, so we were unable to see the interior.Our first glimpse of Amiens’ canals.We passed by this unusual house, surrounded by the canal and with a bridge at its front (on the far side).People enjoying lunch along the water. We had lunch here the following day, enjoying the local specialty, Ficelle Picarde, a crepe filled with ham, cheese, and mushrooms, topped with grated cheese, and then baked in the oven.Hotel Bouctot-Vagniez, built as an Art Nouveau castle and private home from 1909-1911.Parc de l’Eveche, adjacent to the Cathedral, included this chia-looking arbor.Cathedrale Norte Dame d’Amiens. one of the largest 13th-century Gothic cathedrals, known for the figures on the exterior.Some of the cathedral’s figures, in the center arch entrance.Close-up of two martyrs holding their beheaded heads!All the pedestals were people holding up the statue. This guy looks quite distressed, right?One of many gargoyles peering out from the roof.The huge, soaring, magnificent interior of the cathedral.A close-up of the main altar, farthest back. This part of the altar area is now fenced off, likely for security reasons.We liked these blue “crackle-effect” windows in one of the side altars.One of the beautiful rose windows. Even seen through netting due to construction, it is still lovely.Jules Verne’s house in Amiens, where he lived for 18 years until his death and where he wrote 30 novels.The only way to reach the upper floors is via this spiral staircase.Mr. Verne had a model of his famous submarine from 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, The Nautilus, in his sun room.The third floor was remodeled to resemble the bridge of The Nautilus submarine.Two fantastic ships (the Horror and the Go-Ahead) from Jules Verne’s imagination, mounted on the attic ceiling.A light sconce on the wall in Verne’s library.Jules Verne’s final resting place, in La Madeleine Cemetery in the north of Amiens. He was sculpted trying to rise from the dead by Albert Roze, who also sculpted the “Marie, Shirtless” statue previously shown.
What an interesting place we discovered when looking at the area around Amiens! The City of Naours has a subterranean city, re-discovered in 1887 by a local priest, Rev. Ernest Danicort, who encouraged its restoration so as to open up the caves to the public. The subterranean city is about 100 feet underground, and its labyrinth of tunnels and chambers runs about two miles, with 28 galleries and 300 chambers.
The site began as a limestone quarry, built by the Romans in the 2nd century AD. Once the quarry fell into disuse, the local people began to store goods there, and eventually hid in the caves from invading armies. Most notably, they used the underground during the 16th century Wars of Religion and the Thirty Years War in the early 17th century. They developed the tunnel system and built rooms so that it could be used as an underground city for extended periods. Apparently, the children knew the underground city so well that they could freely run through the tunnels without getting lost. Ingeniously, so as not to be discovered, they situated their fireplaces so that the smoke vented through the chimneys of the cottages above ground!
The audio guide given to us told us many great stories about the subterranean city. The 10th photo below shows a passage where we had to stoop very low to pass through. Apparently it was made that way intentionally. When enemies were present in the subterranean city, the citizens would have children run through the passage, with the invaders in tow. The children’s progress through the cave could be followed by the sound of them running over gravel on the ground. The citizens would be hiding on the far side of that pinch. The children, small and unencumbered by weapons or equipment, could run through quickly. Invaders following closely behind were slowed going through it. The citizens would wait in ambush on the other side of the pinch and attack them as they passed through.
As we passed a large steel plate on the ground (the 16th photo), our audio guide explained that there was a pit under the plate. During times of trouble or invasion, boards covering that hole would be removed and invaders, lured down that dimly-lit passageway, would fall into the deep pit.
Soldiers of WWI visited the caves as tourists, and almost 3,000 names of individuals can be found in the caves’ graffiti. During WWII, the Germans used the caves as a radio control room. We found the caves to be an unusual and unique attraction. The site is nothing we had ever heard of before and is an interesting historical artifact. And to top off the experience, we went to a small farmer’s market a short walk up the hill from the caves. We found the windmill shown in the last photo and bought two cartons of some of the best strawberries we have ever tasted from one of the vendors. (European strawberries are very tender, softer than those in the US. This means that they spoil much quicker, but the taste is unbeatable!)
The eerie descent.The passageways were pretty dark. Thankfully, we were able to use the flashlight on our phone.The spaces had some statues and niches, like this.There were also memorials.Peering ahead, it was sometimes hard to figure out which way to go, but we never got lost (at least, we don’t think so! – after all, we made it out!).Sometimes, there was more than just hollowed-out caves from the limestone; there were human made objects.When we went down into yet another tunnel, we had to remember to watch our heads!This was the “festival room,” as you can see on the plaque.The rounded flat stone on the floor was where animals were slaughtered and then butchered for celebrations.The circled objects are marine shells (mollusks, oysters) in an ancient layer of earth from when the sea reached this far inland.Yes, we had to stoop really low to get through this tiny opening! This is the tunnel that our audio guide called The Trap.Continuing on!There were a series of chambers along one tunnel, perhaps individual family “apartments.” These items were likely for electricity, as the Germans installed an electrical system. (However, there is no source for this, as an anecdote says that when the Germans departed at the end of WWII, the local butcher did not have any paper to wrap meat, so he used the archives left by the Germans!)One of the “apartments.”An anthropology plaque.This area, fenced off, is called the ossuary, where the bones (perhaps bodies?) of both people and animals were placed until they could be taken to the surface.One of the areas, around a turn, that was a trap! A pit was in the ground here!This was a memorial room – a monument to the ancestors.There was a bit of darkness from where we were to the light ahead.An artist’s idea of what the “working area” looked like underground.A part of the town square, as it were.The Lottery Maker: The Lottery Maker most of the time was a woman. She was passing through the towns and villages with lottery tickets in her bags screaming on the streets. Nobody ever won; we used to say that there were only losing tickets in her bags.The Belcan Windmill, dating to the French Revolution. It stopped functioning in 1910 and was bought by the City of Naours to be placed on the hill above the Caves.
Rouen was a city on our list to visit because Monet had done a series of Impressionist paintings of the Rouen Cathedral. We wanted to see it in person, and we arrived to fabulous news. Each weekend, the Cathedral is the site of the Rouen Lumiere show – a video presentation using the Cathedral as the backdrop and tabula rasa. Waiting until it was completely dark, the show began at 11 pm, and it exceeded our expectations. In the first photo, you will see the Cathedral as we did in the afternoon. Starting with the fifth photo, wait’ll you see how the church changes with some video enhancement. We have also included three short videos of different parts of the 25-minute show. By the way, even at 11 pm, the plaza in front of the church was jammed with people. We have read that most towns in France have similar shows, using the facade of their largest church, so we will be on the lookout as we travel through the country.
Rouen is also noteworthy as the town where Joan of Arc was burned at the stake in 1431 at age 19. There is now a church named for her where it occurred, with ruins outside noting the place as well. Her church is quite striking, dating from 1979, and the windows give it a very modern look; however, they were saved from another church that was bombed in WWII, and actually date from the year 1520.
The Old Town consists of twisting cobblestone paths, with stores and restaurants on both sides. The town has an ancient clock set in a tower that dates to the 14th century – everyone stopped in front of it to watch it for a while, even though it had no moving parts (they looked rusted, understandably), and the time depicted was wrong. That all just added to its charm, as we understood that it was suffering from old age.
Cathedrale Notre-Dame l’Assomption de Rouen(1063 AD). It was built and rebuilt over more than 800 years, and is known for having three towers in different architectural styles. You can see it from most places in the Old Town.Part of the fabulous interior.A very vibrant stained glass window that we found stunning.A headless female saint. Some statues were created headless if the saint depicted was a beheaded martyr. Some lost their heads over time. We don’t know which category this one falls in.Let the show begin!The three videos show different parts of the show.The timber-framed buildings were interesting to see.One of the medieval streets, looking down toward the town clock.The Gros Horlage (1389). Still stunning, given her age!A cute street decorated with umbrellas.St. Joan of Arc Church. It was built to resemble an overturned Viking ship, and the right edge slopes down to resemble a dragon’s mouth fountain!The glorious interior, with 700-year-old windows.A modern statue of Joan of Arc without armor, standing on a fiery branch symbolizing her barbaric death.The church’s roof motif continues on, covering a farmer’s market.The square where Joan of Arc was martyred.A pretty timber-framed building on the square across from her church.GRUNGEMAMA, across from our hotel. We loved the name.Also loving the Delirium.We don’t know the story behind this store, but we love “Don’t Call Me Jennyfer,” with a sign in the window saying “Thank you for calling me.”
What an emotion-filled day, visiting Omaha Beach and Point du Hoc, along with all the memorials for the US forces here on the northern French coast of Normandy. Omaha Beach, we were told, looks exactly as it did in 1944 – wide, long, and undeveloped. As far as the eye can see, there are no hotels or even beach cottages on the beach. We didn’t look for any, but we read that they recently found mortar shells and shrapnel in the sand; experts said it would all still be there in a few hundred years, as there was simply too much of it to ever clean it up completely.
As Americans, we absolutely can feel the gratitude of the French for our efforts to liberate the country from Germany. All the memorials are well-kept, pristine even, and are decorated with fresh flowers. Photos of American soldiers are celebrated on banners lining the streets. There were many flags representing the Allied powers on the streets, on businesses and even on homes. The American Cemetery is exceedingly beautiful, with careful attention to the landscaping. Even the crosses marking each grave are clean and debris-free. It is so impressive!
As you walk to the different areas of the beach you find memorials telling stories of individuals and groups of soldiers. One memorial told of a group of rangers who were landed three miles away from their target area due to a navigational error and had to fight three miles down the reinforced beach before they could even start the mission they were sent for. Other memorials recall areas being taken that the Germans had thought were unassailable.
Today, this whole area that was chaotic in 1944 is serene and calm. There were a lot of buses, though! We ran into many groups touring the sites, especially students, and loads of buses filled the parking lots. As we drove away in early afternoon, in the rain, we encountered at least two dozen buses heading toward the memorials. A busy time! – and only early June.
A view of the long stretch of Omaha Beach from atop a hill that we climbed, just to get a photo of the beach!…and Omaha Beach in the other direction. It is not developed, but is just pristine, quiet, and mostly deserted.This sign told us where we were!This memorial marks the site of the first road cleared off Omaha Beach. It is the remains of a bunker taken out by US forces, opening up the interior. Thousands of GIs took this road from the beach to inland France and on to the rest of continental Europe.This artillery piece is the only thing that remains in the bunker.France does a great job of honoring the US soldiers who died to liberate the country from the Axis Powers. These banners honoring various US soldiers (this one is William S. Stevens) were mounted on street lights along the roads for many miles in this area, all saying Never Forget.We couldn’t believe our eyes! Harnessed horses running on Omaha Beach!!!Sculpture memorial titled Les Braves, looking like sails rising out of the sand.The Omaha Beach Memorial.Side view of the memorial, with soldiers etched in. Everywhere, there were fresh flowers near all the memorials that we photographed.Point du Hoc is a promontory with a 110-foot cliff overlooking the English Channel that the Germans had fortified with gun placements. The US Army Ranger Assault Group scaled the cliffs and captured the point!The view of the English Channel from Point du Hoc.The monument erected to the US Army Rangers.You can still see the ground craters at Point du Hoc from WWII bombings. These are the Point du Hoc cliffs that were scaled by the US Rangers, leading to the capture of the Point.You can take a closer look at the insides of one of the bunkers at Point du Hoc. There were living quarters in addition to military lookouts.Looking toward the English Channel, Point du Hoc looks quite peaceful today.The American Cemetery just above Omaha Beach, on a cliff overlooking the landing site. It was one of the cleanest, neatest, most well-tended memorials we have ever been to.Like Arlington Cemetery, crosses – and Stars of David – were in perfect rows.A closeup of one grave, that of William T. Veil of Pennsylvania. Relatives had their choice of having their loved one buried here, or having them return home.A map of the D-Day military strategyat the cemetery’s memorial.A beautiful pond filled with water lilies, facing the memorial.“Spirit of American Youth Rising From the Waves,” sculpted by Donald De Lue. This was incredibly moving, and a wonderful cap to our day on the beaches of Normandy.
History can be brought alive in so many ways. The Bayeux Tapestry does it through embroidery – get this: it is a 230-foot-long hand sewn depiction of the years 1064-1066 in British history, wherein 626 people, 190 horses and mules, 541 birds and other animals, 33 buildings, 37 ships, and 57 Latin inscriptions are included to tell the story of the Norman Invasion of Britain. It was a phenomenal object to see! Imagine one piece of art stretching across 23 standard (10-foot) rooms.
A little back history: apparently, in 1051, the King of England, Edward the Confessor, told William the Conqueror (at the time, William the Bastard) that his desire was to see William become king when he (Edward) died. Edward had no children, and succession was decided jointly by the king and his council. Edward’s brother-in-law, Harold, had sworn to honor Edward’s wishes, but he usurped the crown as soon as Edward died. William arrived from France to fight for the throne. In the battle of Hastings in 1066, Harold was struck dead by an arrow in the eye, and William became king.
We never thought about how the tapestry would look. In fact, we both approached the museum with a desire to see the tapestry because we had learned about it in school and read about it, but thought it would be kind of boring, a tapestry on a wall that we wouldn’t understand too well. However, it was one of the most fascinating museums we had ever been to. The scenes are numbered, and an audio guide leads you through each scene, what is happening, and points out things to take note of. You walk slowly past this 900+ year old relic, taking it all in, realizing that its design and completion took many years of labor. In fact, recently, a history fanatic embroidered his own version of the tapestry. It took him 18 years to create one that was 40 feet long. The original is 230 feet long!
We are calling it a tapestry, as that has been its name for a millennium. In truth, it is not woven, but embroidered, which has led art historians to call it the Bayeux Embroidery. But that is ridiculous, and nobody refers to it that way. Even the museum where it is housed is called the Museum of the Bayeux Tapestry.
Due to its fragile nature, photos were not permitted. But viewing the tapestry is very moving. In addition to all of the historical scenes, there are animals running along the top and bottom. During the battle, dead soldiers and even decapitated soldiers are shown lying in the dirt. It shows the first known depiction of Halley’s Comet. As they say during the narration, this is a documentary on a piece of cloth. We are just gobsmacked, and in a very real way, we feel privileged and humbled to have been allowed to view a Masterpiece of History (and a medieval version of a Wikipedia article).
The entrance to the Bayeux Tapestry Museum, which is a former seminary dating from 1693.The colors used in the tapestry provided depth and even a sense of movement.Another part of the tapestry. The fabricators got the clothing, shields, helmets, and even the banners correct.Yes! Horses take nosedives, arrows are shown in midair, men collapse and die – all shown on the tapestry.This is William the Conqueror, the hero of the story depicted and ultimate king of England.This is Harold, usurper of the throne of England.This is King Edward of England, whose death caused Harold to take the throne, breaking his vow, leading to the Battle of Hastings.A mounted soldier in battle gear, displayed in the museum.The Allee des Augustines, named after the religious order who established an abbey on this site. It looks very medieval, still.Bayeux Cathedral, 800 years old, sits very grandly in the middle of town.The cathedral’s interior, with gorgeous stained glass windows and even some flags displayed.The stained glass windows were very vibrant, deeply hued.A pretty scene as we walked to the Cathedral, complete with window boxes and a mill water wheel.A look up the main shopping and dining street in Bayeux, which goes on and on for at least 15-20 blocks! Quite impressive for a small town!The Tudor building on the left is a historical landmark, and we liked the view down the street.A candy store with a cute name.This store looks absolutely medieval.The little pig is adorable, with an adorably named store: La Porce-Laine.We’ve seen horses and rockets and cars and all sorts of animals that kids can ride outside a store – but we have NEVER seen a ride in a shoe!!!
Our last week in Paris was lot of fun, but we rested more than we did last week. We always tell anyone considering our lifestyle not to treat it like it is a vacation, trying to fill every day with tourism, as that just leads to burnout. Even more so – as senior citizens, we just can’t go and go every single day! We went to the famous Pere Lachaise Cemetery, which we didn’t know was famous until it was an answer six or seven times on Jeopardy. It is always the question to the answer, “It is where Jim Morrison is buried.” So now we went, we saw, we know it forever. It is the first garden cemetery, opened in 1804. It is not only the largest green space in Paris, it is the most-visited necropolis in the world, with more than 3.5 million annual visitors. Here you will find the graves not only of Jim Morrison, but of Frederic Chopin, Edith Piaf, Sarah Bernhardt, Oscar Wilde, and Moliere. The cobblestone streets are all named, with signs to lead the way, and there are 5,000 varieties of trees! It is far more impressive, botanically, than the formal gardens we visited in Paris. We walked around for maybe 2-3 hours, and estimate that we saw perhaps 25 percent of the entire site. It is huge, and the famous reside next door (as it were) to the ordinary citizens.
We also visited the inside of the Palais Garnier, which houses the Paris Opera. What’s interesting is that, unlike tours of most famous buildings, visitors were allowed to roam through the building freely, with no time limits. Consequently, though, there were hordes of people that you had to fight through to see the most interesting places inside. And this is only early June!
Speaking of hordes of people: we bought tickets for the Louvre online, at 17 euros each. We arrived about 20 minutes before our designated time, to find hundreds and hundreds of people in line with the same time as us! The queue stretched forever and wasn’t moving, looking to be about two excruciating hours of standing in line, which is what we thought we were avoiding by buying online. So we decided that our entrance fees were a donation to the Louvre and went walking the streets of Paris instead. (We think we had more fun doing so!)
Palais Garnier, home of the Paris Opera. We showed the exterior in a previous post, but this week went inside. It is even more elaborate than Versailles, with more gold and glitz, and in some ways better cared for!Part of the reason it might look better kept up is that even with all the people at the Palais, it is nothing compared to the crowds at Versailles.This room has a fireplace at each end, extending upward into more and more elaboration.Then there is the entire ceiling!…and the stage, with red velvet boxed seats along the sides.The chandelier is centered in a beautiful, multicolored celebration of the Arts.One of the many cobblestone streets in Pere Lachaise Cemetery. It is a very quiet, pretty, and peaceful place to spend a day.This is a famous tomb in the cemetery – Georges Rodenbach, trying to rise from his grave!This huge sepulcher is one of many that we saw with weeping women. (We might note that we didn’t see a single depiction of weeping men!)It is unclear whether this is a piece of modern sculpture, a partial man with an artist’s palette, or whether it has deteriorated after once being whole.Chopin’s full name is Frederic Francois Chopin, so we are not sure why the inscription says, “A Fred Chopin.” FRED sounds pretty chummy, though, doesn’t it?Jim Morrison’s grave was surprising, in that it was small and in an interior row, squashed by other graves on all four sides.There was no inscription on this slab, with a nude man and woman lounging. We suppose it belongs to the adjacent grave, but there is no explanation.This grave is completely moss-covered, and as you can see, the grave behind to the left has lost its cross, which is laying broken over it. How long have these graves been forgotten, and now are unknown? Who is buried here?More weeping women – not men. And can you see the sign? All of the paths in the cemetery have names, just like in cities.A Holocaust Memorial…a staircase to heaven, perhaps?The grave of Edith Piaf, which supposedly always has fresh flowers.Not sure if she keeps people OUT, or keeps the dead IN. In either case, we are glad she is on duty.This looked like Small House Row to us.This tomb is Oscar Wilde’s.Due to a famous tradition, they ask that you not “sully” the plexiglas, as in the next photo……apparently, women (and men?) have been leaving kisses on the plexiglas for many years, even though it seems to be very unsanitary!Victor Noir was a journalist, killed by a cousin of Napoleon III, and his death led to riots on the streets of France. The sculptor decided to depict him with a bulge in his crotch, and he then became a symbol of fertility. If a single woman kisses his lips, she will find a boyfriend within a year. If you wish to get pregnant, a woman rubs his bulge. And if she wants twins, she rubs his left foot. As you can see, the rest of the bronze has oxidized, but frequent rubbing has kept the other spots…shiny.The tomb of Baroness Stroganova, the largest in the cemetery.Another woman weeping, this time in the nude.As we left Pere Lachaise and walked toward the metro, we noticed these deadly spikes, facing both ways. The cemetery does not charge an entrance fee, so we wondered once again: is it to keep the dead IN, or keep the living OUT??Very curious! The trees just above these urinals form the entrance to the Tuileries Gardens; these urinals are installed along the sidewalk of the Place de La Concorde. There is no shielding whatsoever. Men: would YOU use them?A brass door handle along a boulevard.Green. Shiny. Pants. Yea or nay?We could see that they served milkshakes and donuts. We didn’t go in, lest we find it hard to leave.This looks adorable, with the understated burro under a sign that looks like “traitor!” – but the word actually means caterer.Inside and out, this Italian restaurant was jammed with flowers.These tiny dough bags don’t have much room in them for sweets, but they were in a patisserie, looking cute.This street art is titled “A Bouquet of Tulips,” by Jeff Koons. It is similar to some of his work we have seen outside the Guggenheim in Bilbao. As you can see, compared to the height of a person, it is gigantic!Advertising the Musee de Cluny, this is a whimsical conglomeration of famous people in art history, eating hot dogs, barbecuing, wearing sunglasses, playing an electric guitar…Fun! We asked some military guys what VIGIPIRATES (Operation Sentinel) were. They explained that there were always about a dozen cars here (near the Louvre) in case of a terrorist incident.Trying to sell sweets and crepes!A very attractive fountain surrounded by flowers on one of the locals’ favorite streets in the Rive Gauche, Rue Mouffetard.Two windows in an antiques shop on the Left Bank…a little of everything.The line at the Louvre…for people who bought tickets online, in advance. The people in the very front were about 100th in line; the guard told us to go to the very back, at the buildings in the distance, so that we could be 300th in line and wait about two hours. We stood and watched – this line wasn’t moving AT ALL. So, we decided that our 34-euro tickets were a donation, and we went for a walk!A really pretty subway entrance! We don’t know why it is so nicely decorated, but it is the only one like it in all of Paris that we saw.
“Wow!” we remarked – “if we are climbing this many steps just to get to the funicular to take us all the way up to Sacre Coeur Church, what is it like if you climbed all the way to the church??” Little did we know – that is just what we had just done! We followed our phone’s directions, and it always led to us another loooooong staircase, then another. We (well, Jan) huffed and puffed and rested and pulled out the bottle of water, absolutely winded, thirsty, and exhausted. So, we arrived at what looked like an Alpine village, very charming, and searched for the funicular to make our way up to the church. A curious thing happened. As we walked, a huge church loomed in front of us. We walked toward it, wondering if there was another church part way up the mountain? Nope. It was Sacre Coeur. We had climbed stairs (the back way) all the way up. 270 steps, to be exact. Excruciating.
To get to the funicular (which of course we never found), we started out on the subway, exiting at the Abbesses station, just three stops away from our hotel. We did not know that Abbesses metro station is the deepest in Paris (118 feet below ground), and we exited up the staircase, as usual. Every time we thought that – this is it, we’ll be at the top and outside, just around the next bend – there would be another staircase, and another, and another – 200 steps, in total. (When we returned to our hotel, we looked up the number of steps at that metro station. Climbing the stairs there is on a list of things never to do in Paris; wish we had known that before we went!) Soooo, with the metro station and church, we climbed 470 steps!! No gym for the next two days!
The Champs Elysees is beautiful to walk down. It is filled with both vehicles and pedestrians, as well as every designer store from around the world. Each restaurant has outdoor seating, as all other large cities do, but one in particular was just beautifully decorated. Look at the photos to see which one it was. Also, we have provided the requisite photo of the Arc de Triomphe, but these huge monuments that everyone knows aren’t very interesting, other than their fame and size – oh, and their place in history, of course!
We spent a bit of time in the Petit Palais, which is across the street from its big sister, the Grand Palais, both built for the Universal Exhibition in the year 1900. It is a free art museum, and its architecture, ornamentation, and art collection are quite wonderful. In turn, both of these wonderful buildings are just a few steps down from the Pont Alexandre III, one of the most beautiful bridges across the Seine.
As we have wandered the streets, just about every restaurant has a “fixed price” menu for lunch and often dinner, but lunch is the main meal here. Generally, for lunch, you can get an appetizer, main dish, and dessert for anywhere between 12-20 euros. All of them have available tables, particularly inside, as outside fills up first. The only lines we have seen? You won’t believe it – Burger King, Five Guys, and McDonald’s. Five Guys on the Champs Elysees had about 30 people in line, spilling out onto the sidewalk. We always remarked about how, on our honeymoon in 2003, driving around France for five days, every tiny medieval village that had two dozen houses always, also, had a McDonald’s! And so to see fast food so popular, still, in the City of Gastronomes, is just astonishing.
This is what Sacré Coeur looks like when you are climbing the steps toward it. However, our pictures were taken as we descended, turned around, and took photos.The inside of Sacré Coeur is beautiful. Once again, in any other city, this would be the major draw as far as churches go. In Paris, it is just one of many.So you can see how far we walked up, this is a photo of Sacré Coeur near the bottom, but not yet down at street level. Even we were impressed!The view from the top of the hill is great.We walked into Montmartre Village, which looks alpine, as it is at the top of the hill, and we wondered where we were!This artist captured a great resemblance of this girl. After we took this picture, she looked at us questioningly. We gave her a thumbs up.This pretty café is just behind the church, on the main drag through the village. Can you see the saxophone on the busker? He has a cup for donations attached to the saxophone.We walked down the hill and all the way back to our hotel. To get there, we passed through the Red Light District and came upon the Moulin Rouge.These inflatable polar bears were bouncing around just in front of the Moulin Rouge. Why they were there? We have no idea.A pretty façade we passed in Montmartre.This is the Place de La Concorde. We liked the juxtaposition of the up-close obelisk and the farther-away Eiffel Tower.This is the detail on one of the columns in the Place de La Concorde. Isn’t all of that gold work so beautiful?The Pont Alexandre III, a bridge whose construction started in 1896.Looking across the bridge toward the golden dome of the Invalides, a historical landmark.The Grand Palais, which is currently closed.We liked this corner of the Grand Palais, as it looks like this green statuary is sliding down the roof for fun!The very impressive entrance to the Petit Palais.This statue dates to 1882, and is titled “Monkey Money.” This expression refers to a tax that Parisians had to pay to cross a bridge near Notre Dame; to avoid it, street performers would make a monkey dance as a form of payment for crossing the bridge.La Danseuse Sasha-Lyo, 1933. What an incredible work of art!This is titled Bacchantes. It caused a scandal at the 1886 art show, as it depicted two naked women engaged in a vulgar cat-fight.The garden arcade at the Petit Palais has both a decorated floor and ceiling, along with its pretty display of columns.This is the back of the Petit Palais, facing the garden.A most unusual fountain, found on the Champs Elysees.We loved this Dior building, decked out all in white.Even though we have been here at the Arc de Triomphe before, it is still stunning to see its enormity when you compare it to the size of ordinary people standing next to it.Yep, decorated with flowers and lights, McDonald’s takes the prize for the prettiest outdoor seating area of all of the restaurants on the Champs Elysees.Guerlain also looked pretty with its honeycomb, bee, and flowers.It’s hard to believe, but this is the famous Church of the Madeleine. In the bottom photo, it looks like a Greek temple. On the opposite side to this front, as shown in the top photo, it becomes a giant billboard. We admit, it is a little jarring to see, but we suppose the church appreciates the revenue.The magnificent interior of the Madeleine.The brand: The Chicken Farmer. The notes: Raised in Freedom, finished with dairy products. The price: 13.95 euros per kg (about $7/lb). What we thought was interesting is selling a chicken with its claws intact.
