Tuesday, June 21, 2016
PARIS, ETC.
Tuesday, 21 June.
We are home now, but wanted to add a few things that did not make it into the blog thus far. So much to see and do!
We had a wonderful time. The French are very polite, their food is delicious (for the most part), they truly have the best pastries in the world, their countryside is very clean and uncluttered (no trash or billboards - so scenic).
We averaged walking 7 to 9 miles a day when in Paris, and many, many flights of stairs. Many hotels do not have elevators, and even when they did, we took the stairs. My app says I climbed 278 flights of stairs on this trip. On Mt St Michel, we would do 40 flights in one day! I'm sure our scales won't agree, though.
Here are a few random photos from France:
FASHION
We are home now, but wanted to add a few things that did not make it into the blog thus far. So much to see and do!
We had a wonderful time. The French are very polite, their food is delicious (for the most part), they truly have the best pastries in the world, their countryside is very clean and uncluttered (no trash or billboards - so scenic).
We averaged walking 7 to 9 miles a day when in Paris, and many, many flights of stairs. Many hotels do not have elevators, and even when they did, we took the stairs. My app says I climbed 278 flights of stairs on this trip. On Mt St Michel, we would do 40 flights in one day! I'm sure our scales won't agree, though.
Here are a few random photos from France:
FASHION
A tutu with your blazer?
Sunday, June 19, 2016
CHARTRES
(By the way, fixed the spell checker error on previous page.)
Chartres is a city southwest of Paris, a modern city with an ancient history and cathedral, Cathedrale Notre-Dame de Chartres. The current cathedral was built between 1194 and 1250, and is the last of at least five which have occupied the site since the 4th century. Most of the stained glass windows have survived, and were removed for safety during both World Wars. The three great facades are adorned with hundreds of sculpted figures representing theological themes and stories.
The relic claimed by Chartres is the Sancta Camisa, the tunic worn by Mary at Christ's birth. Relics were essential to the cathedrals, as pilgrims were drawn to them by hopes of seeing a holy relic.
The Chartres labyrinth is the most famous in the world. Forty feet across, this and other labyrinths represent a pilgrimage to Jerusalem, which many pilgrims through the years were unable to make. Today, throughout the world labyrinths have been constructed and used as means of meditation and prayer. Labyrinths differ from mazes in that a labyrinth has one way in and one way out; you cannot get lost. The Chartres labyrinth was covered by the refurbishment currently underway, but in 2009 it was available for us to walk. This photo is from that visit.
Major restoration was underway when we visited this time and has been going on since we were last there in 2009, to be completed next year. The interior is being painted a creamy white to make it look as it would have in the 13th century. Controversial among many, but the cathedral's greatest expert and tour leader Malcolm Miller dismisses the objections, saying that the cathedral was intended to be light and has been aged by candle smoke and oil fired central heating, and even some internal fires.
In the pictures below, you can distinguish between the light and the dark (which is a metaphor in itself).
Chartres is a city southwest of Paris, a modern city with an ancient history and cathedral, Cathedrale Notre-Dame de Chartres. The current cathedral was built between 1194 and 1250, and is the last of at least five which have occupied the site since the 4th century. Most of the stained glass windows have survived, and were removed for safety during both World Wars. The three great facades are adorned with hundreds of sculpted figures representing theological themes and stories.
The relic claimed by Chartres is the Sancta Camisa, the tunic worn by Mary at Christ's birth. Relics were essential to the cathedrals, as pilgrims were drawn to them by hopes of seeing a holy relic.
The Chartres labyrinth is the most famous in the world. Forty feet across, this and other labyrinths represent a pilgrimage to Jerusalem, which many pilgrims through the years were unable to make. Today, throughout the world labyrinths have been constructed and used as means of meditation and prayer. Labyrinths differ from mazes in that a labyrinth has one way in and one way out; you cannot get lost. The Chartres labyrinth was covered by the refurbishment currently underway, but in 2009 it was available for us to walk. This photo is from that visit.
Major restoration was underway when we visited this time and has been going on since we were last there in 2009, to be completed next year. The interior is being painted a creamy white to make it look as it would have in the 13th century. Controversial among many, but the cathedral's greatest expert and tour leader Malcolm Miller dismisses the objections, saying that the cathedral was intended to be light and has been aged by candle smoke and oil fired central heating, and even some internal fires.
In the pictures below, you can distinguish between the light and the dark (which is a metaphor in itself).
Friday, June 17, 2016
MONT SAINT MICHEL
Tuesday, 14 June.
Le Mont St Michel is an island commune on the northwest coast of France, 247 acres and 44 residents.
Since the 8th century, a monastery has been here. According to legend, the archangel Michael instructed the bishop of Avaranches to build a church on the rocky isle. In former years, pilgrims had to come and leave on low tide. Today, many still come that way, as their muddy feet attests. However, now you can park your car and take a tram across a boardwalk to the base of the mount. At the bottom are shops, restaurants and hotels, and at the top (the very top, reached by many, many stairs) is the abbey, a community of monks and nuns of the Monastic Fraternities of Jerusalem. We attended one of the vesper services while there, and also had a communion service in the small parish church, led by one of our leaders who is a priest.
We also were able to tour the abbey on our own with an audio guide. There are many, many rooms.
Views from every point are immense and beautiful, as you can see from the photos.
Le Mont St Michel is an island commune on the northwest coast of France, 247 acres and 44 residents.
Since the 8th century, a monastery has been here. According to legend, the archangel Michael instructed the bishop of Avaranches to build a church on the rocky isle. In former years, pilgrims had to come and leave on low tide. Today, many still come that way, as their muddy feet attests. However, now you can park your car and take a tram across a boardwalk to the base of the mount. At the bottom are shops, restaurants and hotels, and at the top (the very top, reached by many, many stairs) is the abbey, a community of monks and nuns of the Monastic Fraternities of Jerusalem. We attended one of the vesper services while there, and also had a communion service in the small parish church, led by one of our leaders who is a priest.
We also were able to tour the abbey on our own with an audio guide. There are many, many rooms.
Views from every point are immense and beautiful, as you can see from the photos.
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