I've never thought I needed a GPS system. Give me a map and the car keys and I'm a happy girl! Nothing I like better than a good road trip. I can always get from Point A to Point B. But I was a bit worried about my trip to the Riviera. It's one of those high density areas...lots of people, lots of buildings, and LOTS of cars. All crammed into the narrow streets of really old cities. I had borrowed a friend's TomTom for a trip to the Toulouse airport and found it very handy for navigating the back roads. So, I decided to purchase my own before my trip last week. Am I ever glad I made that decision!
I'm not sure I'd have even found my B&B without the TomTom. Even the lady in it had doubts...she kept asking me if I really wanted to be on an unpaved road. I wasn't, but told her to go for it. Nice was especially a nightmare. The Nice airport is the second busiest airport in France (only Charles DeGaulle is busier) Does that give you any idea how many people were driving around in town?? I've never circled so many round-abouts or merged onto so many tiny streets! I would have never been able to do it with Madame TomTom. She and I had a couple of hiccups, though. She sometimes counted round-about exits a little differently than I did, and I never could convince her that the unpaved road to my B&B was okay!
Using my GPS system on my Riviera vacation has definitely made a believer out of me! Don't drive in French cities without one.
Wednesday, October 30, 2013
Tuesday, October 29, 2013
Giacometti
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Man Walking by Alberto Giacomettie |
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Giacometti Woman |
Monday, October 28, 2013
Greetings from the Green Man
I especially liked the pieces playing in the water. Here are a few examples for you to enjoy:
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by Joan Miro |
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Another by Miro |
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Underwater mosaic by Georges Braque |
My favorite water sculpture...I love things that move!
Sunday, October 27, 2013
Cemenelum
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Thermes Western (western baths) |
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Baths North |
With their genius for controlling and using water, the Romans built a series of aqueducts and drainage systems to bring water to the site of the baths, circulate it through the bathing pools, flush the latrines, and then carry it all away. Not only was the water heated for each bath, but the floors and rooms themselves were heated as well by an underfloor system of ducts called the hypocaust. Heated air and smoke from wood fires in the furnace room circulated freely through these ducts warming the marble floors. The ducts also kept annoying smoke out of the rooms, funneling it up flues in the walls that warmed them before leaving the building via the roof. Warmest rooms were located closest to the furnace room; cold rooms further away.
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Water drainage system |
Labels:
architecture,
Cote d'Azur,
Explore,
fall,
France,
history,
travel
Friday, October 25, 2013
'Pottery Shards'
The archaeological museum of Nice definitely displayed a lot of pottery shards, but I found these beautiful amphorae more photo-worthy than the bits and pieces. Used since Neolithic times to transport a variety of liquid as well as dry commodities, these were probably used for wine. The oldest relics in the museum date from around 1100 BCE when this area (Cimiez-Nice) was inhabited by late Bronze Age peoples. The Greek and later, Roman settlers, however, left the most beautiful artifacts for us to discover...
Like this gorgeous bronze mask
and these tiny bronze figures.
My personal favorite....a larger-than-life marble sculpture of Antonia Augusta from the 1st century CE. She left quite a legacy...daughter of Mark Anthony, mother of Claudius, grandmother of Caligula, and great-grandmother of Nero!
Thursday, October 24, 2013
Heaven is Old Rocks and Pottery Shards
I was in hog heaven when I visited the archaeological site next door to the Matisse museum. I love old rock and pottery shards just as much as I love old art. The museum and the site are free. And...they actually encourage you to take photos here. "You can use the flash if you wish" said the nice woman at the entry. So, I did!
You see the Roman arena before you even enter the museum. It's called the Cemelenum and like the Matisse museum, is actually located at the edge of Nice in Cimiez.
As Roman arenas go, this one was small only holding about 5,000 spectators. But it had all the same parts and the same functions....gladiator fights, wild animal hunts, tortures, executions, and games.
It's a lovely introduction to the museum and the rest of excavations. That's where we'll go next time.
Wednesday, October 23, 2013
Matisse Museum
While I spent two hours wandering through the Matisse museum in Nice, I have nary a photo to show you. I was pretty sure the 'photo police' would scold me if I tried to photograph any of the beautiful artwork and sculpture on display! I loved the museum with its representative pieces from all of Matisse's genius...small paintings, huge wall paintings, drawings, sculpture, cut paper designs, fabric stencil and silk screening designs, tile work, and stained glass. The man was amazing!
Labels:
architecture,
arts,
Cote d'Azur,
Explore,
fall,
France
Tuesday, October 22, 2013
Picasso's Terrace
While not cold at all, it was a cloudy, gray day when I visited the Picasso museum in Antibes. Somehow these gaunt bronze sculptures looked at home in the gray weather silhouetted against the sea.
This piece definitely caught my eye
Yesterday I visited the Matisse museum in Nice; today I'm off to St.Paul-de-Vence and perhaps the hilltop village of Gourdon. I'll be sharing these adventures with you soon.
Monday, October 21, 2013
Hello from the Riviera!
Hello from the Riviera where life is an adventure of people, traffic and finding a parking place! Underneath that level of frustration, though, you can see the beauty that lures people to this area and keeps them coming back. I'm staying in Antibes and spent yesterday afternoon wandering through old Antibes. It's a warren of charming old shops, restaurants and museums. I visited the Picasso Museum located in the old Grimaldi castle overlooking the old port. While there are very few works by Picasso on exhibit right now (all on loan to other museums) there are many other artists represented with striking paintings and sculpture.
There's a whole room devoted to Nicholas de Stael who died in Antibes in 1954. Shhh! this is an illegal photo taken before the 'guard' scolded me for using my camera. Hey...I didn't know...there weren't any signs anywhere and most places it's okay to photograph if you don't use a flash.
Next time I'll share some of the modern sculptures that enliven the terrace. It's okay to photograph outside!
There's a whole room devoted to Nicholas de Stael who died in Antibes in 1954. Shhh! this is an illegal photo taken before the 'guard' scolded me for using my camera. Hey...I didn't know...there weren't any signs anywhere and most places it's okay to photograph if you don't use a flash.
Next time I'll share some of the modern sculptures that enliven the terrace. It's okay to photograph outside!
Friday, October 18, 2013
Good Morning, World!
Nice sunrise out my bedroom window this morning.
Its reflection in the river was pretty too!
I'm off to explore another region of France tomorrow morning...the Cote d'Azur. I'll be spending a few days in Antibes and then St.-Remy-de-Provence. Hope to have some fun tales to tell.
Thursday, October 17, 2013
Trompe l'Oeil
This charming house in Conques is an example of trompe l'oeil or 'fool the eye.' At first glance it appears there are two staircases going up the outside of the facade. Actually while the windows are all real, the vertical brown beams are painted on the house. The balusters and handrails are half-cut pieces of wood attached to the wall of the building. There are no stairs! Someone either had a quirky sense of humor or wanted his house to look much more elegant than it was.
Tuesday, October 15, 2013
Les Parapluies
Sunday, October 13, 2013
Some Final Thoughts
I've had a few days to process and absorb all the pageantry surrounding Sainte Foy and her feast day. I've seen her reliquary before, of course, in its normal place in the Tresor, but seeing her out amongst her people being sung to and venerated was a joyful experience. Even though she doesn't quite look how I'd picture a 12 year-old girl! Her gold and silver covered body is actually made of wood encrusted with precious and semi-precious stones. It dates from about 980 CE. There is a compartment in the back of the statue that holds the glass vessel containing her relics.Her head has puzzled experts for years. It dates from the 5th century and the most commonly accepted theory is that it was originally the head of a Roman statue and was simply attached to the seated body. Other experts have proposed that it is a copy of Charlemagne's death mask or that it may be the head of an ancient Egyptian statue. No one knows for sure. It's a priceless religious artifact as evidenced by the presence of three gendarmes the entire time she was out of her locked and secure Tresor!
After Mass, the crowd milled around the parvis watching the Occitan dancers perform and purchasing home-baked goodies being sold by the Conques primary school. All the presiding priests were working the crowd, doing a holy meet and greet. Everyone was smiling and happy. I approached the priest who gave the homily during Mass and thanked him for what was for me a very special weekend. And I added, "putting all this together must have been a lot of work."
To which he replied in lovely French-accented English "It was the work of joy, Madame. She is a very special girl, you know!"
Indeed, she is.
After Mass, the crowd milled around the parvis watching the Occitan dancers perform and purchasing home-baked goodies being sold by the Conques primary school. All the presiding priests were working the crowd, doing a holy meet and greet. Everyone was smiling and happy. I approached the priest who gave the homily during Mass and thanked him for what was for me a very special weekend. And I added, "putting all this together must have been a lot of work."
To which he replied in lovely French-accented English "It was the work of joy, Madame. She is a very special girl, you know!"
Indeed, she is.
Friday, October 11, 2013
The Solemn Mass of Sainte Foy
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The child martyr, Sainte Foy |
The homily from Romans 8:38-39
"...neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord,"
Thursday, October 10, 2013
Sainte Foy in All Her Splendor
Sunday morning, 6 October, Conques...
The crowd gathered and jostled for position
Dignitaries began emerging from the church and finding their places in the courtyard.
I knew when the gendarmes came out of the cloister, though, we were getting close..
I'll let the video speak for itself.
I was not raised in a 'saint' tradition. Methodists barely acknowledge as saints the men (Matthew, Mark, Luke and John) who wrote the Gospels, much less obscure 12 year-old martyrs. But seeing Sainte Foy in all her splendor being processed through the crowd and into the church gave me shivers of joy. She is so beloved here! And I caught that spirit as well.
Wednesday, October 9, 2013
The Warm-Up Act
A lot of the men and a few of the women danced in these traditional wooden sabots. After Mass the group danced again in the parvis in front of the church. I held my breath that no one would slip! You can see how rough the cobblestone surface is...and the entire area slants downhill toward the church! I have a hard time just standing on the surface. I can't imagine how difficult it must be to dance on. You'll be happy to know that the performance was perfect...and accident-free!
Monday, October 7, 2013
The Celebration Begins...
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The Abbey church at dusk |
People began to gather in the parvis outside the great doors of the Abbey well before the walk's 20h30 start time. We were given candles and song sheets and watched as the priests began to emerge from the church...
We had an accordion playing priest...
a cross-bearing priest...
two Greek Orthodox priests...
and the priest whose special joy it was to carry the glass and silver vessel containing the relics of the little saint, Sainte Foy.
Our way through the village was lit by hundreds of flickering red and white votive candles. Many of the houses and businesses put out their own votives on windowsills, steps and garden walls.
We sang songs of Sainte Foy and of pilgrimage as we walked. Several times we stopped for readings and words of praise...
It was a joyous prelude for Sunday's solemn Mass in honor of Sainte Foy.
Saturday, October 5, 2013
A Celebration in Conques
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Ste.Foy in the tympanum |
Look for the celebration of Ste. Foy in my upcoming blog posts.
Friday, October 4, 2013
Bells
A bell tower in Provence |
If someone asked you to name the sound that immediately makes you think of France, what would you choose? Some people would choose the loud churring of Provencal cicadas or the reverberating klaxons of Parisian ambulances. Others would hear music playing...music of the can-can or Edith Piaf's trilling R's as she sings "Non, je ne regrette rein." But to me, the sound that is quintessentially France is the tolling of church bells.
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Saujac in the snow |
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Fall color behind the Cadrieu church |
In my little village, the church bells only toll on the fourth Saturday of the month at 6 pm. This is when Mass is celebrated here by the priest from Cajarc. Unfortunately, I can't hear the bells from my own village church. I think this is because the Little Train House sits below the church which is up the hill from me. The sound must travel above me. The only other time this bell tolls (and all the other bells around me as well) is when someone dies. After the funeral service, the bell solemnly tolls, long and slow, as mourners walk behind the cortege to the cemetery for the burial.
In joy and sorrow, the bells mark the rhythm of life here for me. It's a sound that will always make me smile in remembrance of France no matter where I am in the world.
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