Wednesday, April 25, 2007
From here it was time to head back to Mannheim - Au Revoir France! Au Revoir -
Tuesday, April 24, 2007
The centerpiece of this fountain is a golden dragon that the kids really liked.
We finished our tour of the interior, then we headed outside to explore the grounds. In this picture is part of the back of Versailles. Inside this area is the Hall of Mirrors.
Here is the King's bedroom - where Louis XIV died in 1715.
Here is the famous Hall of Mirrors. Great state occasions were held in this room stretching 233 ft long. Here, in 1919, the Treaty of Versailles was ratified ending World War I.
This is the Royal Chapel. The beautiful interior is decorated with Corinthian columns and white marble, gilding and Baroque murals.
Sunday, March 18, 2007
This was our last stop on our trip to France - le Chateau de Versailles. Under Louis XIV, Versailles became the center of political power in France. The present palace was begun by Louis XIV in 1668.
It was an amazing afternoon. This is now - outside of St. Peter's - my favorite Cathedral. We grabbed a good dinner at l'Hippopotamus - (which we recommend if ever in France). Chartres was a good stop.
This is outside of the South Porch of the Cathedral. Built from 1197-1209 it reflects Christ and his New Testament teachings.
This is part of the choir screen. The sculpted scenes took two centuries to complete and are the work of various artists. The screen begins and ends with scenes from the life of Mary; in between are scenes from the life of Christ.
This is one of the famed windows - the Blue Virgin Window - Notre Dame de la Bella Verriere. Mary's halo and and clothing are of a luminous blue, set against a rich red. Mary is seated with the child Jesus on her lap. These pictures hardly do these beautiful place justice.
This relic is the real treasure of the Cathedral. It is called the Sancta Camisia - the veil of Mary. Yes, Mary. I am still blown away that I have seen something worn by Mary. It was my favorite part of the Cathedral. The citizens of Chartres feel protected by this veil. This garment is the sole reason for the construction of this Cathedral - to honor Mary.
The stained glass windows of this Cathedral were breathtaking. They cover a surface area of over 28,000 sq. ft. Over 150 windows illustrate biblical stories and daily life in the 13th century. During both World Wars the windows were dismantled piece by piece and removed for safety. This glorious collection of of stained glass windows is world-renowned. This one in the picture is the South Rose Window and illustrates the Apocalypse with Christ in Majesty - from 1225.
The nave reaches a lofty height of 121 ft. It was just beautiful inside and dark - which is why this picture is from my book. Inlaid in the nave floor is the 13th century labyrinth. As a penance, pilgrims used to follow the tortuous route on their knees, echoing the Way of the Cross. The journey of 851 ft. around the 11 bands of unbroken concentric circles, took at least one hour to complete.
While the half timbered homes were charming, this is our reason for coming to Chartres - the Cathedral. Chartres may have the greatest Gothic cathedral in all of Europe. The church that we see today has remained untouched and unscathed by war since 1250.
This is the city of Chartres. We finally found our hotel - a Comfort Inn outside of the city center, and made our way into town. The old town is full of quirky half-timbered houses along cobbled streets.
On the way to Chartres, we saw these stairs in the middle of a field - and stairs are fro climbing, so...
O LORD SUPPORT US ALL THE DAY LONG UNTIL THE SHADOWS LENGTHEN AND OUR WORK IS DONE * THEN IN THY MERCY GRANT US A SAFE LODGING AND PEACE AT LAST
Here also, in twenty instances, two brothers rest side by side.
Here is one of the Medal of Honor recipients that rests here in Brittany.
Ninety five of the headstones mark the graves of unknowns . On the granite wall are listed the names of 498 missing who sleep in unknown graves.
At this cemetery, covering 28 acres of rolling farm country, rest 4,410 of our Dead, most of whom gave their lives in the Normandy and Brittany campaigns in 1944.
On the way to Chartres we saw a sign on the autobahn for an American cemetery - so we decided to pay it a visit. It lies just outside the small town of St. James (Manche). While driving through the town looking for it, we pulled over and I asked, in my very best French, an elderly woman where the American cemetery was - she got a big smile and vaguely told me what direction to head. She must have been a child during the war and remembers the American sacrifice. We found it -the Brittany American Cemetery.
From here, it was back to the truck to head towards our next destination - Chartres.
We walked all the way around and peeked in the windows of this chapel. It is St. Aubert's Chapel. A small 15th century chapel built on an outcrop of rock is dedicated to Aubert, the founder of Mont St. Michel.
We are about halfway around at this point, on the back of the island. We found lots of cool sea glass in the rocks!
The tide had recently gone back out and what is left is some sloppy, slippery, sand/mud.
Saturday, March 17, 2007
This morning we went back to Mont St. Michel to see if we could walk around the whole outside of the island. Good hing we were leaving after a short while because we parked in the lot that was going to be completely underwater at the end of the day.
After dinner we drove back over to the island for a look at it all lit up. Nice -
What a cool place to visit. We left and went back to our hotel - the Hotel Mercure just on the causeway, and grabbed some dinner at a nearby restaurant.
We didn't walk very far though - people die here every year from the quicksand and the fast rising tides. We were watching the tide coming in from up on the walls and you can how dangerous this area can become. The guides that take groups out on the sand have special ropes and equipment but its still all at your own risk.
We finished our tour of the abbey and walked on the sand just below the ramparts.
This is the refectory. The monks had their meals in this long, narrow room. The room is full of windows but when you stand at the entrance all you see are the columns.
The cloisters with their elegant columns in staggered rows were built in the 13th century.
This is inside the church - the highest point of the island.
This view overlooks the causeway that we drove in on. This area is known for its extremely strong tides. In fact, depending on the days, all of the parking lots can be underwater during high tide - except the causeway. The tides rise and fall reaching speeds of 10km/h. All of this acts as a natural defense for the Mont.
We are now up in the abbey itself. At the top of the church tower is the shining symbol of the abbey - St. Michael. This abbey grew from a humble 8th century oratory to become a Benedictine monastery that had its greatest influence in the 12th and 13th centuries.
This is the abbeys Grand Rue - now crowded with restaurants and stores, the pilgrims' route followed since the 12th century, climbs up past Eglise St. Pierre to the abbey gates. It's a really narrow street - we thought it reminded us of Diagon Alley in Harry Potter.
The silhouette of Mont St. Michel is one of the most enchanting sights in France. We are standing on the causeway that now links Mont St. Michel to the mainland.
Friday, March 16, 2007
We're here! We were on the road this morning at about 6 am for a weekend in France. This is our first and furthest stop - Mont St. Michel on the northwest coast of France - Normandy region. The trip to about 7 hours from home to here.
Monday, April 23, 2007
It was a great weekend trip! From here we drove a quick couple hours back home - full of new memories!
Here is a picture of the signing that put an end to World War II.
In this room at 02:41 hours on May 7, 1945 was signed the Act of Unconditional Surrender of all German Armed Forces to the Supreme Commander, Allied Expeditionary Force, and simultaneously to the Russian High Command. This is General Eisenhower's supreme headquarters - and this was his War room. The maps are still on the walls - it was really cool.
From the Cathedral, we walked over to this famous building - la Musee de la Redditon.
Here we are at the Cathedral entrance, below Mary greeting us, carrying baby Jesus. She is inviting us to cross the threshold and like her, to listen to the Lord.
The exterior is just as impressive! This cathedral is often called "the cathedral of angels." This enigmatic angel with unfurled wings is the most celebrated of the many that grace the building. She has a very coy smile -
This gives a little bit of an idea as to how large the interior really is -