Hidden France, part one
Worked on my bike this morning and took a short ride. We're at the top of a hill so riding back home is never fun, especially considering how long it's been since I last rode a bike.
My brain is ready to work on something different for a bit. So... picspam time! I was thinking about the parts of France that the casual tourists don't see. The following photos are a bit off the beaten path, or they tie into a fun experience, or I just like them... Stories included because I like talking about France.
Part One:
In June 2003 I flew to Paris to meet a friend of mine. We stayed in Paris a couple of days, then went to southern France. (After that we went to Spain, but that will wait for another picspam post.) We stayed in the city of Avignon. It's famous for having been the Papal headquarters for a time, and for a bridge that's mentioned in a French children's song. My favorite picture from our time in Avignon is this one:
Our hotel was just inside the old city walls. I woke up early (by accident, heh) and the moon was there as the sky lightened for dawn... I set the camera in the window ledge and took the picture. Most cities that had defensive walls in the past only have remnants now--people took the stones and used them to build houses. Avignon's wall is almost completely intact, probably because it's actually the third wall. The Romans built a wall, then another was made in early Medieval times, then as the city grew in importance (in particular because of being the Papal seat) the third wall was built. It's been there for hundreds of years.
We took a day trip to the city of Arles. It has a Roman-built arena, which is still in use for bullfighting and other events. My favorite Arles photo is this:
If you look closely you'll see that the "window" on the right is actually a painting. I love that kind of detail, it makes me smile.
Ah, rental cars in France; always a terrifying experience. We drove to the middle of nowhere to see the hilltop village of Gordes. I'm ridiculously proud of how this picture came out:
It was market day and we bought fresh cheese-bread, ripe cherries, olives and a roasted chicken. It was one of the best meals of my life, sitting on a ledge at the edge of town looking over the hills.
That same day we drove to a nearby monastery, L'Abbaye de Senanque. The monks there grow lavender, which you can see in the picture. They harvest it by hand.
(On the way back to Avignon we stopped at the lavender museum--it's small but worthwhile, and I bought the best-smelling perfume and oil there.)
I lived in southwestern France for over a year in my early twenties. My first town was Périgueux--about ninety minutes train ride northeast of Bordeaux. People love the Gothic cathedrals in France, but not all of them were built in that style. This photo has the Cathédrale Saint-Front in the background; you can see the onion-domes of the Byzantine style building.
I took this photo next to the cathedral's courtyard:
When people think of castles in France they usually get an image of the large castles of the Loire valley. Not all castles were that big--small castles dot the countryside. This little castle in Périgueux doesn't have a roof anymore. It's abandoned in the middle of town.
My landlord in Périgueux was Monsieur Ochs. He was a German Jew who escaped to France, and if you believed his stories, he was in the French Resistance during the Second World War. He had a habit of cornering us in the hallway and telling us tales from that time... usually when we were in a hurry to go somewhere. He was also incredibly nice, looking out for his "petites Américaines." (I was about as tall as him, so... petite was a sign of affection rather than a literal appellation.) Each day M. Ochs and the neighbor across the street, M. DuBois would lean against the courtyard wall and discuss the world. I took this photo of them from just inside the window--you can see the window handle on the right.
*sniff* This is a part of France that is disappearing with time. M. Ochs passed away a few years ago. Even the beret is hardly ever worn nowadays.
My brain is ready to work on something different for a bit. So... picspam time! I was thinking about the parts of France that the casual tourists don't see. The following photos are a bit off the beaten path, or they tie into a fun experience, or I just like them... Stories included because I like talking about France.
Part One:
In June 2003 I flew to Paris to meet a friend of mine. We stayed in Paris a couple of days, then went to southern France. (After that we went to Spain, but that will wait for another picspam post.) We stayed in the city of Avignon. It's famous for having been the Papal headquarters for a time, and for a bridge that's mentioned in a French children's song. My favorite picture from our time in Avignon is this one:
Our hotel was just inside the old city walls. I woke up early (by accident, heh) and the moon was there as the sky lightened for dawn... I set the camera in the window ledge and took the picture. Most cities that had defensive walls in the past only have remnants now--people took the stones and used them to build houses. Avignon's wall is almost completely intact, probably because it's actually the third wall. The Romans built a wall, then another was made in early Medieval times, then as the city grew in importance (in particular because of being the Papal seat) the third wall was built. It's been there for hundreds of years.
We took a day trip to the city of Arles. It has a Roman-built arena, which is still in use for bullfighting and other events. My favorite Arles photo is this:
If you look closely you'll see that the "window" on the right is actually a painting. I love that kind of detail, it makes me smile.
Ah, rental cars in France; always a terrifying experience. We drove to the middle of nowhere to see the hilltop village of Gordes. I'm ridiculously proud of how this picture came out:
It was market day and we bought fresh cheese-bread, ripe cherries, olives and a roasted chicken. It was one of the best meals of my life, sitting on a ledge at the edge of town looking over the hills.
That same day we drove to a nearby monastery, L'Abbaye de Senanque. The monks there grow lavender, which you can see in the picture. They harvest it by hand.
(On the way back to Avignon we stopped at the lavender museum--it's small but worthwhile, and I bought the best-smelling perfume and oil there.)
I lived in southwestern France for over a year in my early twenties. My first town was Périgueux--about ninety minutes train ride northeast of Bordeaux. People love the Gothic cathedrals in France, but not all of them were built in that style. This photo has the Cathédrale Saint-Front in the background; you can see the onion-domes of the Byzantine style building.
I took this photo next to the cathedral's courtyard:
When people think of castles in France they usually get an image of the large castles of the Loire valley. Not all castles were that big--small castles dot the countryside. This little castle in Périgueux doesn't have a roof anymore. It's abandoned in the middle of town.
My landlord in Périgueux was Monsieur Ochs. He was a German Jew who escaped to France, and if you believed his stories, he was in the French Resistance during the Second World War. He had a habit of cornering us in the hallway and telling us tales from that time... usually when we were in a hurry to go somewhere. He was also incredibly nice, looking out for his "petites Américaines." (I was about as tall as him, so... petite was a sign of affection rather than a literal appellation.) Each day M. Ochs and the neighbor across the street, M. DuBois would lean against the courtyard wall and discuss the world. I took this photo of them from just inside the window--you can see the window handle on the right.
*sniff* This is a part of France that is disappearing with time. M. Ochs passed away a few years ago. Even the beret is hardly ever worn nowadays.