trudymason.com

Travel, Art, Drawing, PaperArts

trudymason.com

Category Archives: French Towns

The Boves, World War I Cemeteries and Vimy Ridge Memorial

Posted on by
2

Day 11.    Wednesday, September 10, 2025

This is a bit of a long post…it was a very full day.

On our walk to Arras City Hall this morning we pass a ‘Bloquons Tout’ (Bock Everything) protest march.  This march is much calm, but people are very angry with the government’s austerity budget.

It is not just young people who are upset and protesting.  There are people of all ages in this protest march that is blocking the streets for more than three blocks.

We are going on a guided tour of the Boves this morning.  The Boves are the tunnels and caves that were excavated under the city of Arras and the surrounding countryside.  The stones for building the churches, City Hall and other large buildings  were excavated from these caves and tunnels.  We are given hardhats to wear, but Sue is content to sit on my shoulder for the tour.  

This is the entrance to the Boves.

It is damp down here, 80% humidity and about 12° Celsius. Some of the tunnels have moss growing on the walls.

In places these very narrow spiral staircases are used to go between levels of tunnels.  There are three levels, one at 4 metres, one at 8 metres and one at 12 metres.

Graffiti covers many of the walls, both modern day graffiti and graffiti from the days of the First World War.  The fleur-de-lys and the French Crest, which once had 2 lions on it are very old, the rest unfortunately are from recent tourists who visit these tunnels.

One of the many staircases on the tour.

Many of the staircases and tunnels are now blocked off for security reasons.

There are some informative posters in one of the caves.  During World War I more tunnels were built to connect the caves. This gave Allied troops a way to move underground very close to the German front so that a surprise attack was possible. There are over 20 km of caves and tunnels and 24,000 soldiers gathered in these tunnels and caves for a week in order to attack the Germans. The Arras Attack was a diversion tactic for the more important battle at Vimy Ridge.  This map shows the caves and tunnels used in the attack.  The dark line on the right side is the German front.  We enjoy our tour but it does feel good to be back outside in the sunshine.  I can’t imagine having to stay underground here for a week like the soldiers in WWI.After our underground tour and lunch at our bnb we drive about half an hour to La Nécropole National de Notre Dame de Lorette.  Bob says we have to visit this site first.  I have no idea what is behind this big black wall.

We pass through the entrance, this is what I see, and I start to cry.

This memorial was inaugurated on November 11, 214. This World War I monument gives those who fell in battle  in this area a place of remembrance…a place where their names ( Allied and German) are preserved, commemorated and honoured.

This is about 1/4 of the Ring of Remembrance…579,606 names.  It is overwhelming.  All these young men dead. Sons, brothers, husbands, fathers…a whole generation of men that were no more. It is an incredibly powerful memorial.

We walk over to the cemetery and there are thousands and thousands of crosses of fallen French soldiers, as far as the eye can see.

A photos is not able to show the size of this cemetery.  It is enormous and covers 25 hectares and holds over 40,000 bodies, half of which are in individual graves and the other half are in seven different ossuaries.  More than 150 battlefield cemeteries were moved to this location.There is a basilica onsite…

with more names of the dead inscribed on the walls.

I realize that I didn’t take a photo of the lantern Tower.  It is 52 meters tall and has a chapel in its base that contains the remains of over 6,000 unknown soldiers. At night there is a light that shines and rotates from the top of the tower.There is a small museum the Lantern Tower with personal items, photos and excerpts form diaries.  They are upsetting to see.  I can not imagine having to live through these experiences.  

There were several photos showing the horror of war…gathering their dead comrades for burial.

We drive from this cemetery to Vimy Ridge which was an important Canadian battle in the First World War, where we tour the underground tunnels and trenches.  This was on the wall of the memorial building, which is staffed by young Canadians.

It is unfortunate that no one seems to have listened to his words.  By this time I am feeling quite overwhelmed and I only took two photos here. Tunnels were dug thirty feet deep under Vimy Ridge so that soldiers could place explosive devices under enemy lines.  This is a replica of one of those tunnels being dug.In some places the front lines of The Canadians and the Germans were only 20 meters apart.  This is the view from one of the German trenches towards the Canadian trenches beside the Canadian flag.  The soldiers were able to hear each other talking, they were so close together.

“”The battle began at 5:30 am on April 9, with the first wave of around 15,000 men advancing under the creeping barrage of almost 1000 heavy guns. Most objectives were taken on schedule, and by afternoon most of the ridge was captured, with the notable exception of The Pimple, a high point at the North end of the ridge, where defenders held out until April 12.

By April 12, the Canadians had taken all of their objectives, as well as 4,000 prisoners. The Canadians held Vimy Ridge. This victory came at a high cost as 3,598 Canadians lost their lives, and 7,000 were wounded during the four-day battle. April 9, 1917 is still the bloodiest day in Canadian military history.”  ~ The VImy Foundation

We drive a short distance to the Vimy Memorial. It overlooks the Douai Plain from the highest point of Vimy Ridge and was designed by the Canadian sculptor Wallace S. Allward.We didn’t see the front walk so took the long way around to the back of the memorial.Climbing the  steps we see more names of the dead.  So many names!  The name engraved here are of the 11, 285 missing Canadians who died in France during the Great War.

The monument looks over the surrounding valley.  Even the back of the sculpted figure on the ledge looks sorrowful.

As we leave the monument three police pass us on their rounds. The three policemen are barely visible on the left side of the monument as we head back to our car and head home.  it has been a heavy duty day.

Arras, France

Posted on by
6

Day 10     Tuesday. September 9, 2025

Bob went for a walk this morning and I had a much needed sleep in. After lunch we go for a little walk to checkout the two big squares near our bnb.  As we walk along the side of the Grand’Place we read that during WWI the buildings on the right side were destroyed by bombs.  After the war this area was identically reconstructed.  We see some of the original columns with shrapnel marks and the smooth newer columns .

The Grand’Place was laid out to accommodate huge markets and was the site of one of the largest grain markets in France.  The wheat sheaves sculpted on the buildings facades are an indication of this.

The UNESCO listed Belfry soars high above the town hall at one end of the Place des Heros.  The square is bordered on three sides with Flemish-Baroque buildings.  Unfortunately the elevator to visit the Belfry is broken so we aren’t able to climb to the top for what must be a fantastic view.

Many of the streets and sidewalks are cobblestones…they are picturesque but can make walking a bit difficult.

This beautiful door must be at least four meters tall!  French doors are amazing.

We walk along the streets and get a bit lost but all roads seem to lead back to the Town Hall with its majestic Belfry.  It isn’t often that we see an old building actually being torn down.  Seems to us that they are usually eventually renovated instead. This one is definitely coming down.   I love the ivy growing up the side of the neighbouring building.  It is already starting to turn red….I suppose autumn is not far away.

The back of the town hall is pretty impressive as well.

We saw this gentleman walking around with his cat on his shoulders earlier.  We sit beside him on the bench and I ask if I can take his photo.  He tells us that he loves cats and he loves Canadians…in that order!

There are lots of interesting people, and I love people watching.  We see this young man and his dog, both dressed in Hawaiian shirts.

People here seem to like Teddy bears. We have seen several of them either sitting on chairs or hanging out of windows.

We go back to our bnb for a bit of a rest and then head back to the Place de Heros to try some of Arras’s signature fries for dinner at 9:00.  Many of the restaurants and bars don’t open in the evening until 8:00.  Does Bob look happy?

The Belfry looks spectacular all lit up…

and there are lots of people enjoying the evening.

The Trois Lappars  is the oldest house on the Grand Place, it was reconstructed in 1467 and its facade has what is known as a stepped gable.  Our bnb is only a couple of blocks from these two squares and all the shops and restaurants.

Driving to Arras

Posted on by
5

Day 9.    Monday, September 8, 2025

Arras is only185 km from Paris but we like to stop and see sights along the way. I am navigating and I see this beside our road on Google maps.  I have no idea what it is!

When I zoom in, I realize that this is a gigantic car park!  A bit of Googling and we discover it is a carpark covering more than 28 hectares and containing more than 22,000 new vehicles!  

We arrive at Beauvais to visit its Cathedral but the first order of business is finding a bathroom…not always an easy task.  Then we walk through a huge square towards a carousel.  European carousels always remind me of a trip we made 46 years ago when our oldest daughter was only four years old.  We stopped for rides at every carousel we saw!  Travelling with Sue is similar, she squeaked and squawked until we let her have a ride!

The Beauvais Cathedral was completed in 1272.     

The cathedral was damaged during the Second World War but remained standing and was restored after the war.   The inside soars high above our heads and the light streams through the stained glass windows.Many of the pillars are still decorated with intricate painting.

The centre of the church is under renovation so we are only allowed to walk around the aisles and ambulatory behind the altar.  Bob is dwarfed by the tall pillars.

I take a photo of the altar by putting my phone through the grating in the above photo.Bob took this photo with this light shining through the stained glass windows into this side chapel.

This “clock was built between 1865 and 1868 by Auguste-Lucien Vérité.  It is 12 metres high, and 6 metres wide. The 52 dials display the times of the rising and setting sun and moon, the position of the planets, the current time in 18 cities around the world, and the tidal times.” ~Wikipedia  We wait for it to turn 3:00 but not a lot happened other than three chimes and a few areas of the clock lighting up.

“In the 1990s, the choir started to become very unstable. In some places, the pillars had moved more than 30cm. The north transept had four large wood-and-steel lateral trusses at different heights, installed to keep it from collapsing.

Since 2000, scaffolding has been continually put up around the cathedral to overcome these problems. Also, the main floor of the transept is punctuated by a much larger brace that juts out of the floor at a 45-degree angle. It was placed as an emergency measure to give additional support to the pillars in an effort to stave off any further movement. Presently, Columbia University is performing a study on a three-dimensional model using laser scans of the building in an attempt to pinpoint where the weaknesses are greatest to see what further can be done to shore up the building.” ~Frenchmoments.ca

We take the smaller highways from Beauvais to Arras instead of the toll highway and see this Sommes cemetery.  This is the information plaque.  It is hard to comprehend that over a million soldiers were killed here.  I think that ghosts must walk these fields.

The headstones seem to stretch forever and so many of these young men were never able to be identified.  They are only “Known Unto God”.

I think it is important to visit these cemeteries and honour those who have died but they are  difficult and emotional visits.

We continue our drive and arrive in Arras at 6:00 to meet our host for our Airbnb.

Le Mans, France

Posted on by
4

Day 85,  Tuesday, November 21, 2023

We are taking the TGV High speed Train to Le Mans.The train station with all the tracks and overhead electric lines that power the trains.

This link to a short video which shows how fast the countryside was flying by.  The vehicles on the highway are going 130 km an hour and we fly past them!  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0wt-AzdJG54

We are travelling 282 km an hour!

I thought I should snap a photo of our train.We are in Le Mans.

Just one of the many beautiful buildings in Le Mans.

We decide to wander and see where we end up.  Notre Dame de la Couture dates mostly from the 12th century.

We were the only people visiting the church, which seems even larger inside than it did outside.

The pillars in the church are beautifully decorated.

We don’t really get tired of visiting all these magnificent old churches.  Each one has something different and interesting to see.

So many of the churches we have visited are undergoing restoration of some type, this one is no different.  I think if you are in the restoration business in France there is no shortage of work.

I loved this simple sculpture.

We sat in the sun with a view of the Cathédrale de Saint-Julien de Mans to enjoy our picnic lunch.

This cathedral was built between the eleventh and the fifteenth century in a mixture of architectural styles and has some of the oldest stained glass windows in France still in their original location.There are also many sculptures in this church that retain their original polychrome finish.  We are so used to seeing bare stone sculptures that it is easy to forget that many if not most sculptures were originally painted in realistic colours.  These are some of the most beautiful that we have seen on this trip.

This Madonna and Child was stunning, as were the other polychrome sculptures in this church.

Some of the buildings in town have started to decorate for Christmas.  This one was rather unique!

Another interesting old building…I wonder what the inside looks like? There are cobbled streets everywhere,

There aren’t many people out and about in the old town…we are the only people on the these streets.  It feels strange, like the place is abandoned.

The old town is on high ground and we walk over this road which somehow passes beneath us…a tunnel perhaps?

More very old buildings, but everything is closed…too bad.

We finally see a few other people!

Even this beautiful, ornate merry-go-round is closed!  I love riding merry-go-rides. Too bad I won’t be able to try this one out.

After much searching we find a Paul’s and have some hot chocolate and yummy pastries….only 22 euros, or $32.00 Canadian!!  At least it was all delicious.

We walked past this beautiful variegated holly bush which was very Christmassy on our way to find the Musée de Tessé.We have seen several tree sculptures in different towns by this artist, whose name I have forgotten!  I quite liked them all.

We find the Musée Tessé and are surprised that there is no admission fee.  It isn’t a big museum, but it is just the right size for an afternoon visit.  This museum opened in 1799, and is one of the oldest in France. It has a collection of French, Italian and Flemish paintings from the 14th to the 20th century and a unique space dedicated to ancient Egypt.  Each era has a room dedicated to that period with a nice selection of work…not too overwhelming which suits us well today.

I liked this little portrait by Théodore Gericault…

this tempera on wood painting of Saint Agathe from 1315…

and this terra cotta sculpture of Saint Antoine from the last half of the 17th century.

We make our way to the basement down several flights of stairs to discover an area which has the reconstructed tombs of Nefertari and Sennefer.  The photos with their light reflections do not do this area justice.  It really reminded us of our time in Egypt. We were able to visit the tomb of Nefertari in the Valley of the Queens.  This reconstruction is not the same as being in the real tomb but we really enjoyed seeing it all anyways.

These are canopic jars that contained the organs of’Ânkhouahibrê  that were removed from the body in the process of mummification: the lungs, liver, intestines, and stomach.

I thought these bird mummies were interesting.  I have seen cat mummies before but cannot remember seeing any bird mummies.

There are  bronze plaques of the ’24 Hours of Le Mans Race’ winning team’s hand prints set into the sidewalks of Le Mans.

All too soon it is time to catch the train back to Paris.  We didn’t have time to go visit the Le Mans Race museum as it was on the outskirts of town and it would have taken too long to go and visit, but we are happy with our day in Le Mans.

Catching the metro home…the station was very busy!  It has been full day and we are happy to be back home in our Paris apartment.

Reims, Champagne and WWII

Posted on by
2

Day 77, Monday, November 13, 2023. and Day 78, November 14, 2023

Reims is  the unofficial capital of the Champagne wine-growing region in France, and many of the champagne houses headquartered here offer tastings and cellar tours.  Today we are going to Maison Mumms for a tour and champagne tasting.

I like the yellow leaves on the sidewalk outside our apartment.

On our way to Maison Mumms we pass the Cimetière Du Nord which opened in 1787.  November 1st is All Saints Day in France,  this is the day that families visit cemeteries and place pots of chrysanthemums on the graves.  We walk through a little bit of the cemetery to see if the flowers are still there and they are.  I wish we had more time to explore but we  don’t want to be late for our tour of Maison Mumm.

Bob noticed this evergreen that had been trimmed back to reveal a tombstone from 1852 and I liked the statue holding flowers. 

There is a war memorial near the cemetery with bouquets of red, white and blue flowers…the colours of the French flag.

The entrance to Maison Mumms…this is an enormous complex, and it is a wet, cold day.  

We are happy to wait for the start of the tour where it is warm and dry. .

Mumm Champagne has been enjoyed in some very unusual places…When Captain Jean-Baptiste Charcot became the first Frenchman to set foot on Antarctica ,in 1904 he celebrated with a bottle of champagne.

In 2022 astronauts enjoy Mumm Champagne in space!

We also learn that Mumm rhymes with room, not mom.  Maison Mumm employs a thousand seasonal workers to harvest their 216 hectares of grapes by hand.  The grapes are carefully picked and then pressed on site in the vineyards to ensure the juice is of the highest quality.  These enormous oak barrels are no longer used in producing champagne. 

For a time champagne was fermented in concrete vats that are lined with white tiles.  The tag on the front of each vat shows how many litres each vat held…6,850 litres in this one! 

We descend 40 meters to the galleries where the champagne is stored to mature.  Notice the black mold!  I am shocked to see that there is black mold everywhere.  Our guide explains that the people who work in this area get ‘danger pay’.  She says there is no way to control the mold growth!

Maison Mumm has 25 km of galleries that took 58 years to build.  These galleries are carved out of the natural chalk stone.  There are over 150 kms of these galleries under the city of Reims.  Reims will never have an underground metro system because of all the tunnels beneath the city.  The champagne is stored in racks to allow the sediment to settle in the neck of the bottle.  The bottles need to be turned a quarter turn approximately 25 times over a period of six weeks.  Today this process is mechanized but there are certain champagnes that are still turned by hand.  There are two workers who still do this and they can each turn 50,000 bottles a day!

We walk through a maze of gallery after gallery where we see thousands of bottles of champagne maturing in smaller side galleries.

Maison Mumm buys 8 million wine bottles a year but our guide is not allowed to tell us how many bottles are stored here.  It is hard to imagine millions of bottles of champagne maturing in these galleries, and this is only one of nine Champagne houses in Riems.  A Google search reveals that here are over 200 million bottles of champagne below the city of Reims!

During WWI  the citizens of Reims sheltered in these galleries as their city was bombed repeatedly.  They made schools, hospitals, sleeping quarters, living for years in these galleries.  In places there are reminders of this time scratched into the gallery walls.

One of the galleries is locked as it stores the most expensive, rare bottles of champagne.

After many years the champagne loses its bubbles but it then turns into a very fine, very expensive bottle of wine.

The longest gallery is named the Champs-Élysées. It stretches as far as we can see in both directions!

This map of one small part of the galleries shows how the galleries are arranged.  At the beginning of our tour our guide told us not to fall behind as she didn’t want to lose anyone down here!  

There is a museum down here with some of the equipment that has been used over the years in the production of champagne…and more mold!  I would not want to spend very long down in these galleries.

Champagne is sold in many different sized bottles, from the smallest which is 1/4 of a standard bottle to the 9 litre Salmanzar pictured here.  But they also have even larger bottles.  The Nebuchadnezzar holds the equivalent of 20 standard bottles and serves 120!      

After our tour we have a tasting and toast.  Our French holiday celebrates a milestone anniversary.

After our Mumm tour we walk to the Musée de la Reddition, or the Museum of the Surrender.  This museum in Reims commemorates the end of World War II in Europe.  It is located at the actual site of the surrender, which took place at a red brick school just northwest of the train station, now named the Lycée Roosevelt.  This was the location of  the Allied Command Center of General Dwight Eisenhower.     At 2:41 am on Monday, May 7, 1945, officers of both sides signed a declaration of unconditional surrender, ending World War Two in Europe. I am amazed to see that this is a very short simply worded document…and wonder what such a document would look like if signed today.

The signing took place in the headquarters’ Map Room which has been preserved as it was at the time.  The walls are covered in war maps and statistics, and the table at which the generals and admirals sat for the signing are exactly as they were on May 7, 1945.

There is a photo of those present at the signing of this document and their nameplates are still on the chairs they sat. Other rooms hold exhibits of uniforms, press reports and war artifacts.  There was also a very informative film which we both found interesting.

This is a view of the nearby train station which we see on our way to catch the metro home.Stay At Home Day

Day 78, Tuesday November 14, 2023

Today is rainy and cold, a good day to stay home, rest up a bit, get some groceries and do a bit of planning for the rest of our trip.  We are both still a bit low energy after our bout with Covid.

 

 

 

 

Quiet Day in Reims, France

Posted on by
Reply

Day 76, Sunday, November 12, 2023

Our apartment in Reims was easy to find and it has parking right outside the door, which is great.  It doesn’t look like much from the outside, but there are lots of big trees and it is in a quiet location.Our Airbnb host met us at the apartment yesterday and he had a little box of six macarons and a jar of his own honey for us as an anniversary gift for us.  He only spoke French but we were able to communicate without any problem…after two and half months in France I am feeling more comfortable speaking French.

The apartment is old, but it is clean and has everything we need.  The only thing that might be a problem is that the radiators have no way to adjust the heat.  There is a set temperature, and it doesn’t feel all that warm. It is cold and rainy outside and we are both quite happy to stay home today.  Bob seems to have recovered  quite quickly from his Covid but it is taking me me a bit longer.  I work on the blog while Bob does laundry and researches what we will be doing in Reims.

Dijon to Reims

Posted on by
Reply

Day 75, Saturday, November 11, 2023

I wanted to go find the Reims owl that is on the Notre Dame church near us before we leave.  There is a little story about an owl saving the town from a fire by sounding an alarm when everyone was sleeping.  Rubbing this little owl is supposed to bring good luck.  There are owl  medallions set in the road that lead tourists to the sights in Reims, kind of like the medallions we followed in Arles when we found the spots where Van Gogh painted.  Too bad we didn’t get a chance to do that here.  I didn’t get to see much of Dijon but Bob was able to do more sightseeing.

One more photo of the Notre Dame church with all the gargoyles, and the little owl.   At the top of the church tower there’s a clock called the “Jacquemart de Dijon.” Jacquemart means “bell-striker”.

This clock has mechanical people who hit a bell with a hammer to signal the hour. This one has  a whole family.  The mom and dad are Jacqueline and Jacquemart and their two children are named Jacquelinet and Jacquelinette. The parents strike the hours and the children strike the quarter hours. ~ Photo from Wikipedia.

Bob says he can drive today…I must say that I am relieved.  I am sure I could have driven if  needed but I am very happy that I didn’t  need to. We take the toll highway and it is a three hour drive and a 30€ toll, but it is the fastest, easiest way to get to Reims.  That is what we need today. Taking photos while we are driving helps pass the time and keeps me occupied when I am not feeling great.

We have seen these growths on trees before but now that the leaves have fallen they really look strange.

This looks much like the fields we see in Alberta.

The trees have really turned colour in the last couple weeks.

We stop at one of the rest areas along the highway to have our lunch and then we both have a sleep for about an hour!  Feeling somewhat refreshed we are on our way again.  The sun comes out for a bit, so much better than driving in the rain!  We have not seen many animals in the fields on this trip, but we see quite a few dairy cattle today.  I like cows…one day I will find a herd and spend the whole day drawing them.

We see several of these big modern grain elevators…

and lots of wind turbines…

After just another hour of driving we stop for another break, and another wee nap!  There are lots of little towns and villages on the hilltops in the distance.

It rains on and off again and we see lots of interesting clouds…

and just before we arrive in Reims we see a rainbow!

I like these trees all in a row.  There have been so many beautiful shades of green on the drive to Reims.  I think that there are winter crops that are just starting to grow so the greens remind me of the the fresh spring green colours I see in Alberta.We are both tired and thankful that we our Reims Airbnb host is letting us check in early.

 

Dijon, Musée Des Beaux Arts

Posted on by
Reply

Day 74, Friday November 10, 2023

This is day five since I got Covid and I am feeling better today so we go explore a bit of Dijon.  Bob has been out and about but I haven’t seen anything yet.  When we are around other people I wear a mask.  I shouldn’t be contagious anymore, but just in case…I wouldn’t want to make anyone else sick.

I love these geraniums growing on the landing windowsill.

First stop is the indoor market which is only a couple blocks from our apartment.  I have never seen such huge lettuces or cheeses!  The chrysanthemum plants were a bargain, only 5€ each.  There is also an outdoor market along the streets around the indoor market.  It is a busy place.

This floral display on the side of a building caught our eye.

Next stop is the Musée Rude.  This is a tiny museum, just one room with casts of sculptures created by Francois Rude who was born in Dijon.  Below are Mercury Fastening His Heel, Joan of Arc Listening to Her Voices. and Napoleon Awakening to Immortality. These casts were ordered by the Dijon museum between 1887 and 1910 to study and promote the work of François Rude.The cast of The Departure of the Volunteers of 1792 , commonly called La Marseillaise , was made in 1938 by the French government, when it was feared that the Arc de Triomphe in Paris might be destroyed during the war. It is huge!

Here is the original  in Paris.

Dijon has its own Arc de Triomphe.  At one time this was one of the gates in the ramparts that surrounded the city in the 1700’s.  Now only the gate remains.

We visit the Moutarde Maille shop to buy a jar of Dijon Mustard.  In ancient days verjuice, or the juice from unripe grapes, was used to make Dijon mustard. Dijon was recognized as a producer of mustard by the thirteenth century and it is now regarded as the mustard capital of the world.  We can’t visit Dijon and not buy some mustard.This fabulous Art Nouveau building was built in 1907.  It reminds me of some of the buildings we saw in Barcelona.

There is a well in the courtyard to the Musée of Beaux Arts that seems to be a wishing well, so I take the opportunity to make a wish.

The Musée des Beaux Arts is a nice size.  It isn’t so big that it is overwhelming yet it still  presents collections from antiquity to the 21st century.  It opened in 1787 and it is one of the oldest museums in France.  We saw portraits like these years ago when we were in Egypt.

I had to have my picture taken next to this mummy. It is cold outside today and I am happy I have lots of layers to wear but when I see this picture it makes me think of the poem, When I am old I shall wear purple…

I thought this cat mummy looked rather like a child’s toy.

Journey of the Magi was completed in 1475 but it is so much brighter and more modern looking than other paintings from this time.

These fifteenth century wooden statues still have their original paint! 

I absolutely fell in love with this beautiful little Angel of the Annunciation!

And then there is this 16th century statue of Death…it made me think of a zombie!

Looking back into this room I noticed the strange optical illusion that makes it look like the display case in the middle of the room is floating.

There are rooms with very large paintings.

This 1748 portrait of the Queen Maire Leczinska caught my eye because of the casual pose…women were not portrayed sitting with their knees apart, especially queens.

I quite liked this small painting by Honoré Daumier.  Don Quixote is popular and we have seen several paintings of this subject.

The museum is in a wing of this palace which was the home of the Dukes of Burgundy in the 15th century.

There is a huge open plaza in front of the palace, which I am sure is usually busier than it is on this cold and wet day.

As we are walking towards Saint Michel church the sun peeks out and lights up the front of the church.

We are constantly amazed by the number of churches in France…and we are talking huge churches and cathedrals that sometimes took centuries to build. It is astounding and at the same time rather sad because the congregations of these churches are getting smaller and smaller.  I wonder what their future will be?

We head back to our apartment.  I am tired and now Bob is not feeling well and we are pretty sure he has Covid too.  Bob sleeps the rest of the afternoon and evening and I am wondering if I will need to navigate and drive tomorrow!!

Musèe D’Art Sacre and Musèe de la Vie Bourguignonne, Dijon France

Posted on by
1

Day 73, Thursday, November 9, 2023

Our bnb host kindly sent me information for a nearby doctor and I was able to make an online appointment for this afternoon.  Bob goes out exploring and visits the Museum of the Sacred Heart in the morning, and I stay home.  Here is his post……

The Musée D’Art Sacre (Sacred Art) is installed in a Monastery Church and contains Catholic religious sculptures, paintings and gold works from the 12th to 20th century.  There are many varied representations of the Virgin Mary.  This wooden sculpture is from the 15th Century.

A 16th Century depiction of Saint Sebastien who lived in the 3rd Century and is called upon to fight plagues and epidemics.A 15th Century painting of the Seven Sorrows of the Virgin Mary, the swords are symbols of the sorrow she endured while witnessing her son’s crucifixion.

A 15th Century wood sculpture of Saint George the dragon slayer.  I find it interesting that Saint George was a legend, yet was worshipped by the Church.

A 16th Century depiction of John the Baptist.  Notice how the young girl is not the same proportional size as the others.

Trudy here now…We walk to the doctor’s for my appointment.  It is only three blocks away and surprise, no waiting.  I sit down and within minutes I was called into the doctor’s office. All I really wanted was a prescription for Otrivin, but I was very surprised to find out that it is against the law for any doctor in France to prescribe decongestants for anyone who has Covid!  Go figure…apparently it can cause permanent loss of smell, which is  interesting because on the internet in North America, decongestants are recommended for nasal congestion caused by Covid.  So instead of a little bottle of nasal spray I walk out of the doctor’s office with four prescriptions!   Methylprednisone pills for the Covid, some other pills to protect the stomach from the Methylprednisone as it is hard on the stomach, a nasal spray that has cortisone in it and Paracétamol for aches and pains and headache!   The good news is that all only cost less than 20€.  I am already starting to feel a bit better than I did the last two days , so I wonder about taking all this?

On the walk home we pass this mural…

and very old buildings still in use.

These half timbered houses are from the 15th century…and they are still in use today! The Notre Dame church of Dijon is just around the corner from our apartment. The interior has beautiful stained glass…

but it is the front of the church with its 51gargoyles, or grotesques, that catches my attention.

I love gargoyles and this church is loaded with them, although the ones on this side of the church are decorative rather than water spouts.

The owl is very important in Dijon, there are even owl cookies.  More on this later.I go home to rest and Bob goes out to explore a bit more.  Dijon is a very pretty city, very walkable and our apartment is only a block away from the old town. I hope I feel well enough to be able to see more of it.

Back to Bob…In the afternoon I visit a heritage museum (Musée de la Bourguignonne)  which displays the community and culture of Dijon from 1880 to 1930.  Objects of daily life reflect the agricultural  and urban history and traditions of the times.  Surprisingly there is little mention of Dijon Mustard.

A typical home with a 4 poster bed to help trap the heat.

A 19th Century clock that is about a metre tall.

Marionettes for the children’s theatre in the 1890’s.  They are about 10 inches tall.

The Charite Hospital had a wing for the Daughters of Sainte-Anne.  They are girls who, “having an infirmity (not explained) cannot be placed in the countryside”.  The charter states “we will carefully try to raise these girls to fatigue, and in a way that makes them fit for the functions of the household and families”.  Not sure what this means, and there were no pictures of these girls displayed, so I am not sure how successful their rehabilitation program was.

These ornate walking sticks were related to the La Mere Folle festival where 20 foot versions of this larger character were paraded through town.

A 1920’s beauty salon that sold wigs tied to the status and age of the wearer.

I don’t understand why such a small clock face has such a big wind mechanism.  It must have run for days without needing winding.

 

Dijon Natural Sciences Museum, Archeological Museum…and Covid Test

Posted on by
1

Day 72, Wednesday, November 8, 2023

I am not feeling well at all today so I stay home and Bob goes to the pharmacy as I need some Otrivin nasal spray so that I can breathe.  He finds out that I need  a prescription for that in France.  Who knew?  He brings me two other sprays to try, but they don’t do any good at all

I also asked Bob to pick up a Covid Test for me.   I am pretty sure that I only have a cold, so I was surprised to find out that I tested positive, and I have COVID!

Bob goes out exploring, so he is writing the rest of today’s blog…

Our attic apartment is located just 2 short blocks from the old town centre.  The historic centre is a UNESCO World Heritage site with wide pedestrian boulevards and historic buildings.  The farmer’s market is just around the corner.

I went to the the Natural Sciences Museum in the morning.

I’ve never been so close to a T-Rex before.

This is a copy of a 10-12 month old Mammoth named Dima that wa found in Siberia in 1977.  It is about 4 feet tall.

A Clyptodon, a 1.8 million year old armadillo, that weighed about 1 ton and lived in South America.

I never knew that gorillas had feet that looked more like hands.

In the afternoon I visited the Dijon Archeological Museum.  It is located in the old Abbey St. Benign and contains collections from pre-Roman, Roman and the Middle Ages.

This 15th Century Nativity scene has to be the saddest couple to have a new baby.  Mom looks terrified.

A copy of a 1.3 kg gold bracelet assembled in 8 pieces that is from the Final Bronze Age (1300-800 BC).

An articulated copper belt from 1000-800 BC.

The Scriptorium is in the basement, with no natural lighting.  The Scriptorium is where writing, copying and illuminating manuscripts was done. Can you imagine writing all day by flickering candle or lamp light?

I wonder how much these Roman gold coins are worth?  I’m quite sure the gold coins are replicas.