Friday, October 14, 2016

On To Theuyts And The Ardeche

We proceeded on. Our next objective was the Pretty Little Village of Pradelles, which was over-run by the kind of holiday traffic jam at which the French particularly excel. We drove through the town twice trying to extricate ourselves, and never did see what was supposed to be pretty. So we continued on to the Ardeche, a major river of the south known for its beautiful gorges...and, more recently, for its cave paintings. We got as far as Theuyts, which ought to be considered one of the beaux villages, but isn't.
Just a few hundred meters from the aire de camping-cars in
Theuyts, one of the early gorges on the Ardeche opens...

The Bridge of the Devil...which looked Roman to us



























You can do some climbing around the Pont de Diable, using
the Via Ferrata, a route with iron hand- and foot-holds, stairs,
ladders, cables, etc.

Thus; and in English too

Beautiful tree-lined entry to Theuyts

Details of a large mural about work in Theuyts

In the old town, Renaissance architecture here
and there


Liberty Tree?


The aire

Next day, some miles down the road, we came upon this chateau
undergoing renovation

And, the largest relief map ever, so far; 25 feet by 50 feet, I'd
say; a map of the region

There's Theuyts and Pont de Diable

Wednesday, October 12, 2016

Le Puy En Velay's Cathedral

It's Romanesque-old, large, with some interesting frescoes, but in general did not impress. I think we like our cathedrals set firmly in the past, not the present.
Other things situated on rocks in Le Puy en
Velay: St. Michel d'Aiguilhe chapel





















Approaching the main entrance to the cathedral
















Coquille St. Jacques
















At the entrance
















The World Heritage plaque
















Oldish column near the entrance




















Among the more interesting frescoes left
















Another
















Big non-Romanesque organ ( despite the architecture, this
place reeked of Baroque)

















Main feature, the raiment of the Virgin Mary




















Certainly not the "real" raiment; leading me to wonder if they
dress it up on occasion, like the Mannequin Pis; really creepy

















Wheel.....of.....Fortune!
















More fresco
















Early version of the Little Mermaid
















Another column of interest, out on the south
porch





















Pilgrims (pelerins) or possibly pilgrim re-enactors, approaching
the door where they get blessed (The Way is a really good movie
about the contemporary Camino Santiago)


















View of the city from the cathedral grounds
















No funny faces here
















Door to the cloisters not taken; it was too close
to quittin' time





















What we would have seen
















Nice tiled steeples
















Notre Dame de France (metal, 1860s); "Wave
hello to all the people, Baby J!"





















From the aire that evening
















Lasting memory of Le Puy en Velay







Tuesday, October 11, 2016

Le Puy En Velay

We drove next, still August 19th, to the old city of Le Puy En Velay, still in Auvergne, famous in Medieval times as one of the major starting points for the pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostuela. The cathedral is very old, large, Romanesque, and contains a relic, the Virgin's Raiment, which is centrally displayed and still venerated. Maybe we were churched-out at this point, but the town interested us rather more than the cathedral.
Lots of volcanic intrusions here, many of them built on...

Main feature of Le Puy en Velay, the virgin on the rock thing,
of which we'll see much more

Other things on rocks too

View from the brand new aire de camping-cars; cathedral on
left

That's pretty much the story...le Puy en Velay, its cathedral,
that is, is on the World Heritage list because all the Camino
Santiago cathedrals, churches, chapels, wherever some saint
pissed, etc., are on the list; which vastly diminishes the list...

What we did like was the interesting mix of architecture and
ambience of the place

Street scene

Thus

1571; sic transit, Gloria



Le Puy en Velay is the lentil capital of France

With a long history of lentil excellence

Another street scene; the place had a distinct Mediterranean
feel to it

Side-street scene

Art Nuvo buildings standing right by buildings
from the Renaissance



Mediterranean color

Medieval tower; for rent too

Famous fountain on the way to the cathedral
whose name escapes me presently

In the lace district, for which Le Puy en Velay is famous; see,
guys can do it too

The new-fangled way, c. 1920


Pretty place