Troyes

I am architectured-out!  I have learned about lancet windows,  mullions, an oculus, a triforium, composed windows, tracery, cusps ...  and the latest, a stylobate.  Fear not, I won't attempt to explain them.

Some pics from the day instead! 

Guess who! She hasn't been mentioned by our lecturer - she wasn't medieval I guess.  (No, it isn't Mary)

Troyes square, near our hotel.

Another particularly wonky building

And an Indian restaurant.

Haven't seen someone walking home with a baguette under their arm for a while!

To the left, one of our group is making notes.

And we saw some bells.  No longer in use.  

The cathedral at Reims - II

Some more pics of the cathedral at Reims.  Stained glass

Inside decoration.  Two knights receiving communion before...battle?

World War 1 damage

 

The Cathedral at Reims

Today we went to see the Cathedral.Our first view

This is Joan of Arc territory. She accompanied/persuaded Charles VII to go to Reims to be crowned.

Statue outside the Cathedral

and she has a chapel inside.

A famous statue just outside the front doors is the "smiling angel".

 She/he looks as though his team has just scored a goal!

And there are some lovely stained glass windows.

 

Reims railway station

Musee de la Reddition

Literally - the museum of capitulation.

Fighting on the western front ceased with the signing of this document on 7 May 1945, in Reims.  The official document was signed again in Berlin, with Stalin's insistence and Eisenhower's presence.

The building.  It remains a school, but the signing rooms are a museum.

 The room and the table and chairs

The maps they used - all paper and thumb-tacks.  Oh for a spreadsheet!

 

Quirky France

 Our room has a safe in it.

Plat du jour for Indian food.

 

One stop shop. Cigars and 200 kinds of rum.

POMMERY

In planning a visit to Reims, I was thinking of the cathedral that was used for the coronation of french kings - when they had kings, that is.

But coming to Reims and not seeing a champagne house is like going to Sydney and not seeing the Bridge and Opera House, or going to Longreach and not seeing the Hall of Fame or Qantas museum.

You usually have to book a place, but the tourist bureau told us that Pommery were open all day and bookings were not needed.  So off we went.

View from outside.

Entrance to the caves - 116 steps to be precise. This was taken as we were leaving and had to climb up. Temperatures below were steady at about 10 degrees. We were warned to put on a "veste".

There are 18 kilometers of underground tunnels - or caves.  1.5km were open to the public. There were some bottles to be seen - all marked do not touch and very well locked down.

We declined the glass of champagne at the end - and saved 11 euros - each.  But we were offered a glass of sparkling grape juice instead! 

 

 

Remembering Yvonne

It must be fifteen years since we have spent any time in France, and it is lovely to be back again.   It is also poignant.  We had three trips to France with Yvonne, and the three of us finding our way around was good fun.  Yvonne was interested in the world around her and was old enough to read up on where we were and talk about what we were seeing - and to find things to see.  Seeing the Alyscamps in Aix en Provence (photo in our dining room) and the Rodin Museum in Paris were her suggestions. She would have enjoyed this adventure as well.

REIMS

There is a train station at CDG. We found the ticket office and the gentleman insisted we would be able to join the train leaving in 15 minutes, even with us using the terminal to book our tickets online.  And he was right.

We had to change at Champagne-Ardenne

for the local rail-motor to Reims.

Subois Fountain, near our hotel.

It was built in 1906, damaged in 1942 (guess what was happening then), repaired, and completely restored in 2006.  It is a representation of agriculture, especially wine.

Our hotel for two nights.

Street dining scene. 

Aeroport de Paris Charles de Gaulle

At last!

We landed and it takes a bit for you to notice how appealing and interesting a building is when you are getting off a plane.  We saw some elegant looking departure lounges, and had to go through a clear tube to the upper level to get our luggage.  But not enough to get my camera out - sorry!  Even Immigration was a painless process - instead of one long centre, each arrival point seemed to have a small immigration process.

Then we had to find our hotel - one of several at the airport.  CDG has an area, landscaped and attractive, that is like a hotel precinct.  It was quite walkable from a shuttle train stop.  All very practical.

The next morning we could take pics

We eventually figured out what the strips were for!  They did help you drag your luggage.

 

Arab Street

Went looking for batik yesterday, which meant a visit to Arab Street.  This whole area of Singapore has been restored and is now a very attractive place to wander and look.  Turkish and middle eastern cuisine has moved in as well.  And got my batik.  

Haji Lane - had to dodge the selfie takers!

View of the Sultan Mosque.