Category France
15 dishes for €29: epic gluttony in Lyon
My first time in Lyon and I was eating pickled pig feet. Or snouts? Well anyway, it was a lot of pig parts. My first time in Lyon and also my first bouchon. A bouchon—I realize now that I’ve tried one—is the kind of dining experience I enjoy; unfussy, cheap, locally specific, and delicious. To […]
The Churchwreck of Senlis
I’ve taken a lot of pictures of churches but this might be my favorite. I had arrived in Senlis not long before, just off a plane, actually. I took a bus directly from the airport in Paris and in under a half hour I was standing in front of the church trying to figure out […]
The Calendar of the Très Riches Heures du Duc de Berry
Hey, I’m an art pilgrim; I’m always going to want to see the original. But when it came to Les Très Riches Heures du Duc de Berry, I was going to have to settle for looking at reproductions. This delicate manuscript has been preserved out of view in the Musée Condé in Chantilly France and […]
The unanticipated side effects of a picnic at Pont Valentré, Cahors
Want to visit a unique city nestled inside a bend in a river, an authentic and non-touristy town with highly-cultivated gastronomy? Yes? Then Cahors is for you. But wait until you get a look at this bridge—now you’re sold, aren’t you? The Southwestern region of France is teeming with medievalist catnip, and Cahors’ Pont Valentré is […]
The finest Romanesque mustaches are at Moissac Abbey
This church. The elegant forms. The fantastic creatures. The visionary composition. The mustaches. Moissac Abbey is one of the great Romanesque churches (and admittedly deserves much better photos than what we managed with our crappy camera). The South portal, created 1120 – 1135, and the tympanum are a masterful sculptural illustrations of the vision of […]
A day at Cathédrale Ste-Marie in Saint-Bertrand-de-Comminges followed by a night of flocked velvet wallpaper
Cathédrale Ste-Marie is a pilgrim magnet. Once you catch sight of this Romanesque-Gothic beauty at the foot of the Pyrenees in the village of Saint-Bertrand-de-Comminges you are inevitably pulled in by it’s compelling attraction. Don’t you want to come closer? Unlike the scenery, the weather during our visit to Saint-Bertrand-de-Comminges was less than idyllic. Not to put […]
Saint-Just Basilica in Valcabrère, recycled Roman ruins, no cheese shops
Saint-Just Basilica is cozily nestled in the tiny village of Valcabrère, population 164, in the Haute-Garonne department of Southwest France. This small Romanesque church built in 11th -12th centuries is handsomely proportioned, with well-preserved portal sculptures. As if the setting wasn’t picturesque enough, what with the red chickens clucking about, antique barns and strategically placed […]
Faux-Pilgrim’s Progress: how we faked a pilgrimage
Last week as we were walking about in the rain in Santiago de Compostela looking for a post office, we were stopped by the leader of a tour group. “Excuse me” he said politely “I see that you are pilgrims. My group would like to see your pilgrim’s passport stamps. Could you please show them […]
From the Pyrénées into Bayonne: Basque culture and a jar of beans
We got up early this morning, walked out into a star-filled sky, and made our way to the Basque region of France to Bayonne. After a fascinating visit to the Basque Museum, we walked about enjoying the rainy ambience of this pretty town. Dawn in the Pyrénées. Confidential to the people of Bayonne: you live […]
Picnic at the Cathedral 