Category UNESCO World Heritage Sites
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 […]
I am loving you so hard, Santa María del Naranco
Hey everyone–meet my new girlfriend: This is Santa María del Naranco, also known as my girlfriend. (In case you were wondering, I also have a wife and a husband.) Santa María del Naranco was a summer palace built in the mid-9th century in the kingdom of Asturias, present day Oviedo. At the time, Asturias […]
Hilariously terrible art in the Cathedral of Burgos
Burgos is a matriarchy. The city is dominated by old ladies with their brown coats and boxy purses, walking arm in arm, playing cards and drinking cocoa in cafes, and just generally owning the place. (Note to self, consider retiring in Burgos). We were charmed by the old city at night and the few Camino […]
The glowing streets of Santiago de Compostela
It always rains in Santiago de Compostela so the buildings and cobblestones are covered in moss. The town glows and the twisting arcaded streets are magically inviting. What do you mean we don’t have to go West anymore? The Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela is confusing–sprawling with multiple entrances, partly covered with scaffolding. The famous Portico of […]
An outbreak of snowball fights in León
When it snowed in León snowball fights broke out everywhere. These naughty boys lobbed snowballs at all the passersby, including us. I returned fire. HOB eating mantecadas, the specialty almond cookie of León. I felt chilled and bought the same scarf all the teen girls are wearing. Casa de Botines by Antoni Gaudi. Painting in our Hostal […]
Pienza: all Renaissance towns should have a bird that talks like a refrigerator
During a fascinating period of the Italian Renaissance, humanist scholars and architects set out to create the ideal city. Surprisingly, one of these urban planners was a pope–Pope Pious II. Pius II (formerly known as Enea Silvio Piccolomini) transformed his home town, Cosignano, into a miniature urban Renaissance Utopia. He hired the architect Rossellino to […]
The next time you’re in Vézelay tell the people with the elephant ears I said hi
We were all alone in Vézelay’s Sainte-Marie-Madeleine Abbey, the light was fading, darker, darker…and then we climbed down into the crypt. No, not actually a horror story ending, but in fact the ending to a perfect day, a day we spent from sunup to sundown in and around one of the world’s greatest Romanesque churches. Vézelay […]
On almost missing Charlemagne’s throne in the Palatine Chapel of Aachen, a mosaic mouse and cookie king
The Palatine Chapel and throne of Charlemagne had been burning hot near the top of our travel list for years, so “Charlemagne’s throne room is closed today” was definitely not what we wanted to hear on arriving in the tourist office of Aachen after a journey of two flights and three train rides. I had […]
The Cistercian Abbey of Fontenay: thumbs up from Bernard of Clairvaux
You know those fantastical hybrid animal monsters abounding in Romanesque church art? They really pissed off Cistercian abbot Bernard of Clairvaux. I love to read and re-read his attack on Romanesque art extravagances in his Apologia c. 1124: But these are small things; I will pass on to matters greater in themselves, yet seeming smaller because they […]
Picnic at the Cathedral 