Musees Louvre, Cluny & D'Orsay

Saturday, 20 June 2009. We rested after the short trip from Chartres, and then joined the group for a delicious dinner. The hotel has an elegant entry, but our rooms faced another part of the building that enclosed the air conditioner. I guess we would have been more grateful if we had sweltering weather, but the weather has been beautiful.

Sunday, 21 June 2009. Breakfast in the hotel, then worship at St. Gervais, whose community is the Brothers and Sisters of Jerusalem, the same that were in Vezelay. The sanctuary was lovely, but there are a limited number of stools to sit on (no chairs) and if you are late, you get to sit in the aisle on the floor. (Hmmm... something to consider for our late worshipers at First Pres!) A LONG service with a short sermon, 12 communion stations, lots of singing of the liturgy, which is of course in French. The passing of the peace we understood, and the monks and nuns who are kneeling in the chancel come down the aisle, and grasp both of your hands to pass the peace. It was very heartwarming. We stood for about 50 minutes of a 75 minute service!

Then, not having been on our feet long enough, we walked to the Louvre, and walked around inside the Louvre for 4 hours (not counting a short lunch break)! Then we walked back to our hotel! Quite a trek.

The Louvre is magnificent. It was formerly a GRAND palace, and I do mean grand. Huge. Beautiful buildings surrounding an enormous courtyard, fountains, and of course the recent (1989) glass pyramid entry you may have seen in DaVinci Code. I was as enthralled with the buildings, ceilings, columns and staircases as with the art. Well, almost.

The most famous things we saw were the Mona Lisa, Winged Victory of Samothrace, and Venus de Milo. It is said that if you look at every piece of art it will take you nine months. Four hours doesn't quite cover it. There is an entire room of Peter Paul Rubens' works, each one of them taking up the size of a wall in an average home. Lots of Rembrandts also. We didn't visit the many collections - Egyptian, etc. Not nearly enough time. We would definitely have an annual pass if we lived in Paris.

Another wonderful dinner that evening.

Monday, 22 June 2009. This is the official last day of the pilgrimage, and we were free to explore Paris.

Bobby and I visited the Cluny (Musee de Moyen Agen) to see the six Lady and the Unicorn tapestries; they are magnificent, and there were many, many schoolchildren there on field trips.

There were many other Middle Age artifacts - tapestries, armor, shields, religious items, etc. Quite interesting.

Since we had previously only walked around the outside of Notre Dame Cathedral, we decided to go inside. Us and about 2000 other people. A traveling choir was singing, and that was wonderful to hear. I think Notre Dame is more beautiful outside than in, but they do have lovely rose windows.

We had lunch at a cafe on the Seine, with Notre Dame in the background. Quiche with wine. What could be more French?

After resting, we met up at 6:00 p.m. for farewells, then a goodbye banquet. We toasted with champagne, took lots of pictures, did an examen of the entire pilgrimage (we've been doing these periodically throughout the trip). We were gifted with candles from Taize, and we presented the leaders with thank yous also. I wrote a limerick for each of the leaders to lighten things up a bit, and there was lots of laughter over those.

Dinner was at a tiny restaurant near the Pantheon, then we walked back to the hotel for coffee or cocoa, then off to bed.

Tuesday, 23 June 2009. Most pilgrims departed today, but we all had time for the hotel breakfast, so said more goodbyes then. We took a taxi to the St. Jacques, which is our favorite hotel. It's the best one on the trip, we think. Although the Hotel Bourgogne in Cluny is a close second.

We used the bus to travel to the Musee D'Orsay, although we still did a lot of walking after we got off, due to some misdirection from very kind strangers - French, American and Australian!

We finally found it, as did every other tourist in Paris, and we were in line for tickets for half an hour. But it was well worth it.

The D'Orsay has almost every other famous painting that the Louvre does not, and mostly artists that everyone has heard of: lots of Monet, Manet, Van Gogh, Renoir, Pisarro, Degas, etc. We were there about three hours. It is a beautiful, light-filled old train station, and is very open and airy.

We walked back to the hotel, window shopping along the way. Rested after checking into our room, then went back to the St. Severin area for happy hour and dinner. Played I'm Perfect and drank wine in a sidewalk cafe, then chose one of many, many restaurants for our dinner - delicious! Onion soup, salmon, and chocolate mousse. More walking around, and now we are preparing for our return home tomorrow.

Memories: the lunch cruise on the Seine in the rain; the sidewalk cafes; St. Chapelle windows; all of the cathedrals; the Jerusalem Community nuns with their sweet faces, and blue and white habits; the winding streets of Vezelay; the beautiful French countryside with Charolais cattle; the Assisi Chapel in Vezelay where we were joined by the French stranger who sang Laudate Dominum with us; Fontenay Abbey; the town of Cluny and the hospitality of the hoteliers Natalie and Michel; our wonderful guide Sherry, who enjoyed us as much as we enjoyed her; her leading us to the bell tower and up onto the roof of St. Benigne Cathedral, where all of Dijon lay before us; dinner at the private home of Anne and Paul Blagny, and their graciousness to us; magnificent Chartres cathedral, and walking the labyrinth there and exploring the town of Chartres; the museums and fine art of Paris, and the hospitality and helpfulness of strangers of all nationalities. Lastly, the loving leadership of Joan Currey, John Griffin, Tom Glenn and Jeffrey Gaines, who introduced us to travel as pilgrimage, and also the warm friendships we cultivated with the other nine pilgrims on this spiritual journey.

It was all a gift from God.

Chartres and the Labyrinth

Thursday, June 18. After a 200 mile journey from Dijon, Chartres Cathedral loomed into view from miles away. The front portal was clearly brighter than the towers and surrounding stone because they have undertaken a lengthy laser cleaning to bring the stone back to its original whiteness. Of course, it wasn't white for long, because it was actually painted, as were all of the interior and exterior surfaces and sculptures.

Our masterful drivers threaded us through tiny, tiny streets - the walls were within inches of our side doors - to the St. Yves Hotel (read hostelry). These were previously used as monk cells. Our rooms were miniscule, but very clean. White walls and blue striped bedspreads brightened the room, and a compact bathroom similar to what you would have on a cruise ship or airplane took up a corner of the small room. The high arched window (ours was a dormer) had a broad sill. I climbed on the bed and up onto the sill to see what lay below: a wondrous view of the city of Chartres, the river Eure, a grass maze (not a labyrinth), and many church steeples.

We walked around the gigantic cathedral: its proportions are overwhelming. The exterior is heavily sculpted with all manner of human and saintly figures, flowers, vines, animals, etc. There is a story in every square inch of it!

Dinner was at a wonderful small creperie. I had scallops and shrimp in my crepe. For dessert, we shared ligeiose (or something like that): an ice cream sundae composed primarily of ice cream that seemed to be solidified fudge, and topped with swirls of whipped cream (chantilly, they call it). Mmmmmmm bon!

Friday, June 19. After breakfast at St. Yves (yogurt, cheese, ham, croissants, juice, coffee) we hurried over to walk the labyrinth, but they were just starting mass, so it was closed. We came back 45 minutes later and the chairs were removed from the labyrinth, and we (and about 100 others!) began our walk. It took me about 25 minutes to reach the center (about 1000 steps), and just as I got to the center, a man rushed from the outside directly into the center, and stood there with his arms uplifted, his legs apart, holding a bouquet of flowers, and looking up. And he stood there for a very long time. Needless to say, I saw my chance at the center was nonexistent, so I walked around the edges of it, and then began my return to the outside. We later saw this man in various parts of town, begging and talking to himself. He was totally clean-shaven and respectable looking, and is probably a fixture in Chartres. His need for the center of the labyrinth most certainly outweighs mine.

After we were done there, we went off to explore the cathedral. Mary's birthing gown is the relic that inspired the building of the cathedral, and it is on display in its own chapel. This cathedral was built in the 12th century, and burned down, but the gown was miraculously preserved, thus the rebuilding on a grand scale resurrected the cathedral in about 30 years! Many, many pilgrims come here from all over.

We had a tour with the (in)famous guide Malcom Miller, who has been at Chartres for 50 years! He has no use for the labyrinth, however. He told us of a young couple he had seen a few days ago bring their newborn to the center of the labyrinth and pray. He said, "I have no idea what people are doing when they go to the labyrinth. It doesn't do anything for me."

In the afternoon, we toured a stained glass museum where they clean and repair some of the cathedral windows, and also offer tours and workshops for schoolchildren. A contemporary glass exhibition was on display on the lower level.

Dinner was unusual: Bobby and I had stingray! Of course, we weren't aware of that when we ordered it, but it was okay, just a bland whitefish.

At this time of year, Chartres holds a Lumiere, exterior illuminations of the cathedral and other buildings in town. It starts about 10:30, just as it gets dark, and is quite interesting. They project largescale artistic designs on the buildings. It is supposed to represent the way the cathedrals used to be painted in bright colors. There is a musical recording played, but it's not really coordinated with the art. So, although it was somewhat interesting, I guess we are just used to Disneyesque light displays.

Saturday, June 20. After breakfast, we were free to explore once again. The Saturday markets were open: fresh cheeses, veggies, fruits, meats, flowers, etc. The townspeople are out in full force with their little shopping carts and market baskets. We decided to be virtuous and just buy some fruit to have for our lunch, since we have been overdosing on goodies everyday.

And then on our way back to St. Yves, we discovered the most wonderful boulangerie and patisserie, so we noted its location so that we could return after our worship at 11:00 a.m. So much for virtuosity. The 2 bananas and apple sit here by my computer as I type. Several of the others went with us for lunch, and we had wonderful quiches and pastries. Oh, well, it's back to yogurt and turkey next week.

At 11:00, we met in the small St. Yves chapel, and Jeffrey and Tom led us in a communion service. We used bread from breakfast, and wine from a small bottle we had bought on our shopping adventures. In the afternoon, we drove about 60 miles back to Paris.

Tomorrow: a few more days in Paris.

More Dijon, S'il Vous Plait

Today we leave for Chartres, where we will be staying basically (tres basically) in a monk's dormitory. They do have restrooms, but no internet so we will be practicing a monk's silence as well. Remember to click on the photos for more details.

Yesterday, we met with our guide Sherry again, and she took us to the Well of Moses, a sculpture by Claus Sluter, created in the 14th century. It is an amazing work of art, and the details are exquisite. It consists of a hexagonal base, with six prophets (Moses, Isaiah, Zechariah, Daniel, Jeremiah and David) encircling it. Each is garbed in a way particular to his calling or life, and each holds a scroll that bears a reference to the (now missing) art at the top of the pedestal: the crucifixion scene, with Mary Magdalene at the foot of the cross. Quite unusual angels depicting various emotions are spaced above and between the prophet statues. The sculpture (and actual well) are enclosed within a protective cupola, and have been since their creation. It is on the site of an ancient Carthusian monastery, just on the outskirts of Dijon.

Dijon has about 150,000 people, and is a vibrant, beautiful city. We have very much enjoyed our stay here and encourage making this a part of your trip to France if you have the opportunity.

After lunch in a delightful interior courtyard garden yesterday, we had a chocolat tasting at Carbillet Chocolat. Father and son took us to their cellar, and led us through the acquiring of their chocolate, its being blended to their own special recipe, and we tasted white chocolate, 2 levels of milk chocolate, about 5 levels of dark chocolate, and three finished products. Delicieux! Then we tasted cassis, which is the liqueur made from black currants. Very good! I have not posted chocolat photos on this part; it would hardly be fair to those of you are consigned to the US offerings of Hershey and Nestle.

After a rest, we were privileged to be the guests of our guides friends, Anne and Paul Blagny, who live in a 16th/17th century home that has been in his family for five generations. When you enter the large streetside door, an ancient world unfolds. You step into a large courtyard garden (where they teach tango!). Ancient statues and cobbled paving, roses, old walls and fixtures give you the feeling of stepping back in time.

Paul is an avocat (lawyer), and Anne is a documentary film maker. We purchased her dvd of Fontenay, where we toured last week. After touring the cellar (where there is a remnant of a 3rd century Roman rampart wall!), we were invited into the library and had kir (cherry liqueur), violette water or cassis, olives, pretzels, hazelnuts, almonds and pate choux (small cheese puffed pastries).

The library is a marvel, and Jean-Philippe Rameau, composer, played here weekly in the 18th century. Artwork and books abound, with floor to ceiling windows. It is a beautiful place. The parquet wood floors are 16th century.

Dinner was in another room, also lovely, with salmon salad, chicken and rice, and amandine cake, cake maison, and vanilla custard. Another delicious meal in France! We ate from Anne's grandmother's china, and the crystal chandelier is identical to one that hung in the home of George Sand! Seated with Joan Currey are Norm and Mary Anne Ravizza and a little bit of Bobby.

Sherry's daughter, Eliza, joined us. She is a student who will be doing her master's in New York. She grew up in France, and her English and French are impeccable.

We were all in awe of dining in this historic home, with its beautiful paintings, sculptures, furnishings and warm French hospitality.

Today we head for Chartres (about 200 miles) and we will add more to the blog when we are in Paris (from Saturday until we return to the US on the 24th). Au revoir for now.

To the highest heavens

This morning after breakfast in the wine bar (that's where they serve it), we met with our guide Sherry, who is someone known to Joan Currey and has lived in France 35 years, but was born and raised in Delaware. She has been certified by the state to be a tour guide; they undergo rigorous study and exams before being licensed. She is a wonderful guide, as you will hear.

She took us to her church, St. Benigne's Cathedral for a tour. We viewed the exterior doors and entry and the knave, and then she and Sebastien (who works in the church) led us 177 winding stone steps up to the bells! They are numerous, and each bell has been "baptised" and named as it was installed. The carillon was played for us by Sebastien, but of course, we had to cover our ears because we were inside the bell tower! It was magnificent. (I'm going to be using a lot of superlatives today.)

And then....

he took us a few more steps up and we walked across the "attic" above the vaulted ceiling of the knave, across the ancient beams, and out onto the roof of the cathedral! This is a tour that almost no one gets; he was doing it as a special favor to our guide since he knows her. We stepped out and could see Dijon and its environs for miles and miles. Some of us, myself included, DO NOT LIKE HEIGHTS. But we went anyway. How could we not? We stepped out onto the edge of the beautifully tiled roof, right along the gutter, above and below the spires and gargoyles!

It was an exhilirating experience, to put it mildly. To take the long shot of the steeple, I crouched down in a corner of the parapet we were on and aimed my camera straight up. There is a rooster on the top, and I have a more distant photo that shows it. Lots of roosters on churches here, in fact!

Bobby spotted a bird's nest with 4 eggs, which I also got a photo of.

The roof is shiny ceramic tiles in multicolors - beautiful. The gutters which we walked (inched) alongside were copper. The stone spires were quite eroded from ages of weathering.

We re-entered the attic from another opening, and walked back across the wooden beams and down a few stairs to the organ. It has 7000 pipes, and is one of the largest in France. Beautifully made of oak.

Once back downstairs, we descended into the crypt, which is actually the original church. St. Benigne is interred here, and his chapel is not accesible, but we could view it. Directly in front of it is a circular vaulted area in which we stood and sang three Taize pieces. Amazing acoustics, as you can imagine. When we were done, John said, "We should make a cd!"

The morning was capped off with lunch at La Dame de Aquitane. The food was a little challenging for me, but everyone else loved it:

Appetizer: a trio of jellied ham, escargot in a sauce that looked like warm pistachio pudding, and poached eggs in wine sauce. (I ate the tomato slice on top of the ham.) Great bread and wine, though!

Entree: Lapin (rabbit) and vegetables. I was a good girl and ate my veggies. Not Thumper, though.

Dessert: Apricot, Peach and Nectarine Cobbler, ala mode. This I devoured gladly.

Naptime, then visited another cathedral and Sherry gave us a tour of various architectural building styles in the area.

Dinner on our own. Now we are off to bed! (Look at the Taize entry again because I added photos today.)

Taize!

We've been out of internet range for a few days while we were in Cluny, so just a brief update on our trip there. Stopped in Tournous to look at a cathedral, St. Philibert. Very unusual, with a labyrinthine crypt underneath the entire knave. Lunch there (you eat very leisurely in France: one course at a time. And you may not ask for coffee until after dessert is finished!) So after about 2.5 hrs, we headed to Cluny.

Cluny Abbey is in ruins, and pretty much takes up the whole village, meaning shops, hotels, restaurants, etc. are butted right up against it. In fact, our hotel was once a wing of the abbey. It is a beautiful little town, with narrow, winding streets. Very picturesque, with many boulangeries, patisseries, and chocolatiers! Now we know what chocolate eclair REALLY tastes like!

Of course, I know most of you are waiting to hear about Taize. We worshiped there Friday night, Saturday night, and Sunday morning, then had a briefing with Brother John (from Philadelphia) who has been at Taize for 35 years!

First I need to tell you about the thousands of young people who come to Taize from all over Europe, and probably the world. They stay for a week, in tents, and have Bible study, small groups, and also have to work (kitchen, cleaning, etc.). They are mainly 19-25 years old. A lot of locals and tourists also attend the worship services.

The worship space is in a huge concrete building that holds at least a couple of thousand. The center floor is divided into 3 parts, monks in the center, and other worshipers on the sides. You sit on the floor in this area, or on small slanted benches that you put under your bottom and tuck your feet underneath. Surprisingly comfortable! Other seating is on the concrete steps on one side, or wooden benches on the same side. We tried them all, and I actually liked the floor best!

We got there early for good seats, and the nighttime services started at 8:30, so about 8:10, people start streaming in: young people, old people, families, babies, all different nationalities. It's unbelievable! In silence. Even more unbelievable! The music playing was surprising: classical strings. Beautiful and peaceful. About 8:20, the monks enter from the front, quite randomly, in twos or threes or singly, and all sit in the center section - on the floor or the stools, or some older ones sit on chairs. There are about 100 monks there now.

Each weekend, they celebrate the Triduum (did I spell that right?). So Friday night was Prayer Around the Cross. We sang many Taize songs (they publish a new book each year); most I did not know. You sing them in whatever language they are printed - some are English. At the end of the service, a cross is placed in the center of the middle part, and people line up to go up to the cross, kneel, and put their forehead on the cross, and pray for a short time, then get up and someone else takes their place. There is a very long wait for this, and none of us did it. It's enough to sing Taize and watch all of these young people go to the cross. Very moving.

On Saturday night was the Service of Light. Pretty much same routine, except about halfway through, two children walk forward with a monk, light slim footlong candles from the Christ candle, and then proceed to spread the light to everyone (you are given a candle when you enter the sanctuary). This is a beautiful sight. No photos allowed in worship, but I bought postcards depicting this.

Sunday morning was the Resurrection, and we had communion. So that you know which songs to sing, an electronic board shows the number of the page. A monk accompanies on a keyboard, and there is a lot of cantoring. In all the services, their is scripture, silence, prayer, singing. Communion was by intinction - white wine and wafers.

When the monks leave at the end of the service, two small children always lead them. Brother Roger started this tradition. We visited his gravesite in the small village of Taize. It has a flower garden on top of it!

On Sunday, we stayed for lunch, which is very plain, but very filling. You stand in line, get a tray, a water bowl, a bowl, and utensil. Delicious herbed mashed potatoes, an orange, a baguette, cream cheese, boiled egg or salami, water and a packaged brownie. You sit on low benches (no tables) to eat.

The bookstore was a delight, but unfortunately my suitcases are already complaining! I did manage a few items, though.

Today we drove through Beaune, visited the Hotel Dieu, a medieval hospice, had lunch, and came on to Dijon in the pouring rain.

We will have wifi the next 3 days, so we'll chat again! Dinner time; photos tomorrow.

Vezelay Day 2

Bon soir! We have had busy days, but wonderful ones. Yesterday we traveled from Paris to Vezelay, stopping for a windy, rainy picnic about halfway. We've had rain every day so far!

We are staying in another small hotel, very quaint. Vezelay is a tiny town, but the site of many pilgrims, much like Iona. The Benedictine abbey is the Basilica of St. Mary Magdalene, and is taken care of by the Community of Jerusalem, brothers and sisters, whose rule of life was written in 1978. The community lives their life together attentive to the inner voice of the Spirit leading and illuminating everything they do.

After walking about half a mile up a tiny winding street, we worshiped at Vespers and Mass. Here is a photo of the interior.

We enjoyed an elegant dinner at La Dent Creve, (The Hollow Tooth). Their cheese is amazing here: all goat cheese so far.

June 10, Wednesday. After breakfast we had a commissioning service, in a small chapel in the Basilica, and received pendants with tiny silver medallions with the word "gratitude". Liturgy as only Jeffrey can do it, assisted by Joan, Tom and John.

Lunch on our own; we bought a baguette, quiche and some kind of wonderful creamy pastry, and ate on chairs outside our room.

Lots of free time today; I shopped a little. Things are very expensive here.

I've taken at least a million photos so far, so you are only getting a taste!

Dinner at Auberge de la Coquille; don't order the roast beef.

Thursday, June 11. We drove to Fontenay, a lovely restored Cistercian Abbey about 1.5 hours away. Amazing countryside here: very clean and green and gorgeous. We had a tailgate picnic on the grounds of Fontenay; it is now owned by a family who allows the public to view it. Very well restored on perfectly manicured grounds. Here is a photo of it.

This Abbey is much simpler than the more ornate Basilica in Vezelay, due to the particular order that was in place when it was built.

On the return trip, we stopped at a small church in Sant Pere, quite gothic. More gargoyles!

We decided to do vespers early, so visited a tiny chapel (Franciscan this time) near the point where Bernard of Clairvaux preached at the beginning of the 2nd crusade. A Frenchman was in the chapel when we arrived, and we invited him to join us. He did not speak English, but stayed with us, and even sang "Laudate Dominum" with us at the end, and passed the peace (both cheeks, of course)! We chose to walk back to the hotel, and I got some amazing photos on the way.

Cows here are Charolais, and are white. The poppies everywhere are red. In fact, France has the reddest flowers I have ever seen: roses, geraniums, whatever. They positively glow!

Tomorrow we are off to Cluny. See you there! If you click on the photos within the blog, they will enlarge.

Eventually, maybe I will be able to create a place where you can see a slideshow.

Vezelay

Hello! I have about 10 minutes. We finally figured out the wifi here.

This is a gorgeous place. St. Madeliene's (Mary Magdalene - her bone is here) Basilica is huge.

Countryside is gorgeous - rolling hills, green, green, green.

Here's a photo.

More later!

Monday, June 8, 2009

We're still waking up way too early; guess it will take a while to adjust to this time zone. We are 9 hours ahead of California. Maybe by the time we go back.

We went searching for coffee prior to 7 a.m., but it's not to be had in Paris, evidently, unless you knock on someone's door! In fact, except for the green men (refuse workers) emptying the green trash barrels into their green truck, and using their green brooms to sweep the streets, there is no one around. Sorry I didn't have my camera with me to take a green picture; the battery was recharging in the room. Guess they take being "green" literally here.

At 6:50 a.m, a sympathetic cafe owner seated us for petit dejeuner (breakfast) of coffee, omelette with yummy emmenthaler cheese, croissant, bread and orange juice. Everything was excellent, but there is no bottomless coffee cup here. One cup. But that's ok, gives us an excuse to walk straight to the nearest boulangerie (bakery) and buy more pastry to go with another cup of coffee. So that's what we did! Sometimes a cup of coffee is the size of an espresso, but it has all the caffeine of several cups, so it works!

After that long walk and large breakfast(s), we napped for a short time, then took the autobus (bus) to the Eiffel Tower. Or should I say to near the Eiffel Tower. We got off too soon, so walked several blocks to find it. Huge crowds and long lines for tickets at 10:30 a.m., so we decided just looking at it was enough for us. Did I mention it was raining?

We had a luncheon cruise reservation on Bateaux Parisiennes near the Eiffel, glass walled boats with elegant seating for cruising the Seine for two hours while enjoying a sumptuous meal: nuts, bread, wine, salad, bellini, salmon, vegetables, apricot tart with sorbet, and coffee. We saw several sights, including the Louvre and Notre Dame, a zillion bridges, and houseboats! It was a lovely time, and here are photos to prove it. Rained the whole time, but we were dry (at least outside). Not so much inside.

Caught the bus back to the hotel, stopped at yet another boulangerie for pastries for tomorrow's breakfast (hey, you never know when there may be a pain du chocolat shortage) and napped again. Does it sound like we are really getting anything done? Well, this is vacation after all. Tomorrow when we meet up with the tour group, the real work begins!