the french cathedral tour (with detours)

we took the high-speed train from barcelona to narbonne, france--a 250 km trip that took us two hours. for comparison, the "baby bullet" train from san jose to san francisco covers 80 km in 90 minutes. at one point during our trip, the train was traveling 186 miles per hour! someday, california.

narbonne, a lovely town in southern france, was the site of our first french cathedral of the trip, which wasn't about cathedrals at all, but happened to become a theme enroute. narbonne has an interesting history and was a short distance away from our ultimate destination in southern france, the canal du midi (more on that in another post). narbonne was settled by the romans around 100 bc and was an important port near the mediterranean, but it now lies 15 km inland because the aude river silted in during the 14th century. the loss of the port had a tremendous effect on the economy of the town. those effects are perhaps most evident when visiting the cathedral of justus and pastor. the gothic cathedral was built on the site that had been occupied by at least four other churches during the town's history. the cathedral was started in the 1200s, worked on in fits and spurts throughout the 1300s, and then construction stopped. forever. there was not enough money to continue construction and the cathedral was going to be so massive that they would have had to demolish part of the city walls, which would have made them more vulnerable to invasions.  

it was quite possibly the most interesting cathedral we visited on our trip. they built the choir (choir and altar areas) but not the nave so the church is very tall and wide but short. where the nave would start is a solid wall that is adorned with an enormous pipe organ. if you walk around to the other side of the wall outside, there is empty space where the nave should be, but all of the side chapels were constructed so it is lined on each side with outdoor chapels (some are used as parking spaces). the cathedral maintained parts of the roman church that stood on that spot prior to the cathedral, so there were some beautiful frieze pieces incorporated into the chapels around the choir.

there's a little bit behind me, but this is

the entirety of the cathedral.

roman frieze

the lovely pipe organ where the nave would have started

the exterior nave wall

gargoyles and flying buttresses made it into

the early phases of construction

even at only a quarter of its intended

size, it is still a massive structure!

jenny, andrew, pete, and i

not the cathedral, but my favorite photo from narbonne

from narbonne, we cruised on the canal du midi for ten days before heading north to catch our flight home from paris. our route north was largely determined by a bridge, a cathedral, and a chateau.

the millau viaduct spans the 1.5 mile wide valley of the river tarn 900 feet above the ground. it is the tallest bridge in the world and considered a great engineering achievement. it was opened in 2006 in an attempt to alleviate summer traffic through millau. quite impressive on and off the bridge.

the millau viaduct

we arrived in bourges just in time to see the bourges cathedral (st. etienne) in the beautiful evening glow. the next morning we went inside and were blown away by its size and all of the stained glass. this cathedral is unique because it does not have a transept--the cross that divides the choir from the nave--so it looks longer than it's 300 feet. the stained glass was some of the best we saw. the windows behind the choir were nearly floor to ceiling stained glass with incredible detail. these windows were great because they came so close to eye level that you could see the relief in the lead frame and glass pieces. we climbed the north tower for a birds-eye view of bourges and the flying buttresses (nicknamed the "butter tower" - the tower collapsed in the 1400s and the church relied on donations from the congregation to rebuild it. if you donated you were given an indulgence that allowed you to eat butter during lent, hence the name).

west facade - five doors in all

the "butter" tower

300 feet from one end to the other

entering the zone of amazing stained glass windows

the windows were so beautiful in the morning light

so much detail in the stories these windows tell

flying buttresses from above (they are quite slender on this cathedral

because the walls are also quite thick,

providing additional support)

a beautiful view from the garden

from bourges we traveled deeper into the loire valley to a non-cathedral site that was one of andrew's travel goals...chateau chenonceau. chenonceau has a long history, but much of the current character of the chateau was designed by king henri ii's mistress, who owned the chateau. when henri ii died, however, the queen took the chateau from his mistress and sent her off to another chateau in the french countryside. chenonceau is a bit of a photographer's delight because part of it is build over the river. we rented a rowboat and got to boat down the river through the arches of the chateau. there were a gazillion rooms in the chateau; the most interesting to me was the bedroom of king henri iii's wife. she had it decorated in all black after the king died and the wallpaper had crosses, tears, and gravedigger shovels on it. a tad morbid.

chateau from the beautiful garden

the gallery (ballroom)

wallpaper in the mourning bedroom

pete rowing us in our little boat

chateau over the water

cathedral #3 was notre dame de chartres. chartres is one of the least altered cathedrals in france from its original structure and weathered wwii largely intact. all of the stained glass was removed from the cathedral in 1939 and reinstalled after the war. the cathedral is a pilgrimage site because the birthing veil mary supposedly wore when jesus was born resides in one of the side chapels. one of the unique features of chartres is the labyrinth on the floor in the middle of the nave. the choir screen was one of the most elaborate that we saw and was quite impressive.

the labyrinth

original stonework that has been painted over

throughout most of the cathedral

beautiful stained glass rose window

part of the elaborate choir screen

mary's birthing veil

chartres cathedral

our final cathedral was notre dame in paris. we were a bit overloaded on gothic cathedrals at that point, but it was raining outside so we took refuge inside her walls (along with just about every other tourist in the city). the choir screen at this notre dame is also quite ornate and has one of the few depictions of jesus as a child (generally we only see him as a baby and as a grown man).

notre dame (paris)

piece of the choir screen depicting jesus as a child (upper left)

notre dame from across the river

the winner of all things church-y on our trip was, hands down, sainte chapelle in paris. pete and i visited this royal chapel in 2008 and were just as impressed with it eight years later. the stained glass is magnificent and completely surrounds the entire chapel. these windows are unique because they only tell stories from the old testament. all of the cathedrals we visited tell stories of the old and new testaments in their stained glass windows. restoration work was recently undertaken to clean the stained glass of years of "human skin and breath." gross.

altar

fisheye view of all the stained glass in the chapel

if you made it to the end of this post, well done. our adventures on the canal du midi are up next...which may include just as many photos...

festive flare in felton

merry christmas from our festive little town in the santa cruz mountains!

travel lessons in barcelona

we started our nearly three week trip to europe this summer in barcelona, spain. our trip didn't exactly start out the way i envisioned. our first flight was delayed two and half hours, which took our connection in frankfurt from three hours to twenty minutes. and we had to clear customs. we ran through the airport and just made our flight, but of course our bags did not. everyone's bag made it on the next flight except mine. travel lesson #1: always travel with someone who is the same size as you so when the airline loses your bag you have clothes to wear the next day (thanks, jenny!). travel lesson #2: carrying an extra pair of socks and underpants in your carry-on is a pretty good idea. in addition to the travel and baggage fiascos, i got a migraine in the middle of the night. by pure happenstance, i got my bag about 24 hours after we arrived and was spared the agony of having to go clothes shopping...my version of hell.

our time in barcelona was short....we essentially had 24 hours to see the city. our time can be summed up in two words - food and gaudi. antoni gaudi was an architect and artist that defied convention. many of his most famous works, which collectively comprise a UNESCO world heritage site, are located in barcelona. his masterpiece and most famous work is the sagrada familia, an unfinished and unparalleled church. gaudi was an innovator, which was especially apparent in the architecture of sagrada familia. we also visited park guell, an outdoor museum of sorts and gaudi's home. 

 why take the stairs when you can ride the outdoor escalator??

 one of the many structures gaudi built while living in park guell

 many of the buildings in the park were ornate like this one
(headlines such as: "was gaudi gawdy?" are pretty common)

next up was sagrada familia. gaudi sadly died before he could finish his masterpiece. he worked tirelessly on the design and construction before his untimely death. he had completed the plans for the church and others have continued his labor of love for the last 80 years without modifying gaudi's vision very much. the church is scheduled to be finished by 2026, one hundred years after gaudi's death. 

the church is enormous--on par with most cathedrals--but it is anything like a standard cathedral. from the outside you can see the gothic influence, but it is heavily altered by the art nouveau style. for example, you enter through the nativity facade, which is busy and ornate like many gothic cathedrals. 

nativity facade - ornate, but pretty typical

the passion facade on the opposite side, however, is austere and quite different.

the stark passion facade is a dramatic contrast to the nativity one

the inside is unlike any other church i have seen. most large gothic churches and cathedrals are DARK inside. the sagrada familia is filled with light and color! the numerous stained glass windows were abstract designs rather than stories from the bible. the columns throughout the church were made of different materials, depending on where they were and their importance. the four columns that hold up the center of the church are made of porphyry and represent the disciples matthew, mark, luke, and john. the columns all branch as they approach the ceiling, providing a dispersed support system for the roof and eliminating the need for flying buttresses. the columns are also meant to look like trees--another example of gaudi bringing nature into his architecture. 

 lovely doors devoted to plants and bugs (bees!)

 abstract stained glass windows

 branching, tree-like columns supporting the roof

 porphyry column in the foreground; sandstone, 
marble, and granite columns in the background

three of the four central porphyry columns representing
the disciples matthew, mark, luke, and john

we got to go up one of the finished towers to get a closer look at the upper parts of the church. there is still a lot of construction going on, but it was really neat to see the towers and some of the exterior details up close.

 getting up close and personal with the towers

 color! not traditional for the exterior. this design on this

tower is the wheat and host central to most christian faiths. 
therewere others with a chalice and grapes.

stained glass rose window from the outside

our next stop was the barri gothic neighborhood, or old town. the barcelona cathedral is located in this neighborhood and hit all the marks of a conventional cathedral...ornate, dark, and full of biblical symbolism. 

 barcelona cathedral

ornate chairs in the choir

 altar area

 beautiful ceiling stonework

spires from the choir rising to the ceiling

i love old doors...

last but not least...food. padrone peppers where high on our list of food goals because the peppers originated in the padrone region in spain. we grow them at home and love them, but it seemed fitting to eat them in their native habitat. we found them at a tapas restaurant along with a jug of sangria, which was a great way to spend part of our afternoon. 

paella was another must-have and these giant pans of completely melissa-friendly versions did not disappoint. my bag had arrived by this time and my migraine was gone, so dinner was completely enjoyable!

the pacific flyway

a couple of weeks ago i drove to seattle to do some lab work with a colleague of mine. i don't usually drive, but i didn't think the airlines would appreciate a centrifuge, dry ice, and acetone in my carry-on bag. 

i've driven that stretch of i-5 numerous times while living on the west coast and i can honestly say that i really enjoy it. well, except for the part from santa cruz to redding. i can usually do without that stretch of traffic and flat land. but this year the bay area was my only nemesis because the pacific flyway was cranking! 

the pacific flyway is one of the four major north-south migration corridors that pass through the united states. it actually runs from alaska all the way to patagonia in south america. birds typically migrate along some part of this flyway in the spring and fall to move between feeding and breeding areas. the pacific flyway runs right down the central valley in california. lots of birds use this route (see more of them in a blog post from 2012), but the geese win awards for their numbers and noise. 

when i was driving home from seattle, the skies were filled with snow geese and a variant of snow called blue geese. there were also a few fields next to i-5 covered in them, and as luck would have it, the fields were also close to an exit. i couldn't resist...i had to get closer so i could hear the cacophony and see the chaos of hundreds of birds moving around. 

 blue geese

snow geese

i'm no stranger to this sight, and it made me nostalgic about my childhood. i spent many hours of my youth sitting in hunting blinds in northern minnesota with my dad, brother, and one of our trusty black labs waiting for the geese to fly over our heads within shotgun range. truth be told, we spent a lot more time whittling sticks than shooting geese, but the sound of thousands of geese just on the other side of the trees was something magical.... something special enough to warrant getting out of my warm sleeping bag at 5:30 in the morning rain, snow, or shine. or maybe it was the thermos of hot chocolate...