Portugal and France
January 2009
Out of Africa? .. how trite!
Border
crossings can be a total non-event or they can take hours.
Our
return to Spain and the EU today was at the upper end of this scale.
Who would have thought it would take almost an hour to get out of
Morocco and into Spain? Nobody in this day and age objects to border
formalities. They ensure our safety and security. But do they have to
be so inefficient?! It may be jingoistic, but crossing the Australian
frontier is always 'efficient'. It may take time, but you can see
that things are working to a system. Even entering the USA, there is
a 'system' - frustratingly slow and poorly managed - but a system.
Again,
today, at the Moroccan frontier, it was chaos. We were lucky. For
some reason a policeman, controlling the rapidly growing and slow
moving line at the border, decided to wave us through to an express
lane. Right to the front! Good for us, but what about the unlucky?
AND, for the first time this trip, somebody else entered our van! Was
he friendly? Yes. If we'd had drugs, would he have been as pleasant?
NO! He looked into cupboards and the various “pits” that comprise
a camper and tapped away, listening for unusual noises – ie a water
tank that didn't have water in it. It was the most thorough check we
have ever had in our travels, but we didn't really mind if the end
result is less drug-trafficking. It is reassuring to believe that
somebody, somewhere, is doing something, so that next time we come,
we won't be put off going other places by the potential threat of
police raids of the campground in the middle of the night, as was
indicated by one of our sources.
Never
mind, we made our ferry back to Algeciras by minutes and 50 minutes
later, were back in Spain. Tonight, we are camped in a crowded
camping ground just outside of Tarifa, south of Cadiz. It was a rainy
and miserable day, but the Germans were out on the beach
para-sailing. It's warm, even by Australian winter standards, but ...
in the Atlantic... in January?
Hundreds
of campervans and caravans are still streaming south. We saw many on
our way south before Christmas. There seem to be more now. There is
hardly a spare plot in this camping ground and there are several this
size in the area. Morocco must love it - this lot, all headed their
way! And why not? It's about 20C on a good day here and -10C just
1000 km north. By the way, we are heading north.
With
more than three quarters of the 3 month van leg of our total 5 month
adventure done, it is a good time to reflect on this form of travel.
After three previous long trips in Campervans, we consider ourselves
experts. That's about 12 months living in vans on the road in Europe!
Firstly,
it's cheap, or at least you can control your costs. And it can be
flexible. You can go where you like, when you like. But can you? We
have had some disappointments trying to park and see sights even in
relatively small towns. Driving is becoming increasingly difficult on
Europe's ever more crowded roads. The big plus is independence. Even
with the difficulties with traffic, finding somewhere to stay and
constantly getting lost, it is much more of an adventure than a
Kon-Tiki Tour! After all, how many other people do you know who have
driven up the main streets of Amsterdam, Budapest, Paris, Rome,
Sofia, Athens, and many, many more cities, towns and villages in a
campervan?
Would
we do it again? Ask us in 12 months time...
Oh.
About Morocco. Fantastic experience. Not all that easy travelling the
way we did, but not the most difficult country we have visited by a
long shot. Fantastic, friendly people. Beautiful scenery. A culture
that is new to us, different and enthralling. Very safe and welcoming
for westerners. Get there before it becomes even more touristy, but
be prepared for a 'culture shock'.
3 January
Seville drive past
Ever
need to see Seville, we are your people. City centre, suburbs,
ring-roads, industrial areas and roads in and out of town in all
directions. Just a breeze for us now. That's about all we did today.
Not that the city is so difficult. It is compact with a population of
about 700,000 people and an excellent road system. Just no parking,
that we could find, for large vehicles.
Missed
another gem of a city because of lack of parking., or an open
campground, or Aire ...... but that's the trade-off. C'est la vie!
4 January
Where are we really?
A
few days back, when we left Marrakech in Morocco, we started our
return to Amsterdam and the end of the Van leg of our trip. We have
done some klms in a few days and we are now in the small city of
Evora in southern Portugal.
But
on the pleasant and mostly sunny drive into Portugal today, we had to
keep asking ourselves, 'where are we really?' This part of Portugal,
East of Lisbon, is so much like Australia, you could have shot
“Australia” here instead of in Darwin and Bowen. The eucalypt, in
its many varieties, is dominant here, as it is in most of the
Mediterranean. Amongst the forests of gums, wattle and other acacias,
some probably southern African in origin, fill in the under growth.
The country is open and often rocky and the soil is red.
Portugal
is not as densely populated as many of its neighbours and so there
are open vistas a-plenty. Small towns with one main street and
nothing much else pop up on the road every now and then. Some are
railway towns with the line on one side of the street and the town on
the other.
This
afternoon, just after we set up the van for the night, we watched the
sun come down over a group of Brits who were camped beneath a
beautiful stand of gums. In the late afternoon sunlight, they could
have been on the Murray.
Evora
- a UNESCO Heritage-Listed site, was our port of call for today. With
easy parking, a close to town camp site, some great things to see,
Evora had it all for us. A walled city,with Roman ruins, an
interesting Cathedral with ghoulish Chapel of Bones (to remind us all
that life is short) and an aqueduct, Evora was soothing to our
shattered nerves, after yesterday's drive-through of Seville. If only
every city was as easy to negotiate!
5 January
Routine
It's
almost automatic now; the morning routine.
In
a campground, get up, boil the wash water, make the coffee, wash and
complete the “toilette” (just one of us), sit and wait (the other
one!), check the maps, set up 'Navgirl' for the day's journey, visit
the loo (don't forget your toilet paper!), make breakfast, wash up,
load the fridge from the beer and wine cellar, empty the chemical
toilet and the waste water, fill the water tank, pay the bill, check
all hatches, start your engines and off. If we try hard, we can get
all this done and be on the road by 9:30am. Hey – we are on
holidays!
For
free camps on motorways etc, leave out a few of these steps and add
'wander into a cafe, feign interest in eating and duck into the
toilet'. (Toilet paper usually provided.)
Today
was no exception. Like a well-oiled machine, we were on the road by
9:30 for the short drive to Lisboa (Lisbon).
The
area of Portugal we drove through today can be very dry. In 2005,
they had a crippling drought here, but this year, the country is
beautifully green, oranges and lemons load the trees and the cattle
and sheep are all fat. Cork trees are everywhere, easily identified
by the bare, stripped trunks that turn red once the cork bark is
removed. There is a world-wide shortage of natural cork and it is
impacting on the younger trees. Trunks are sometimes stripped of bark
before they are more than a couple of hundred millimeters in
diameter. The bark doesn't grow back, so it's a long wait until the
trees are big enough to produce again.
We
hit our camping grounds in Lisbon just before lunch today, so we made
an early start on the city with a trip on the bus to the waterfront
district of Belem, the location of the famous Discovery Monument
celebrating the discovery of the New World. Huge and impressive, it
is probably better seen on a good day. The good citizens of Belem
also have an excellent Modern and Contemporary Art Museum with a very
large and interesting collection of exciting and, of course, bizarre
stuff, and free! There was also a large Monastery but, being Monday,
it was closed!
It
was cold and grey, so we probably didn't see the city at its best
this afternoon. Late in the day, the sun broke through, so tomorrow
might be a better day.
6 January
The home of Fado
Portugal
was powerful once, but those days are long gone. Lisbon, its capital,
has been described as the crumbling remnant of this once-powerful
nation. Lisbon, today, on the surface at least, is a bit run-down in
places, but these areas only add to the character of the city. We
roamed through the back streets of Alfama, the old part of the city
today, through the very streets where Fado was born.
In
the bright sunshine today, new high-rises in the distance mark the
boundaries of the new Lisbon and the new Portugal. Still not among
the most wealthy of the EU countries, Portugal can be far easier on
the pocket than Italy or France. Things are changing quickly though.
The EU has ploughed millions into developing Portugal's
infrastructure. Roads and ports are modern and well-maintained.
Still
none the wiser about Fado?
It
was in the narrow, run-down alley-ways and streets of the Alfama
district of the city that the often mournful music of the Fado
originated. It all seems to have started with the rough, probably
drunken songs of depressed sailors around the waterfront of Lisbon in
the early part of the 19th Century. There were special Fado houses,
but these were probably also the other 'houses' that sailors often
frequented.
At
about the same time, the 12 string Portuguese Guitar evolved from the
more traditional six string version. Eventually, the themes and music
of Fado were picked up by Lisbon's bohemian set and so from these
humble beginnings, this genre of music rose to become the national
music of Portugal. Its exponents are household names in Portugal
today, but it is still all a bit of a mystery to us, even after our
visit to the Fado Museum. The museum is a bit like the Rock and Roll
Hall of Fame in Nashville but without the Rock, or the Roll. Not to
scoff! It was a great museum and an interesting experience. We even
bought a Fado CD.
8 January
Feels like winter
What
else could we expect in early January? - It finally got cold! After a
couple of very mild days in Portugal, it suddenly turned winter on
us! Just a few days ago, we were wandering about in T-shirts.
From
Lisbon, we have come north to Salamanca in Spain. Coming north and
inland was probably not the best call this time of the year! Never
mind; on the way, we were rewarded by the beautiful little Portuguese
town of Obidos. A gift from Dom Dinis (whoever he might be!) to his
wife, the walled town today is a time capsule. No satellite dishes
here! Not even TV antennas - indeed there was hardly a soul on the
streets this bright and clear, but crisp afternoon.
Instead,
from the city walls, which we almost circumnavigated, only stopped by
a gate 150m from where we'd begun, we marvelled at twisting, cobbled
streets with picture-perfect white houses. Mind you, we did that
clinging to the ramparts! Workplace Health and Safety hasn't invaded
Portugal yet. At the start of the scramble to the top of the walls,
there is a reminder to watch your step – and your children -
timely, as the walls are about a metre wide and there are only a
couple of (short) barriers to stop you falling many metres down onto
those cobbled (read – hard) streets. This proved a bit tricky a
couple of times as we came across people going the wrong way, but all
good – we are still fairly agile for a couple of old farts!
We
spent the night in the carpark just outside the walls. While it
boasted the facilities of toilet and waste water dumping, as well as
water refill, there was no power, so we were exposed to the sudden
onslaught of winter. It was -1C inside the van when we got up to put
the little gas heater on. It struggled to pull the temperature inside
up to 4C in time for breakfast.
We
did some hard driving today to get to Salamanca, only to find that it
was winter here as well! -3C the sign said as we drove into town at
4:00pm. After a brief internet session in the foyer of the hotel we
are camped behind, we understand we can expect -6C tomorrow with a
chance of snow. Cold, but tonight we have power and our electric fan
heater is belting out a constant 20C inside.
9 January
Snowed in
Snow
is a wonderful thing. It looks very cool on pine trees. High
mountains look great when snow-capped, snowmen are just the thing for
a winter front lawn. But try driving in it! It floats towards you in
an almost mesmerizing stream of flakes. Roads become slippery.
drivers even more unpredictable and the windscreen starts to freeze
over.
As
predicted, it was very cold this morning in Salamanca, down to -6C.
Very light snow could be seen in the morning sunlight as we drove off
towards Avila and Segovia. Avila was just as we remembered from our
last visit. Spectacular battlements surround the old town centre,
just as old European towns should be. The light sprinkle of morning
snow added to the scene. We had a long day ahead and the weather
wasn't helping. As we approached Segovia, the snow increased. We
managed a walk through the town with its Roman aqueduct and beautiful
cathedral just as the snow started to pelt down. We took off for our
planned camp site about 100kms away about 3:30pm. As usual, we got
lost leaving town and by the time we had driven all the way back into
town to try to start over again, the roads were white. Even the heavy
traffic on the major highways wasn't enough to clear them and it was
getting more and more difficult to drive. Not too far out of Segovia,
we spotted a carpark in a small village and here we are for the
night. The snow has stopped now and it is getting a little warmer.
-3C perhaps? The trusty gas heater has it up to 17C inside at the
moment, but we'll have to turn it off when we go to bed to conserve
gas.
10 January
How to drive in the snow
It
might seem like a silly subject but, as what we mostly did today was
drive in the snow, it may be appropriate. And it will be something to
remember for next time.
Coming
from the sub-tropics as we do, driving in severe winter conditions is
not our forte. Having said this, we have done a lot of driving in
winter in Europe, the US and New Zealand. So we know enough to be
absolutely sure that we are novices!
Snow
is frozen water. Yes, we know – obvious. Sometimes it can build up
to the point that a vehicle can't push through it. In heavy snow, it
accumulates on the windscreen and freezes the wipers. Other times, it
turns to slush and freezes on the road surface. Always, it is tricky
for the uninitiated.
What
we have learned was put to good use today. We awoke to even more snow
than we had last night, when we had decided it was too dangerous to
continue. The windscreen was frozen on the inside as well as the
outside; it was -1C inside the van and the gas heater wouldn't light
because the chimney was covered with snow. Disaster you might think.
No, not just then. Later, when the window to the small bathroom in
the van cracked off in the cold, potentially leaving a metre square
opening - that was disaster!
Short
of some minor cuts and abrasions and a lot of bad language, all was
well. The window was finally closed up – not fixed, but at least
sealed - leaving most of the snow on the outside!. The engine
finally started after a few sad, hard churns, and we were off.
Back
to the fact that snow is water. Freezing point for water in any state
is 0C, a fact that should never be forgotten when driving in severe
winter conditions. What might look like a nice smooth, recently
snow-ploughed stretch of road, could in fact be the dreaded 'black
ice' - re-frozen snow slush that is almost invisible against the
black of the road surface. We have seen enough of the results of
black ice, to be overly cautious of it. Today we passed several
victims of this phenomena in ditches beside the highway. At one place
there were four in a row, all half tipped over, off the side of the
road. Steep gradients like on and off ramps are particularly
dangerous. Even the usually speedy Spanish drivers show a great deal
of respect for icy roads.
The
cold weather has had some minor impact on us aside from the driving
difficulties. Our grey water tank has been frozen for a couple of
days and it has been very cold getting up and dressed in the
mornings. On the positive side, we have no worries getting the beer
cold. It doesn't even get to the fridge now, but goes straight from
the locker under the van to the table!
From
here on, our trip is mostly driving until we get to Peronne on the
Somme, where we will visit Janita's Great-Uncle's war grave. We'll
try to stay close to the coast of France and so avoid the worst of
the winter. We might even find the odd nice little village to visit?
But
please – no more cathedrals!
France and the Low Countries
12 January
France's Route 66
After
we crossed the Spanish-French frontier yesterday, we drove mostly on
French National Route 10. (N10). National Routes in Europe are the
poor travellers' Motorways because they are toll free. In Portugal,
Spain and France, they are often dual carriage roads that are of
motorway standard. The only difference is that every now and then
they don't by-pass towns, so you hit some traffic, as we did this
morning getting through Bordeaux. Slow, but still an interesting
drive through the inner 'burbs.
At
a bit of a loss as to what to do for the next week or so in France,
we decided to do a practice run for our planned trip in
August/September down Route 66 in the USA between LA and Chicago. N10
is not anything like the scale of Route 66, but what it does offer in
common is a slice of the 'heartland' of France, passing through
Bordeaux, Poitiers, Tours, Chartres and Versailles. What we plan is
to stick as close to the N10 as we can, all the way to its end at the
Paris ring road; the Peripherique (the 'Horrorpherique' as we call
it!) and, on the way, potter about in small towns and villages.
Today
was mostly driving and the usual shopping. France is great for
shopping! Hypermarkets are on almost every corner, even in rural
France. We did divert from the N10 to the small village of Brux south
of Poitiers, because we saw a highway sign indicating that it had an
XI Century Church. As it turned out, an “I” had fallen off the
highway sign and it was, in fact, a XII Century Church. Never mind,
it was a nice little village and the church was interesting as it was
in a fairly original state.
Continuing
our theme, we sought out another small village to camp in tonight.
Nieuil l'Espoir is not even on our map. We found it while searching
for a free Aire de Service to spend the night. It doesn't have a XII
C church, but it is a good example of what is left of rural villages
in France. There is a butcher, baker, pharmacy, small supermarket
and a bar. The centre of the village has one grand house (in fair
repair) that was probably the local manor house. Around it, there is
a cluster of old houses and ex-shops. On the outskirts are the new
estates of late 20C and early 21C. Not many, but a sign of the
changes to come.
13 January
Every day has something
After
almost 4 months of writing these blogs, we wonder sometimes if there
is anything new to say.
But,
yes, there is. Not a lot today, mind you, but there is always
something different and interesting when you are travelling - like
the ruins of old Poitiers. On a whim, we followed a highway sign off
N10 today to its ruins.
The
things you know nothing about are sometimes the most interesting. Not
on the wow scale like a 12th Century Cathedral, or a walled medieval
town, but interesting for the fact that you are probably the only
people in months to bother to roll on up the country road to a little
visited site. All the more fun in the snow with narrow roads just
visible through a carpet of white. At the back of a small village,
well off the tourist path, we found “Old Poitiers”. Among the
ruins of a Roman town that once had a population of 10000 people,
there was the remnants of a Roman theatre and some houses. Not much,
but it was all ours and we had gone to the trouble to find it.
We
also found the Chateau of Chenonceau and the house in Amboise where
Leonardo Da Vinci spent his last years and the room in which he died.
But lots of other people found these as well.
14 January
One last cathedral??
Can
you ever see too many cathedrals? Absolutely! But...
Who
could drive past Chartres and not have a look at its famous
cathedral? It rises from the open fields and can be seen five or six
klms from town. This part of France is fairly flat, open country that
would probably have looked good, even with the bareness of winter
upon it. Today we couldn't tell. It was foggy most of the day, but as
the early afternoon approached, the sky lifted.
While
Chartres Cathedral was well worth the stop, the small city of
Chartres itself was an unexpected bonus. Half timbered houses and
narrow medieval streets compete with a mill stream.
Over
a thousand years ago, some local noble returned from the Holy Land
with the Virgin Mary's Veil (or a bit of it!) The year was 876 and
there was already a ruined cathedral on the current site. The
faithful rallied and somehow, like good simple folk in hundreds of
towns and cities all over Europe, managed to build a structure to
house the Holy Relic. It stood for five hundred years before fire
destroyed it. Undaunted, they started again and with their bare hands
and very simple machines, they built the current enormous structure
that has stood for more than 800 years and looks as good as the day
it was consecrated. Two world wars last century left it unscratched,
although some nasty Germans bombed the city gate just 100 metres from
the Cathedral!
What
drove them - all of them - the many thousands who designed and
built these incredible places all over Europe? Faith, superstition,
lust for power or fear? Whatever it was, when aggregated, the great
Cathedrals of Europe far eclipse the pyramids and any other ancient
constructions on the planet.
As
an extra bonus, we were also rewarded in our search for 'bits' of the
saints. Chartres Cathedral also displays the bones (or some of them)
of Saint Piat, a local lad made good!
The
afternoon has cleared to a beautiful clear night, stars aplenty and
visibility almost unlimited. Sounds great, but we know what this will
mean tomorrow morning - temperatures well below freezing. The cold is
already coming up through the floor!
16 January
Early reflections
Yesterday
wasn't as cold as expected. The morning was clear but relatively
warm. As we drove closer to the coast, it got even warmer and the
weak winter sun even had some warmth to share.
Our
plan had been to drive on to northern France to visit the battle
fields of the Somme but, as usual, we had a few days to spare, so we
headed to the beaches of Normandy. The tourist focus here is, of
course, the D-Day Invasion. Yes, we did some of that, but the small
towns and villages of Normandy (those that survived the war) are just
beautiful. Half-timbered house, in excellent repair, grace many of
the small towns and villages.
Who
can ever remember the names of every small town or village that has
interested us for one reason or another? And why try? Surely it is
the experiences that make a journey like this worthwhile?
So
... to some early reflections.
Of
the three legs of our five month trip, the van trip was always going
to be the most challenging and exciting. And so it was! It's a bit
like running a distance race. You train and prepare for months and
look forward to the day. Then, at some point, you wish you had just
stayed home in bed! At the finish though, all the negatives evaporate
and the exhilaration of finishing overwhelms all.
Close
to the finish line, we do feel satisfied with what we have managed.
No animals or children have died, except for a couple of slow birds;
traffic in most of Europe has not been brought to a halt; we are both
fit and well and the van is in one piece (mostly!). Mind you, there
are a few Italian villages that will take months to recover from our
visit! On top of this, we have had some great experiences, (read rest
of blog), been places we have never been before, seen things we will
never forget – just to mention a few; the Medinas of Marrakesh and
Fes in Morocco, Norwegian Fjords, the back streets of Palermo on
market day, Granada in Spain and remnants of 3000 years old
civilizations on Sardinia. Oh yes, and the worst hail storm we have
ever driven through in Genoa!
18 January
Benoit et Nicole and “Uncle Willie”
Merci
beaucoup a Benoit, le frere de mon oncle Pierre, et sa femme Nicole!
On
the way to visit Benoit and Nicole yesterday, we stopped off for just
'one last cathedral' – Rouen.
Again,
we were enthralled by, not only the cathedral but also the town
itself. It was here that Joan of Arc was burned at the stake. Today,
a fish market shares the square with the shrine to Saint Joan. How
nouveau French!
But
the highlight of the last couple of days was the 'Grand Tour' that
Benoit gave us of his village and, the next morning, of the small
city of Laon, just a few klms from his village. Laon was a
significant fortified city in the middle ages, with (yes, another!)
large cathedral. The cathedral punched well above its weight for a
small city like Laon. It is, in fact, the second oldest cathedral in
France. But what was more interesting for us was all the local
knowledge Benoit had about the town and the other out of the way
places he took us to.
We
topped off the morning tour with a magnificent lunch. Merci Benoit et
Nicole!
By
mid afternoon we had managed to squeeze the campervan back out
through the stone archway of Benoit's courtyard and were on our way
to find the grave of 'Great Uncle Willie who died in the war'.
William
John Armstrong was the great uncle of Janita, the brother of her
grand-father. He was killed in action at Mont St Quentin on 31 August
1918, just one day before the AIF effectively dis-engaged from the
First World War. Thanks to the National Archives in Canberra, we had
William's full military records, including his burial place and grave
reference number.
On
a beautiful mild sunny afternoon, just over 90 years after his death,
his family finally found their 'Uncle Willie who died in the war'.
Armed with two small Australian flags and sprigs of eucalyptus,
(brought all the way from Morocco!) his great niece found him among
the more than 500 graves of him and his mates, who have shared this
quiet spot in the Communal Cemetery Extension in the small town of
Peronne for almost a century. It was a tearful reunion.
At
'the going down of the sun' we revisited the Second Division AIF
memorial on the Ave Des Australiens on the outskirts of Peronne. We
had come upon it by accident in 2001 and this chance discovery had
started the quest for information about Uncle Willie.
Tomorrow,
we will visit the largest of the memorials to the Australians who
died in France, the Australian War Memorial at Villers Bretonneux. It
is built on Australian territory in the midst of Europe, ceded by
France in gratitude for the sacrifice of the more than 50,000
Australians who lie in over 2000 French and Belgian cemeteries like
the one where Uncle Willie rests.
19 January
Not Tuesday – But it is Belgium
You
probably have to be older than 40 to understand the above reference.
It pertains to a classic 60s movie about group travel in Europe.
It's
actually Monday, but tomorrow we will spend a whole day in Belgium.
As the theme of the old movie runs, for us, this will probably be the
longest time we have spent here in over 20 years! Let's see what it
brings?
Today
we made the classic Aussie pilgrimage to Villers-Bretonneux. Not an
attractive day weather wise, but one that touched every jingoistic
nerve in our bodies. The Mairie, (City Hall) has kangaroos and emus
on the doors; the local school was built after the First War with
funds from Victorian children and the brothers and sisters of the
the troops who had died in France. In the play ground is a banner
reading – “Never Forget the Australians.”
Outside
this village, liberated by Australian troops in 1918, is the
Australian War Memorial, a large and fitting tribute to the tens of
thousands of Australians who lie on French and Belgium soil and.
particularly, to the 11,000 young men for whom there is no known
grave.
20 January
Where is a good reformer when you need one?
Martin
Luther took hammer, nails and his treatise and made his concerns
clear on the door of the Wittenberg Cathedral in 1517. That was a
long time ago and it tore the established Church apart. A millennium
and a half earlier, another, far more influential figure, took to the
usurers and peddlers in the temple.
Tolerant
christians (with a small c) that we are, enough is enough with the
commercialization of religion! Entry charges for churches, machines
that turn coins into souvenirs of a holy relic are just tolerable.
Price lists for blessings and mass offerings are just beyond the
pale! Today, in the otherwise fantastic town of Bruges, (yes it IS
in F'n Belgium*) we came across the sort of thing that incensed
Luther.
Bruges'
Basilica claims to have a vial of the blood of Christ. The relic is
displayed with great ceremony only between restricted hours every day
– extended hours in season. As the faithful approach the altar to
pay homage to the relic, they are confronted with placards requesting
payment for the privilege. To make all this worse, there is a glass
box right beside the holy relic, presided over by a priest, that is
stuffed with money. As an aside, one has to wonder why the Church
has allowed such an important relic to languish in “F'n Bruges*”.
If
this isn't enough, on the way out, one has the option of forking out
another 6 euros for an 'intercession'. Five hundred years ago, it was
the sale of indulgences. It seems that modern 'spin' has made it ok
to sell 'intercessions' and Papal blessings.
It
must be said that the price isn't always high. Further down the
street today, we paid 2.5 euros to see a piece of the 'true cross'
housed in a 16th
century church that is a replica of the Holy Sepulchre Church in
Jerusalem. For this price, we got to press a button to light up the
interior of the church, the tomb of some 16th
century noble's wife and the heart of the noble himself (he died
elsewhere apparently). There were even individual torches to spot
special features. Sadly, the batteries were flat! Not just all this
but, there was free entry to the Belgium Lace Museum thrown in. Best
ecclesiastical value in Europe!
But
back to beautiful Bruges. It was hard to believe it was late January
today. Blue sky and sunlight encouraged us to walk from the camp
grounds into town this morning. On this, probably the last sight-
seeing day of the van phase of our trip, we needed a bit of a walk,
mostly because we planned to have a big feed of Belgian frites for
lunch. The Belgians don't claim to have invented the 'frit', but they
sure have done a lot with it! Our feast was purchased in a student
cafe in a back street. Crisp chips, smothered in creamy mayo was pure
evil that had to be walked off for the rest of a most pleasant day.
And,
oh yes, we did climb the tower.*
(*
For those who saw the Movie)
21 January
Drove to Amsterdam.
22 January
Walked around Amsterdam....
One
might detect a certain lack of enthusiasm about Amsterdam. And
rightly. The two highlights for us are always the Rijksmuseum and the
Van Gogh Museum - Dutch Masters and 19th Century impressionists
being included in the artworks that interest us. As it turned out,
the Rijksmuseum was a bit disappointing this time. Major renovations
are under way and the collection on display is extremely restricted.
The entry price, however, is the same!!
The
Red Light district is a source of minor interest on a cold and rainy
afternoon, but beyond that, or even partly because of that, Amsterdam
always seems 'grotty'. Legalization of marijuana has attracted many
young people from all over Europe, but for all the wrong reasons. The
van next to us had its bong out airing when we arrived!
Tomorrow,
we return the van. From the depot, it is a quick (and free) ferry
trip to central Amsterdam, where we are staying in the same B&B
that we visited before we collected the van 3 months ago. It's a
great little hotel and a stone's throw from Centraal Station. So the
following morning, we just walk across the road and jump a fast train
to Paris.
That
will start phase three of our adventure. We now have five city stays
of between four and seven nights in, Paris, Valetta, Istanbul,
Edinburgh and London.
24 - 28 January
Art.. and more art
Leaving
the van behind has made us a little lazy about writing the Blog. Our
apartment in Paris has cable TV and broadband WiFi, so we have had
diversions not available to us for months!
Our
trip on the VFT (Very Fast Train) from Amsterdam was great. Speeds of
over 200kms per hour for part of the journey were an interesting
experience. What was difficult was negotiating the Metro station,
after our arrival at Gare du Nord, on the way to our Montmartre
apartment. The only lift was out of order, meaning that bags had to
be dragged up 7 flights of stairs at our local Metro station, then
more up to the street and two flights up to our apartment – a total
of 200+ steps dragging more than 50 kilos between us!.
Having
arrived and settled in, the true value of living in this part of
Paris became evident. Our afternoon walk took us through the 'arty'
quarter of Montmartre, just around the corner from our place, up to
Sacre Coeur, always magical, and on Saturday afternoon, humming with
people.
After
doing the art museums in Amsterdam just before we left for Paris, we
have spent most of the past few days roaming the galleries of Paris -
the Louvre, of course, the Pompidou Centre of Modern Art and the
Musee d'Orsay. The more traditional museums are, frankly, becoming a
little boring. Yes, they have 'must see' things like the Venus de
Milo and the Mona Lisa, but they just have so much stuff, it starts
to overwhelm the senses. The Pompidou Centre is far from boring. Like
it or hate it, modern art always keeps you on your toes! You never
know what awaits you around the next corner. One of our favourites
was the three totally blank white canvases on one wall. We thought it
was an empty room being prepared for an exhibition. Oh no. This was
“true art.”
Speaking
of fun, we took ourselves off to the Moulin Rouge last night. Why
not? It was just down the road, less than 5 mins walk. On the
positive side, the show was “spectacular.. spectacular”, although
not quite up there with the Radio City Rockettes in New York! We
scored a table with a very nice French couple and had a great night.
On the negative side, the cost was astronomical!
Tomorrow,
we drag our bags, down the hill this time, off to Orly Airport.
Destination, Valletta, Malta.
Comments
Post a Comment