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rose_griffes) wrote2020-02-01 08:42 pm
rose_griffes) wrote2020-02-01 08:42 pm
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make me talk (belated post) - round 6
My brain was doing weird things this week--hormones? Food issues? The ongoing mystery of my body? At any rate, this is a belated finale for the "Make me talk (in January... er, February)" meme. From selenak: Day of your choice: France - any favourite places/regions/cities? Favourite era of French history to visit if you could?
Commentary first. Much like cultural definitions of human beauty in the USA, in American culture we have an emphasis on western Europe as THE standard for beauty in historical sites. We aren't taught to value the beauty of our own indigenous cultural heritage in the same way, nor to appreciate the beauty of other parts of the world that aren't in that subset of a specific western European aesthetic.
That being said: France really does have SO MANY beautiful places. The French as a whole value their own cultural heritage; also, aesthetic appeal is important to cultivate for its own sake.
Plus, I'll admit, I was always THAT girl growing up: the "I love French!" girl. I read translations of novels by Victor Hugo and Alexandre Dumas BY CHOICE, not because I was assigned to do so. I always wanted to go to France, even though that was a wildly unrealistic (budgetarily impossible) dream for my early years.
So. I think I'll split this into multiple categories. First, Paris. My top favorite place would be the Orsay Museum. Unlike the Louvre, Orsay is "human-sized"--you can visit in a day and see it all. Also, the building was originally a train station, so it's just really cool.
These next places aren't necessarily favorites that require multiple visits--just places that it took multiple trips to Paris for me to finally visit (and it was worthwhile!):
The Orangerie museum, with its amazing collection of Impressionist paintings. There are two oval-shaped rooms at the top level, both containing four mural-sized paintings of Monet's pond. Monet donated the works and helped design the space to display them.
Sainte-Chapelle was the chapel for the royal family; unlike many churches in France, the painted stone interior is still brilliantly colored. If you're visiting Notre-Dame in Paris, take time to walk a couple of blocks over and visit this one.
(Not the best picture, but most of the others have either me or my mother in frame, so this is what you get. Also, click on the thumbnail for a larger version.)
Outside of Paris, in the category of "way too touristy, but totally worth the visit":
Monet's gardens in Giverny. You can buy your ticket for the gardens while at the Orangerie museum in Paris, allowing you to skip the main line and use the back entrance instead. As for traveling there, it's probably easiest to take the train to Vernon and then the shuttle to Giverny; driving yourself means finding a parking spot in a small village that gets a flood of international visitors.
Mont-Saint-Michel.
Other places outside of Paris that I've really enjoyed:
The city of Rouen has a lot of interesting historical confluences. The Gauls founded the city. At some point the Romans were in control. In the 900s the Normans took the area and had a duchy here. A relatively large Jewish population lived here in the 12th century. Eventually a king of France took over (one of the Phillips), which led to the expulsion of the Jewish community (by a later King Phillip) a hundred years down the line.
It was a hotspot of the Hundred Year War. Relatedly, Joan of Arc had was put on trial for heresy here and then burned at the stake.
Centuries later, Claude Monet painted one facade of Rouen's cathedral more than thirty times--he was studying light.
Things to do!
See the beautiful cathedral that Monet so obsessively painted.
Stay up late on a summer evening and watch the free show projected on the cathedral exterior walls.
Visit the town's fine arts museum, which has a nicely varied collection.
Walk through the very modern little church built to honor Joan. Stroll around the square, with its medieval half-timber homes and businesses that are still in use.
(On the left you can see the swooping edge of the roofline of Joan's little church.)
(A sculpture of Joan inside that church.)
Walk under the Clock archway.
One great thing about Rouen: it's only an hour and a half to two hours from Paris by train. This would be a good 'hub' city for a tourist trip outside of France's capital.
Another city that I recommend for itself and as a hub: Avignon. Take the fast train south toward the Mediterranean coast and enjoy the warmth. Or feel stifled by it; whichever you and the weather are prone to do.
Avignon has a famous bridge--there's a children's song about it. In French, so maybe it's not so famous for many of us. At any rate, the bridge no longer spans all of the river, which means you can walk on it and go halfway across the Rhone.
The city of Avignon is worth its own visit, but I'm about to burn out on finding and uploading pictures, so let's skip to things to see in daytrips from Avignon:
The Pont-du-Gard - built as a Roman aqueduct, later used as a toll bridge.
Hunt down views that Van Gogh painted.
Hilltop villages such as Gordes
and Roussillon, with its ochre cliffs.
Finally, whether near Avignon or not, go to a market! These pics are from the market in Arles.
As for the question about which historical time period would I want to visit... huh. Honestly? I would probably visit a place that connects more directly to my life. It would be interesting to see Oklahoma during the time when my ancestors arrived, for example. (Interesting = depressing, in all likelihood. Given that my earliest ancestors to arrive in what would later become my home state were forced there.)
But I would love to meet Joan of Arc. What a fascinating, heroic, and tragic young woman.
selenak: Day of your choice: France - any favourite places/regions/cities? Favourite era of French history to visit if you could?Commentary first. Much like cultural definitions of human beauty in the USA, in American culture we have an emphasis on western Europe as THE standard for beauty in historical sites. We aren't taught to value the beauty of our own indigenous cultural heritage in the same way, nor to appreciate the beauty of other parts of the world that aren't in that subset of a specific western European aesthetic.
That being said: France really does have SO MANY beautiful places. The French as a whole value their own cultural heritage; also, aesthetic appeal is important to cultivate for its own sake.
Plus, I'll admit, I was always THAT girl growing up: the "I love French!" girl. I read translations of novels by Victor Hugo and Alexandre Dumas BY CHOICE, not because I was assigned to do so. I always wanted to go to France, even though that was a wildly unrealistic (budgetarily impossible) dream for my early years.
So. I think I'll split this into multiple categories. First, Paris. My top favorite place would be the Orsay Museum. Unlike the Louvre, Orsay is "human-sized"--you can visit in a day and see it all. Also, the building was originally a train station, so it's just really cool.
These next places aren't necessarily favorites that require multiple visits--just places that it took multiple trips to Paris for me to finally visit (and it was worthwhile!):
The Orangerie museum, with its amazing collection of Impressionist paintings. There are two oval-shaped rooms at the top level, both containing four mural-sized paintings of Monet's pond. Monet donated the works and helped design the space to display them.
Sainte-Chapelle was the chapel for the royal family; unlike many churches in France, the painted stone interior is still brilliantly colored. If you're visiting Notre-Dame in Paris, take time to walk a couple of blocks over and visit this one.
(Not the best picture, but most of the others have either me or my mother in frame, so this is what you get. Also, click on the thumbnail for a larger version.)
Outside of Paris, in the category of "way too touristy, but totally worth the visit":
Monet's gardens in Giverny. You can buy your ticket for the gardens while at the Orangerie museum in Paris, allowing you to skip the main line and use the back entrance instead. As for traveling there, it's probably easiest to take the train to Vernon and then the shuttle to Giverny; driving yourself means finding a parking spot in a small village that gets a flood of international visitors.
Mont-Saint-Michel.
Other places outside of Paris that I've really enjoyed:
The city of Rouen has a lot of interesting historical confluences. The Gauls founded the city. At some point the Romans were in control. In the 900s the Normans took the area and had a duchy here. A relatively large Jewish population lived here in the 12th century. Eventually a king of France took over (one of the Phillips), which led to the expulsion of the Jewish community (by a later King Phillip) a hundred years down the line.
It was a hotspot of the Hundred Year War. Relatedly, Joan of Arc had was put on trial for heresy here and then burned at the stake.
Centuries later, Claude Monet painted one facade of Rouen's cathedral more than thirty times--he was studying light.
Things to do!
See the beautiful cathedral that Monet so obsessively painted.
Stay up late on a summer evening and watch the free show projected on the cathedral exterior walls.
Visit the town's fine arts museum, which has a nicely varied collection.
Walk through the very modern little church built to honor Joan. Stroll around the square, with its medieval half-timber homes and businesses that are still in use.
(On the left you can see the swooping edge of the roofline of Joan's little church.)
(A sculpture of Joan inside that church.)
Walk under the Clock archway.
One great thing about Rouen: it's only an hour and a half to two hours from Paris by train. This would be a good 'hub' city for a tourist trip outside of France's capital.
Another city that I recommend for itself and as a hub: Avignon. Take the fast train south toward the Mediterranean coast and enjoy the warmth. Or feel stifled by it; whichever you and the weather are prone to do.
Avignon has a famous bridge--there's a children's song about it. In French, so maybe it's not so famous for many of us. At any rate, the bridge no longer spans all of the river, which means you can walk on it and go halfway across the Rhone.
The city of Avignon is worth its own visit, but I'm about to burn out on finding and uploading pictures, so let's skip to things to see in daytrips from Avignon:
The Pont-du-Gard - built as a Roman aqueduct, later used as a toll bridge.
Hunt down views that Van Gogh painted.
Hilltop villages such as Gordes
and Roussillon, with its ochre cliffs.
Finally, whether near Avignon or not, go to a market! These pics are from the market in Arles.
As for the question about which historical time period would I want to visit... huh. Honestly? I would probably visit a place that connects more directly to my life. It would be interesting to see Oklahoma during the time when my ancestors arrived, for example. (Interesting = depressing, in all likelihood. Given that my earliest ancestors to arrive in what would later become my home state were forced there.)
But I would love to meet Joan of Arc. What a fascinating, heroic, and tragic young woman.
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I remember that one.
Sur le Pont d'Avignon...
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