Visiting Reims

The highlight of my visit to Champagne was, of course, the Cathedral of Notre Dame de Reims. It is an overwhelmingly ornate gothic cathedral, highly influenced by Notre Dame de Paris, which was built just slightly earlier. I have decided that gothic cathedrals have to be some of the most difficult subjects to photograph. From the outside, it's difficult to capture the size of the building while retaining the details of the sculptures, all of which tell stories. On the inside, it's usually dark and the aspect ratios of the features are not camera-friendly. So, for the whole story, you really need to look at the website of the cathedral. If you read French, there is a ton of historical information, and if you don't, just click on Voir tous les albums photos at the bottom of the page.

One of the distinctive features of the cathedral is the set of tympani above the entrances. Usually, these are carved in stone, but in Reims they are stained glass. In my photo, you can see that the cleaning of part of the cathedral has just been finished. Like other gothic cathedrals, the stone was originally painted in vivid colors, to gild the lily.



Of course, thanks to fire and wars, most of the statues were severely damaged or lost, so the current statues are replicas, while the originals rest in the neighboring Museum of the Palais du Tau. The most recent destruction of the cathedral was during WWII, and this site was then chosen for the celebration of reconciliation between the French and the German governments, in 1962.

One of the sculptures, called the Ange au Sourire (Angle of the Smile) is considered a uniquely beautiful example of medieval art. I suppose the sculpture does have a fluid quality not usually seen in statues of saints posed like wooden soldiers. The parish's website even gives a prayer suggested for meditating while contemplating this angel:



My translation of the prayer originally by Jean-Marie Guerlin:
You, the Angel of the Smile, messenger of God, the stone-cutters knew quite well how to express on your face the very smile of God, to tell to all who contemplate it, how much God loves them, how much he is close to them! You, the Angel of the Smile, have braved all the destruction to be, among us, a sign of joyous hope and tenacity, of reconciliation among people.

Destruction of religious art seems to be a recurring theme as I visit the cities of France, and one cannot help but be sad when one imagines all the beauty that is lost to the world through violence. I guess it helps to put a hopeful spin on things, that they might change and we might not have to repeat the cycle ad infinitum.

There is a lot more history in Reims, because it was a pretty major Gallo-Roman city, and in fact the first cathedral on the site of Notre Dame de Reims dates back to the fifth century! Hopefully I'll get a chance to go back and see the museums, and drink more champagne!

For lunch, I do recommend the Brasserie du Boulingrin, 48 rue de Mars, +33(0)3 2640 9622. On that site(a bit off the tourist track) since 1925, they serve a broad variety classic French brasserie fare, including platters from their oyster/shellfish/lobster bar. My lunch menu was 17.50, for appetizer (warm lentil salad with sausage), main dish (cod brandade wrapped in crispy filo pastry), dessert (hazelnut cake), wine (red, white or rose), and coffee. The restaurant seemed very popular, and not only with travelers.

St. Vincent's Cathedral in St. Malo

Here are some pictures I took at the main cathedral in St. Malo, which is the Cathedral of St. Vincent. Because of the bombardment during the war, the spire is a modern reconstruction of what used to be a neogothic spire and the interior stained glass is also modern. St. Malo is the birthplace of Jacques Cartier, the explorer who attempted to find a route to the Indies by sailing through North America, but instead found the St. Lawrence Seaway and cleared the path for French colonies in what is now Canada. There is a stained glass window showing Cartier kneeling to receive the bishops blessing before his journey, and a plaque on the floor indicating the exact place where he knelt. Cartier is also entombed there, but my Lonely Planet guide revealed that all they could find after the bombing was the head of the body. The last picture below is of a photo that shows the condition of the cathedral in 1944.

Mont St. Michel

On Saturday, I embarked on a weekend trip with the Club International des Jeunes a Paris, which turned out to be a fantastic time. First, we visited Mont St. Michel, an abbey on the Normandy coast. The abbey is built on a rock, separated from the mainland by tidal sea meadows. It is the most popular tourist attraction in France, outside Paris and Eurodisneyland, and there were certainly plenty of tourists in attendance, despite the rain. The second picture shows me in the cloister, a place where the Benedictine monks could go to be alone and meditate, designed to reflect the garden of Eden. I was warmed up by my lunch of classic Breton galette (with wild mushrooms and thick cut bacon) and a bolee of cidre brut (Breton hard cider served from a keg).

Last night Maggie and Tom and I sat and watched the sun set behind Notre Dame de Paris, over some rosé and cidre, bread and artichoke paté. It was a warm summer night, but along the banks of the Seine it was breezy and perfect for a picnic, among Parisians and fellow tourists alike.