Scots Weekend

A couple of weekends ago we had company to visit Hasselt.  They weren't all Scots.  They were actually just all from the UK.

We got the chance to visit Brugge, Belgium.  This is me and Carole in charge at the City Hall.

The next day we visited the Christmas market in Cologne, Germany.  We were some of about a million people there that day.

The market is right on the grounds of the cathedral.  Here's Steve and Carole freezing!

We also visited yet another Christmas market set up in a cave in Valkenburg, Netherlands.

On Sunday afternoon we visited Neercanne Castle in the Netherlands.

They use this cave as their wine cellar and we were invited to have a glass of champagne.  Then we had lunch.  It was really a great experience!  

Cheers!

Here we are together as a group.  We look forward to their next visit!

Beauvais and Amiens

On the last day of our recent trip to the south of France, we stopped in a couple of cities between Paris and Hasselt.  Mostly to see two famous cathedrals.

Beauvais, France

It's about an hour northwest of Paris.

Cathédrale Saint-Pierre de Beauvais

Cathédrale Saint-Pierre de Beauvais is an incomplete Roman Catholic cathedral. 

Begun in 1225, it was an effort to build the tallest Gothic cathedral.  

We were lucky to arrive when the sun was shining so we could see so much more.

Some parts of it have collapsed through the years.  

These structures are all considered temporary until more permanent solutions can be decided.

Astronomical clock

Medieval clock 

Some of the stained glass windows are from the 14th and 15th centuries.

Some parts of the cathedral did not have beams and supports so I assume they are structurally sound.

I read that the buttresses were made thinner than most cathedrals of that day so as to let in more light.

They definitely accomplished that.  The sun coming through was amazing.

Cathédrale Saint-Pierre de Beauvais

Beauvais, France

Where do you begin?

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The other city we visited is Amiens, France.  It is about another hour north of Beauvais.

This is Cathédrale Notre-Dame d'Amiens built between 1220 and 1270.

The sculptures on the facade are really elaborate.

The initial reason for constructing this cathedral was to house the head of John the Baptist in December 1206.

The head is from the Fourth Crusade.

This is it.  In that gold box with the glass oval.

Cathédrale Notre-Dame d'Amiens

Amiens, France

Hang a shining star

Each year our holiday seems a little different from the last one.  They are all special and this one is too.  Even though we weren't together with all our family, we know that in our hearts we are!

Plus, isn't technology great?!

Have yourself a MERRY little CHRISTMAS now!

O Christmas Tree

For every holiday season we've been in Hasselt - our 4th now - there has been a carousel in the main square.

This year the city decided on something completely different.

 It's a tree made of plates and cups!

I read that the people of Hasselt donated the over 5000 pieces it took to construct this tree.

It is really quite an attraction and at night it is even more beautiful 

because it's lit up!

A few stores even carried on the theme . . .

of china decorations.

And this Christmas tree was entertaining the crowds this weekend :)

Profuse Palace

This is my final post on the palace and I call it "profuse" because this place truly is over the top.

This picture is taken just outside one of the most famous rooms in the world.

The Hall of Mirrors  

There are 17 mirrored arches that reflect the windows on the opposite side.  Mirrors were one of the most expensive possessions in that day - the 17th century.  

Us in the Hall of Mirrors.

This is a very small portion of the ceiling in the Hall of Mirrors.  Unbelievable, really. This room is 40 feet high and over 2 football fields long.

We just liked these windows :)

This is the King's bedroom.

Many of the columns, flooring, and statues were from various types of marble rather than just one.

Frankly, I'm not sure who slept here.

I do know that this is Marie Antoinette with her three children: Marie Thérèse Charlotte, Louis Charles (baby), and Louis Joseph.  There was a fourth child, Sophie Hélène Béatrice, who died just before her first birthday.  Only one, Marie Thérèse Charlotte, lived to adulthood.  The boys died at ages 7 and 10.

This surely looks like the room of a little girl.  The rug alone is stunning and this picture shows only about half of it!  I'm wondering what the RF stands for, but I still don't know.  Oh, now I know . . . Republique Francaise.  Merci, Ross :) 

This was one of the most interesting rooms.  It is completely lined on both sides with huge paintings.  You can see the scale compared to those two people on the right.  The ceiling is like one at the Louvre in Paris.

Galerie des Batailles (Gallery of Battles)

Each of the 33 painting depicts a French battle ranging from 496 AD to 1809.  The French were involved in hundreds, maybe thousands, of battles in this period.

Each painting is labeled with a marker like this one.  This one says "Battle of Marsaglia" (that's in Italy) and was won by the French.  It also says "Won by Marshall Catinat".  It's not particularly special - it's just the one I happened to take a photo of.

This is the center ceiling of this nearly 400 foot long room.  Yes, 400 feet.

Speaking of huge paintings . . . this depicts Napoleon's Josephine's coronation and Napoleon's consecration painted by his official painter, Jacques Louis-David.  (add'l. correction:  actually this is a replica of the original which is hanging in Le Louvre in Paris). Merci, Ross! That's Jim in the foreground.  You can get a sense of the size and scale of this one painting.  It's 20 ft x 32 ft.

I just love this picture.  This was taken during that minute when we nearly had the place to ourselves.

I read that to maintain the palace, its staff, the royal family, etc. (about 3,000 people) took as much as 25% of the entire French government income.  That figure is often disputed, but I would imagine it took a small fortune either way. 

Finally!  The sun came out!

The grand scale of everything about this palace is indicative of the extravagance by the royals in this day despite the financial crisis at the time.  The common people of France finally got fed up with the incompetence and aristocracy.  The march on Versailles was pretty much the beginning of the end for this royal family.  The French Revolution began in 1789 and King Louis XVI was executed in 1792 followed by Queen Marie Antoinette the next year.  

Château de Versailles

Versailles, France