[North porch, Chartres cathedral] A few years ago, we arrived in Chartres and made our way to the cathedral, only to be met by thousands of pilgrims who had walked from Paris and had first dibs on getting inside. We have form with sort of thing, a knack of turning up in somewhere without realising that it’s a bank holiday, a fully closed or early closing day, a special event day, a pilgrimage day, and finding everything shut or inaccessible.
Your beautiful photos and evocative musings have become my equivalent of a decadent breakfast in bed. Thank you, Jane! Finding out that a fellow Proustian also happens to be a fellow Beatlemaniac is an additional delight.
Le Musée Carnavalet in Paris has Proust's bedroom among its displays. It, too, is a frustrating place for visitors but still full of small treasures. A beautiful building in its own right, too, and next to Place des Vosges.
Despite having written my PhD thesis on Proust (and Flaubert), I have never been to Illiers-Combray. I hesitate to have my images from ALRTP overlaid by reality! However, on a totally lowbrow note, we did this summer make a pilgrimage to Bergues (location for Bienvenue chez les Ch'tis) and St-Omer (location for L'Hermine). The latter is also home to the Spey River brasserie, which I needed to see as I live 5 minutes walk from the River Spey in Scotland.
Your tulips are magnificent! Do you plant them new every year? I purposely planted none in the ground this year, but some escapees from last year have popped up. Have to say I'm also tending towards the carried Cambridge monarchy motion.
I often read you (your interests overlap rather scarily with mine!) though I don't think I've ever commented before. But Chartres - oh no. I never want to visit again. We spend part of the year in France and have made many detours there over the last 30 years - but the 'renovations' have been disastrous. The glass is still fabulous - but for me the cathedral has lost all its mystery. The whole nave appears to have been synthetically whitewashed and the windows no longer glow with magic...Ten years ago I experienced it as a transcendentally beautiful structure - now I feel furious at whatever committee allowed such expensive vandalism! Oh dear.
Your beautiful photos and evocative musings have become my equivalent of a decadent breakfast in bed. Thank you, Jane! Finding out that a fellow Proustian also happens to be a fellow Beatlemaniac is an additional delight.
Le Musée Carnavalet in Paris has Proust's bedroom among its displays. It, too, is a frustrating place for visitors but still full of small treasures. A beautiful building in its own right, too, and next to Place des Vosges.
Basking in tulips sounds wonderful. Enjoy it. x
Despite having written my PhD thesis on Proust (and Flaubert), I have never been to Illiers-Combray. I hesitate to have my images from ALRTP overlaid by reality! However, on a totally lowbrow note, we did this summer make a pilgrimage to Bergues (location for Bienvenue chez les Ch'tis) and St-Omer (location for L'Hermine). The latter is also home to the Spey River brasserie, which I needed to see as I live 5 minutes walk from the River Spey in Scotland.
Your tulips are magnificent! Do you plant them new every year? I purposely planted none in the ground this year, but some escapees from last year have popped up. Have to say I'm also tending towards the carried Cambridge monarchy motion.
Yes to abolishing monarchy ✅
What was the new sock yarn?
I often read you (your interests overlap rather scarily with mine!) though I don't think I've ever commented before. But Chartres - oh no. I never want to visit again. We spend part of the year in France and have made many detours there over the last 30 years - but the 'renovations' have been disastrous. The glass is still fabulous - but for me the cathedral has lost all its mystery. The whole nave appears to have been synthetically whitewashed and the windows no longer glow with magic...Ten years ago I experienced it as a transcendentally beautiful structure - now I feel furious at whatever committee allowed such expensive vandalism! Oh dear.