(Click to enlarge)I took the two photographs above during the son et lumiere show which is given during the summer months after nightfall. Traces of the original polychromy were found during restoration a few years ago and the information used to make a reconstruction using light projection. Neither my photographs- nor any others I have seen- really do justice to the experience.
It has long seemed to me that the column figures flanking the doorways of the French Gothic cathedrals serve as a vivid illustration of the Church as God's temple "built of living stones". As I stood before the west front of Amiens Cathedral on the night of 5th July and the lights came on I, along with many in the crowd, gasped in wonder as this building of seeming living beings sprang into life! I realise I have put that somewhat awkwardly but that is how it was. The whole company of Heaven had come to earth and the living stones not only breathed and spoke but sang!
Wonderful! Awesome! (in the english usage of the term, eg rarely).
ReplyDeleteWhere did you eat, or rather, what?
Shadowlands, thanks for your appreciation.
ReplyDeleteAs to food; We mostly ate at the campsites- Steak au poivre...Magret du canard...barbecues...which I cooked! I am somewhat embarrassed to report that we mostly ate quite modestly and cheaply with me doing the cooking apart from buying freshly cooked frites. I really love shopping for food in France whether in a market or hypermarche. One of the high points of the holiday for me was buying fresh mackerel at the Poissonerie Municipale in Le Treport on the Friday before we headed home and which I barbecued. My mouth waters at the memory! We did eat out on our last day, however, when I had "Entrecote Cowboy" at "Buffalo Grill! But more on food perhaps later.
I have only been to France (Paris actually, in the spring tra-la!) once and must admit the food was certainly not the best part of the memories I took away with me (boat trip down Le Seine was good though, I really enjoyed that). Food wise, I guess I must have an uneducated pallate!
ReplyDeleteHowever, fresh mackerel barbecued outdoors, that I can relate to in a mouth watering way! I do like my fish.
Infact Patricius, you've put me in a fishy mood just reading this but Sunday is the only day I don't seem to eat fish, funnily enough. Maybe tuna or salmon sarnies for tea though, with cucumber soaked for ages in vinegar(or marinated beforehand for the culinary linguistic) and buttered bread to hold it all together.
As you can tell, I am hungry as I type!
Look forward to more tales from the campers perspective too. I keep threatening to go camping, but the dampness and the age of my bones is putting me off haha! Mindyou, as long as I am not too far from a cup of tea and some sort of chair for occasional repose (and to check me auld blog!), I am happy.