Limoges!

 

After our quick stop through Castres, we left early in the morning and headed north on Avenue du Maréchal de Lattre de Tassigny/N141.  Six hours and sixteen minutes later (it was a very scenic route) we arrived in Limoges.  It is a city of 139,026 in Southwest-Central France. 

In the 11th century, Limoges became a center of music and arts thanks to the presence of Abbey St Martial and its large library.  During the French Revolution, the Abbey was razed (it was seen as part of the Ancien Régime), but much of its cultural impact remains.

The city prides itself on its "Arts of Fire".  Limoges has a rich history of producing porcelain, enamel, and stained glass.  Around 1768, kaolinite, a clay mineral, was discovered in the surrounding area.  A new economy emerged, fueled by kaolinite, which was used to make porcelain.  Limoges is now famous for its ceramics, and produces over 50% of the porcelain in France.

 

 

Clearly we needed to get a good taste of Limoges porcelain, so our first stop was 8bis, place Winston Churchill; Musée national Adrien Dubouché (The French National Porcelain Museum).  A law was passed in 1881 declaring the museum a national institution, and now contains large collections of pottery, tin-glazed earthenware, stoneware, porcelain, and glass from around the world.  The entrance fee is 4,50 euros, but they offer a youth discount, so I got in for a clean 3.  We enjoyed a guided tour and it was such a treat to see so many relics formed by hands of centuries past.  We left only after buying lots of fragile souvenirs.  

Here is some of what we saw: 

After the museum, we decided to check out the gothic style Cathédrale St-Etienne, which dominates the landscape of the city.  Of all the French cathedrals we visited, this was definitely our favorite.  The Limoges tradition of art is quite evident inside:

 “The cathedral contains two Renaissance works of great quality: a loft custom made by Bishop John Langeac, and the tomb of this bishop on which are carved scenes of the Apocalypse, inspired by Dürer.  The walls of Romanesque crypt have beautiful frescoes representing Christ in glory. Some medieval paintings are still visible in some chapels (including representatives of angelic musicians) but almost all are frescoes of the 19th century.  The Cathedral of Limoges has two organs. Hauptwerk, which was inaugurated by Gonzalez in 1963 and the Choir organ, installed in 1850.Every summer, the association of the cathedral organizes organ concerts to highlight the major organs of this building.”

 

After a full day talking in the arts of Limoges, we were so hungry.  We forewent the fancy food and stopped off at Speed Rabbit Pizza, a national chain on Place Wilson.  We were amused by some of the pizza names, which were clearly paying homage to the States.  Among others, Speed Rabbit offers pizzas called: Alaska, Harlem, Indiana, Nebraska Beef, and Cooper Mountain.  We decided on the Alsatian- a pizza topped with Creme Fraiche, Mozzarella, cheddar, onions, and double bacon.  Even though it is a chain, it was much better than Domino’s or Pizza Hut.

 Bellies full, we jumped back in our rented Peugeot and hit the road, destination unknown.  

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Limoges

http://www.ville-limoges.fr/

http://travel.earthtimes.org/travel-to-Limoges-France,94.html

http://www.musee-adriendubouche.fr/

http://www.speedrabbitpizza.com/fr/commander/pizzas

 

 


  

Castres!

After the spooky night in the cemetery, we were ready for something on the mild side. We headed northwest up D612 and 100 km later arrive in Castres, a city of about 45, 000. It is tucked away and quite isolated, the only city of its size in France not connected to an autoroute.

I had my first experience with Occitan, when we came upon a group of old men speaking the language. Occitan is the closest relative of Catalan and spoken by a small number of mostly elderly people in Southern France. It is a dying language, due to native speakers being encouraged through humiliation and ostracism to only speak French. Occitan speakers refer to the effects of the government’s various “anti-patois” policies as la vergonha -which means shame. I was quite happy to have stumbled upon this pocket of French culture and I was also happy to have been introduced to some new music.

Inspired by our new friends, we headed down l’Avenue Charles de Gaull and checked in at L’Occitan, a sleek and bright hotel.  After settling in, we walked down to the Agout River just a few blocks from our hotel.  The river bisects the city and is flanked on either side by houses with colorful facades.  We rented a rowboat and enjoyed the scenery.

 

 

 After our trip on the river, we stopped off to see the Castres Catherdral.  It was very simple compared to other cathedrals we’ve seen, but it was nonetheless ornate and unique.

Our last site was le Musée Goya, a museum named for famous Spanish painter Francisco Goya, which boasts the largest collection of Spanish paintings in France.  

 

 

 

After our long day outdoors, we retired back to the hotel and enjoyed a dinner of “chareuteries des monts de lacaune” (which I think means it was sheep) with our new Occitan speaking friends.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Castres

http://travel.viamichelin.com/web/Destination/France-Languedoc_Roussillon_Tarn_Gorges-Castres/Tourist_Site-Goya_Museum_Hispanic_Art_-Hotel_de_Ville

http://www.orbilat.com/Languages/Occitan/Occitan.html