Monthly Archives: February 2024

February 29, 2024 – Annecy and Answers to the Quiz

We visited Annecy on the last day of February, which happened to fall on a Leap Year.

Annecy is an alpine town in the south-east of France, with a population of over 50,000 inhabitants. It is located on the border with Switzerland. The city is crossed by the Le Thiou river, which flows directly into Lake Annecy. Annecy has a superb historic center, and is crossed by numerous canals and pedestrian streets. The city is also called “Little Venice of the Alps.”

It was absolutely beautiful in my opinion. How lovely it was to see the mountains in the distance next to the lake with crystal clear water! It is fun to just walk about and enjoy the views of the town and its surroundings.

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February 28, 2024 – Lyon and the Cinema and Miniature Museum

NOTICE TO READERS: Today’s post is quite long and mostly about movies.

Michael wanted to take it easy the first half of the day in Lyon, so I walked to the Basilique Notre Dame de Fourvière and Théâtre Gallo Romain de Lyon-Fourvière by myself then met Michael at the funicular.

One of the first things I saw on my walk was the Place des Jacobins, a square located in the 2nd arrondissement of Lyon. It was created in 1556. It lies on a former Jacobin convent, which was destroyed in 1808. It is named after the Jacobin monks, who resided in the building. The white marble fountain standing in the middle of the square was sculpted in 1885 by Gaspard André. It represents four famous local artists and has four sirens.

Another thing that caught my eye was this statue. I didn’t know what it was but it was intriguing, so I took a picture. I have since learned that it is called The Weight of Oneself. A marble figure almost three meters high, it appears to be a savior. But upon closer reflection you can see that the man is carrying his double, and in so doing becomes his own savior but also his own millstone. These philosophical concerns echo the questions of civil and individual responsibilities which are debated every day in the nearby Palais de Justice. The artists are Michael Elmgreen & Ingar Dragset.

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February 26-27, 2024 – Beautiful Avignon and Marseille!

The last time we posted we were at the Beehive in Montpellier. We were still on the fast track through southern France, so we took the train to Avignon the next day, visited, then took a later afternoon train to Marseille. I know.

We spent enough time in Avignon to get a feel for the town. We left our luggage at a locker at the train station which left us free to enjoy our visit.

Our first visit was to the Palace of the Popes. The Palais des Papes is one of the largest and most important medieval Gothic buildings in Europe. Once a fortress and palace, the papal residence was a seat of Western Christianity during the 14th century. Six papal conclaves were held in the Palais, leading to the elections of Benedict XII in 1334, Clement VI in 1342, Innocent VI in 1352, Urban V in 1362, Gregory XI in 1370 and Benedict XIII in 1394. Since 1995, the Palais des Papes has been classified, along with the historic center of Avignon, as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, for its outstanding architecture and historical importance for the papacy.

I am going to share some pictures of the actual space compared to that displayed on the histopad.

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February 22-25, 2024 – Disneyland Paris and More!

We went to our doctors’ appointments – and my very critical hair appointment – saw a few friends and family members in Minnesota then flew back to Paris. Our goal for this trip was to visit Disneyland Paris and parts of southern France.

We landed at 6:00 a.m. Our hotel wasn’t available until 2:00 p.m. We had given ourselves a “day of rest” so we had nothing pressing. We found a lovely little cafe at the end of the block near our hotel. We first sipped cups of coffee at a snail’s pace, then ordered something for lunch. We absolutely adored the cafe! The coffee was wonderful and we were happy to relax in a lovely setting while we worked very hard to stay awake before going back to the hotel.

We arrived a second time at the hotel between noon and 1:00 p.m. We headed to their small eating area that included some sofas. I sank down on one sofa and listened to Michael chat with guests. Before I knew it, it was time to check in. Michael informed me that I had been snoring and capturing the attention of other guests. Oops!

We took a nap (a second one for me, apparently) and went to the same cafe for dinner. At that point, we were all about location.

Our second day was devoted to Disneyland Paris.

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February 11-12, 2024 – Paris in the Winter!

We had to schedule a trip to the US in February to see some doctors. We decided to spend a couple of days in Paris before going to the US then spend eight more days in France on our return trip.

The Musée d’Orsay is on the Left Bank of the Seine. It is housed in the former Gare d’Orsay, a Beaux-Arts railway station built between 1898 and 1900. The museum holds mainly French art dating from 1848 to 1914, including paintings, sculptures, furniture, and photography.

To be completely honest, the main reason I wanted to visit the Musée d’Orsay was to see the view from the clock. We never did find the view from the clock, but we enjoyed our visit, especially the sculptures. Here are just a few pictures of the museum and the sculptures on display.

This next sculpture – Ugolin -has a rather dark back story.

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