Tagged With "abbey of Mont Saint-Michel"
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Re: Hurricane cancels hundreds of flights, cruises
I'm glad to hear good news on this front...it's certainly a distressing time for many, including our own Travel Rob, who has had to evacuate from Saint Augustine, Florida. And there are concerns that the storm may turn and hit some areas a second time...
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Re: Sept. 10, 2016: Farewell to an era?
Memories of days gone by when the privileged few had a lifestyle worthy of preserving in our history books. Not the typical home of the era. Probably 1 in 10 million.
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Re: Sept. 10, 2016: Farewell to an era?
Yes, but far more than 1 in 10 million worked there to serve that lifestyle! As with the plantation houses, we're often shown the homes of the rich and powerful as though the servants either didn't exist...or were no more than appliances! To be honest, one of the best parts of the Downton series, for me, was the depth with which they were portrayed, and the way in which new realities developed as the servants began to imagine independent futures.
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Re: Sept. 10, 2016: Farewell to an era?
What I like best about the Downton Abbey series is not its portrayal of class struggles, but of how beautifully characters of all types are developed and how their appreciation of people of all types is portrayed. The estate owners genuinely like and looked after their employees. The employees were loyal and genuinely like and looked after their employers.
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Re: Montreal: Je Me Souviens
Re the name "Montreal": there is a town in France with the same name so it is not certain that the City of Montreal is called that because of Mont Royal. Apart from that small quibble, I heartily agree with all you have written about my home city. Oh, wait ... it really isn't so that "almost everyone speaks English quite well". Venture east of Blvd St Laurent and you'll soon find that isn't the case. But then the average visitor, unless by accident, will not find him/herself in the part of...
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Re: Rievaulx Abbey, North Yorkshire, England
Your photos are magnificent!! What an amazing place! I need to head to northern England someday and visit all these great ruins. Thanks for sharing this, Paul!
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Re: Ryanair on Alitalia: 'we want it and want it whole'
This man O'Leary is a Saint - not a sinner. When he gets access to the cross Atlantic routes he'll have the Big Boys quaking in their boots ! I can fly anywhere in Europe and have change from $30 bucks !!
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Re: Abbaye Royale de Fontevraud, France
Another walk down memory lane. I visited Fontevraud after a long walk from chateau to chateau that ended in Chinon and stayed in the recently opened hotel within the abbey. I knew about it from a personal association but don't believe it's generally well-known and maybe, in part, what makes it as lovely a place to spend some time as it is. Thanks, DrF.
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Re: Weymouth's tribute to the brave.
Together with the Finding Reiner series, this post helps remind us of the individuals and the effects on their communities. We've been seeing large and small memorials in France this past week. We were stunned, viewing the memorial in Saint-Remy-de-Provence, to note that there are over 100 names on the WWI memorial, many with similar, even identical names, contrasted with only a half-dozen or so from WWII, and then other numbers from other wars. The large losses in France in the First World...
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Re: Mont-Saint-Michel: Like no other (Pt. 2)
A visit to this church, almost exactly 30 years ago, is one of my fondest travel memories. I stayed on the island and went to mass, it was a dark and stormy night (really), the wind howled, we were welcomed in English, the only visitors present in the small congregation and I've never felt so included as a traveler. Part of what I remember was a distinct dip worn into the stone of the stairs on the climb into the church. It appears from the beautiful photo at the top of this page that the...
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Re: Mont-Saint-Michel: Like no other (Pt. 2)
I'd not be surprised if the stones have been renewed; there is construction and reconstruction going on constantly (as it must have also in the Middle Ages). I cropped most of it out, but you can see some of the scaffolding in one of the pictures above.
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Re: Mont-Saint-Michel: Like no other (Pt. 1)
These are great and Mt. St. Michel is deifnitly on my bucket list.
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Re: Visiting Versailles
Sorry, but if you want an audience with Louis XIV, you're waiting in the wrong suburb. His current address is in the crypt of the Basilica of Saint-Denis, just north of the Peripherique...I don't believe mail is being forwarded, however.
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Re: A Visit to Ireland: Part 12) the Valley of the Boyne
That's a fabulous collection of photos DrF ! Gives a true taste of Ireland and the Boyne.
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Re: A Visit to Ireland: Part 12) the Valley of the Boyne
The starkness and solidity of the stone ruins brings both transience and permanence to mind...and a sense of how small a space our years occupy on a long scale. Thanks for such strong images!
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Re: Fountains Abbey, North Yorkshire, England.
Beautiful images of an amazing place! Thanks for sharing these, Paul. And welcome to TravelGumbo!
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Re: Where in the World is TravelGumbo (#84)
If it is where I think it is, yes, the name of a saint, but in honor of a king. And that name not generally known, as I didn't know it until I did more research.
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Re: Where in the World is TravelGumbo (#84)
Oh, I just reread the part about bearing the name of a saint. Hmm? Probably not India, but it still reminds me of architecture I have seen there and also in Burma.
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Re: Where in the World is TravelGumbo (#84)
To move this along, I'll add more info: Its purpose is not religious, but it bears the name of a saint.
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Re: Westminster Abbey's "attic" to open to public
Sounds like one of the greatest attractions in England is just going to get better! Quite exciting news, really!
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Re: Where in the World is TravelGumbo (#325)
Here are today's clue -- another wooden mysterious device and a red sleigh with a possible likeness of Jolly Saint Nick.
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Re: Emperor Ludwig's Ettal Monastery and Abbey, Bavaria
A beautiful destination I was previously unaware of. Thanks, Samantha.
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Re: Emperor Ludwig's Ettal Monastery and Abbey, Bavaria
A beautiful monastery. Visited many times on our road trips from Augsburg to Garmisch and beyond. I never could drive by without stopping. One of my snowy day photos.
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Re: Boston Public Library (Where Gumbo was #150)
What an amazing library! I look forward to seeing it. It is amazing how many of us love libraries. So far,my two favorites are both in Manchester, England.
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Re: Boston Public Library (Where Gumbo was #150)
And lets not forget Melvil Dewey - a Librarian in the North-East USA who invented the Dewey Decimal System (1876) which is now used in more than 135 Countries ! A wonderful collection of photo's. Love architecture.
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Re: Finding Reiner #6: Frozen Grave
Just to add a note: on our way to Mont-Saint-Michel this morning, we noticed signs pointing to a Deutschesoldatenfriedhof, or German Soldiers' Cemetery. Curiosity took us to it and we were surprised by its story. It was constructed in 1961 for reburial of soldiers who had been buried in small locations all over Normandy, the Channel Islands and other nearby areas. It is a solemn place, and quiet, and the spirit expressed in the signs and in the design was one of reconciliation and hope for...
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Re: Strahov Monastery, Prague. Where Gumbo Was #57
How did I miss the pickled dodo bird when I went in 2012? One of the most beautiful libraries in the world. Great photos. Thanks for posting.
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Re: Strahov Monastery, Prague. Where Gumbo Was #57
The dodo bird is sitting in a glass jar in the hallway outside this great library. It's a long hallway, but it's there. I'm thinking with a little recombinant DNA technology, we should be able to pull some cells from that dodo bird and bring it back to life? (Would work if it's in formalin, but not if its in alcohol). But maybe it's best to leave well enough alone.
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Re: Times Square and Hell's Kitchen
I have to agree on the crowds...makes me nuts, but still you sometimes have to go there! That's how I feel whenever someone talks about walking on the Champs Elysee. But the most crowded street I've ever been on that wasn't facing a parade was the tiny Grande Rue in Mont-Saint-Michel, so narrow that you think the people in the restaurant across the street are at the next table, and jammed with more people than possible, mid-day.
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Re: Agritourism Bed and Breakfast in Normandy
Thanks! We thought of Bayeux, but we've decided in the end to look for a farm B&B in the Manche area of Normandy for one night; the second night will be either in, or very near Mont St-Michel. In fact, if there are no reasonable rooms available on the Mont, and if the B&B is near enough for us to spend the evening on the Mont, we might take the second night there. I've been advised that the experience on Mont St.-Michel is very different after the crowd leaves, so we'd like to stay...
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Re: Agritourism Bed and Breakfast in Normandy
Definitely visit the Mont St. Michel (island) after the tour buses leave. So a great time to head out to the island is mid afternoon (ie. get there by mid afternoon, don't leave Bayeux at that time). By the time you get to the old island itself the crowds will be thinning. It's a bit of a climb up to the monastery, but the views are incredible as the great history and beauty of the place. Just be sure you don't delay visiting the monastery too long (believe it closes at 6 pm but double check...
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Re: Agritourism Bed and Breakfast in Normandy
I imagine there's a real difference between staying on the Mont, compared to staying near the Mont. Yes, you'd give up the view but could always make the trek to get a photo at the appropriate hour, then go back. I was there some years ago and we had no plan regarding where we'd stay. It was off-season so we weren't worried. We found a very modest, friendly hotel on the main street as it begins it's climb, with a view of the cobblestones below and it was perfect. But then, under the...
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Gumbo's Pic of the Day, July 18, 2015: The Winged Lion of Venice
The winged lion is a symbol you see everywhere in Venice -- palaces, flags, statues -- everywhere. It seemed a somewhat unusual mascot for a seafaring power and made me wonder what the origin to the symbol was. Turns out the...
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Montreal: Je Me Souviens
There are many great cities to visit in Canada, two of my favorites (for different reasons) being Vancouver and Montreal. Vancouver has one of the most breath-takingly beautiful settings of any city in the world, and I’ll be discussing it...
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A Visit to Ireland: Part 2) the Rock of Cashel
There are few places in Ireland with a richer history than the Rock of Cashel . Situated at the edge of the town of Cashel, the rock is a huge outcropping on top of which rests a complex of old buildings situated some 60m (200ft)...
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Left Bank of the Tiber
I’d looked online for an apartment for my week in Rome, until I was sick of the thought of going. At some point I came across a recommendation for a women’s hostel in Trastevere (Tras TAY veree), on what I came to think of as...
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Gumbo's Pic of the Day, February 8, 2015: Toledo and Madrid
My first solo trip was to Madrid and Toledo in Spain. I had been travelling for years, but always in a group. This time I was on my own, and a little petrified. I shouldn't have been as Madrid is easy to get around and the...
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A summer trip to Valencia, Spain
Last Summer, in 2014, I went on an internship program in Valencia, Spain. My internship took place in a nice hotel near the center of the town and lasted 3 months. While I was there I could visit and enjoy many touristic points while also...
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Old San Juan: Beautiful...and not all old
San Juan, Puerto Rico is a city of contrasts, of modern skyscrapers, crowded residential areas of different eras, resort hotels and casinos along Condado, and much more...but the image that usually comes to mind is really that of Old San Juan, the...
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Index: Mont-Saint-Michel
A Visit to Normandy: Magnificient Mont St. Michel Mont-Saint Michel: Like no other, Part 1, Island and Village Mont-Saint-Michel: Like no other, Part 2, the Abbey
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Zermatt's Saint Bernards retire from pictures
Modern times have decimated traditional ways and images all over the world; this evening I was devastated to learn that the famous Saint Bernards whose image, with brandy keg, says "Alpine" whenever and wherever you see it, are no longer used in...
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Florida warned: take action against future flooding
17th c. Castillo de San Marcos, guarding America's oldest city, may be endangered by rising waters. With all the jokes about earthquakes in California creating ocean-front lots in Nevada, it's easy to forget that things are changing in numbers...
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"Tide of the Century" Coming to Mont Saint-Michel
Crowds gathered along the coast of Brittany ,near Mont Saint-Michel, to watch Saturday’s high tide. The tide will be the first in nearly a month of large spring tides due to culminate on March 20 and 21 . March 21 has been touted as "the tide of...
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Gumbo's Pic of the Day, Mar. 29, 2015: J. S. Bach's Tomb
This week marks Johann Sebastian Bach's 330th birthday on March 21 or 31, 1685. The difference is due to the change, during his lifetime, from the Julian to the Gregorian calendar. Above, his vault in the floor of the Thomaskirche, Leipzig Germany....
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Charleston's Cathedral of St. John the Baptist: Where Gumbo Was (#76)
Visiting Charleston recently, I was struck by its handsome cathedral and unusual spire. The church seems reasonably well-rooted in the 19th century, but the tower reminded me of the turn-of-the-last-century church of Saint-Jean-de-Montmartre ...
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Strasbourg: Self-service tour of Alsatian food
PHeymont tries something new: A self-service gourmet food tour, organized by the Strasbourg Office de Tourisme.
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Seville Cathedral, Spain (Where Gumbo was, #237)
Gumbo was visiting the beautiful Gothic Cathedral in Seville, Spain. Built on the site of a mosque, it is a UNESCO World Heritage site and well worth a visit when in Andalusia.
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Syracuse's Greek Temple Cathedral, Sicily
Gumbo was visiting a most unusual cathedral. Built as a Greek temple about 500 BC, it was already over a thousand years old when it became a church.
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An Afternoon in Ortigia: Syracuse's Island Heart
Ortygia is where Syracuse started, when it was one of the most important Greek cities in the world. And it's still a living center of the city's life.