We also had an amazing tour of the city, the Mairie (Town Hall) and the Cathedral, it was all in French and I was very pleased as I followed along. Mind you it was in snail's pace French, but French none the less.
This is the fireplace in the Mairie. It is from the 16th Century (I think - it was all in French remember!) Sorry for the blurry pictures.
Here is me with an amusing picture of Joan of Arc!
In one of the rooms in this Mairie, king Francois II died in 1560. He was only 16 and had reigned for only 18 months. his wife, shown here in blue, was Mary Stuart, Queen of Scots.
This is from the same picture, but the light made it impossible to get them both in. This is Catherine Medici, the mother and regent of Francois II. She seems to be holding it together much better than her Scottish daughter in law!
This is the Cathedral of Orleans.
This is the magnificent vaulted ceiling of the Cathedral at Orleans. At the end you can see an image of Jean D'Arc!
This is my feeble attempt to capture the glory of the rose window.
Again, a feeble attempt to convey the glory of the stained glass. There were about thirty windows like these, each in their own chapel.
This little model of the Cathedral is made of the same building materials as the Cathedral itself. It is for blind people to feel in order to experience what the Cathedral looks like to people with vision.
Some "columbage" (I think - please don't judge me if its wrong) houses from the 16th century, in the Old City where I am staying.
This is John Calvin, although you can't see him very well. Calvin was a protestant reformer, who attended the "old university" at Orleans. The old university was the Ecole de Droit Romaine (Roman Law) and taught a number of other notable French figures. It is now closed and the "New University" which I attend, is down the road, across the River. Too bad - I came so close to having shared an educational experience with Calvin!
2 comments:
Looks like the cathedral in Poitiers same style...
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