Travel does the heart good
Senlis is a city in the northern French department of Oise, Hautes de France. Cute, medieval and charming. It offered us great peek into history: The monarchs of the early French dynasties lived in Senlis, attracted by the proximity of the Chantilly forest. Senlis is situated on the river Nonette. Senlis was known in early Roman imperial times as Augustomagus. During the 3rd century, a seven-meter […]
The Château de Chantilly is one of the finest jewels in the crown of France’s cultural heritage. It is the work of a man with an extraordinary destiny: Henri d’Orléans, Duke of Aumale, son of the last King of France, Louis-Philippe. This historic French château located in the town of Chantilly, Oise, about 50 kilometres north of Paris. The site […]
The Scala dei Turchi is a rocky cliff on the coast of Realmonte, near Porto Empedocle. It has become a tourist attraction, partly due to its mention series of detective stories about Commissario Montalbano. The cliffs lie between two sandy beaches and are a limestone rock formation in the shape of a staircase, hence the name. The latter part […]
Picture this episode: we parked on a roundabout. Some local approached us (my brother and me) – we thought because we should have not park in a roundabout, but then again they all did, so… in fact the guy just wanted to ask if we have cigarettes. Ok Sicily, episode n. At the roundabout is […]
Enna or as the Sicilians would say Castrugiuvanni; is a city located roughly at the center of Sicily, towering above the surrounding countryside. It has earned the nicknames belvedere (panoramic viewpoint) and ombelico (“navel”) of Sicily. At 931m above sea level, Enna is the highest Italian provincial capital. To arrive there is not a piece of cake. Passing the two viaducts Morello and […]
From its dramatic natural surroundings to its historic churches, Sicily has something to offer every traveler. The island of Sicily is a unique part of Italy. Its craggy mountains, wild vegetation, and omnipresent sea have fired the imagination of poets, wayfarers, and visitors alike. Though it is one of 20 Italian regions, its history under […]
Aci Castello and the other Acis around are destinations not to be missed in Sicily, especially for lovers of Greek myths and literature. It is here that the poets Virgil and Ovid gave birth to the myth of Galatea and Aci and their love story. In the second half of 1100 the town was destroyed […]
This is city is one of my favourite places in Sicily. Let me show you its magic! Taormina has been a tourist destination since the 19th century. Its beaches on the Ionian sea, including that of Isola Bella, are accessible via an aerial tramway built in 1992, and via highways from Messina in the north and Catania in the south. In 2017 Taormina […]
One of my favourite activities living in Sicily is to go to the beach. Or how they call it here the lido. South of Catania, there is entire spread of different lido’s which are under different concessions. Do not expect a beautiful road to drive through, though. The road is full of bumps, holes, trash […]
is one of Sicily’s prettiest seaside villages: Marzamemi. It consists of couple of shops and bars, with one main square on which are all the restaurants located. In the evening this place turns into a fairy tale. It was the Arabs of the 10th century who put Marzamemi on the map. They not only gave the village […]
According to legend, Daedalus stayed in the city after his flight over the Ionian Sea, as did Hercules after his seventh task – Capture the Cretan Bull. 🙂 In 9th century it was conquered by the Muslims, who elevated the city to become a capital of one of the three districts of the island (the Val di Noto). In 11th century, it became […]
The city’s name has its origins in the neighboring town of Lentini. In 16th century, Vice-King Giovanni De Vega founded a new city in honour of Habsburg Emperor Karlo V, naming it in Latin Carleontini, or Leontini of Carlo. In Italian, it became Carlentini, and in the various Sicilian dialects, Carrintini or Carruntini. They say in Sicily, you can recognise the flavour of […]
RSecrets are always fun, aren’t they? Well, I found the second biggest french city very mysterious. Between courtyards and through buildings, there are many secret alleyways and staircases once provided safe and efficient passage for silk workers to get their wares to and from market unmarred. Now partially open to the public, many of the traboules […]
RSecrets are always fun, aren’t they? Well, I found the second biggest french city very mysterious. Between courtyards and through buildings, there are many secret alleyways and staircases once provided safe and efficient passage for silk workers to get their wares to and from market unmarred. Now partially open to the public, many of the traboules worm through several buildings forming a secret continuous covered passageway and showing the courtyard of beautiful renaissance houses of Lyon.
The word traboule comes from the Latin trans ambulare, meaning ‘to cross’. Once inside, every traboule is different, but ist is worth to see some of them and imagine the history of its times. Charming! 🙂
Especially famous is Rue de Boeuf (beef street) as it used to be a long market area, vivid and dynamic.
The Croix-Rousse district of Lyon was the heart of the 19th century silk trade and some porculain too.
The city is enclosed by two rivers: Rhône and Saône, creating the peninsula of the city or “Presqu’île“, where the city settled at first. This district is called Vieux Lyon – the original mediaeval city. I was impressed! 🙂
The historical centre is also the best place to eat local food. There are many small squares with typical bouchons (small lyonnaise restaurants) offering you a small folding table with carved rustic tablecloth and a romantic flower on it.
Lyon has a long and chronicled culinary arts tradition. On the menu are mostly offals as local specialty (not my favourite choose), like chicken liver or rinced meat and rinced pork heart in porks bowel. The dish is called ”mâchons,” as it was cooked for workers who ate a late-morning meal after they finished their shifts in the factories. A very well – known red wine comes to this from the valley of Rhone, Côtes du Rhône.
Usually, the aristocracy of later ages (18 century onwards) was living in big bourgeois houses with classical facades.
The main square Bellecour can be approached by Lafayette bridge. In the late 12th century, the archbishop of Lyon had a vineyard there called Bella curtis (Beau jardin in French or Beautiful garden in English). The statue of Louis XIV adorns the square.
Notice the huge basilica on the Fourvière hill! It took me more then 300 steps and half an hour time through the Rosemary path while climbing up to see this 19 century Basilica of Notre-Dame de Fourvière.
The basilica is dedicated to the Virgin Mary, to whom is attributed the salvation of the city of Lyon from the bubonic plague, the Black Death, that swept Europe in 1643. The Virgin is also credited with saving the city a number of other times, such as from a Cholera epidemic in 1832, and from Prussian invasion in 1870.
Anyhow, I believe it s the most beautiful church I have seen from the inside, or at least comparable to the St John’s Co-Cathedral in Malta.
From the hill stretches beaautiful view on the city of Lyon, its rivers and far far away can be seen Alps as well.
The second important church is actually the Cathedrale St- Jean – Baptiste. The cathedral was founded by Saint Pothinus and Saint Irenaeus, the first two bishops of Lyon who are now saints patrons of the city. Firts construction started in 11th century.
The cathedral also has the Astronomical Clock from the 14th century, which is the oldest in France and one of the oldest in the World. The clock indicates hours, minutes, dates, position of the Sun and the Moon relative to the Earth and also rising of the brightest stars above Lyons. The clock’s chime is accompanied by movements of figures situated in the upper part of the clock depicting scenes on religious themes.
As I was walking down the promenade of the river Rhône, the sun was strolling down the river too, reflecting its rays of the water. There were bar-boats parked next to the jogging pathway with relaxed music on and people having cocktails.
I ended up to the Croix-Rousse district where the industrial revolution of 19th century was happening. There were many inventions and movements happening. Brothers’ Lumiere invented the first motioned picture, starting to manufacture the cinematograpy… Antoine de Saint-Exupéry wrote his short novel Little Prince… and all that and more is commemorated in great murals of this district, capturing the spirit of the epoche…
RED RIDING HOOD 
Well described and detailed…. the pictures are wonderful and the tags to the pics help in relating to the post… super work!
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Nice and thanks for the info 🙂
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What a beautiful place. I would love to visit someday. France is a beautiful country.
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beautiful photographs and very informative…. 🙂
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I’ve always wanted to visit France. Nice pictures
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love thy culture and thy heritage.
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Wow! Interesting post! I loved your description and the fact that you’ve given a brief history of every place. Thank you for the post! I really wish I get to visit France some day! 🙂
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Another impressive destination and amazing photos which bring it to life, thanks for sharing
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The shots you capture are amazing! This looks like a wonderful laid- back town filled with history!
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The photos are stunning – beautiful colors and architecture. Love France…so much art and history. The food is also wonderful!
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Exceptional photos, I’m looking forward to visiting France summer next year
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