Travel does the heart good
Rapallo was never on my list. I never thought there could actually be something about this city. It lies on the Ligurian Sea coast, just between Cinque Terre and Genoa. As a girl from Croatia, I know it from the history books as the Treaty of Rapallo was signed there, in Villa Pagana, formerly known as Villa Spinola. A treaty…
The five Cinque Terre villages are situated in northern Italy on the Mediterranean Sea, just 3 hours by train from Milan, Pisa and Florence. I have arrived by car and totally enjoyed the national park that spreads across the five villages. La Spezia My journey started in La Spezia. This was the very first stop as I…
Tintine was slowly climbing up the hills of San Marino. Not much pressure should have been put on this car as she had enough of the shocks in the last year or two. The hills around us were rising and soon we found ourselves surrounded by an amazing view. It was San Marino surrounded by…
My Life in Sicily finished after a year spent on this island. It was time to turn on my Tintine (a beautiful red car), hop on a ferry and say goodbye. I was nostalgic as a was driving through Reggio Calabria. But soon I was in Puglia – the region with the best Italian cheeses.…
Ardennes are super fun to visit. They are cold but there is loads of trails to discover. Hence, after so many locations, Rochefort was on the route as well. Its ancient position at the crossroads where the route to Saint-Hubert crossed that from Liège to Bouillon required fortifying: the ruins of the old castle, which gave the place its name and…
Once upon a time, there was a little Ivana in Cuba trying to explain a poor restaurant holder that the pizza ragusa he is having on the menu is not some Italian name for some Italian city, but the city of Dubrovnik in Croatia. Stupid girl. Ragusa is a city on the southern side of the…
An Ionian seaside town, Avola is a mix of old and new. The town focuses heavily on the sea, with its history as a tuna fishing port. Today, the remains of the Vecchia Tonnara at the wharf are a stone backdrop to the sandy beaches. Avola dates back to a pre-Greek people called the Sicani.…
Located about 11 kilometres north of Catania, it is the perfect little commune to visit during the ottobrata – the local festivity that occurs every October here in Sicily, celebrating the fruits of the land: frutti di terra. The first encounter went wrong already 🙂 Approaching the booth with fruit, I have noticed quince – one…
If something is worth visiting in life, it is the Aeolian islands. Becasue it makes you think about winter in the south. It makes you think about simplicity of life. And it makes you realise how not to treat the tourists: just some bags of potatoes that need to be shipped from one island to…
I haven’t had a chance to spent a bit more time discovering this city. But just a glimpse and it made me think to re-visit and make it’s due. When the time will come, I promise to update with more photos. But for now, enjoy the story 🙂 Several civilizations settled in Milazzo and left…
I didn’t expect much from this harbour city, to be honest. I knew they have a great beer – Messina cristali di sale: a great Sicilian beer brewed since 1923 and one of the most loved Italian beers. It is the third largest city on the island of Sicily, and the 13th largest city in Italy.…
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…
Finishing our Route de Champagne, my friend Petra and I spent the entire day exploring Reims, a city in the Grand Est region of France. It was a hot sunday but […]
Finishing our Route de Champagne, my friend Petra and I spent the entire day exploring Reims, a city in the Grand Est region of France.
It was a hot sunday but worth of evey walk through the city.
We ate and admired the local history and culture.
The city was, of course, founded by the Gauls, (Asterix and Obelix) 🙂 and became a major city during the period of the Roman Empire. From those times are dating some roman momunets in Reims amongst which the most popular is Porte Mars. It is a 12 m high monumet dating from 3 CE with many highly detailed carvings that are describing the legend of its existence: apparently the citizens of Rheims built the arch in the honour of Rome as Roman Empire built major roads through their city.
Many people know Reims for its cathedral, Notre-Dame de Reims, formerly the place of coronation of the kings of France since the Clovis l in 5th century, the one that united Franks. This whitnesses the gallery of French Kings’ monuments above the main portal (entrance) and glass rose.
Before I show the inner side of the cathedral, just a small fun fact: the cathedral has been erected on the site of some Roman baths.
The interior of the cathedral transepts with aisles, there is an impressive choir and interesting rose window over the main portal and the gallery beneath as a of rare magnificence.
As the cathedral is cleraly belonging to gothic style of that epoche and popular at the territories of today’s France and Germany, the architects were playing with the lights as a vision of God’s good will to look at His people.
In 11th century King Henry I of France and Anne of Kiev were married in the cathedral.
But, before it became cathedral, it was a minor church that was rebuilt during the Carolingian period and further extended in the 12th century. In 13th century, the cathedral was damaged by fire and reconstruction started shortly after, with an intention to build bigger site.
During the Hundred Years’ War with England (15th century), fighting for the French territoires, the cathedral was damaged. The most famous king from these times was Charles VII and the battle at Agincourt in support of Jean d’Arc.
Both her statue and the image of the coronation of Charles VII are present in the cathedral.
It is important to mention that after the World War ll, the reconcilliation between France and Germany was signe in thee cathedral by French General Charles de Gaulle and German Chancellor Konrad Adenauer.
As the cathedral was again damaged in World Wars I and II, some glass windows were reconstructed by contemporary artists in contemporary style.
Today is a major tourist attraction, as it receives more than one million visitors in one year.
Next to the Cathedral is Palace of Tau, the archiepiscopal palace, built in 15th century as the residence of the kings of France on the occasion of their coronations. It holds some reliquies, tresory, tapistries etc of France.
Reims is a capital of Champagne-Ardenne region as like that has a great gastronomy. My friend and I were eating quite well, visiting restaurants with Michelin star and deluxe awards. Ofcourse, each meal was accompanied with the glass of champagne or red wine.
RED RIDING HOOD 
Nice post
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wow, enjoyed your post!
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The pictures are mesmerizing. Never heard about this. Thanks for sharing!
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Oh it’s looks fabulous! All that gorgeous architecture just stunning! Thanks for sharing xx
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Wonderful post here! Congrats!
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Just wow! Amazing. Enjoyed reading your post.
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Historical, good facts!
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amazing post as well as beautiful pictures !
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Hi, the pictures are stunning. Love the wording on the oysters.
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I am hungry just looking at that food. What wonderful history and the palaces are beautiful!
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Loved Reims, been there seen the Cathedral and Tatinger wine caves. Next to the Cathedral there’s a cafe where u get the best the Calamari.
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It is such an interesting history lesson. Happy travels.
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One of the things that drew me to Europe is its history. I love history. The cathedral is magnificent, especially love the first picture up top. And the seafood looks amazing.
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I really enjoy reading about the histories of old places. Europe really is a gorgeous place as is this cathedral! Great pictures to represent:)
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Feels like there is a guide next to me, telling me all of this, while admiring the surroundings. Loving this post, as it is exactly based on your own experience, on what you liked as well.
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The architecture is insane! Thank you for the history lesson very interesting.
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beautiful church and the food looks great.
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Great post. Good to know that..Thanks for sharing..!
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interesting topic. Keep it up!
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I love Reims it’s so impressive !
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Wow, what gorgeous pictures! The cathedral looks amazing with the incredibly high vaulted ceiling and the fabulous stained glass. I would love to see it one day 🙂
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Splendid and huge cathedral. Beautiful pictures with nice explanation. Palace of Tau also looks amazing.
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Cool! Really enjoyedmot it. Great photos from inside the cathedral and a great insight into the history. Would live to visit in the future.
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I loved it. Thanks for sharing this cool info….
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Wow great post! I love the pictures and the explanations that go with it. Thank you for sharing!
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The Cathedral is insanely beautiful. Believe it or not, I’ve never heard of this city! But now that I’ve read your post, next time I’m in France, I’ll definitely visit it!
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Asterix and Obelix! I had to read those comics in my French class, so cute! I love these little French towns. Thanks for the history 🙂
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Oh, Notre Dame is such a stunning building. Your photos of it are gorgeous! I’ll definitely be drinking nothing but champagne when I’m in the region – looks like you made the most of it!
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Beautiful photos!
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enjoyed this post and your pictures!
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Reims is one of our fav French cities! It has a great charm, with its medieval atmosphere. Great post!
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Great photos as always. I have nominated you for a Blogger Recognition Award. Check out the details here. https://skncomplex.com.au/blogger-recognition-award/
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Thank you. I appreciate it.
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So many statues! I would love to know just how many there are. It has to be in the hundreds.
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I get pleasure from looking at your site. It was exceptionally remarkable. 🙂
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Thanks for sharing the historical facts.. it helps me to know the europe well.. and images are Really beautiful
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I discovered your internet site from Google and also I need to claim it was a terrific find.
Many thanks!
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Muchas gracias. ?Como puedo iniciar sesion?
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entirely right. This post truly made my day. You can not imagine simply how much time I had spent for this information!
Thanks!
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