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…
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…
A weekend trip to northern France. 🙂 The region is called Pas de Calais. It has been named due to its famous Saint Audomar who brought Christianity to the area. […]
A weekend trip to northern France. 🙂 The region is called Pas de Calais.
It has been named due to its famous Saint Audomar who brought Christianity to the area.
The first stop was the main square where the Christmas market was held. We decided to have a glass of champagne (which was surprisingly a bit sour) and stroll down the food market to buy cheeses and eggs.
The main square contains typical 17th century buildings sticking together on a small but cold rain. This is the area of constant past conflict between French, Dutch, English and Spanish Army for the territory and dominance. Not to mention World Wars…
We were driving a bit more than two hours from Brussels.
As it was past noon already we decided to go local and have a local cuisine: the welsh and local Saint Omer beer.
Odd restaurant where we had lunch
The old cathedral was constructed almost entirely in the 13th century. The church contains Biblical paintings, a colossal statue of Christ seated between the Virgin Mary and St John – all dating from 13th century and presented by the emperor Charles V.
And of course, the symbol of France like statue of Jeanne d’Orleans.
Walking around before we decided to get warm in some coffee place, I noticed the Palais de Justice and its portal. It was beautiful and richly representative for the small city like Saint Omer – indeed rich country, or at least it used to be.
The next stop was Saint Bertin Abbey ruins. It was one of the most powerful abbeys in Northern Europe during the entire medieval period.
Three monks founded the first benedictine abbey along the Aa river in the 7th century. These three monks, Momelin, Ebertram and Bertin were sent by St. Omer to evangelize the territories on the north.
The night we welcomed in beautiful holiday inn called Villa Saint Marguerite. We had a view on the lake and river Aa and listened the rain.
The next day we visited La Coupole!
Also known as the Coupole d’Helfaut-Wizernes and originally codenamed Bauvorhaben 21 (Building Project 21). It was a Second World War bunker complex located about 5 km from Saint Omer.
It was built by the forces of Nazi Germany between 1943 and 1944 to serve as a launch base for V-2 rockets directed against London and southern England. Luckily, the WW2 ended 2 weeks before they were launched.
We entered into this claustrophobic and moistened and depressive underground building. There were photo exhibitions about rockets from World Wars.
We watched the movie about Nazi occupation of French territory from where the Nazis were building rockets and bombard UK. However, Winston Churchill discovered their intentions and destroyed the rocket constructions by bombing from the air. The Nazis decided to go underground.
Poor engineers and camp prisoners were building the rocket in terrible conditions wearing the prison clothes.
V2 rockets production (photo from museum)
Of course, we all know how the World War ll ended. The main creator of this idea, the Nazi Wernher von Braun was later invided by US (even though he was a strong SS member) to become member of NASA and participate the project of first man landing to Moon. In fact, he created the rocket that landed on the Moon. You do the moral here.
Wernher van Braun and USA president Kennedy
We walked a bit more through the museum of French resistance and then entered the Planetarium. We sat into the chairs (more precisely we laid) and listened the guiding voice of nice French lady explaining us the solar system while the planets and stars were appearing in front of us in 4D technique.
PlanetariumPlanetarium
Lunch time! Welsh again, but vegetarian version and brilliant local beer La Goudale 🙂 with pizza, of course!
The last thing we visited was Maison du Marais. Actually, we were not able to enter cause it is closed on Sunday but we made a walk around through the beautiful nature: the bog, birds, river Aa, tall grass…
For the end, let me show you the beer I decided to buy for home. In case you are interested in local dialect:
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i read much about France but in this article i know some new
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You work alot at every detail of France. I just really enjoy it.
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Nice town saint-omer, too bad they lost their Dutch dialect
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Was there anything you disliked here?
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Wonderful food here!
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Brilliant post. I check out your blog site pretty often, and you’re
continuously coming up with some great staff. I shared this post on my Tumblr, and my followers
liked it! Good luck for the future.
LikeLike
Your style is very different in comparison to other people I’ve checked stuff from.
Thank you for sharing when you have got the opportunity, suppose I will just take
notes from this.
LikeLike
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Nice! Tһanks a lot for this article!
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Ᏼrilⅼiant post! I check out your website quite ߋften, and
you’re constаntly coming up with some decent stаff. I shared this Ƅlog poѕt on my
Twitter, and my followers loved it! Good luсk.
LikeLike
You should be a part of a contest for one of the finest blogs on the web.
I am going to highly recommend this site!
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