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 […]
Rouen is a city on the River Seine in the north of France. It is the capital of the region of Normandy. Formerly one of the largest and most prosperous cities of medieval Europe, Rouen was the seat of the Exchequer of Normandy during the Middle Ages. We made a short stop in this city to […]
Rouen is a city on the River Seine in the north of France. It is the capital of the region of Normandy. Formerly one of the largest and most prosperous cities of medieval Europe, Rouen was the seat of the Exchequer of Normandy during the Middle Ages.
We made a short stop in this city to have lunch and spread our legs from the long ride as coming back to Brussels. Bad for me, I soon realized this city deserves much more attention. So I promised to come back – event though I do not re-visit. Life is to short! World is to wide!
The first stop was Le gros horloge (The Big Clock) recently restored, located in the middle of the Rue du Gros Horloge.
It is a 14th century astronomical clock.
The clock is installed in a Renaissance arch. The mechanism is one of the oldest in France. The Renaissance facade represents a golden sun with 24 rays on a starry blue background. The dial measures 2.5 metres in diameter. The phases of the moon are shown in the oculus of the upper part of the dial. It completes a full rotation in 29 days. The week days are shown in an opening at the base of the dial with allegorical subjects for each day of the week.
Already in love? Me too…
The little cobbled pedestrianised streets will accompany your weekends, holidays… These incomparable charming streets are decked on both sides with timber-framed houses dating from the Middle Ages were so cozy to my traveller heart…
Then the 16th century glory of the Palais de Justice… no it is not a cathedral, yet…
Now, this is the Cathedral… Ready?
It started on the site of the 4th century local church. Then, all the buildings perished during a Viking raid in the 9th century. The Viking leader, Rollo, founder of the Duchy of Normandy, was baptised here in 10th century and buried as well. The next generations of his sons were re-constructing the building to become greater and greater.
The gothic church became the Cathedral in 15th century . In the late 16th century the cathedral was badly damaged during the French Wars of Religion: the Calvinists damaged much of the furniture, tombs, stained-glass windows and statuary.
Time for lunch. We went typical Norman: the neck of the beef… yuck! But apparently the favourite dish of the former French president Jacques Chirac.
The last rushy thing we did was the Place du Vieux Marché – famous again for the timer houses but also for being the burning site of Joan of Arc. Yes, I am a total fan of this discussible icon so the feeling was weird. Ebven more, when I realised that the marking place was some badly recognized statue and modern church… Not enough for this French saint who ran the battles against English to free the nothern France.
However, there is still a lot to see and space to update this post… Gustave Flaubert, Claude Monet…
Until next time, Rouen!
RED RIDING HOOD 
Great post 😁
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So pretty…but I’m not so sure about the beef neck 🙂
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Great and informative post
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Cathedral is best
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The cathedral and the gothis church are just awesome 🌸🌸
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Brave world
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Does that big clock work?
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Like!! Thank you for publishing this awesome article.
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My brother recommended I would possibly like this blog. He was entirely right.
This put up truly made my day. You cann’t imagine simply how a lot time I had spent for this info!
Thank you!
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