Living Art...
There have been new ports since leaving Lisbon a few days ago. Yesterday was Bilbao, Spain and then La Rochelle, France. Both pretty exciting. Bilbao is home to the Guggenheim museum designed by the famous architect Frank Ghery in 1997 who also did numerous other works with the same wavy look. It houses modern art so I wasn't really thinking about going inside to take a look around. 
Outside of the museum are a few pieces that were interesting to see. Two are by the same artist, Jeff Koons, entitled Puppy and Tulips. The huge Puppy is a statue made out of different colored flowers and sits right in front of the museum. It was built in 1992 and has been quite a staple after seeing all the trinkets honoring the exhibit in all the tourist trap shops. The other exhibit by this artist is Tulips and they almost look like bright shiny candy hanging out in back of the museum. They're made of stainless steel and in very bright colors. The shapes are most like balloons, which a guidebook says, "transmits a sense of weightlessness that contrasts with the heavy material from which it has been constructed, adding to the irony of the work." Just down the way from the Tulips is another interesting metal sculpture that resembles a spider right up to the eight legs digging into the ground and the net sack on its underbelly. The steel it's constructed with makes it look quite intimidating accentuating all the muscles in the legs with its shiny frame. The city itself is very vibrant and clean. 
There are a lot of shops from high end to simple fashion and it looks like it would have a fabulous nightlife. It's situated in what appears to be a valley since these beautiful mountains stretching up and away from the city center surround it. The sky was so perfectly blue that day and I was so grateful I got to go off and see this great place. I had lunch buffet style (I know I get buffet everyday in the Lido, but this was so good and different) for only 8 Euro. That's cheap compared to the other restaurants advertising paella for 15 Euro and other main dishes upwards of that price. The city seemed to be teeming with art. Along the main street there were just numbers as you walked from end to end. I only saw numbers 2-8, but I guess there were more. Also there were pieces that had forms of "love" in different languages and stacked differently. 
There was a place where there were all these different light posts just in a clustered area of grass around one of the museums. I wish I could see the piece lit up at night just to see what other meaning it would add to the piece. There just seemed to be a lot of culture present in all parts of the city from theatre to music to dance. More time more time is all I want. The day ended well going back to the Guggenheim and snapping more pictures of this interesting piece of art in itself.
The other day was another day in the French countryside. I got up early and went into the town of La Rochelle, France, which I learned later translates to "Little Cliff" in English. The day didn't start off to well as it was rainy and cold in the morning. I went into town and it was so perfectly French. The buildings, the shops, the cafes were all so cute. I walked along the cobblestone streets and did a little shopping. I only had an hour before I had to get back to the ship to get ready for my afternoon tour.
The rain was so fine it was getting quite annoying, but thankfully some of the sidewalks were covered since they were underneath the construction of the building. La Rochelle was just a little fishing village to start, but now it's pretty populated as I saw from the traffic and the people walking around. The area around here is known for Cognac. Unfortunately I didn't get on those tours today, but I did get to go into the French countryside. Bordeaux is not far from here and neither is Rochefort or Lyon. Isle de Re is also another place here that's supposed to be a sight to see with bird sanctuaries, cafes, markets, and bike paths. Just not enough time. Especially since the shuttle ride is 30 minutes into town. My afternoon tour started at 1:00pm and it was a trip to the "Green Venice" (La Venise Verte). I had no idea what I signed up for and went with the flow. We started out on the highway and soon were on the country roads passing through cute towns. Our guide was saying that most of the buildings constructed here are out of limestone with Roman tile roofs. The area so called the "Green Venice" was given its name because up until the 20th century roads were not present in this area of France. It's a marshland so all the houses are built on waterways. Flat bottom boats are used to carry people, livestock, and other materials from one place to the next. At one point this area had a huge problem with Malaria because it is a marshland and prone to mosquitoes. One town, St. Haillard du Palard, was so named for such a problem. Palard referring to the disease of malaria. We drove through Courcon and St. Haillard du Palard before stopping in Arcais. Here is where we stopped for our flat bottom boat ride. Okay, I thought. A boat ride along the swamps. It was so interesting. 
At every turn it was like a Thomas Kinkade painting. I was living the pictures of the pieces of art I so admire for their dreamy quality no matter how commercial and fabricated they are. We had a gondolier who took us along the many paths in the waterways and we saw some very large geese grazing in an open field along the way. There were MANY bugs skipping across the water as we went along that might be a part of the mosquito family. It was all still very interesting and breathtaking. The clouds dispersed by this time of day and the sun was poking through all the trees burning off the dampness in the area giving everything a little bit of a glow just like in the paintings as well. We were floating along and I was in a boat with some ladies from Alabama and another from New Zealand both remarking on how in such a place in their hometowns there would be crocs and snakes also habitating the area. No such thing here. Just peace and harmony. They also said how much it reminded them of home. Mostly the southern ladies and how much it resembled the bayou in some parts. We stopped at one point and the gondoliers roused up some of the mud on the floor of the canal causing the methane gas to rise to the top. They lit the canal on fire. It's from all the decomposition of the plant life in the area. 
It leaves a layer of methane gas on the bottom from the bacterial discharge. When it rises to the top it's like the gas your body releases after digestion and you can light it on fire. Once the boat ride was over we had some free time so I stopped in the local café and ordered, in French, a sugar crepe. We got back on the bus and drove down to Coulon to have some more free time. It was just one of the marsh towns on the tour where we could have some free shopping time and get some local items. It was a great day indeed and on the drive back I had a nice nap.
Another lovely day in the French countryside although today was more of a Celtic countryside than French. This region is called Bretagne (or Brittany for English folk). The language comes from the northern Celtic region and is a form of Gaelic called Breton.
I was on a passenger tour today going to the towns of Quimper and Locronan. The weather didn't start off too well as we pulled in. It was raining a bit and it was cold enough to wear a small jacket. Boo. A jacket in July. That reminded me of Alaska. Anyway, I got out and got on the bus of a group of 30 as a bagpiper was playing the in the background and we drove off into the countryside. Our guide, Jils, was telling us that the region is part of France and the French Republic, but the elders will still keep the old language of Breton alive. Therefore all the signs we passed in the area were in 2 languages. The people of the area are bilingual and learn both the languages. French didn't really become an official language until the 20th century. The language of Breton doesn't even resemble French in the slightest and has a real guttural sound like the German/Arabic languages. I didn't see any of L'Orient at all really, which is where we ported, but did learn that it started out as a shipyard called L'Orient and grew into a city. It was so named because of the East India Company and all their ships that came here on trade routes. 
The town was heavily bombed during WWII and we were told a lot of the areas from the old city are still damaged. There are still remnants of the German sub stations here in the bay and a grounded and bombed submarine. He spewed off a lot of history on our drive up to Quimper and I soon discovered the lovely land of sleep as I always do on long bus rides. We finally arrived about an hour later in this bustling town. The title of the tour was called Quaint Quimper and Lovely Locronan. However Quimper was nothing near quaint. It was just like any other metropolitan city with the beauty of the countryside infused into it. The local craft was the special pottery you can typically find in home stores with the colorful hens on them and the interesting swooping designs. This would be the area and place where those designs were inspired. 
They are also known for their doilies and other knit pieces of linen and clothing. The crepe, invented in Breton, resembles such a trade as nit work because of its flat and holy structure. In French crepe actually means embroidery. We were told that the towns of Breton were typically poor until well into the 20th century and that crepes were a large staple of food. They would ground up the flour to mix with the fresh eggs and milk to create this flat pancake that they would stuff with meats and cheeses (a sandwich) and take into the fields with them for later. Hence the lovely crepe dishes of the area. They are salt crepes to hold the meats and cheeses and sweet crepes to hold the jams and honeys. Yum!! I followed the guided tour to the Cathedral in the heart of town. It was built in two different decades to create one church and you can see that in the design. It actually goes crooked right in the middle of the church where they added on to it. The town looks totally different from all the other towns I have been to in France. The houses are totally stone with a different roof than what we've been seeing with the Roman tiles. The ivy grows right up the sides and there are these huge bulbous flowers everywhere that make the air so fragrant and the look of the scenery that much more picturesque. I strolled through town on my free time and found a fabulous local market selling all the local cheeses and meats. Oh how I wish I could've stayed longer. I did stop in a local wine shop and got some of the Pineau I learned about from yesterday. It's not Pinot as in Pinot Noir, but Pineau. This wine is laced with Cognac and I learned that despite the large alcohol content, you might not taste it at all because of its sweetness. I was back on the bus a few moments later and we were on our way to Locronan. We had a rendezvous with the local creperie there and were told we would get 3 crepes. 
One was going to be filled with scallops and a special béarnaise type sauce, another with ham, and the last with a local honey jam spread. We arrived in Locronan and it was straight out of a fairy tale town. If my iPod were charged, frown, I would've played selections from Irish folk music to The Secret Garden and it would've been perfect. The restaurant we stopped in was called Ly Cox Creperie and Bar. It was inside this stone house that had an atmosphere I cannot possibly describe. It was decorated fabulously and gave me such a warm feeling. The crepes came and they were absolutely delicious as I washed them down with the local cider. I also bought a bottle of this cider since it was so amazing at the table and came highly recommended by our tour guide. I strolled around town and just got lost and wrapped up in all the beauty that was around me. I felt like I went back in time about 1,000 years or more. It was on a sort of plateau that overlooked the Breton countryside and there were some stunning views. I stopped in the local bakery and also partook in some of the local Breton cookie. 
Yum!! I used my French as much as possible. It's amazing what the mind can remember. I think I just need total immersion at this point to force me back into learning it again. I was on the bus after a very satisfying day where I enjoyed another nap for most of the way home. Au Revoir to France now as we head into the Scandinavian area.
Outside of the museum are a few pieces that were interesting to see. Two are by the same artist, Jeff Koons, entitled Puppy and Tulips. The huge Puppy is a statue made out of different colored flowers and sits right in front of the museum. It was built in 1992 and has been quite a staple after seeing all the trinkets honoring the exhibit in all the tourist trap shops. The other exhibit by this artist is Tulips and they almost look like bright shiny candy hanging out in back of the museum. They're made of stainless steel and in very bright colors. The shapes are most like balloons, which a guidebook says, "transmits a sense of weightlessness that contrasts with the heavy material from which it has been constructed, adding to the irony of the work." Just down the way from the Tulips is another interesting metal sculpture that resembles a spider right up to the eight legs digging into the ground and the net sack on its underbelly. The steel it's constructed with makes it look quite intimidating accentuating all the muscles in the legs with its shiny frame. The city itself is very vibrant and clean. 
There are a lot of shops from high end to simple fashion and it looks like it would have a fabulous nightlife. It's situated in what appears to be a valley since these beautiful mountains stretching up and away from the city center surround it. The sky was so perfectly blue that day and I was so grateful I got to go off and see this great place. I had lunch buffet style (I know I get buffet everyday in the Lido, but this was so good and different) for only 8 Euro. That's cheap compared to the other restaurants advertising paella for 15 Euro and other main dishes upwards of that price. The city seemed to be teeming with art. Along the main street there were just numbers as you walked from end to end. I only saw numbers 2-8, but I guess there were more. Also there were pieces that had forms of "love" in different languages and stacked differently. 
There was a place where there were all these different light posts just in a clustered area of grass around one of the museums. I wish I could see the piece lit up at night just to see what other meaning it would add to the piece. There just seemed to be a lot of culture present in all parts of the city from theatre to music to dance. More time more time is all I want. The day ended well going back to the Guggenheim and snapping more pictures of this interesting piece of art in itself. The other day was another day in the French countryside. I got up early and went into the town of La Rochelle, France, which I learned later translates to "Little Cliff" in English. The day didn't start off to well as it was rainy and cold in the morning. I went into town and it was so perfectly French. The buildings, the shops, the cafes were all so cute. I walked along the cobblestone streets and did a little shopping. I only had an hour before I had to get back to the ship to get ready for my afternoon tour.
The rain was so fine it was getting quite annoying, but thankfully some of the sidewalks were covered since they were underneath the construction of the building. La Rochelle was just a little fishing village to start, but now it's pretty populated as I saw from the traffic and the people walking around. The area around here is known for Cognac. Unfortunately I didn't get on those tours today, but I did get to go into the French countryside. Bordeaux is not far from here and neither is Rochefort or Lyon. Isle de Re is also another place here that's supposed to be a sight to see with bird sanctuaries, cafes, markets, and bike paths. Just not enough time. Especially since the shuttle ride is 30 minutes into town. My afternoon tour started at 1:00pm and it was a trip to the "Green Venice" (La Venise Verte). I had no idea what I signed up for and went with the flow. We started out on the highway and soon were on the country roads passing through cute towns. Our guide was saying that most of the buildings constructed here are out of limestone with Roman tile roofs. The area so called the "Green Venice" was given its name because up until the 20th century roads were not present in this area of France. It's a marshland so all the houses are built on waterways. Flat bottom boats are used to carry people, livestock, and other materials from one place to the next. At one point this area had a huge problem with Malaria because it is a marshland and prone to mosquitoes. One town, St. Haillard du Palard, was so named for such a problem. Palard referring to the disease of malaria. We drove through Courcon and St. Haillard du Palard before stopping in Arcais. Here is where we stopped for our flat bottom boat ride. Okay, I thought. A boat ride along the swamps. It was so interesting. 
At every turn it was like a Thomas Kinkade painting. I was living the pictures of the pieces of art I so admire for their dreamy quality no matter how commercial and fabricated they are. We had a gondolier who took us along the many paths in the waterways and we saw some very large geese grazing in an open field along the way. There were MANY bugs skipping across the water as we went along that might be a part of the mosquito family. It was all still very interesting and breathtaking. The clouds dispersed by this time of day and the sun was poking through all the trees burning off the dampness in the area giving everything a little bit of a glow just like in the paintings as well. We were floating along and I was in a boat with some ladies from Alabama and another from New Zealand both remarking on how in such a place in their hometowns there would be crocs and snakes also habitating the area. No such thing here. Just peace and harmony. They also said how much it reminded them of home. Mostly the southern ladies and how much it resembled the bayou in some parts. We stopped at one point and the gondoliers roused up some of the mud on the floor of the canal causing the methane gas to rise to the top. They lit the canal on fire. It's from all the decomposition of the plant life in the area. 
It leaves a layer of methane gas on the bottom from the bacterial discharge. When it rises to the top it's like the gas your body releases after digestion and you can light it on fire. Once the boat ride was over we had some free time so I stopped in the local café and ordered, in French, a sugar crepe. We got back on the bus and drove down to Coulon to have some more free time. It was just one of the marsh towns on the tour where we could have some free shopping time and get some local items. It was a great day indeed and on the drive back I had a nice nap.Another lovely day in the French countryside although today was more of a Celtic countryside than French. This region is called Bretagne (or Brittany for English folk). The language comes from the northern Celtic region and is a form of Gaelic called Breton.
I was on a passenger tour today going to the towns of Quimper and Locronan. The weather didn't start off too well as we pulled in. It was raining a bit and it was cold enough to wear a small jacket. Boo. A jacket in July. That reminded me of Alaska. Anyway, I got out and got on the bus of a group of 30 as a bagpiper was playing the in the background and we drove off into the countryside. Our guide, Jils, was telling us that the region is part of France and the French Republic, but the elders will still keep the old language of Breton alive. Therefore all the signs we passed in the area were in 2 languages. The people of the area are bilingual and learn both the languages. French didn't really become an official language until the 20th century. The language of Breton doesn't even resemble French in the slightest and has a real guttural sound like the German/Arabic languages. I didn't see any of L'Orient at all really, which is where we ported, but did learn that it started out as a shipyard called L'Orient and grew into a city. It was so named because of the East India Company and all their ships that came here on trade routes. 
The town was heavily bombed during WWII and we were told a lot of the areas from the old city are still damaged. There are still remnants of the German sub stations here in the bay and a grounded and bombed submarine. He spewed off a lot of history on our drive up to Quimper and I soon discovered the lovely land of sleep as I always do on long bus rides. We finally arrived about an hour later in this bustling town. The title of the tour was called Quaint Quimper and Lovely Locronan. However Quimper was nothing near quaint. It was just like any other metropolitan city with the beauty of the countryside infused into it. The local craft was the special pottery you can typically find in home stores with the colorful hens on them and the interesting swooping designs. This would be the area and place where those designs were inspired. 
They are also known for their doilies and other knit pieces of linen and clothing. The crepe, invented in Breton, resembles such a trade as nit work because of its flat and holy structure. In French crepe actually means embroidery. We were told that the towns of Breton were typically poor until well into the 20th century and that crepes were a large staple of food. They would ground up the flour to mix with the fresh eggs and milk to create this flat pancake that they would stuff with meats and cheeses (a sandwich) and take into the fields with them for later. Hence the lovely crepe dishes of the area. They are salt crepes to hold the meats and cheeses and sweet crepes to hold the jams and honeys. Yum!! I followed the guided tour to the Cathedral in the heart of town. It was built in two different decades to create one church and you can see that in the design. It actually goes crooked right in the middle of the church where they added on to it. The town looks totally different from all the other towns I have been to in France. The houses are totally stone with a different roof than what we've been seeing with the Roman tiles. The ivy grows right up the sides and there are these huge bulbous flowers everywhere that make the air so fragrant and the look of the scenery that much more picturesque. I strolled through town on my free time and found a fabulous local market selling all the local cheeses and meats. Oh how I wish I could've stayed longer. I did stop in a local wine shop and got some of the Pineau I learned about from yesterday. It's not Pinot as in Pinot Noir, but Pineau. This wine is laced with Cognac and I learned that despite the large alcohol content, you might not taste it at all because of its sweetness. I was back on the bus a few moments later and we were on our way to Locronan. We had a rendezvous with the local creperie there and were told we would get 3 crepes. 
One was going to be filled with scallops and a special béarnaise type sauce, another with ham, and the last with a local honey jam spread. We arrived in Locronan and it was straight out of a fairy tale town. If my iPod were charged, frown, I would've played selections from Irish folk music to The Secret Garden and it would've been perfect. The restaurant we stopped in was called Ly Cox Creperie and Bar. It was inside this stone house that had an atmosphere I cannot possibly describe. It was decorated fabulously and gave me such a warm feeling. The crepes came and they were absolutely delicious as I washed them down with the local cider. I also bought a bottle of this cider since it was so amazing at the table and came highly recommended by our tour guide. I strolled around town and just got lost and wrapped up in all the beauty that was around me. I felt like I went back in time about 1,000 years or more. It was on a sort of plateau that overlooked the Breton countryside and there were some stunning views. I stopped in the local bakery and also partook in some of the local Breton cookie. 
Yum!! I used my French as much as possible. It's amazing what the mind can remember. I think I just need total immersion at this point to force me back into learning it again. I was on the bus after a very satisfying day where I enjoyed another nap for most of the way home. Au Revoir to France now as we head into the Scandinavian area.
posted by Chris | 2:15 PM
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