Trileigh & Rob's Most Excellent Sabbatical Log

Bruxelles jusqu'a Troyes

After a leisurely last morning in Brussels, we wound our way through Belgium via the medieval towns (aren't they all?) of Namur and Dinant. Namur was hosting the last day of its summer music festival, and we conveniently ignored a "ferme" sign to make our way into a church in which the orchestra was rehearsing a Mozart symphony for that night's grand finale concert. How lovely to hear the extended reverberation of the last note among the church's ancient stones. We spent that night camping in a regional forest, playing chess and talking under the stars, drifting off to sleep until a herd of some mysterious but unnervingly (to Trileigh) large animals came through the woods, accompanied by the sound of Bastille Day fireworks in the distance.
The next morning we drove into France without even a trace of a border crossing, simply a sign along the little road after a creek, notifying us of French speed limits: one of our first direct experiences of EU melding. Trileigh kept expecting to feel a Monet brush stroke across her cheek, driving through the French countryside with its sweeping fields of broad pastel stripes under a watercolor-clouded sky.




When the limestone ran out, we began to encounter half-timbered villages instead of stone ones -- but all of them held walls of bright red or pink flower baskets that highlighted the textures behind.
Rob found the house in Vendeuvres without any problem, and we were greeted warmly by his nephew Adrian and then beau-frere Olivier, with his sister Stephanie and nephew Alex not far behind. We then had the honor of meeting Olivier's mother, sharp witted, active and delightful at the age of 90 (what an inspiration!), who has lived here for more than 60 years. Our room is in the attic of this wonderful house, which was built in 1660. Olivier has been a magnificent chef during our stay here, with his magnum opus being Stephanie's birthday dinner on Sunday: an appetizer of mushroom quiche and salad, followed by veal and delightfully spiced mixed vegetables, with a finale of plum-and-dark-chocolate pie. And a different wonderful wine with each course. Oooh-la!! Quelle fete!




The next afternoon we left Vendeuvres for Troyes, known for its seven Gothic churches - a major "eglise" per block. One in particular caught our attention with its filigree stonework; each front pillar had a mini-cathedral carved into it. Once in front, we heard music coming from inside, and for the second time in our travels entered a magnificent church with live music filling its immense spaces. Construction of this church had begun in 1209; it was consecrated in the 1400's, and was finally finished in the 17th century. We pictured generations of craftsmen passing along the family honor of getting to be part of this great sacred project, mounting stone on stone to create a 100' vertical space. The organ itself was a historical monument, built in 1869. Rob guessed the music to be Messaien -- turgid twisting harmonies and tone clusters showing an intimate command of the enormous sonorities of the organ, and perfectly breath taking in this huge powerful space.

posted by robduisberg @ 9:42 AM