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Church Chairs in the Cathédrale Saint-Maurice de Vienne.
In preparation for my May Rome adventure, and because it is only a 50 minute train ride, I went to Vienne this Wednesday with Australian assistant Jacinta. Like my current French hometown Valence, Vienne is on banks of the Rhône River in the Rhône-Alpes region. Vienne gets most of its tourism for its Roman monuments, which were built after Vienne became a Roman colony in 47 BC. There weren’t many other tourists on the rather rainy day we picked to visit, leaving some of the sites eerily empty.
Someone had carved out the faces on these at the Cathédrale Saint-Maurice de Vienne. A lot of the statues and carvings had been decapitated.
The city has a very handy self-guided walking tour that goes through town, starting at the tourism office. There were yellow arrows painted all over the ground with bronze tree markers leading the way. There were even designated stopping areas to gaze on a particular building from the appropriate angle. We did veer off the path a few times, but overall it was a great way to see the city without getting lost. We first walked past some ruins from the Roman town that had been incorporated into an ugly shopping center and then went by the Eglise Saint-Pierre. It’s more of a museum than a church now, but is significant as being one of the oldest medieval churches standing in the country. Our path then took us to the Cathédrale Saint-Maurice, a stunning Flamboyant Gothic church.
Abandoned glove in the Cathédrale Saint-Maurice de Vienne that may or may not have been used to press down those five broken piano keys.
The Cathédrale Saint-Maurice was completely empty and a little bit creepy. Most of the statues and even some of the carvings on the walls had been decapitated or had their faces dug out. I assume this happened during the French Revolution, but I couldn’t find any information. There were also odd things sitting around, like this dusty glove on a broken piano. Bizarre as some of it was, I enjoyed the unsettling vibe the church gave off. I know it’s awful to say, but after seeing so many Gothic cathedrals in France they all start to run together. But I don’t think I’ll forget the faceless Saints and angels of the Cathédrale Saint-Maurice.
Temple d'Auguste et de Livie.
A short distance from the cathedral was the Temple d’Auguste et de Livie, a Roman temple originally dedicated to the cult of Augustus. It managed to survive over two thousand years of history by being transformed in a Christian church and then a temple of reason during the French Revolution. It was later a museum and a library and today seems to be used as a centerpiece for the square that was built up around it. I was disappointed there was no way to walk through it, but it was still spectacular to come around a corner and suddenly see such a well-preserved Roman temple.
Spiky-teethed characters on the side of L’abbaye Saint-André-le-Bas.
We circled L’abbaye Saint-André-le-Bas and walked across the river to an archaeological site where there are excavated remains of the Roman civilization. You had to pay to actually get in, but we were able to see a lot from the fence. After that we had fougasses for lunch. They’re a specialty of the south of France and are basically soft bread with a filling inside. Kind of like a sophisticated hot pocket, except bigger and with better ingredients.
A crying statue in the Chapelle Notre Dame de Pipet.
We next went by the Roman theater and then up the hill behind it to the the Chapelle Notre Dame de Pipet. It was a bit of a steep climb, but the view of the valley and the city was worth it. Unfortunately, at this point it started to rain, but I’d brought an umbrella from my broken umbrella collection so we stayed relatively dry. It’s so windy in Valence that I’ve given up on buying new umbrellas because I know they’ll just get turned inside out. I should be used to high winds after living in Oklahoma for most of my life, but I still haven’t mastered the art of umbrellas in stormy weather.
The last part of our walk took us past more Roman ruins and we continued south to the Pyramide du Cirque Romain, which is the only thing remaining from the Roman circus. There is a legend that it is the tomb of Pontius Pilate, but that’s never been confirmed. Today it’s at the center of a traffic circle, around the corner from a kebab shop with a miniature Pyramide outside.
I’m going to Marseille tomorrow! The weather looks rainy, but at least I’m avoiding the apocalyptic snow that seems to be charging through Oklahoma. Be safe people back home!
Château de Beauregard. This gate looked like it went to a secret garden, but turned out to be the grave of M. Charles Beauregard.
After several months spent living in Valence, I finally went up to the castle ruins on the cliff overlooking town. The weather was perfect for a hike, so me and Lauren went across the river to Guilherand-Granges in the Ardèche. On our way up the road, we explored the Château de Beauregard, seen above. It seemed empty, although internet research tells me you can rent rooms and host events in it. In the picture above, there’s a rusty gate and behind it was a garden full of bushes. I thought it would be a charming little English garden, but hidden by the raised bushes was a slab of concrete with a cross on it. The carved words on it were almost worn off, yet I could make out the name Charles. I feel like “The Hidden Grave of M. Charles Beauregard” would make an excellent title for a short story. Although it also sounds like if Edgar Allan Poe wrote a Hardy Boys book.
Valence, seen from the Château de Crussol.
I remember once when I was growing up in Bartlesville, Oklahoma and was on the top of the Price Tower, where there is a view of the whole downtown. I was shocked at how small it was, that there was farmland just after the baseball stadium. It was a bit of the same with Valence. The view from the Château de Crussol made it seem so small, and the centre ville where I spend most of my time was even smaller. Beyond it was farmland and in the distance snow peaked mountains.
Ruins of the Château de Crussol.
The Château de Crussol is the remains of what was once a 13th century castle. After the Crussol family married into a family with a better castle, they moved away from the limestone structure and it was abandoned. However, there was more devastation for the poor castle to come, as it was set on fire during the Guerre des Religions and there was later a mining explosion in the quarry underneath it. It was even struck by lightning about 50 years ago. But it seems to be having a bit more luck these days and it was getting some of its stone walls fixed while we were there.
Remains of walls over looking the valley.
We spent some time wandering around the ruins and climbing on the large rocks overlooking the valley. Don’t worry, I didn’t get too close to the edge. Apparently there is a trail that goes from the castle to Soyons, where there are caves, so we might do that soon.
Me and Australian assistant Jacinta went to see Pitié, a really really really weird play. There was a lot of cathartic dancing and screaming and people taking their clothes on and off. I think it was the story of Christ, but there was so much going on that I’m not sure. I think the music was by Bach.
I celebrated St. Patrick’s Day last night at Penny Kennys, the only Irish pub in town. It’s pretty crazy that I was in New York City for St. Patrick’s last year and France this year. Where will I be next year? There was a good crowd, probably the biggest I’m seen for a nonstriking even in Valence. Speaking of which, there is yet another strike tomorrow, so I’m off of work. But everything will be closed, so I’m not quite sure what I’ll do. You might see more strike pictures here. I have a trip to Aix-en-Provence planned for this Saturday which I’m looking forward to.
Tain l'Hermitage, photographed from Tournon-sur-Rhône.
I would be an awful host if I didn’t take my Valence guests to the Valrhona chocolate shop, so during my friend Randall’s visit we took a 10 minute train ride to Tain l’Hermitage. There are a little over 5,000 citizens of Tain l’Hermitage, but it gets a steady supply of visitors thanks to the delicious chocolate and wine grown on the hills behind town. You can see the vineyards in the above picture, although everything is dead right now. We started by sampling some of that amazing chocolate in the Valrhona store, along with about 20 Japanese tourists that seemed to have come out of nowhere and were buying the place out. Which was good, because then I didn’t feel guilty about not purchasing anything. I was very poor at the end of February.
Tournon-sur-Rhône. Welcome to the Ardèche!
The departments of Drôme and the Ardèche are divided by the Rhône river, and across from Tain l’Hermitage in Drôme is Tournon-sur-Rhône in the Ardèche. We took the bridge over and walked around Tournon, which has about twice the population as Tain l’Hermitage. It also apparently produced a wine that Charlemagne liked. I unfortunately did not find this wine (although I really didn’t look), but Tournon had good French charm and was nice to explore. Oh, there’s a castle, Château de Tournon, which you can see in this picture and is said to be one of the most beautiful castles in the Ardèche. As you may guess, the Ardèche is not celebrated for its castles, but the natural landscape is stunning and makes up for it, I promise.
A horse working on a vineyard in Tain l'Hermitage.
After crossing the river back to Tain l’Hermitage, we decided to walk around the vineyards overlooking the town. It was gorgeous and incredibly steep. The vines are dormant now, but the sun was setting and the lighting was amazing.
Vineyard overlooking Tain l'Hermitage.
I really don’t know how some of the vines were planted without the workers tumbling down to a rocky crevice, or how anyone could drive up the terrifyingly narrow road we were walking on. I can understand why the wine from Tain l’Hermitage is so expensive with all the effort it must take to grow and transport the grapes.
Church on the top of the vineyard hills.
The crowning achievement of our walk was making it up to the tiny church on the top of the hill. It may look easy from the above picture, but we somehow took a wrong turn and had to scramble up what seemed like a 50 degree angle with no traction. I’m probably exaggerating. It was worth it though and I don’t think any of the pictures I took really show how spectacular the view was from up there. Originally, the vineyards were planted so that pilgrims to the church would have some wine to drink when they got there. There was no wine for us, but I like that story anyway.
