Wow I am bad at blogging. I have been working on this for over an hour and haven't even been able to get the pictures right! I think it double loaded half of them and then put them in some weird order. Grr. Anyway, we finally made it to Chaumont! I have always dreamed of visiting this city, where my grandparents lived while my grandpa served at an airbase in France. It is kind of hard to get to by train..
We got there right at sunset on a Saturday night.
A memorial for the soldiers who died in the war between 1870-1989
We stayed in a hotel literally right outside the train station. Yay for no walking! We chose to have dinner at a pizza place in the basement. It was very good and very busy! We decided to go all out and we each got a pizza and we also got a pasta to share. We had tried gnocchi pasta for the first time in Nice and I am basically in love with it now. That is the pasta in this picture, however it was in a gorgonzola cheese sauce. Come to find out, gorgonzola tastes an awful lot like roquefort cheese.. which is basically half mold. Its not quite as strong as roquefort, but it still has a horrible taste to it..
The next morning we started bright and early. We only had about 4 hours to see the city. The hotel gave us a little map with a walking tour on it. It only ended up taking us about 2 hours to see everything. Chaumont is a very small town. We tried to make it out to the airbase where my grandpa used to work but it was impossible to get to. The problem was that it was a Sunday, and a "Jour Férié" which is a national holiday. That means there were no taxis and the office of tourism wasn't open. We couldn't even get a postcard! We thought about running/walking to the airbase but it turns out its about 10 miles out of town and we are in no shape to run 20 miles in 2 hours! So we ended up watching some cartoons after seeing the city while we waited for our train. Here are the pictures!
Morning in the park. This was our first stop on the walking tour. It was fun to watch the sun rise over the town.
Here's my quick translation of the sign..
Built on the 16th century ramparts, Tour Charton road offers a magnificent perspective of the Old City. The Donjon, the Basilicas’ bell towers, the thin bell tower of the Jesuit chapel, the hexagonal roof of the Arse Tower and the dome of the City building dominate a cascade of roofs, small yards, and balconies, and seem to give a fanastic series of harmonious accents which reflect the history of the city.
Next stop was the Palace of Justice, Tour d'Arse and the "Donjon" Tower.
Sign translation:
Rising up on a dominant natural spur in the Suize valley, it is the all that is left of the Castle of the Counts of Champagne, cradle of the city. At a height of 19 meters, this square tower has maintained its medieval appearance with the thickness of its walls varying from 2.6 meters at the base to 1.5 meters at the top. The main type of rock used in the lower portion indicates that it was built in the second half of the 12th century. The original defensive structure built by the lord of the castle, in the past topped by a “hourd,” served as a prison up until 1886. Inscriptions carved into the walls remain from this era. Chaumont’s art and history museum is found at the foot of the tower.
This point of view offers a vast panorama of the Suize Valley and in the distance the Bars Plateau. At the foot of the old castle, the Faubourg of the Tanneries, nestled along the meandering Suize River, was formerly the district of the Tanners, who used the water to work with the skins. Together, grouped into a powerful guild, the tanners strongly influenced the local economy up until the start of the 18th century, when they were superseded by other guilds, most importantly those tied to the production of textiles.
The basilica.. from every angle!
Translation: At the heart of the mideival city, it was erected in the 13th century and has been well preserved since that time, still having its original façade and naves. Progressively there was added an elegant south door and lateral chapels in the 14th century. The transept and the chancel, redone between 1517 and 1543 are very characteristic of flamboyant gothic architecture with multiple ribbed archways. The…
I’ll have to finish this later. We’ve got to get our internet turned back in today!
This is a bank
The park
The library and the middle school.
Next we hopped off in Reims (Pronounced like Rince but with a super French "R" an a very nasal "in" .. so maybe more like Rance, with a French "R".. who knows..haha ) The cathedral here is where ALL of the French Kings were crowned.
The cathedral was celebrating its 800th birthday so they brought it a giant spider... :|
Can you see the difference between these two picture?
(In one a bird flew through right as I took the pic!)
This is the fattest pigeon I have ever seen. The picture doesn't really show it, but it was wild. haha
We ended up having to spend 5 hours in Reims. We then finally made it to Gembloux, Belgium where we stayed with my friend Armandine for 6 days. Since we are turning off our internet today, I will finish posting all our pictures when I get home!... Or at the university if I get really bored. :) See you all soon!
