Mont St Michel A Few More Details and a Walk

Seen here are a few architecural gems of the Mont St Michel abbey. The views from near the top are incredible. There are walking tours of the bay at low tide with guides. If you would like more information on this, I found a great blog site that explains how it works. Classic Journeys low tide walk

Mont St Michel seen from above

Abbey seen from below

The walk up is super steep and strenuous. I would not recommend it for anyone with mobility issues. Our guide walked fast, but she did keep checking to be sure we were behind her.

Absolutely amazing place, but again I would love to see it less crowded. 

Mont San Michel Chapel & Abbey

Chapel inside Mont San Michel

Mont San Michel was a place I have been wanting to visit for a lot of years. I finally had that opportunity last month, and it did not disappoint. The only hard part was that the guide told us all the way there on the bus how crowded it would be, and she was right. She also wasn't really able to give us enough time to really enjoy it. Warnings about not eating at any of the restaurants ... we wouldn't have enough time. So I arrived in a panic about getting back. It wasn't really true either. I definitely could have eaten there. The problem is the little buses that take you to the site are a very long wait, so we were unsure how long it would take to get back. In the end, we waited for the bus to arrive for a while.

The only downside of the tour was the guide. Other than that, Mont St Michel is just beautiful and amazing. Truly though, if I was to do it again, I would definitely go there and stay in one of the hotels - enjoy it by day and night, and take my time. The feeling of being rushed almost ruined the excursion.

Our guide

Mont St Michel first impressions

Approaching Mont St Michel

For years, I have been wanting to visit Mont St Michel. On a cruise that went from Barcelona to Dover years ago, I tried to get on the tour but it was sold out. I have heard incredible things about it. It is an abbey and monastery in Normandy, France. But really it is so much more.

Another view of Mont St Michel

As we approached, I couldn't believe my eyes. Here stood this magnificent structure from the 8th century AD. But who would believe such a structure would be built on a piece of land that the ocean surrounds it every day? The tides come in and out. Sometimes you can walk to the abbey and the near by islands. But by 2pm in the afternoon, the signs in the parking lot tell you that you better have moved your car ... as that area will now be under water.

Parking lot that by 2pm is under water

You can get to the abbey by walking, taking a bus or taking a carriage with horses. The bus is the fastest way, but the lines are long for the bus.

Angro do Heroismo

Angro do Heroismo Church of Our Lady of Mount Carmel

Founded in 1478, Angra do Heroismo is a gorgeous jewel of a town with the most beautiful architecture. Like Lisbon, the streets are made of pieces of volcanic rock with patterns.

street of Angra do Heroismo

It makes walking a bit of a challenge, but they really are beautiful. There are some great YouTube videos if you just google "what the streets of Angra do Heroismo are made of." 

We arrived on a Sunday, so basically nothing was open. Same thing happened to us in 2014 when we arrived in Horta. But it was nice to just walk the streets and enoy the architecture.

We did a walking tour of Angra for about an hour and then were given some free time. Note how the second stories have these lovely small balconies with intricate iron work. I saw a shoe shop.

Shoe store in Angra de Heroismo

A bit later we came upon the Se Cathedral, also known as the Church of Santissimo Salvador. Very gorgeous, the only sad thing was we didn't get to go in any of the Churches.

Church of Santissimo Salvador

Tetouan Again

Pension in Medina of Tetouan

Walking through the Medina of Tetouan, which is hundreds of years old, our guide showed up a typical Pension or typical small hotel room. Based on the age and dirtiness of the sign, I would not think it would be like the Ritz. 

Herb shop 

Each shop in the Medina would have something outside to identify it. Whether they sold herbs or vegetables, their wares would be displayed. Some areas were more makeshift carts with tarps over, where others appear to be areas where people live and work. 

Vegetables on display

There were some amazing architectural features along the way, including some very nice doors. Below is an example of one of the doors we saw along our walking tour.

Door and entry in the Medina

Then we came across this sheep. Why he has the marking on the back, I am not sure. Is it that the sheep is scheduled to be slaughtered?

Sheep at the Medina

Hygiene does not appear to be a high priority in this area, but by far the worst area we walked through was where they were preparing the animal hides in to leather. The stench was beyond what you can imagine. I kept being terrified I would fall in to one of the vats. Unfortunately the photos that I took of this area were on my phone that was later stolen, so I have no photos to share. Not sure if that isn't a blessing. But I did find a few photos online. 

Tetouan through my Eyes

City streets of Tetouan

The streets upon entering the city of Tetouan before we arrived at the Medina seemed very French in architecture. The balconies do not seem Spanish to me at all, like Madrid, which is heavily French influenced. 

French style balconies

In the backdrop of the photo above, you can see the white buildings, which are reminiscent of Spanish Andalusian towns. But in the foreground the balconies are French influenced with signs in Arabic, Spanish and even sometimes Spanglish. 

Closer to the Medina

As we got closer to the Medina, a Spanish or Moorish influence in the architecture was much more apparent. The buildings in the Medina are hundreds of years old. Our guide told us as a child he lived there and the rent was then like $1 euro a month, now is approximately $20 euros a month (equivalent in Moroccan money) for the small apartments. 

apartment in Medina of Tetouan

There are small and larger apartments scattered through these very dungeon like corridors with low lying roofs and cubby hole areas. The feeling is very claustrophobic. I have no idea what lies beyond the doors, whether hovel or palace. 

Stroll in Morocco

Our guide to Teotouan in Morocco

I promised to tell you a little more about our guide in Tetouan, Morocco. He knew everybody, I mean everybody from  Spanish Ceuta where he picked us up and through Tetouan. When he met us outside the port in Spanish Ceuta very early in the morning, he seemed very brusque and business like. He took all of our passports and formed a packet, with all our passports below and his on top. He explained that he would be vouching for us in his country. I had no idea at that time that they would actually take our passports and keep them at the Moroccan border while we were there. But we would realize later that this was a very good thing, not a bad thing. 

Guides waiting for us at Spanish Ceuta port

We had to go through two border crossings, one to leave Spanish Ceuta which is part of the European Union and then to enter Morocco. Our driver was a great guy, and he spoke Arabic and Spanish, so I communicated with him in Spanish. We were 10 people shoved inside a minivan plus the driver and guide. They put me up front between the driver and guide. I felt crowded, but in the end, I realized was a better location than those stuffed in the back. Off we went.

entering the city of  Tetouan

We passed the beautiful manicured hotel area where, as mentioned, the King has a beach home and descended upon Tetouan early in the morning. The city was still mostly asleep, with the carts and makeshift areas all covered in tarps.
We watched the city wake up. As clean as the beaches were, the city was anything but. It was really dirty and so old.

Market area

Tetouan, Morocco: A Feast for the Eyes

our guide at Tetouan

It is hard for me to believe I never posted about my shore excursion to Tetouan, Morocco last September. It was quite the day, which started with our guide taking all our passports and giving them to immigrations as we passed from Spanish Ceuta in to Morocco. They would be collected when we left, which was a little frightening at the time, but all worked out well.

We then entered the cleanest place I have ever seen in my life. The area when you first enter Morocco from Spanish Ceuta is where the Moroccan king has a beach house. Just beautiful. Unfortunately I lost all my photos from my phone when it was stolen, and I didn't have backed up to the cloud. My bad.

About 30 minutes later, we entered the old city, the Medina, of Tetouan for our walking tour.

Entrance to the market

We entered in to the market area before the stalls had opened up. As we walked, we began to see the tarps come off and the areas come alive with vendors.

Vendor selling vegetables

I will save the architecture for another post, but here is just one street sign from the Medina area of Tetouan. Wonderful place.

Street sign in Medina of Tetouan

Sorrento Staircase to Heaven

Sorrento staircase

On a tour of the Amalfi coast on the Norwegian Jade, I literally passed through a restaurant. It wasn't open for lunch. There was the most amazing staircase railing, and I just had to photograph it. Looking for new material for my blogs, I decided to sort by date and I found these photos from 2013. They are gems.

Detail of the staircase

I love how a chair is stored under the rustic staircase. It is just awesome work, and I would think made from a local tree. This staircase to Heaven is definitely gargoyle-inspired.

Sorrento Restaurant

According to their website, shown here, this is where canneloni was invented. The place is just full of history. Wow.

I even found a photo of me I liked. Now that is a miracle!

Photo of me May 2013 on excursion of the Amalfi Coast

Prince Edward Island: What a Treat

Sims Corner Steakhouse mussels

The day we arrived on Prince Edward Island, the weather was cold enough that I needed to buy a hat and gloves. The hat was my salvation, some kind of thermal cap that kept my head nice and toasty. I had signed up for a culinary tour through the ship, which to me was kind of a bust. I had to laugh as we stopped quite a few places, but surely didn't eat very much. We got a handful of popcorn at the first place, one mussel at the second, a glass of beer (since I don't drink alcohol, I had a glass of juice), 6 mussels at another place and we were supposed to end up at a french fry stand outside in the cold. 

Uttermost chandelier at Sim's

Luckily I absolutely loved the town as we walked around and had spotted a restaurant that I just had to try. So instead of eating fries out in the cold on a picnic bench, I opted for the warm and beautiful ambience of Sim's. The service was terrific and the food to die for! And the best part of all, they had Uttermost chandeliers at the restaurant, ones we have sold at The Magic of Design in the past. That was fun!

You can't go wrong eating at Sim's. More information on this wonderful restaurant is located here.

Walking back to the Veendam, I came across this guy. I had to take a photo. Thought he was cool.

Great Architectural Features of Cathedral at Lucca

Lucca Cathedral

St. Martin Cathedral in Lucca, Italy is chock full of the most amazing architectural features. I could have stayed there for hours, but alas, we only had a little time there. Our guide was awesome, but we had a lot of ground to cover that day.

Holy Water font Lucca Cathedral

The entire Cathedral is done in marbles, including the floors, much of the walls and the ceiling is mosaic tiles. The Cathedral is both Gothic and Romanesque.

Interior of St. Martin Cathedral at Lucca

Floor of St. Martin Cathedral at Lucca

More on the Lucca Cathedral: A Gargoyle's Dream

St. Martin's Catheral at Lucca is a gargoyle's dream. From the gorgeous ceiling to the resting place for the Volto Santo (the Holy Face of Jesus), the Cathedral history goes back to Pope Alexander II, former Bishop of Lucca. The Pope built the Cathedral on the site of a former Church to accomodate the Holy Face of Jesus.

The Holy Face is now housed inside a very secure location shown here.

Holy Face at Lucca Cathedral

From the Sacred Destinations.com site Lucca Cathedral ... 

According to medieval legend, Nicodemus did all the carving work but the face, which he hesitated to complete for fear of not doing it justice. He fell asleep, and upon awaking found the face beautifully carved - the miraculous work of an angel. The Crucifix of the Holy Face was buried in a cave for safekeeping, where it remained for centuries.

It was rediscovered by Bishop Gualfredo, who was on a pilgrimage to the Holy Land when its location was revealed to him in a dream. To allow God to decide where the Crucifix should be kept, the bishop set it adrift on an unmanned boat in the Mediterranean Sea. The Volto Santo arrived on the shores of northern Italy, where the Bishop of Lucca, also prompted by a dream, put it into a wagon with no driver to determine its final location. The two oxen pulling the wagon stopped of their own accord at Lucca in 782.

The Volto Santo was placed in the Church of San Frediano, but the next morning, it was found to have been miraculously transferred to San Martino. For this reason, the legend explains, San Martino was designated the cathedral of Lucca (an honor previously held by Santi Giovanni e Reparata).

As usual, the real story is probably a little less exciting. There is no known mention of the Volto Santo before the 11th century, and for stylistic reasons it seems to be a 13th-century copy of a 11th-century original, perhaps necessitated by pilgrims chipping away at it. The original may have itself been based on an earlier model, perhaps a Syrian work of the 8th century.

The Volto Santo of Lucca was highly revered in the Middle Ages and attracted pilgrims from across Europe. Many copies were made and distributed, Lucca produced coins stamped with its image, the medieval French invented a St. Vaudeluc from a corruption of its Latin name (vultum de Lucca), and King William II of England (d.1100) was said to have sworn oaths per Vultum de Lucca ("by the Holy Face of Lucca").

There are many more great architectural features of this beautiful Cathedral, which I will discuss in another post.

Lucca Revisited

Cathedral of St. Martin in Lucca

Lucca was a fairy tale place, a place that I not only loved to visit ... but also a place I could see myself moving to. It is just that special. We arrived on the Holland America Westerdam and there was a huge storm while we were in Lucca. Later that night, the rains continued after we left the port of Livorno. Unfortunately it caused landslides, which led to the death of seven people. Very sad situation. My condolences to the families.

St Martin's facade in Lucca

The walk around Lucca started out wonderful. Our guide was amazing. She was an Italian woman who had grown up in California, and then returned to her country of birth as an adult. Therefore both her English and Italian were impeccable. She was nice too. Just lovely.

our lovely guide in Lucca

Here she is again

The tour included the Cathedral, another Church and some statues honoring the opera singers, including Puccini. One guy from our group wandered off to try to locate the plaza where they honor him. I wasn't that brave, as the place was a bit of a maze and I am really glad I didn't. He got lost and we almost had to leave him behind.