Christmas Boogie

Astoria, Oregon ~ December 14, 2012

I sat in the back in a comfy rocking chair at the Christmas piano concert Debbie Loyd gave in their church to raise money for World Vision (goats, chickens, etc. to families in Africa). I was pleased to contribute something, and the total raised was $740.00. There really are people here, sitting on the left. I took the rocker at the back on the right where nobody was sitting so I could be comfy and leave early if I got tired, which I did.

For the first time in a very long time, I put on something other than my sweatshirt and jeans, and mingled with dressed-up people. I enjoyed Debbie's music and being in a social situation, but alas, I had picked the wrong parking spot. Cranking the wheel hard as often as it took to parallel park on Harrison Street was too much, and I arrived shaky and needing to leave early. Still, it was great to get out, great to enjoy some unusual arrangements of Christmas music, and . . . I did it! I also enjoyed contributing to a good cause other than tapirs. More on this subject another day.

My Web Page: Tapirback.com.

Oct 16, Part 8 - Paris: Eglise St-German l'Auxerrois en route to the Louvre

Just a short block from the Seine, we came across the church of St-Germain l'Auxerrois. I knew it was there from a previous visit, and what a surprise it had been to discover it then! But Paris has surprises around every corner. It's like a treasure hunt, just walking through the streets.

This is the side of the church. You literally run into it coming up the Rue de l'Arbre Sec, and then at the church turn left onto the one-block-long street that runs toward the front of the building. The Gothic ornamentation and style are stunning. As it turns out, although this church as been renovated, and not always well, it is still considered a prime example of the Gothic style. You can read a lot about it here. The translation is difficult to read in places, but the page is full of information.

The street next to the church opens out into the Place du Louvre. Just beyond is a wide space that was used as a military parade ground, and of course the east end of the Louvre itself.

I liked the sign and the reflections. It's called the Hotel le Relais du Louvre. "Relais" is "relay" or "post house," which makes sense when you look at the sign. What a history this place must have!

Here is the front of the church with its famous Gothic tower. On the other side of the tower, a district town hall was built in a pseudo-Gothic style. It's been said that this devalues the actual styling of the church, and I can understand that. I think that to the casual tourist rather than the student of architecture, it probably simply looks like a nice, cohesive pair of buildings. I'll think about that if I get a chance to go back.

Looking up into the ceiling of the porch of St-German l'Auxerrois.

The interior of the church taken from near the front entrance.

Near the transept.

Nice glass. I don't know its history.

More stained glass in St-Germain l'Auxerrois.

As we approached the front door again to leave, I took this photo of the pipe organ. Above it is stained glass, but you can't see it in this photo. Here are a lot more pictures of this magnificent church, St-Germain l'Auxerrois de Paris, in WikiMedia.

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Oct 15, Part 14 - In the north transept of St Denis Basilica

As we came back up out of the crypt, Hermentrude was one of the first tombs we encountered. Sometimes she's called Ermentrude, especially, it seems, in genealogies.

As I said before, they have the tombs marked out clearly. Here are a couple of very famous monarchs.

I didn't do a good job of noting which monument markers went with which photos, though. Online I found that this is the tomb of Louis XII of France and Anne de Bretagne. Louis was crowned in 1498.

Stained glass and architecture of the cathedral.

There were some nice displays for tourists. As I said, the place seems about half church and half museum. What history there is here!

I don't know who they are. This is just another interior scene of the basilica.

Gothic arches and stained glass.

Another nice tomb sculpture with details of the clothing.

This photo shows the three main levels of the basilica. We're standing on the ground floor. The stairs go up to the main altar level, which also contains monuments and tombs. You can't see it well, but on the far right below the banister, stairs go down to the crypt. This is the design on both sides of the church. It makes a really interesting plan for the visitor.

More leaded glass.

I'm not sure which tomb this is. It's one of the few really large ones.

A nice detail of the stained glass. Yes, it's in focus and exposed well. I love it when that happens! :)

This photo again shows the southern rose window of St-Denis, which is being repaired. The amount of glass they were able to build into the walls of this church is amazing. But that's what Gothic was about.

It occurred to me to record what the floor tiles looked like. In some churches they put carpet down that resembles the floor, but in this case I think it was the real tiles.

Here's another favorite.

I don't remember if this is the only brass tomb cover, but there are not many. I took the photo because it was unusual, and because I like the way the stained glass is reflected.

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Go to Part 15

Oct 15, Part 15 - Around the high altar of St. Denis Basilia

This beautiful corner filled with glass and sculpture is in the the area of the high altar of St. Denis Basilica.

This is taken from beside the high altar, and the stained glass is just behind it.

On this highest level of the church are statues to the memory of Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette, who were guillotined during the French Revolution. I especially like the way the blue light comes through on the left and the way the photo lets you peek through an arch in the upper right. I found this striking photo of Marie Antoinette's sculpture on Flickr.

Here again is the stained glass and the triforium behind the altar. The triforium is the walkway at the bottom of the photo above. The walkway goes clear around the inside of the church. I found this nicely illustrated page of Gothic terms.

This is the high altar itself. At first I thought the zodiac figures must be out of keeping with the religious concept of a church, but when I looked it up online, I found that the zodiac is not unusual in Medieval church art, and in fact St. Denis is filled with representations of the zodiac. Each figure of the zodiac is connected with a month of the year, and with each month came certain activities in the Medieval world. Since few of the general population could read, these must have acted as reminders or a dialog about the events of the year and their timing. Life and religion were so integrated, it's hard for most of us to remember or appreciate that the two were almost one.

Pisces and an ornate gate, or fence inside the church.

And the last photo before my camera batteries conked out is of Taurus, my own symbol.

Go to Part 16

Oct 15, Part 19 - The Church of St. Sulpice

From the row of bikes, we walked down the street three short blocks that seemed like one and jogged left into the unexpected. I'd read the name of St. Sulpice for years, and probably thought I was going to see a smaller church in a Gothic format. This thing was huge. It was imposing in a way that literally quickened my breathing and got my adrenaline going, although it's hard to see from the photo why it would be so. But it was. The church was also under the wraps of reconstruction. I don't know if that made it feel more or less intrusive, but I'm sure it added to a sense of mystery. I only found out later that St. Sulpice has gained fame as a landmark in Dan Brown's The Da Vinci Code. I didn't remember that at the time; you can read about it here. To me, the edifice was simply huge, Baroque, and breathtaking.

We arrived at that special time of evening when the sky and the artificial light balance each other and created interesting mood-altering colors. Apparently this is the fountain of the four bishops. Makes sense, it's a church.

As I snapped this one on the run. It's way, way, way out of focus, but Lee and I both liked the perched birds. I was thinking "philosopher" rather than a man of holy orders. Anyway, I loved the birds and the memory of being here enough to include this out-of-focus photo.

One of the prominent features of the Baroque is theatricality, and our timing was right for the lighting to help promote that.

Look at the gorgeous marble in the columns. Click the photo to enlarge it if you need to.

Inside the gargantuan church, the little light that was available took over the scenario. It felt more like a darkened theatre than a church.

This is one of the paintings on the ceiling. The shape and the moulding have all the Baroque flash and flare you could want.

One of St. Sulpice's claims to fame is this huge panel by Delacroix in one of the chapels near the front doors.

Here are the four bishops again. I don't think we spent a lot of time inside; the light faded quickly.

I really loved the surrealness of the quiet square, the lighting, the huge church half shrouded in canvas, and the patterns created by the monster-sized scaffolding and switchback stairs. It was like a bizarre unadvertised art exhibit. The lights were on, the doors were open, but nobody was in attendance. Except for us.

I think you get some idea of the imposing size from here. I love the lighting.

It takes two photos from this close to get the top and the bottom of the massive structure. So that was St. Sulpice. Nice side trip. We headed back to the Rue de Rennes.

Go to Part 20