I first stayed here a four of five years ago, a one-night stop-over between trains, in mid-October. I stayed in an old-fashioned hotel in the old town, I remember wandering around on a Sunday night looking for a restaurant, everywhere closed, finally ate dinner in a bistro on the Cathedral Square. It was the only place open, very nice, bavette, chips, beer.
Now I’m staying in the newer part of town, but the whole place has been transformed, there are still roadworks all over town. They seem to be transforming it from an industrial centre (eg HQ and factory of Michelin tyres) into a tourist/university town. Lovely trolley-bus system, cycle-lanes. The old town has new paving, the Cathedral square is surrounded by restaurants and bars, even on Sunday I’m sure, new tourist office, etc. etc.
The museum is closed for refurbishment, the phtography gallery in an ancient building is closed between exhibitions, at least the park is open …
The other main attractions are the two churches. The cathedral is a forbidding gothic pile built of blach roch, quite ugly, but with some great stained glass, a small sample: two windows done around 1980. One either side of the west entrance.
Genesis on one side with Eve being pulled from Adam’s rib, and reaching for the problematic apple then …
The apocalypse on the other side, with the four horsemen
And a blonde whore of babylon in a fetching purple dress on a seven-headed beast “with ten horns”.
The other church is the romanesque “Notre Dame de port” The port being the warehouse area of town, not a river or sea port. It is the starting point for one of the st Jaques de Compostella” routes and has a kind of shrine for the purpose
It also has an Adam-and-Eve window …
But it’s main attraction is the little wooden statue which may cure your ills if you come and pray to it, you almost can’t see it on it’s decorative surround.
And it has some interesting carvings, which are shown most clearly on postcards, 50p each …
Adam and Eve again, it looks to me as though the archangel is expelling the couple from Eden by pulling Adam’s beard, while Adam pulls Eve’s hair. Adam has a casual way with the fig-leaf.
More beard-pulling going on here, don’t know what it’s about.
Best moment
Standing in the que at a supermarket checkout the aged lady in front of me, dressed in a frilly blouse, blue mackintosh and skinny jeans, picked up a small carton of creme fraich and leaned confidentially towards me. She whispered, “these are one euro twenty-five in Lidl but only 85 cents here”. I hope I expressed a suitable level of astonishment and admiration for her bargain-hunting prowess.