Views from Everywhere: church

Tuesday, May 19, 2015

Entertaining visitors two

Friday morning was more of a catch-up-on-jet-lag and a late start.

Back down in Martigny the weather was not at all the beautiful sunny day of the day before (which had been predicted) so we drove again around to get the various views and more folklore in the Old Town as well as exploring the local cemetery before grabbing a bite to eat cafeteria style at one of my favorite places.

Vineyards on the hillside

Sign on a restaurant in the "Bourg"

whimsical balconies again in the "Bourg"

details on a tombstone

Then it was off to one of my favorite museums: The Giannada.

This time I concentrated more on the car museum bit as had already seen the current exhibition, but F took it all in.

Horn on the Turicum

The PicPic

Shell gas pump

Ford Model T

Lizard on the huge crystal in the museum

I also had to drop him at the Protestant temple for a look at the Erni windows then decided that I had to see the Catholic Chapel with the stained glass windows of Father Kim en Joong from Korea (when Leonard Giannada ordered the ones from Hans Erni for the Protestant Temple the city fathers wanted to know what he was going to do for the Catholics: this was his reply).

The Catholic Chapel at La Batiaz

Flower beds behind the chapel

It was rainy all day with snow down to around the 1’000 meter level so beautiful in the background.

The main Catholic church in Martigny with snow on the hillsides

Up in the village of Les Marécottes is stuck

From out of the restaurant window

More of same

With the clouds clearing in time for me to get a shot of Les Dents de Morcles, Fondue next door made a fitting dinner and end to the day.

nothing like a fondue as winter reappears!

Les Dents de Morcle in the setting sun

Wednesday, February 25, 2015

Spontaneity and Playing hooky

I know that I have mentioned that word – spontaneity – as being my leitmotif for this year. After the rain yesterday, we again awoke to a most gorgeous beautiful-blue-sky kind of day. I was so not motivated to get back to work on my taxes that when a friend called enquiring as to what my plans were for the day, I replied: “nothing, whatever you want to propose”!

Ten minutes later we were off to France and a mountain resort that, believe it or not, I had never visited.

Megève is well known to those with money to burn or a wish to hang out with the upper echelons, there are even flags pointing out the Michelin starred chefs. However, there are also the more classic attractions: a wonderful church, St. Jean the Baptist whose construction corresponds to three different periods (XIVth, XVIIth and XIX centuries). The St. Anne chapel next door was started in 1500, the church itself “only” in the early 1600s.

St.Jean the Baptist church in Megève

Then there were the local “taxis” – horse drawn carriages, each one unique in its decoration.

rear of one wooden sleigh

rear of another wooden sleigh

Shadows and light, a typical-to-the-region lunch, mountain peaks playing with the clouds, warmth in the sun and not too many crowds made for a most pleasant day of playing hooky. Tomorrow will suffice to get back to the duties that call.