Gloucester Cathedral & City Break

Not all city breaks require a trip to the airport, right?  Sometimes a road trip is in order and England has plenty to see and do.  Gloucester offers a cathedral, a city center and a revitalized Victorian port to explore.  It's only a 2.5 hour drive from London so it's an easy one.  Gloucester is in Gloucestershire, neither of which is pronounced like it looks.  Kind of like Worcestershire sauce.  It's "glaw-ster"  and the county is pronounced kind of like "glaw-sta-sher".  Matt will probably tell me this is still completely wrong because of the American accent in the mix, but it's close enough.

Ghent's Saint Bavo Cathedral

Doh!  Remind me to never post cryptic messages on my blog again.

At least not without explaining in full to my mom first.  I woke up to three emails demanding details.  

It's nothing really.  We're moving house in London soon and

are REALLY looking forward to less than a 3 hour commute each day.

Y'all seemed to really like the Ghent photographs.

Thanks for the comments and social media love.

It's a fantastic place and you have to go there!

Here are a few more pics from the Saint Bavo Cathedral.

Visiting a massive gothic cathedral just never gets old, does it?

I hope you all are having a wonderful week.

I'm so enjoying this beautiful London weather and the long days are good for my soul.

Where is your favorite cathedral?

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La Sagrada Familia

When we decided to spend a few extra days in Barcelona,

I sent out a tweet asking for suggestions on what to do and see.

La Sagrada Familia was the most popular answer to my question.

I now I see why.  It's unlike anything I've ever seen before.

La Sagrada Familia was Gaudi's passion.

He was brought to the project early on in 1883 and it was his life's work until his death in 1926.

Almost a century later, the amazing Basilica is still not complete.

Over the past 100 years the project has faced many stops and starts, trouble with funding, destruction during political unrest, influence from various other artists and some areas are already in need of restoration.

Construction continues today and they hope to have it completed for the 100th anniversary of Gaudi's death.

La Sagrada Familia is synonymous with Gaudi,

but your first sight of the cathedral is the Passion Facade and is the work of a different man.

The sharp, gaunt figures are the work of Josef Maria Subirachs in the mid 1900's.

And are very different from the nature-inspired curves that Gaudi is known for.

It's beautiful and haunting, telling the story of the Passion of Christ.

The Basilica is visited by almost three million people each year that all enter through the Passion Facade.

When you step into this massive space, it takes your breath away.

It's like walking through a stone forest with a canopy of branches soaring high above your head.

The light is dappled as it shines down through the brightly colored windows.

You can't look anywhere but up.  This is Gaudi and it's otherworldly.

 

While we were there they were placing some of the stained glass panels.

 I can only imagine what it will look like once the transformation is complete.

 

 

The Nativity Facade was finished in 1930 and was the first to be completed.

It is fantastical and much more reminiscent of Gaudi's style.

It almost looks likes it's just grown out of the stone.

I suggest that you pre-purchase your tickets online.  (We didn't take that advice.)

We had to wait in line about twenty minutes but during the peak hours the wait can be longer.

Admission to the Basilica is €14.80.
There are additional costs to visit the Towers and the Museum and to get an audio-guide.

We didn't go up into the towers but found the audio guide and the museum great additions to the visit.

If you visit Barcelona, a visit to La Sagrada Familia is an absolute must.

I want to go back and see it again when it is complete.

Have you been to the Sagrada Familia?  What did you think?

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Champagne Wishes

After our stay in both Ypres and Luxembourg (via the Eurotunnel), it was time to make our way to the Champagne District of France.  This is where we met up with our friends, Sarah and Stephen,
to enjoy lots and lots of that bubbly stuff.

When I started editing my photos to tell you about Reims and Epernay, the two places we visited, I realized that I didn't actually have very many photographs of the cities.  All of my pictures are of Champagne and everything that goes along with it.  And I'm saving those for later posts about the specific houses that we visited.

You'll just have to take my word that they are both beautiful cities.

We stayed two nights in Reims and spent our time strolling around, visiting the Champagne Houses and experiencing the wonderful French food on offer.

(I also managed to find some really good fajitas which was a treat.)

I won't even tell you how many plates of Steak Tartare were consumed by the guys

 and glasses of Champagne by the girls. I'll just tell you it ranks right up there with our best trips.

I love traveling with my Englishman,

but add another Texan and a Canadian to the Champagne cocktail and things get fun!

I couldn't leave you hanging on the photos, so as we were leaving Reims

I insisted that Matt stop just long enough for me to take some pictures of one site.

We had every intention of visiting the Notre-Dame de Reims, but somehow never got around to it (hiccup).  

Big mistake!

I grabbed the camera and while Matt was double parked, ran around taking pictures for just a few minutes.  

This 800 year old Cathedral where French Kings were crowned is one of the most beautiful that I've seen.

I wasn't going to venture inside, just get some quick shots of the exterior.  But I couldn't resist. 

Even at the risk of Matt honking the horn for me to hurry, I'm so glad that I did.

It took my breath away.  I looked up and it seemed as if the ceiling was miles away.  There are windows high up and with the natural sunlight shining through gives the soaring space a hazy, ethereal quality.

If felt like stepping back through the mists of time.  I wondered if Matt would still be waiting for me when I exited, or if maybe I would be greeted by medieval clerics.

If you've been following me for awhile, you know how much I love gargoyles and grotesques.  This cathedral wins the prize for the most interesting ones I've seen so far.
Rhinos and donkeys and ... warthogs? Oh, my. The level of detail is mesmerizing.

 

 I wish we had taken more time to visit.  Looks like we will just have to go back.
Soon.
 
My next several posts will be about the four Champagne houses we visited

and what we learned about the process of making the bubbly stuff.

Take a quick look at this 38 second video...

In future travels, I want to start incorporating video

and this is my very first, very amateur attempt.

I have so much to learn!

Hope you are having a lovely bubbly weekend!!  

My Champagne House Reviews:
Moët & Chandon
Castellane
Taittinger
G.H. Mumm


 

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