PEOPLE | SHOWS & EXHIBITIONS | PLACES

27th July Road Trip to Lourdes Manchester to La Rochelle to San Sebastian to Lourdes

We travelled by car to Dover then by ferry to Calais. From Calais to La Rochelle. I began to remember all of the French that I had learnt in school. It was really useful... je voudrais une pain au chocolat. I realised that I might have to get used to asking for things because of the fabrics shops that we were going to be stopping at in Paris on the way back from Lourdes. We went to La Rochelle and stayed in a Fasthotel there. The architecture in this coastal town really fascinated me, tall buildings that are curvacious forming warm and exuberant pathways; makes it feel like an adventure. The ice-cream parlours were two shops wide H ahve never seen so much. In the evening the town filled with tourists and street theatre, artists, dancers and market stalls appeared. A lively and youthful atmosphere, where many cultures were celebrated. We walked back past the marina full of yachts and fishing boats, klinking on the dark water. There was a carousel which reminded me of an experience I had as a small child. Riding a carousel in a fierce storm.

The next day we travelled down the coast into the very top of Espania to San Sebastian. When we entered the town it had a very different vibe to it, much more relaxed. It is reknowned for its surf and there were a lot of surfers in the hostel that we were in. When sat on the beach we could see a Sacred Heart statue on a hillside looking over the town. I find this quite different to Christian Britain where there are no indications of religion; Spain is proud of their Catholicism, why can't Britain be proud too?
The bakeries in the streets beside the sea smelt beautiful. We went to see the square where people watch the Bull racing from their balconies. The tapas bars were littered with white tissues on the floor, and the potato croquettes tasted divine. There were a few little fashion boutiques, one in particular took my interest. It had very feminine headresses in the window and stocked brands that I recognised from the UK. I also noted, in the surfer shops, that there was a broader aesthetic to Quiksilver than we see here in the UK. There are fashion based filter lines which use eco-fabrics. If they do not stock this range in the UK then I think they are underestimating their range and the British consumer.
There was a jazz festival that we stumbled across, Jamie Cullen was playing the mainstage inside the msin hall but there was a little outdoor stage which we sat and watched. The churches in Spain are like nothing that you have ever seen. I recall as a child not liking going inside because the statues were dressed in real cloth. Unfortunately we couldn't go inside this one due to renovation; but just from the outside you can see that its intent is a gift of talents to the mother church. So immense a building it is humbling and slightly intimidating. San Sebastian a beautiful seaside town, definitely return one day.

Our trip to Lourdes the next day was short, only two and half hours in the car. Usually it is a 23hour trip over land and sea. I prefer spreading it out and getting some rest before a strenuous week of volunteering and socialising.
After a week of great weather in Lourdes we headed up through Claremont Ferrand to Paris. We stopped in a small town called Nevers, where Saint Bernadette from the story f Lourdes is interred. Her corpse is on display in a Gold and glass casket. She passed away as a Sister of Nevers in 1897. Her body was exumed to find it completely incorrupt. I went into the chapel where she was laid, and at first it all seemed very normal there were a few tourists in the building besides our small group. I went and knelt down to say and prayer in front of the body and stared at her face. I watched her chest waiting for her to breath and realised that this was not going to happen. This made me feel uneasy, I had to move away; it all became very real - I was looking at a canonised Saint. I felt uneasy about this as saints are always thought of above this world; I found this reality hard to comprehend. Above all of this, it was the first dead body that I have ever encountered. There was an unexplicable atmosphere to the chapel, similar to that of Lourdes; but the difference is I don't think I will be returning to Nevers.

We arrived in Paris after navigating the Peripherique.We were staying in the Montmartre, a ten minute walk from Sacre Couer and the Montmartre itself. The first night we were there we went to de Basilique de Sacre Coeur. I found this building astonishing. The interior was so lavishly decorating embroiled in gold leaf everywhere you look. The dome above the altar held a scene with God his saints angels and of course his son. It was mesmerising to look at; almost hypnotical. Made you feel dizzy after looking for a while. A beautiful building overlooking Paris. The white stone exterior made it look like a doorway to heaven. After this we wandered around the Montmartre and had a Crepe du Chocolat. There were a lot of artists on the streets, it reminded me a little of La Rochelle but in a more suburban atmosphere and on a much bigger scale. After this we journeyed down to the Chanselise. The arch was all lit up and it looked beautiful. We wandered down the main street and I started to notice all of the Fashion boutiques on one side. I saw the Louis Vuitton flagship store, it was quite impressive.
We then made our way, across the metro to the Eiffel Tower. I never found this building that impressive, but when I saw it I could see why there is such hype over it. I'm glad we went at night, it was beautifully lit up; we lay down on the floor underneath to take a picture. When you lie down you understand the scale of the structure and how impossible a task it may have seemed when it was originally erected. We walked towards the Military School at the bottom of the green.

The next morning I ventured into the fabric shops in the Montmartre; to Tissus Reine, Paris Tissus, Marche St. Pierre, Tissus Molene. There are floors and floors of fabrics, most of the fashion fabrics were on the ground floor. Coupons mean's precut lengths usually around 3 metres. There were fabric shops that were purely precut lengths, I avoided these shops. My favourite shop was Paris Tissus, it was stacked to the ceilings full of of different kinds of wool - some super 90's from Huddersfield, which made me laugh. There were beautifully coloured silk chiffons; it made you feel as though you were in a cave of fabric. Slightly intimidating especially when you are unsure what you want but I would definitely return there. My second favourite fabric shop in the MontMartre which was good for shirtings, cottons and suitings was Tissus Reine. I bought some shirtings and a Liberty print also. There was a great range of colours in the shops. I took lots of pictures whilst I was there and I'm glad I did now- I have documented all the different types of fabrics that I could get from there.

After the fabric shops we went to Notre Dame. I found this a truly gothic experience. The stain glass windows were something to behold. All of the altar was black; you can come to believe why people were so scared of the church in their tachings of heaven and hell in the medieval era and onwards. There were chandeliers on the floor being cleaned which were highly decorated. The difference between Sacre Coeur and Notre Dame couldn't be more distinguishable; if you didn't know that they were both Catholic churches you might think they weren't the same religion.

We then went onto the Louvre. I expected the glass prism to be more spectular than it was; much bigger. I did enjoy it and found it interesting that we were in the same place that the aristocracy were removed from in the French Revolution. From there we travelled across Paris to find the Pompadou Art Gallery. I loved this building. The inside-out and modern nature of this building gave a sharp contrast to other traditional Parisian buildings we had seen. There was a Kandinsky exhibition on at the gallery. I loved the exposed escalator entrance of the building and the air vents which were on the other side of the courtyard.

Also I noticed all over Paris, the pay as you go bicycles that are available on the streets. I love this idea and think it should be adopted by British cities, such as London and Manchester to encourage people to use alternative forms of transport. After that we journeyed to the Saint Sulpice, where the Rose Line presides. A huge and dramatic church, a very gothic experience. It was in the Da Vinci Code, written and filmed. It was interesting to see the church, a small plaque explained the links between the Rose Line and astronomy, not of the sacred blood line. Although this church wasn't as gothic as Notre Dame in it's furnishings, it was far more haunting; very dark and atmospheric. After seeing the Saint Sulpice we returned up to the MontMartre collected the car and drove towards Calais, where our ferry awaited us.
It was my first visit to Paris and I have to say it was one of my favourite cities I have ever been to. very different to New York and London, steeped in history and full of energy. I would love to return there, next time for longer and be able to go to exhibitions and boutiques.
I love France. I have been there about 20 times but never seem to get bored of the suroundings. It's a beautiful country ; one which I think you could discover something new about everytime you travelled there.