Poitiers

Out the door just after halftime during the Super 15 final which I had been following on the NZ Herald website to start a walking tour of the historic areas of Poitiers

Were we going to regret it when the heat was turned on, time would tell!

To get to the first site we had to climb a series of stairs and by the time we stood outside Saint Hilaire Le Grand Church it was pouring off us

This church was built in 1049, having been burnt down twice before

It is an UNESCO World Heritage site and it is regarded as a remarkable example of Romanesque architecture

Onto the Hotel Ville (otherwise called the Town Hall) which sat at the head of an impressive square

Then across the city to Baptistry of Saint-Jean and the adjacent Saint-Pierre Cathedral neither of which were open.

The Baptistry dates from the 5th century and is one of Europe's few remaining examples from the Christian Era, while the Cathedral (1150) is renowned for its twelfth century stained glass windows

Nearby was the Church of Saint-Radegonde which houses the tomb of Radegund the founder of the first female monastery in the city in the sixth century

By this time the temperature was getting up and we returned to the central city to find an air conditioned shop to cool down

After hitting the beat again we only had energy to go past the Statute of Liberty Poitiers style before shuffling our way back to our digs having put over 13 kms on the clock

We will venture out again later for an evening meal

Some observations:

The world is on sale - retailers in every place we have been to are selling stock at reduced prices

The UK has embraced the E-cigarette while the French still can't resist the traditional cancer stick

If you dog does number twos on the street you are not obliged to clean up - well that is how it seems

It is interesting watching French people great each other with their kiss on each cheek tradition - it is even more interesting watching a group of them meeting with another group as they double cheek kiss each other - so the question to be answered is how many kisses are there when 10 French people meet up with another group of 10?

Congratulations to the Southern men for their S15 victory leaving the Hurricanes as the only NZ franchise never to have won the Super trophy:)

 

 

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