I left the house, and sadly the weather was grey and misty, but even then, it was not any sort of impending rain. The view was pretty great. Her house is on a steep hill overlooking a gorge that is home to the old part of the city and the river that cuts through. But, I would get there later, so headed up the 200+ steps to the main street level.
Here I headed back to the train station, which was only a few minutes walk. Here I had one of the easier times finding where I needed to be to book my next train ticket. This all went smoothly, (except there was one small misunderstanding...but that wont come until tomorrow...yes...I can see the future).
With ticket in hand... I still had about an hour and a half before noon. Noon was important because Ellen's kids return home for lunch then, and I planned to join them. But, in the meantime, I walked along the street that ran along the edge of the top of the gorge and made my way to the Cathedral of St Nicholas. I could just refer to it as THE cathedral, as its really the only one and its visible from anywhere in the city. That said... I made my way there without too much trouble.
The cathedral was pretty cool. Its front was home to a massively looming tower (which made it visible from anywhere). Its design on the outside was relatively simple, but its sheer size compared to local buildings made it quite impressive. Inside was also nice. I particularly liked the stains glass, which I felt used large pictures of scenes as opposed to some which use many tiny pictures all at once. I thought it made them simpler, and thus easier to 'read'. Each chapel along the sides also housed a small marble altar, each one I though was quite pretty and something I do not usually see in smaller cathedrals. There were a few lamp stands however, that had ... interesting portrays of what I interpreted as 'damned souls'... It was odd and I could be wrong on that, so I'm open to corrections.
Lastly, I had hoped to climb the 368 steps to the top of the tower, but could not find where. So, I attempted to ask but said person spoke no english. I then felt very pleased with what I did. I'd found an english pamphlet that read "climb the 368 steps..." So, I then found a french pamphlet and pointed where I knew the phrase was. This was successful, but to no avail. He led me around a corner to a sign that beheld the word 'closed'. Sadface...
Leaving the cathedral I heads back to the house for lunch with Anouk and Julien. They have a woman (who's name is escaping me) help them in the afternoons and she made lunch. It was quite delicious. Then, I talked with the other two about their school setup and life in general, and it was a fun talk.
After lunch I headed out on my walk to explore the old town. Unfortunately, I know the names of no rivers, buildings or bridges... so details will be somewhat lacking. But, I spent the rest of my afternoon weaving my way back and forth through the different 'levels' of the old town. The old town flanks the main curve of the river that makes the gorge. So, the buildings can be found running down the steer slope on either side of the gorge. At the bottom the ground levels off and buildings can be found leading out on a small peninsula towards the curve. Meanwhile, there were lots of bridges, all at different heights crossing the gorge.
So, my walk took we first along the ridge on the main side of the river. I made my way to one of the high bridges, crossed, and looped back along the ridge at the opposite side. This took me across the largest bridge (that I'm aware of) in the city. From there the roads I was following wound back down into the lower section of the old city, which was a maze of old buildings, back alleys, and cobblestone roads. It was a lot of fun to wander. My favorite part here was the soccer field I walked around. It sat directly at the point of the peninsular, so had river on 3 sides. Awesome location... though I bet a lot of balls go swimming...
I then crossed the river a few more times before finding my way back up the face of the gorge on the other side. All in all, the old town was great, and it was just fun to see all the old architectures and old streets... and it just felt old... in a good way. But, I then changed track and headed to the newer part of the city where I did a bit of shopping (specifically for some pastries). This was successful, to put it in 1 word.
I then returned to the house as afternoon turned to evening. There I was soon joined by both Anouk and Julien. The housekeeper (again, I forget her name) Put a chicken in around 6, which Anouk and I took out at 7 to eat. We then made some spaghetti and I sautèd some veggies, as I'm like to do. Then came the problem of carving the bird... which I had never done and the other two didn't want to. So... I must now give props to my dear brother... as he is very good at that, and I am... not so good, and did not appreciate that its sort of a pain. That said, I think it came out just fine. And dinner was delicious. Afterwards, Anouk and I did some cleaning and put away extra food, including stripping the bird so the bones could make soup.
Ellen got back a bit later, as she had a late class. She had the rest of dinner that we had, and we got out the pastries for dessert. All in all, it was a fun evening to cap a fun day. Off to bed at that point, where I actually found myself remarkably tired and had no trouble falling asleep (not only can I see the future but I can blog in my sleep!).
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