Rivers of France ...

… I’m taking a longer stopover in the city of Vendôme on my journey along the river Le Loir.  Come and join me as I do some more exploring …

 
First things first, and that means a trip to the boulangerie - Epi d’Or - in the market place.  I’ve been so often whilst I’ve been here that Madame now recognises me.  She tries to guess what I want today.  I’ve espied another favourite, and in preference to the offered tarte-au-citron I ask for a Mille Feuille instead. With lunch all packaged and paid for, it’s a short walk back towards the Abbaye de la Trinité.  The magnificent church sits at the top of rue de l’Abbaye.  Built in the gothique flamboyant style it is a magnificent piece of architecture which dominates the skyline when viewed from above and overshadows the town from within.  The main entrance to the abbey is reached by a couple of steps and is flanked by an ornate arch and window.  This façade was completed in 1508 by Master Mason Jean Texier who is usually referred to as Jean de Beauce – Beauce being a region in north-central France situated between the rivers Seine and  La Loire.  It covers one modern-day département and parts of three others.  Texier and his sculptors have left behind one of the most imposing pieces of stonework that I have thus far seen in France.
Inside, the vaulting – constructed in the eleventh and twelfth centuries – sits alongside much older Roman.  The original building here was founded by Count Geoffroy 1 in 1033.  From the eleventh century, the abbot of the Benedictine monastery bore the title of Cardinal.  This link to Rome provided the establishment with certain powers and independence.  It was a privilege that lasted until the revolution - that’s almost eight hundred years.
The stained glass windows and ornately carved choir stalls all date from the sixteenth century.  In its time this place has been changed, enhanced and rebuilt, leaving us with a mixture of history in the walls and accoutrements that are around us.
From the Middle Ages right through to the eighteenth century, merchants could pay money to the abbey for the right to sell their reliquary, religious trinkets and images, candles and birds to whoever came in.  Today, the abbey is calm, a cool refuge from a strong sun, and very quiet.

As I leave the abbey and walk back to the campsite I see that the predicted event at the memorial garden is about to take place.  The road is closed off.  There’s a throng of people, some in uniform, and there’s a flame burning at the foot of the war memorial.  In a few moments, a small cohort of marching elderly men, their backs perhaps not quite as straight as they used to be, but their regimental berets and medals worn with precision and pride, take their place at one side of memorial.
I quickly do the maths in my head and realise it’s eighty years since the liberation.  There are speeches, wreaths are laid, and the Marseillaise is sung.  I wonder in how many other little towns and cities across France similar events will be taking place over the summer …
 
If you enjoyed this post, you might also like to read my earlier posts from Le Loir  Châteaudun and my previous post from Vendôme  There will be more from Le Loir next month.