Paulette, the true mistress of our hotel, in full utilization of her skills and talents, points out to us that the time had come for us to bid farewell to Paris.
Visiting the historically and religiously prominent Abbey of Cluny. Here, we were compelled for the first time during this journey to fully recognize that France is indeed one nation under God, regardless by what title or description He is revered.
No doubt, we have landed on German soil, getting ready to depart for home.
In retrospect, the Mother of our Lord Jesus Christ, to whom we are also greatly beholden, and Saint Teotonius, the Patron Saint of our Confraternity, assured our safe return from our France excursions to peaceful Delafield, Wisconsin.
Thanks be to our Lord!
However, the Chiefs of the Princely/Ducal House Gulgowski-Doliwa had also a personal motive to visit this city, as it is also the shrine of the Eglise de Notre-Dame-de-la-Mer.
The next three photographs depict this unique, early medieval fortress-style Catholic edifice, showing also the authors of this travelogue.
When Martin Luther coined the phrase "Eine Feste Burg ist Unser Gott/An Unassailable Fortress is Our Lord," he must have undoubtedly thought of the Papal Fortress of Avignon.
The old and new Basilica Notre Dame de Fourviere constructed in the Renaissance style.
Ducal/Princely House Gulgowski-Doliwa
The Cathedral of Saint Jean in the city center. Please also notice our highly educated German-born tour guide with a fashionable red cap.
Touring Lyon by bus, we encountered several buildings, which featured window-style wall paintings.
Closer scrutiny will reveal to our esteemed viewers a portrait of French WW II Airforce Colonel and author Antoine de Saint-Exupery. Very close to him, so as he would be his own son, one can spot
"The Little Prince," who has made his literary father a worldwide revered figure of literature.
The Camargue is ruggedly beautiful yet also agriculturally most productive when supported by a system of elevated fresh water canals that keep the salty water from the Mediterranean at bay.
The most impressive bird life of this unique region is prominently represented by storks, cranes and flamingos. The next photograph depicts a stork flying alongside our tour bus.
Virtual Travel During the Corona Pandemic 2020:
Here: Royal French Palaces Near Paris.
The MS "Amadeus Diamond" (photographed above) served as our traveling home during our
Paris - Le Havre Normandy Ten-Day Seine River Cruise. The principal city of our attention during this cruise adventure was the city of Rouen, the historic location of death for Jeanne of Arc.
The pictures below require no further or only little explanations.
Left: The Greater Coat-of-Arms of the Ducal/Princely House Gulgowski-Doliwa,
The Dukes of Lower Silesia, Featuring Their Modern-Day Chivalric Decorations.
Right: The Greater Coat-of-Arms of the Historically Last Kingdom of France.
While paying our respects to the City of Beaune/Hotel Dieu, the center of one of the most prominent wine-growing regions of France (Burgundy), we also were introduced for the first time to basic French country-style living and enjoyment, as well as the early development of socialized medicine under the auspices of the Roman Catholic Church.
The Isle of Monte Cristo in the Bay of Marseille shows itself in all of its majesty and horror at the same time. This prison fortress was no vacation spot for those incarcerated there during the 19th century.
With this divine photograph of Avignon and the winding Rhone river, we say farewell to this beautiful relic of medieval French times and say hello to the ruggedly beautiful Camargue Region of Southeastern France,
As we are approaching our last anchorage prior to Marseille, the Rhone river also reveals some of France's atomic power plants. One can recognize their gigantically high cooling towers already from a distance.
In very close proximity to the Basilica Notre Dame de Fourviere, one is forced to recognize the presence of an abbreviated form of the Eiffel steel tower located in Paris. This symbolism is to induce the people who are looking up to the Fourviere Hill that the power of the modern political state eclipses that of Mother Church. It is these authors conviction that only a fool could be tricked in believing that.
The Mediterranean in all its splendor, beauty and lure. Heide's eyes are directed toward the small island of Monte Cristo, made famous by lauded author Alexandre Dumas, who also penned the "Three Musketeers." Kindly also observe the comment below pertaining to the close-up picture of the isle of Monte Cristo.
Crowns are much more than those who are entitled to wear them. They are a symbol for the entirety of a cultural whole and the idea of enlightened statesmanship.
The world-famous bridge St. Benezet welcomes our arrival in the medieval Papal city of Avignon.
The next photographs document the formidable medieval fortifications of Avignon, that, at their prominent times in history, could not be breached by any aggressor regardless the power of their wall-breaking artillery.
Returning to the MS "Gloria," securely docked on the left-hand side of the Rhone river, the co-author of this travelogue is deeply immersed in thoughts relating to the intriguing contemplations one can entertain once exposed to profound religious and spiritual impressions residing in such places as the Eglise de Notre-Dame-de-la-Mer.
Marseille and the Bay of Marseille from 160 meters height.
These ancient city walls can to this very day be solidly secured, so they may serve as dikes against the frequently re-occurring springtime floods of the nearby Rhone river.
Most of the following pictures portrait the various palaces of the medieval Popes in residence here. Our esteemed readers will undoubtedly recognize that their fortresses were unconquerable at the time.
Leaving Arles en route to Marseille, encountering many beautiful, tranquility-full sites at the banks of the Rhone river.
Taking in the sites of the fascinating city of Lyon, the city of the Lion, one is bound to recognize its imminent prominence in the areas of higher education, commerce, industry, the fine arts as well as its dedication to our Holy Mother Mary, who, from the top of her hillside, blesses the people of Lyon with the earnest admonition to be good, gentle and generous to all inhabitants and visitors.
One of the largest Mediterranean dedicated ferries we observed in the harbor of Marseille. According to our esteemed and most knowledgeable tour guide, these ferries are exceedingly popular with Moslems traveling to Morocco, Algiers and Tunisia, not just for individual security reasons, but also to show off their cars to relatives, indicating their personal successful lives in France.
The famous Camargue horses, beautiful, sturdy, enduring, strong, white in color and, when compared to other horses, lacking one set of ribs in their bone structure, probably characterize this unique region of France best.
This photograph depicts the authors of this travelogue at the stern of MS "Swiss Gloria," a wonderful river cruise vessel, manufactured in Switzerland and registered in this Alpine State. She was captained by a French gentleman and the remainder of the crew came from such diverse nations as Germany, Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria and Tunisia, who worked together in perfect harmony to provide the passengers with the utmost of comfort, convenience and outstanding service.
The following photographs highlight the "Swiss Gloria" at various stations of our voyage while offering a few glimpses of her beautifully appointed interior.
The livestock money maker of this region, that was also greatly favored by Vincent van Gogh, is the Camargue steer, an attempted genetic reconstruction of the ancient aurochs that in many ways resembles the Black Angus cattle of the American Midwest. The men who have managed to properly and safely herd this very spirited breed are known as gardians, who can hold their own when compared to the South American Gaucho and the North American Cowboy.
The picture of the unencumbered "nature boy," on the unused fourth cooling tower of the photograph, is to suggest that atomic energy is totally safe and cannot hurt anyone. May this be a prayer to
Almighty God to make it so.
The following photographs depict the sarcophagi of the Saintly Ladies discussed above. The smaller of the two is that of Sarah, by all persuasion of cause and effect reasoning the daughter of Jesus Christ.
Arrival at the City of Macon. The next morning would provide us with a most unusual sight.
As evening approaches, so does the mighty harbor of Marseille. Please notice the ocean-going vessels in the background of this photograph. We have reached the Mediterranean Sea. Tomorrow, we shall visit the City of Marseille, World Culture City of 2013.
Saint Exupery Airport near Lyon. Its buildings largely resemble the form of an airplane.
Here we had to bid farewell to France. We are grateful to this great Catholic nation for having been our gracious and most beneficial host. God bless France!
Exploring Southeastern France Via the Saone/Rhone Rivers,
Providing Particular Attention to Our Vessel MS "Swiss Gloria," Macon,
The Cluny Abbey, The Wine City of Beaune, Lyon, Avignon, The Camargue Region of France, The Catholic Shrine of Notre-Dame-de-la-Mer and Marseille. Our Seine River Cruise 2019 is Located at the End.
Authored and Photographed by:
H.M.S.H. Prof. Dr. Paul W. Prince Gulgowski-Doliwa, Duke of Lower Silesia
and
H.M.S.H. Dame Heide Princess Gulgowski-Doliwa, Duchess of Lower Silesia.
Heide at the footsteps leading to the Basilica "Notre Dame" on the hill above Marseille.
The Camargue regional municipal entity is the provincial city of Saintes-Maries-de-La Mer, which has taken pride in heralding both, the Camargue white horses and the black cattle as documented by the two pictures above.
The saintly edifice above attests to the facts that are written in the New Testament of the Catholic Bible in as much as what happened specifically to Maria Magdalene and the child of Jesus that she carried in her womb, when the Son of God was dragged away by the soldiers of the Temple before the high priests thereof surrendered Him to the Romans.
Maria Magdalene, Maria Jakobaea (sister of the Virgin) and Maria Salome (mother of the Apostles John and Jacob) fled out of Palestine to seek refuge in the Mediterranean area not yet completely under Roman control, which was Gaulle (present-day France). They found security from the pursuit of Roman oppression in a small village, which today is known as Saintes Maries-de-la-Mer, part of which is depicted below. Here, Maria Magdalene gave birth to a healthy baby girl by the name of Sarah, Jesus' daughter (or so the saga goes ....).
Strangely, but not totally surprising, in one of the building facilities of the Hotel Dieu hospital, we located the traditional rendition of the Polish Battle Clan Doliwa coat-of-arms, which also adorns our very own coat-of-arms.
The center of Marseille. Previously harbor- to ocean-going vessels, now anchorage to hundreds of pleasure boats and yachts from all over the world.
On top of this photograph, still quite a distance away, presides in 160 meter heights the Basilica "Notre Dame," our destination for this day.
Martine. The ultimate of tour guides: charming, enlightening, beautiful, witty, humorous, knowledgeable and most of all, tremendously entertaining.
We wish her all the happiness in the world :-).
Opposite to the Mediterranean transit harbor, our eyesight was pleased with viewing the Sainte Marie-Majeure de Marseille cathedral, which was built in the middle of the 19th century through the initiatives of Emperor Napoleon III.
When in France, one is compelled to note that most prominent houses of God are dedicated to St. Mary.