The Abbey in Cluny

It was going to be a gray day so Mimi and I decided to avoid landscapes and instead visit the Abbey in Cluny, or rather what still remains of the Abbey. Until Saint Peter’s Cathedral was rebuilt in Rome, the Cluny Abbey was the largest church in Christendom. 

Above is a wooden model of the completed cathedral. All that remains today are the two towers the model shows with gold roofs and a few other smaller sections. Here’s one door that still exists…

The ornate sculpture below was probably above some door because the little leaves at the bottom continue to be carved underneath.

And here are the two existing towers. They look tall and imposing, yet they weren’t the tallest towers of the cathedral…

 …which is easily seen in this next model. The existing towers are in the back right corner and painted in a light gray.

I sat on the floor in a far corner to get this shot, trying to show the height of the few still existing arches. Mimi and I weren’t part of any group. People walked past and didn’t notice me, except for the grumpy faced tour guide who ever so briefly cracked a smile. 

Then we  stepped outside where a couple of columns still exist along with the bases of missing columns. There is a cool machine that can be moved in a complete circle and shows what had once existed in every direction. 

In a couple of the pictures I try to show what is actually there as well as what was once there.

There was a tiny room with this window and then we wandered on to the cloisters. 

An engineering school is attached to part of the old Abbey. 

They have X shaped walkways with these rounded gardens at the center intersection…sort of a bowl garden without the bowl.

I sent Mimi off to see the old storage building since I’ve been in it several times, while I stopped to smell the roses.

By this time the tourist office had reopened (closed from noon to 2 for lunch, which is traditionally the biggest meal of the day). We picked up a couple of maps of Cluny and then Mimi bought her ticket to climb the “cheese” tower while I sat outside in the sun with her backpack. The tulip tree across the way caught my eye.

A young man with a rolling suitcase kept watching me from across the street. He came over, but apparently just wanted to know where I’d gotten the map. 

Then from around the corner came a very happy fellow who had ovbiously been drinking more than just the can he was holding. He kept laughing and talking to me and, in hopes of sending him on his way, I said, “Mon amie” and pointed to the tower behind me. That just created gales of laughter, but he finally wandered off. 

Mimi returned and was taking a picture of the tower when around the corner came another fellow! He was convinced she wanted a picture of him! And here’s the result…  

It was time to hurry home so we could buy our fresh veggies from Pierre and Matilde who manage the local vegetable garden and set up each Thursday late afternoon so all the local folk can get their week’s supply.

I don't know their dog's name, but that's Pierre helping Mireille, the potter, fill her bags. 

She had walked down the hill and I knew Noel was off with their car so I stuck around to give her a lift. 

At the Cluny market on Saturday I took a few more pictures of the Abbey...

There are those 2 towers.... In the other direction are a series of stairs and 

then a few arches. All of which was once inside the Abbey.

It's hard to believe how mammoth that building was.