Limoges

We loved Limoges!  It's a big city, bigger than what we look for when we want to rent a house, but the city has beautiful architecture and a vibrancy that you don't find in smaller centres.  Lots of working people wearing suits and carrying satchels, all determined to get somewhere fast.

 

The capital of the Limousin has two hearts: the old Cité and the rival château on an adjacent rise, now the commercial center of the modern city.  The Cité was ravaged by the Black Prince during the Hundred Years' War and today is a quiet place of half-timbered houses and narrow streets.  We limited our visit to the Quartier Historique du "Château."

 

 

Karl even found a hobby store with models of trains, boats and planes - and quad-copters!  I could have lost him here for a few hours, but I dragged him away.

 

We visited "Église Saint-Pierre" and thought it was the most beautiful church we've seen on this trip.  What incredible stained glass!  There is the Cathédrale Saint-Étienne which may well be more spectacular, but we didn't go in that corner of the city.  Too much to see in one day!

 

 

          Large pipe organ.

 

 








It had a statue of St. Antoine and a reliquary of sacred bones.












Pavillon du Vendurier

A big shopping centre "Lafayette", just like in Paris.

The weather has been fickle with very rainy days followed by sun-filled days.  Today was about 24*, but in the sun with the reflection from the white walls, it was closer to 30*.  We soon had to strip a few layers!

 

We stopped for lunch in the Italian sector on rue Charles-Michels, at "Les Gondols".  Not far away was the San Marco Ristorante and a few steps further yet, a pizzeria.  It all felt very "movie set".  When I went inside the restaurant, I noticed about five very serious men sitting together at a corner table, no doubt "their table".  One man was wearing a black shirt and had slicked back hair.  Were they actors?  Looked very authentic.

 As our waiter was bringing us bread, his cell phone rang.  The ring tone was the theme music from "The Godfather".  Karl and I burst out laughing, thinking it was all very surreal!

Very romantic crackers!

I had the veal scallopini with ham and mozzarella cheese in a mushroom sauce, a pistou (not pesto) taglatelle and baked tomato.  The food was definitely authentic Italian!

Karl had the veal scallopini with eggplant and Sicilian sauce, tomato taglatelle and baked tomato.

One of the BEST tiramisù, bar none!

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It was not until the 1770s that Limoges became synonymous with porcelain.  The legendary local ware is on display at the superb Musée National Adrien-Dubouché.

 



This creative piece of art is in the front courtyard of the Museum

Can you see the water jets coming out of this porcelain head fountain?  It's called "The Source".  Think about it.  Very clever.

In front of the museum, "Une Suite" highlights contemporary ceramic art.  The monumental white concrete stele is covered with 600 enamelled porcelain bowls.

This section presents the stages of ceramic manufacturing.  Period machines, illustrating the industrial heritage of Limoges, are displayed alongside contemporary designs.  It helped that we watched a 20-minute film that explained everything before starting out on the museum tour.

This soup tureen is made in pieces before being assembled. 

Very delicate and specific tools.

Moulds.

The colour palette.

The 12 stages of producing a quality plate setting!  No wonder these dishes are so expensive.

There are also "stickers" that are added for certain patterns, then put through a series of steps to ensure that everything is integral.  Fascinating.

More than 10,000 exhibits trace the history of ceramics in this Museum, 3 storeys packed full of pieces. 

 

For centuries, China was the only country to manufacture porcelain.

Faience, or tin-glazed earthenware, was immensely popular in Europe during the XVIIth - XVIIIth centuries.



La liseuse (The reader)

Art Nouveau.

Contemporary Design (kimonos)

Porcelain dolls, usually just heads and hands, sometimes feet.

The high point of the displays would be the Grain de riz (rice grain) service, shown in the Salon d'honneur, the epitome of XIXth century Limoges craftsmanship.

 

The many contemporary designs illustrate the vitality of Limoges porcelain in tableware as well as in fine arts.

This is the Museum's latest acquisition, a quill and ink holder with a chestnut (chataigne) centre.

 

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Even after leaving the museum, the streets are filled with stores that sell various pieces of porcelain.

Then there are the stores that repair damaged porcelain.

An antique music box.

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We weren't too hungry when we got home, so we just opened a "pétillant" (think pink champagne) from Saumur to accompany a plate of baguette slices, cherry tomatoes, lucques olives and Comté cheese.  Delicious!

An absolutely wonderful day!

 

 

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