Poitiers

+The facade of the Romanesque XI C Eglise Notre-Dame-la-Grande has recently been cleaned but not repainted as only traces of the original colour remain.
+Amazingly the interior does retain its paintwork and certainly impresses the eye. Apparently most churches used to be decorated similarly in the Middle Ages and I can't help wondering of the effect had some of the big ones - like Reims - been similarly decorated.
+As I strolled amongst the lanes were the butchers hung out, ( Noble butchers = beef, pork, veal, mutton, common butchers had a separate lane,) I came across an American tourist in the aptly named Place de la Liberte. This used to be the home of Madame, La Guillotine who entertained the rebellious General Jean Baptiste Breton in 1822 here, by command of Louise XVII. He died yelling "Liberte" and the square has been known thus ever since.
+The Black Prince would certainly recognise the "sale des Pas Perdus" in what remains of the Palais des Compte de Poitiers. This magnificent hall with its XIIth C roof intact has seen many things: Richard the Lionheart was proclaimed Duke of Anjou here and later the delusional Jean d'Arc appeared before the university doctors. Really though, people were drawn to the room because it contains the 3 largest fireplaces in France.Les mer