Friday, April 06, 2012

Meeting at the mairie

So a couple of weeks ago I had to go to a conference and present a poster on a project I didn't actually work on (I did help make the poster though) because the conference was in English so my colleagues kindly nominated me. Arggh! I think I spoke too fast, particularly for all the French people, and I missed out basically half the poster because I was told 10 minutes and then they changed it to 5. But anyway, they FILMED it (booo) so I can critically assess my performance later, oh joy. On the upside, the presentation was before lunch, so I then got to have nibbles and Vouvray in the ornate salle des fetes.

Anyway, the point of this was that the conference was at the Mairie (town hall) and this reminded me that I toured it for the journees du patrimoine last year but I never got around to putting any photos up. So here's a glimpse inside Tours' Hotel de Ville:


The salle des fetes


Ceiling detail of the salle des fetes


Painting of Descartes in the salle des fetes. The Tours region has connections to some impressive literary figures. I didn't know this, but the town where Descartes was born is now called "Descartes" and is between here and Poitiers. Other portraits on the walls included Balzac, Rabelais and I think one other author with a Tours connection, but I forget who. Maybe Ronsard.


The ceiling also had personifications of the different area chateaux. I forget which one this is meant to be though


Here's where you have to get married if you do it in Tours (and I think you have to get married in the town where at least one of you lives, although I think maybe if you have a significant family connection that might work too. I don't think you can just fetch up in any town in France and get married there though. Not sure)


Salle des mariages again


19th century wedding fresco in the salle des mariages

While we're at it, here's a few more photos I took on the journee du patrimoine, from inside the cathedral cloisters:






10 comments:

  1. Nice photos! We're waiting for the promised account of the trip to the UK! xxx

    ReplyDelete
  2. I know, I took too many photos, it takes ages to sort through them!

    ReplyDelete
  3. I laughed at the line: "Here's where you have to get married if you do it in Tours". Of course, I put the emphasis on "have to" as if it's a punishment to get married in such a beautiful setting!

    Thanks For posting these photos. It was fun to get a peek inside your town hall. I particularly liked the wedding fresco and the personification of the castles.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Ha, no I was trying to draw attention to the fact that it's different in France i.e. at home you can get married wherever you like!

    ReplyDelete
  5. You know what Monty Python said (or sang) about Rene Descartes don't you?

    ReplyDelete
  6. Immanuel Kant was a real pissant Who was very rarely stable. Heidegger, Heidegger was a boozy beggar Who could think you under the table.
    David Hume could out-consume Wilhelm Freidrich Hegel,
    And Wittgenstein was a beery swine who was just as schloshed as Schlegel.

    There's nothing Nietzsche couldn't teach ya'Bout the raising of the wrist.
    SOCRATES, HIMSELF, WAS PERMANENTLY PISSED...
    John Stuart Mill, of his own free will,On half a pint of shandy was particularly ill.
    Plato, they say, could stick it away; Half a crate of whiskey every day.
    Aristotle, Aristotle was a bugger for the bottle,Hobbes was fond of his dram,
    And Rene Descartes was a drunken fart: "I drink, therefore I am"
    Yes, Socrates, himself, is particularly missed;
    A lovely little thinker but a bugger when he's pissed!

    ReplyDelete
  7. Hi My Dear Gwan!

    1. I love your photos. It looks like you enjoyed yourself. How is everything going on your front?

    2. Thank you so much for your condolences. : )

    xo.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Ella I am being lazy on all fronts, including blogging... Thanks for your comment & hope things are going as well for you as possible under the circumstances xx

    ReplyDelete
  9. My friend got married in tours 3 years ago - and I agree it is a stunning marriage hall!!

    ReplyDelete
  10. Hey MilkJam, thanks for commenting! That must have been nice, I suppose we grow up expecting drab empty rooms doing it at "City Hall" or whatever the equivalent is in Anglo countries :)

    ReplyDelete

Feed the Comment Monster! Rawrrrr

Note: only a member of this blog may post a comment.