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<blockquote data-quote="BillB" data-source="post: 2422573" data-attributes="member: 9985"><p>France and Luxembourg have good mutual recognition of each other's Covid treatments and precautions so when we had a free period in our weekly schedules (Jackie recently dislocated her ring finger when she fell on our front steps and is now undergoing physiotherapy) we thought we would drive over the border for an hour or so to visit the Centre Pompidou in Metz where a Chagall exposition has been one of the attractions. It's been so popular that it's run has been extended until 30 August so we thought we'd better get on with a visit before we procrastinate so long that we miss it.</p><p></p><p>The Centre Pompidou in Metz has an exhibition of Marc Chagall’s life and works. It has proved so popular that it has been extended by several months so Jackie and I have been intending for some time to drive down there and pay a visit to both the exhibit and then to drive over to the Covered Market to make a few purchases. After the market we would have lunch in one of the nearby restaurants before driving home.</p><p></p><p>We had to keep delaying our visit, first after Jackie dislocated her finger and had medical checks to attend, and then her physiotherapy began. When there was a break in her physio appointments the rains began. They weren’t torrential at the beginning but by 12 July they got heavier and heavier and were mostly nonstop. Occasionally there would be a lightening in the downpours for a short period, but then they would become more intense.</p><p></p><p>Finally, the forecasts were that the heavy downpour would break at 4 am on 15 July so we decided to go for it. I went online and bought two entrance tickets (€12 a head) valid for 2 hours from 10 am to 12 midday.</p><p></p><p>We left home just after 8 am to allow for any holdups on what is normally a 1 hour drive. We were on the autoroute heading towards Thionville, the first sizeable town in France on our route when, after sailing happily along, the traffic ground to a halt. I didn’t remember at the time but ahead of us was a stretch of autoroute where cars headed south towards Thionville and those making for Luxembourg City were all converging on the same highway, along which they travelled for several kilometers. We inched along (I wonder if that shouldn’t be centimered along) until we arrived at the point where both streams of traffic diverged again.</p><p></p><p>Once we passed that point the traffic dropped away on our side of the autoroute and we were able to increase our speed to the highway’s limit - 110 kph at that point - and continue south as happy as pigs in a blanket. Sadly, for those cars heading north we passed kilometer after kilometer of stalled vehicles which moved forward occasionally.</p><p></p><p>I wondered if this stream of stationary vehicles would still be there when we returned, in which case I would take the first available exit and drive cross-country towards our home village.</p><p></p><p>However, at that point all I wanted to do was make our way through Thionville and thus on to Metz. Which we did without any holdups.</p><p></p><p>Arriving at the Pompidou Center we circled it a couple of times searching for the car park. The only one we passed was a fair distance from the entrance to the Center and Jackie, with pain beginning in her one remaining hip joint decided she would wait outside the Center while I parked the car and made my way back to her. This turned out to be fairly simple as the shopping mall where I had left Jackie had a spacious underground car park. </p><p></p><p>I duly parked the car and made my way to the shopping mall. At the top of the escalator I asked a young man tending a fruit juice stand the way to the Pompidou Centre. I used my best French and he answered, without hesitation, in English. Not only in English but in very good, clear English. I thanked him, complimented him on his English skills and set off. I walked the entire length of the mall until I emerged into the fresh air. I looked around to locate my wife and there she was, calling my name.</p><p></p><p>At the center we showed our tickets, had the QR code read and were admitted. Marc Chagall was assigned to the top floor so we took the lift and entered into his exhibit. Jackie and I first became aware of Chagall when we visited Israel. One of our tours was to the Hadassah Medical Centre in Jerusalem where Chagall created a series of stained glass windowns for the hospital’s synagogue. They were incredibly beautiful with lots of blue tones. We also learnt that they were removed during the Yom Kippur war for preservation and replaced once the threat no longer existed.</p><p></p><p>The Middle Eastern sun, shining through them, lights up the synagogue in shades of blue, scarlet, gold and combinations of them. As we walked in we stopped dead, so striking were the windows. But it wasn’t only the windows that made such a breathtaking impression. Where the sun, striking through Chagall’s creations, threw amazing images onto the wall, the onlooker is enchanted by the impressions that floods the mind. It is probably the most beautiful room I have ever seen.</p><p></p><p>The exhibit delved into Chagall’s method of working, showing his preliminary sketches, then his water colour paintings denoting which colours he would use. Then the visitor is cleverly conducted to the finale - closeups of the final works.</p><p></p><p>What makes Chagall’s windows different from other masters’ creations is that he developed a system of applying paint, sometimes as many as three colours, directly onto the glass, rather than having the glass coloured in the manufacturing process where each colour had to be on separate pieces of glass and then mounting them with lead separators between them.</p><p></p><p>The exposition covered many aspects of Chagall’s genius, including the inspiration for many of his works. It also delved into the struggles that he underwent, both mentally and physically, as a Jew creating works for Christian churches and cathedrals.</p><p></p><p>We appreciated that you cannot remove a stained glass window from a church or synagogue to display it in an exhibition, but the creators of the exhibit had hit on a smart means of showing us some of his windows by reproducing them in their settings, even down to the light shining through the windows. Thus, visitors felt as if they were standing in a church, gazing up at the original works of art.</p><p></p><p>It came as something of a shock to find ourselves back at the entrance to the exhibition and that our visit was finished. We wanted to see more of this brilliant man’s work but we’ll have to start driving to the places where his most iconic creations can be seen, largely places of worship. We’ll have to fit them in with any operational Covid restrictions at that time.</p><p></p><p>We made our way back to the car and the GPS quickly had us driving up to the covered market, where the car park is right underneath and we had the good fortune to find an empty slot close to the entrance.</p><p></p><p>The rain was beginning again, lightly this time, but rain which had us scanning our surroundings for a restaurant where we could get some lunch. In this respect it proved to be our lucky day for there, just a few yards across from the market, was the Bistrot de la Cathedrale. There were tables outside but when it’s cold and raining the interior wins hands down. There were plenty of free tables and we were conducted to one close to the window. We ordered apéritifs which we sipped as we went through the menu. Jackie chose salmon à la plancha while I went for - wait for it - fish and chips. Yes, I know, but they were pretty good and I don’t get the chance to have them very often.</p><p></p><p>After lunch we crossed the road to the covered market to see if there was anything new there. As we discovered, it was by now well after 1 pm and some of the stalls had already closed, including the biggest one. We didn’t see anything that we wanted so we headed for the car park in even heavier rain.</p><p></p><p>The drive home saw the rain continue to get heavier, but the good news for us was that the autoroutes were clear in our direction, but the traffic heading out of Luxembourg was nose to tail. We arrived home without any holdups.</p><p></p><p>We decided that in future we would keep up to date on what exhibits are to be found at the Pompidou Centre. We would hate to miss out on something else as brilliant as the Marc Chagall showing.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="BillB, post: 2422573, member: 9985"] France and Luxembourg have good mutual recognition of each other's Covid treatments and precautions so when we had a free period in our weekly schedules (Jackie recently dislocated her ring finger when she fell on our front steps and is now undergoing physiotherapy) we thought we would drive over the border for an hour or so to visit the Centre Pompidou in Metz where a Chagall exposition has been one of the attractions. It's been so popular that it's run has been extended until 30 August so we thought we'd better get on with a visit before we procrastinate so long that we miss it. The Centre Pompidou in Metz has an exhibition of Marc Chagall’s life and works. It has proved so popular that it has been extended by several months so Jackie and I have been intending for some time to drive down there and pay a visit to both the exhibit and then to drive over to the Covered Market to make a few purchases. After the market we would have lunch in one of the nearby restaurants before driving home. We had to keep delaying our visit, first after Jackie dislocated her finger and had medical checks to attend, and then her physiotherapy began. When there was a break in her physio appointments the rains began. They weren’t torrential at the beginning but by 12 July they got heavier and heavier and were mostly nonstop. Occasionally there would be a lightening in the downpours for a short period, but then they would become more intense. Finally, the forecasts were that the heavy downpour would break at 4 am on 15 July so we decided to go for it. I went online and bought two entrance tickets (€12 a head) valid for 2 hours from 10 am to 12 midday. We left home just after 8 am to allow for any holdups on what is normally a 1 hour drive. We were on the autoroute heading towards Thionville, the first sizeable town in France on our route when, after sailing happily along, the traffic ground to a halt. I didn’t remember at the time but ahead of us was a stretch of autoroute where cars headed south towards Thionville and those making for Luxembourg City were all converging on the same highway, along which they travelled for several kilometers. We inched along (I wonder if that shouldn’t be centimered along) until we arrived at the point where both streams of traffic diverged again. Once we passed that point the traffic dropped away on our side of the autoroute and we were able to increase our speed to the highway’s limit - 110 kph at that point - and continue south as happy as pigs in a blanket. Sadly, for those cars heading north we passed kilometer after kilometer of stalled vehicles which moved forward occasionally. I wondered if this stream of stationary vehicles would still be there when we returned, in which case I would take the first available exit and drive cross-country towards our home village. However, at that point all I wanted to do was make our way through Thionville and thus on to Metz. Which we did without any holdups. Arriving at the Pompidou Center we circled it a couple of times searching for the car park. The only one we passed was a fair distance from the entrance to the Center and Jackie, with pain beginning in her one remaining hip joint decided she would wait outside the Center while I parked the car and made my way back to her. This turned out to be fairly simple as the shopping mall where I had left Jackie had a spacious underground car park. I duly parked the car and made my way to the shopping mall. At the top of the escalator I asked a young man tending a fruit juice stand the way to the Pompidou Centre. I used my best French and he answered, without hesitation, in English. Not only in English but in very good, clear English. I thanked him, complimented him on his English skills and set off. I walked the entire length of the mall until I emerged into the fresh air. I looked around to locate my wife and there she was, calling my name. At the center we showed our tickets, had the QR code read and were admitted. Marc Chagall was assigned to the top floor so we took the lift and entered into his exhibit. Jackie and I first became aware of Chagall when we visited Israel. One of our tours was to the Hadassah Medical Centre in Jerusalem where Chagall created a series of stained glass windowns for the hospital’s synagogue. They were incredibly beautiful with lots of blue tones. We also learnt that they were removed during the Yom Kippur war for preservation and replaced once the threat no longer existed. The Middle Eastern sun, shining through them, lights up the synagogue in shades of blue, scarlet, gold and combinations of them. As we walked in we stopped dead, so striking were the windows. But it wasn’t only the windows that made such a breathtaking impression. Where the sun, striking through Chagall’s creations, threw amazing images onto the wall, the onlooker is enchanted by the impressions that floods the mind. It is probably the most beautiful room I have ever seen. The exhibit delved into Chagall’s method of working, showing his preliminary sketches, then his water colour paintings denoting which colours he would use. Then the visitor is cleverly conducted to the finale - closeups of the final works. What makes Chagall’s windows different from other masters’ creations is that he developed a system of applying paint, sometimes as many as three colours, directly onto the glass, rather than having the glass coloured in the manufacturing process where each colour had to be on separate pieces of glass and then mounting them with lead separators between them. The exposition covered many aspects of Chagall’s genius, including the inspiration for many of his works. It also delved into the struggles that he underwent, both mentally and physically, as a Jew creating works for Christian churches and cathedrals. We appreciated that you cannot remove a stained glass window from a church or synagogue to display it in an exhibition, but the creators of the exhibit had hit on a smart means of showing us some of his windows by reproducing them in their settings, even down to the light shining through the windows. Thus, visitors felt as if they were standing in a church, gazing up at the original works of art. It came as something of a shock to find ourselves back at the entrance to the exhibition and that our visit was finished. We wanted to see more of this brilliant man’s work but we’ll have to start driving to the places where his most iconic creations can be seen, largely places of worship. We’ll have to fit them in with any operational Covid restrictions at that time. We made our way back to the car and the GPS quickly had us driving up to the covered market, where the car park is right underneath and we had the good fortune to find an empty slot close to the entrance. The rain was beginning again, lightly this time, but rain which had us scanning our surroundings for a restaurant where we could get some lunch. In this respect it proved to be our lucky day for there, just a few yards across from the market, was the Bistrot de la Cathedrale. There were tables outside but when it’s cold and raining the interior wins hands down. There were plenty of free tables and we were conducted to one close to the window. We ordered apéritifs which we sipped as we went through the menu. Jackie chose salmon à la plancha while I went for - wait for it - fish and chips. Yes, I know, but they were pretty good and I don’t get the chance to have them very often. After lunch we crossed the road to the covered market to see if there was anything new there. As we discovered, it was by now well after 1 pm and some of the stalls had already closed, including the biggest one. We didn’t see anything that we wanted so we headed for the car park in even heavier rain. The drive home saw the rain continue to get heavier, but the good news for us was that the autoroutes were clear in our direction, but the traffic heading out of Luxembourg was nose to tail. We arrived home without any holdups. We decided that in future we would keep up to date on what exhibits are to be found at the Pompidou Centre. We would hate to miss out on something else as brilliant as the Marc Chagall showing. [/QUOTE]
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