23 nov

We saw Conques, the most pleasant surprise of our trip so far. At the campground in St. Point (Burgundy) I had met a Dutchman who had just visited Conques and was very enthusiastic. The best Tympanum I have ever seen, he said. I felt like I had to defend our good friend Ghislebertus, but now, having been to Conques, I can see what he means. It is a delight, this Abbey front, with as an extra those funny curious guys, from the main picture of this blog, peeping through the stones to enjoy the scenery.
And it is amazingly well kept. Don’t understand yet how it survived the Fury after the French Revolution. But it did. There are even remains of (the original?) paint left. Absolutely splendid. Here are some pictures.





The high point of Conques, according to the tourist guides is a golden woman with the relics of Ste. Foy. In fact there are quite a few other relics, including a piece of wood of the cross where jesus died on. But that gets boring. I have seen the whole cross by now and will soon start to gaze at a miraculous multiplication of it. Something of St Peter too. These relics made the climb up to Conques for pilgrims one of the favourite stops on the way to Santiago.
The golden Ste. Foy was spectacular, although I still prefer the Tympanum. With all the gold and precious stones Ste Foy was hidden behind glass and protected by what seemed to be impressive security. It is kind of funny though, because the sculpture itself was stolen in the first place. Foy lived in around 300 and was beheaded because of her faith. It made her a martyr and a Saint. It was difficult in those days not to become a saint when you were a martyr.
Somewhere around year 1000 this lovely sculpted relic was in a monastery somewhere else in France, in Agen, where Foy was born. The people from Conques thought it should be in Conques somehow, no real explanation given. They sent a local guy to the monastery to become a monk there. He had to wait 20 years before he had an opportunity to steal Ste. Foy and bring her back to Conques.
It is funny to have a good look at her. Her nails are manicured to perfection and some of the precious stones have a strange resemblance with the Wedgwood medallions that were so popular in 19th century Britain. Maybe copied from Conques?
We had planned to stay just outside of Conques at an Aire, as overnight parking places for campers are called. It was in the book that was so nicely provided by my tennis buddy Toby, but when we arrived – even farther up the mountains then Conques, we were in the middle of snow again – there were a whole lot of ostriches running around, but no camper to be seen.
So we headed south and ended staying overnight in Millau, the town that is world-famous for its amazing Foster bridge. The largest bridge in the world, the Eiffel tower fits easily under it. We already saw glimpses of it and it is breathtaking. Tomorrow we are going to see it more close up. Can’t wait.