SENLIS (Page 2 of 2)
Senlis has other old churches:
The entire heart of Senlis is Medieval, with people working here daily just as in any Parisian office building.
Senlis is itself a museum, but there are four splendid museums surrounding the cathedral. This art museum had a tiny garden in what looked like solid rock (but actually involved a small patch of soil):
Its grounds were home to some Medieval gardens:
Walking near the cathedral took me to another old church that has been turned into a working concert hall. King Hugh Capet was elected here in what was then a royal chapel in 799. King Louis VI was also here in the eleventh century, as were others listed on the door.
Speaking of Kings Louis VI and VII, their royal compound was just a few streets over from this location, and is now a park/museum. Why am I continually outside the museums rather than in them? I bought a 4-museum pass. I entered one, decided against going into another to see the gardens instead. After that, they were closing.
A priory dating to the eleventh and twelfth centuries was a part of the royal compound of the two King Louis' who lived here. This is where the priory garden was, within these walls:
This is looking from the priory back to the royal dwellings:
The second floor of this country home made for kings had a chapel for private devotions:
There were several nicely planted areas near the royal home.
Turning around from where the last photo was taken, you can see that this whole royal residential compound is just a couple of minutes' walk from the cathedral:
Right below my feet in the above picture sat a riot of vegetative colors:
But what I enjoyed most in this whole compound was this enormous chestnut tree:
Let me show you the trunk of this giant, I am guessing at an 8-foot girth. Bigger than me!
Looking up from this spot gives one the impression that this tree is really reaching out to grab as much life from the sun and air as it can possibly support. Me too.
One of the museums now in this compound is the museum of the medieval hunt. I am not into hunting so passed it by.
But I was wondering what lady Diana, Goddes of the Hunt, was doing in this depiction. She is friends with the living
animals, obviously, and seems to be healing a deer. Perhaps she is the greeter and healer, in heaven, for animals
taken in hunts. Presumably in the old lore the animals sacrificed themselves to sustain human life. So, shoot me
already.
Next day: early at the airport, much later: home.