PRISMATIST

 

 

This summer Ann Louise and Peter D’Entremont of Durham are spending two months touring Europe. Unlike most tourists, particularly those who are older, they are touring on a bicycle built for two. Their tandem bike can be folded and packed in a bag so they can stow it on a train when they are travelling longer distances. The following is an account of their first month. 

 

Europe bound

4/20/24

 

Phila airport. Smooth process so far through check in and TSA. The wardrobe choices on display are head shaking. Arrived with plenty of time to spare and that always helps. AND we’re 75 and over so we get to keep our shoes on!  Another perk for the aged. 

 

Flying on an A321 and thankful for good engineering and quality control. 

 

Waiting in Dublin airport for our connecting flight to Paris. Filled waiting area, mostly French speaking teens, all holding phones and many plugged into ear pieces.  I can see a handful of faces simply gazing as I am. We are Rip Van Winkles pondering the future we have stumbled onto. 

 

 

 

Paris, France

4/22/24

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Visit to Notre Dame is profoundly moving. There is a bleacher erected in front so people can sit and watch the work. The magnitude of the effort is astounding as well as the intense dedication to their task displayed by all the numerous crafts people. And then you realize that this is a repair to a small portion of the original and marvel at the accomplishments of those who dedicated their lives to this in centuries past

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Antwerp, Belgium

4/23/24

 

Arrived by train and we were met by our new friend Etienne - met him last year in a small town in Mississippi while bicycling there. Re-assembled our folding bike in the train station, a glorious 19th century one, and proceeded by bike on a tour of Antwerp. Bicycles galore plus scooters whizzing everywhere on dedicated bike paths and bike lanes. Intimidating it is with so many vehicle types all moving through the city. We just followed our friend and figured that this would give us more confidence bicycling later in places like Amsterdam. 

 

Had a grand tour of Antwerp by bicycle with Etienne as our guide, including some taverns, a museum, and the Grote Markt. Ended the day with a delicious meal prepared by Etienne including Belgian fries. 

 

We also met both of his children, son and daughter. Both are impressive and delightful company. 

 

Rotterdam, Netherlands

4/25/24

 

Train to Rotterdam this morning, a short ride. Bike is in its bag and I managed to find a corner by the door to stash it. The bag is kind of loose and stuff shifts around making it a lumpy package that’s awkward to carry and walk. I can try to tidy it up next time but also limit its use to necessary inter city travel. 

 

I took a walk around the seaport area.  It’s the newer part of town. There’s an interesting bridge and some buildings that try too hard to grab attention. Rem Koolhaus?  Not a fan. 

 

Bicyclists seem to be more controlled here than Antwerp, less frantic passing and weaving. Maybe it’s just this area of town with wider passageways. Still a lot of electric bikes. 

 

Tried to find a local eatery that served regular local food. Not to be. It’s all Chinese, Greek, you name it. We chose an Italian place and it was very good. Still don’t know what local food might be although, in Haarlem, in honor of King’s Day we had a small cupcake- like cake with orange icing

 

Haarlem

4/25/24

 

Bicycled from Rotterdam to Haarlem on a sunny but cool day. The route was almost entirely on paths and bicycle lanes. There were quiet paths by canals and cows but also many, many, many turns with numerous wrong ones. It made for a slow ride 

 

We arrived just in time for a major national holiday. Lots of celebrations planned-hooray!  Restaurants full-groan. We did find some food at a chicken and frites place that graciously delayed closing to feed us. Danke.

 

Staying in an elegantly modernist converted garage. It’s the kind of architecture that makes you feel like you should be better dressed - comfortable but a little puzzling at times. 

 

Haarlem, day two

 

Day 2 in Haarlem. It’s a Sunday and I went for a walk in the early morning through the old city center. It has the Grote Markt and the cathedral, the commonly named Grote Kerk. Well, last night the King’s Day celebrations must have kicked into high gear because the whole area had turned into a Grote Mess. Trash and broken glass littered the area, radiating outward into the surrounding streets while a lone street sweeper worked its way up and down. They’ll need reinforcements. 

 

Haarlem addendum

 

Went out again in the afternoon and the streets were all clean. Obviously the city knows how to clean up after a party.

 

 

 

Amsterdam

4/29/24

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Day trip to Amsterdam today. Nice sunny day. We probably would have gone before today but the weather has been a bit raw with rain and wind. As it happens, we weren’t smitten by Amsterdam. The Rijksmuseum was great. The streets were crowded and we took a walk through the center. There’s no compelling architecture to speak of although the canals are lovely. Bottom line; glad to visit but thankful we stayed in Haarlem. 

 

Guide book says an easy short train ride between Haarlem and Amsterdam. Not exactly. Change of trains required. I considered the bike but decided not to.

 

Keukenhoff gardens

5/1/24

 

This garden is perhaps the primary reason for visiting the Netherlands, certainly why we’re here at this time of the year. The TULIPS!  And it did not disappoint. 

 

We rode from Haarlem on mostly bike lanes alongside generally quiet roads and came back along the North Sea on a bike path among the dunes. The day was a snapshot of the bicycle infrastructure in this country-truly impressive. 

 

Not surprisingly, all this exemplary planning emphasizing bicycles has not altered basic human nature. With bicycles ascendant it appears that much of the aggressive and anti-social behavior you see with drivers is evident with cyclists. This includes holding phones in one hand and talking while cycling through crowds as well as passing on all sides and not yielding the right of way. 

 

Otterloo

5/2/24

 

Small town gateway to the national park that also includes the delightful kroller- mueller museum, with sculpture gardens and the second largest collection of Van Gogh paintings in the world. Also took a quick spin through some of the park on the bike. 

 

Van Gogh!  What a wide ranging collection that displays his artistic evolution is here. His output was prodigious and all of it in ten years. 

 

Absolutely gorgeous weather with cloudless sky and the galleries were pleasant and uncrowded. 

 

Berlin, Germany

5/4/24

 

Just an overnight in Berlin. Stayed in a sleek and posh hotel near the Hauptbahnhof (main train station). Took an early morning walk past the Bundestag and Brandenburg gate, then the memorials to “murdered Jews” and then one honoring exterminated Roma and Sinti. Both were fittingly near the Reichstag.

Chilling to walk near the scene where monsters coldly planned multiple genocides. 

 

Everything in this area is expansive and formal. I saw some cyclists out for an early Saturday ride-all were roadies whizzing along deserted streets. Is something happening today?  No traffic. OK, it’s 7AM but no traffic at all. Made for a nice walk. I saw clusters of police and numerous barricades so maybe some festivities are about to happen?

 

 

 

 

 

Prague, Czech Republic

5/6/24 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Lovely train ride from Berlin to Prague yesterday (5/5/24), especially the section south of Dresden Germany along the Elbe river through a valley with pretty towns, sheer cliffs, and river paths. I would love to cycle this stretch. 

 

Staying near the famous Wenceslaus Square in a renovated cellar with a completely modern interior. As we’re finding on this trip it has some very quirky electrical devices and oddly designed switching. But the bigger quirk is the path to our quarters. It’s an old building so you have to expect some accommodations are necessary. Up some steps then down and up again. Repeat several times and the pattern repeats once inside. Every two or three steps there’s another up or down.

 

Prague, day two

5/7/24

 

This is our second day in the city. Not much happened the first day. Our travel companions here and in the Netherlands are not very mobile. We did see an interesting Monastery high above the old town with a small museum containing very old artifacts like bibles dating to the 15th century and globes from the 17th. 

 

Prague, day three

5/8/24

 

More today. The Charles Bridge and the town square are fascinating with photo ops appearing every dozen steps. You come to Prague for this and you can thank the Hapsburg dynasty for much of the sheer volume of delights as they tried to buy the Czech people’s love with a massive building spree. It seems that so much was constructed and arranged with photographic composition in mind. 

 

Bicycling here is not as easy as we were lead to believe. Unlike the Netherlands there are few bike lanes or paths with few cyclists to be seen except near the major tourist areas. Most of them, even there, are delivery cyclists. You can’t realistically bicycle neighborhoods unless you know the area-or have a guide. Numerous one way streets, cobblestones and tram tracks make navigating difficult not to mention main streets choked with traffic. Oh well, maybe we can find a way to a path along the river before we leave. 

 

And, on our fourth day here, I did find a way to the river path. The path was pleasant, paved, and went for a few kilometers before winding through some twisty single lanes and under bridges before it opened up again past a large park along the river. I suspect this path forms part of the north-south eurovelo route through the country.

 

Hradec Kralove

5/9/24

 

This is a small city a bit east of Prague. Our friends have some distant relatives from there. A pretty drive to here included a stop in the tourist town of Kutna Hora with a beautiful church and museum in a former Jesuit enclave that overlooks a picturesque valley. It was a refreshing change to visit a church and explore without shuffling along shoulder to shoulder in the crowd. 

 

Hradec Kralove is another pleasant change, especially for a small town boy. It’s on the Elbe river at the intersection of another river. Prague was not disorienting at all, fast paced for sure, but here everything seems more accessible and relaxed-and very quiet. We are staying in a small hotel across the street from a very wooded park.  The city has an interesting history of its own which I hope to learn more about. 

 

Hradec Kralove

5/10/24 and 5/11/24

 

A grand tour of the city today. Our friend’s cousin pulled out all the stops. First was a guided walking tour of the old city, the Queen city because it had two queens, mother and daughter, who warred against each other. Really, with armies. 

 

After lunch we finished with a VIP tour of the local pro soccer stadium - locker rooms, press rooms, skybox, and playing field.  BTW, the US could learn from here how to serve lemonade. They mix it with fruit flavors and real pieces of fruit. 

 

It’s a pleasantly laid out city with a blend of the 14th to 21st century. Gothic, Baroque, Art Nouveau, Art Deco, sleek modern are all on display.

 

The day ended watching the opening round game of the ice hockey world championship tournament, on a large screen outside in the park, between Finland and the Czech Republic being held in Prague and one other city. The home team won the game in an overtime shootout. 

 

The next day we toured and stumbled our way into and through the city. While the route was often confusing the traffic was easy going and plenty of cyclist around made it possible to simply follow the bikes. We returned on a woodland path that lead from the edge of the city center directly to our hotel. Sweet!

 

Some reflections on the trip so far

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Museums

Hits and misses. I’m not a museum aficionado. I like some art museums as well as cultural and, especially, technical and scientific ones. Some art museums are exhausting while interesting nonetheless - too much. 

 

Visited the national museum in Prague. If there was anything worth visiting it was lost on us. Lots of stairs so a study of stair types could be a draw. Got a good photo from the top floor. Building is nice but “where’s the beef?”

Weather

Yes, it’s Spring and the weather has been changeable but I’ve been surprises at the temperatures. Lots of rainy days, sure, but some are downright raw. Some beautiful sunny ones too for which we’re thankful. The weather has made it a bit more difficult to fit in a bike ride though. 

 

I expect sunnier days when we head southward but I would still like to ride some in the Czech countryside before we leave.

 

Food

Traveling in other countries offers many eating experiences. Five countries and counting for us but we are not foodies. Still, we have had some memorable meals starting in Paris where our host made us a tasty meal including a mashed potato and cheese dish. Delicious but makes for a very sticky pot to clean. 

 

In Antwerp our friend made a steak and frites meal that was pure perfection. Then Rotterdam, it seems, has abandoned any notion of a local cuisine. We found only Greek, Thai, Mexican, Italian so we chose a nearby Italian and were not disappointed. 

 

One constant is bread and pastry. Excellent everywhere. 

 

While we had generally delicious meals staying in Haarlem a meal in the town of Otterloo stands out for its elegant four course meal. Every course was picture perfect and I had a clear view of the chef assembling each ingredient-all done with admirable precision and care. 

 

Now it’s Prague. Never will you be hungry here. Biggest surprise for me is dumplings. Not those little balls of dough but large thick slices filling half your plate that must be cut from massive loaves. Very, very, filling.

 

Selfies and fashion shoots

 

I don’t understand taking a picture in front of a perfectly worthy scene and ruining it with your own face. Even worse is having an enabler take your picture while you mug for the camera. 

 

OK, OK, an occasional shot of you with friends is fine. At any tourist venue you navigate people preening and making faces and otherwise posing while the real attraction, a stunning landscape or building, is a mere backdrop. I suspect it’s some attempt at validation if not bragging rights and I can only pity their lack of self worth and shallowness. 

 

As for me, I visit and take pictures of places I want to see and remember. Otherwise I can look in a mirror.

 

Music and castles

Visited Prague Castle, a complex of old castle, government buildings, churches. St Vitus cathedral is a curious mix of Gothic exterior and Baroque interior with some spectacular stained glass windows. The St George basilica was more to my liking with its simpler Romanesque architecture. The castle has been patched up here and there over the centuries (fires mostly not armies) and is largely a collection of salvaged bits and pieces. The great hall is impressive and intact with its large runway for indoor jousting. Why not. 

 

Concert in a small church in the evening was worth the visit to the city all by itself. Hayden and Dvorak with a beautiful sound. It’s a sublime experience listening and watching a stellar group of musicians create this magnificent sound that only an orchestra can create.

 

 

 

Vienna and Linz, Austria

5/13/24 and 5/14/24

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Took trains from Hradec Kralove to Linz via Vienna. No sightseeing in Vienna. We did some of that many years ago. Our destination was Linz to visit friends. We are staying at an apartment with a long distance view of the Austrian Alps - still snow capped. 

 

This family hosted our daughter for one year over 30 years ago. While she gained so much from that year I wonder if Ann Louise and I gained even more. We have shared visits with Emma, Hannes, and some of their children many times over the years. 

 

We are so close to the Danube river right now and that has been one of our dream bicycling trips for years. We have the bike. Will we have the time to try a brief jaunt along the river?

 

Our friends and their children, all grown up now, want to show us so many places we may not have a chance. Well, some things, like friendship, are more important than a bike ride. 

 

Today we were treated to a road trip along the Danube, courtesy of one of our friend’s sons who did the driving. Beautiful towns and farmland were the rule and we saw many cyclists riding the paths along the river. A Danube trip was long a wished for trip of ours and today made us want to do it even more.  That includes the clever river ferries that cross the river by riding the current using no motor.

 

Travel day to Lyon, France

5/15/24

 

On our own now on the train. Left Linz this morning and we’re traveling through Germany, changing trains in Frankfurt. Our Minnesota friends are on their way home and our Austrian friends are going back to their normal lives after two days of being tour guides for us. 

 

This is our norm. We travel on our own most places, whether by auto, train, plane, or bicycle, setting our own pace on our own schedule. There’s less conversation but more flexibility. 

 

And trains. They are generally smooth and fast. Right now we are rapidly passing through handsome countrysides between towns in southern Germany.  It’s sad to think about back in the USA where we failed to organize our environment in a more rational and equitable way. 

 

Second leg of today’s trip is in first class - nice. It’s a TGV - ooh, nice too!  Looking forward to lunch on the train since only had half a croissant this morning. But the dining car is closed. “So sorry for the inconvenience”. Luckily we have our emergency rations, Cliff bars. I brought a dozen with us.  Oh, and the WIFI isn’t working - well, sort of working, like dial up. But the train is on time. 

 

People watching on trains I see many working on their laptops with many a furrowed brow. Is the train a good venue for serious work?  And not only laptops. Some have their mobile phone activated and bounce back and forth between them. A woman seated across from us had two phones and laptop all in use. Most of this time pleasant scenery passed by. 

 

Late meal in the Presque Isle section of Lyon - between the two rivers. Many, many small restaurants. Had very good sandwiches.

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Lyon

5/16/24

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Spending a day in Lyon before moving on to Barcelona. I know, I know, you can’t spend just a day. But, so many places to be and limited time so we made choices. No regrets but there’s places we’ll want to visit again given the opportunity. Some rain and cloudy today so not great for pictures. 

 

Update!  We can’t get on a train to Barcelona tomorrow. All trains full so we stay another day in Lyon. Could be worse and tomorrow we’ll have a sunny day so maybe a bike ride. 

I suspected we might hit some snags in our rather tight travel schedule. The trains between here and Barcelona are a new route we’re told and, apparently, popular. 

 

Rain ended in the afternoon so we hit the streets and then rode the funicular trams up the hill overlooking the city. Walking along the top of the hill we stopped by the Roman amphitheater and then the cathedral. The Romans win.

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Lyon, day two

5/17/24

 

Sunny day and consolation for scrambling a bit yesterday to secure a room for tonight. We had a lovely ride along both rivers, first to the river confluence and then to a spectacular park up river. The first leg was largely on a separate bus and bike lane while the second part, along the Rhone, was on a dedicated bike path with a separate path for pedestrians. Interestingly, neither web sites nor paper maps tell you much about routes, their design or condition-kind of a secret. 

 

Our new hotel is almost next door to the first and it’s a giant leap in terms of convenience and comfort. There’s more space in the room, lobby, elevator and a plaza across the street was a good spot for packing the bike. 

 

Ann Louise has declared Lyon her favorite city so far and I tend to agree. It has a bit of everything with some pleasant walking in old neighborhoods, some attractive architecture although not at Prague’s level, two large rivers, and nice bicycling. Not crowded. Listen up Barcelona.

 

Travel day to Barcelona, Spain

5/18/24

 

Feeling jinxed going to and from Lyon. Yesterday’s trains were full and today’s train is late, jeopardizing our connection. But I have a good spot for the bike and maybe the train connections will work out. 

 

Well, the next train is also late-one hour late and counting. It seems all the trains are late. Maybe we’ll learn why. It does remind me that traveling by bike you don’t have to rely on other modes of transport, just your legs. Update. Two hours late. France has a problem with the Olympics coming and trains run late or full. Now Ann Louise is waiting in a long line at the Barcelona station to arrange reservations for all our train trips in Espana. Burned once trying to get here so we don’t want a repeat-delays and extra cost. 

 

Train to here was on SNCF. Besides the maddeningly poor WIFI (I looked at the scenery instead) the luggage setup is poorly organized so everyone piles their luggage, no matter the size, near the door. The overhead racks are useless. Turns out there is more luggage space at the other end but that means pushing down a narrow aisle and no one did. 

 

But they have clever seats that airlines should copy. They recline without crowding the person behind.     Of course, they provide more legroom, but that’s a separate issue. 

 

 

 

 

Barcelona, Spain 

5/19/24

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We’re in a pretty strategic location, not far from most of the major tourist sites but a pretty quiet area. There’s a metro station across the street and I’m hoping I can assemble the bike and maybe keep it out on the terrace.  

 

Essentials: Laundry comes right after food and there’s a laundromat a short walk away through some narrow medieval streets. Nice system. You can pay at a kiosk by cash or card and select the machine. Detergent is included - convenient. 

 

Met our friend, Enrique, after we finished a walk through the Picasso museum. It’s an interesting collection tracing much of his evolution as an artist. No blockbuster pieces but Barcelona is his birthplace and was close to his heart. The works were all donated by him to the city. 

 

Enrique, remember him?  He turned into a regular tour guide showing us or describing various places to see. He also described how the old parts of the city had changed in the past 20 or 30 years. More tourist oriented shops have replaced the family owned shops that sold everyday essentials to the neighborhood. It’s a curious mix on many streets of upscale jewelry and clothing mixed in with cheap, tasteless, novelty shops.  

 

And you can’t go anywhere in this part of the world that doesn’t have a Roman edifice of some sort. Here there’s an excavated house. More in a city down river that we’ll pass through later. I am constantly astounded by the constructions of past civilizations, particularly when compared to our own feeble accomplishments despite more resources and advanced machinery. The Roman civilization deserves an especially exalted place.  

 

Walls are not always plumb. It’s Sunday and sunny and people are out walking. Children playing in a park.

And language. This is our fifth language on this trip-french, dutch,czech,german, now Spanish. Not that we are forced to use each language but you try to make a gesture with a “merci”, “danke”,”gracias”.  We were at a loss with Czech both the translation and pronunciation. Everywhere we are accommodated/pitied by speaking english and sometimes a translation is available for, say, a menu on your smart phone. Enrique suggested a nearby tapas style Chinese food restaurant. Why not? The small menu was written in Chinese characters and Spanish so Ann Louise tried her phone to translate-the Spanish not the Chinese. Then Enrique proceeded to translate for us but not without a few questions for our Spanish (not Chinese) server   After making all our selections, and by now noting our limited language ability, she informed us that the menu is in English on the other side. So goes today’s lesson in humility and menu design.

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Barcelona, day two

5/20/24

 

Visited my favorite kind of museum after an introduction to the metro system, going the wrong way in the first attempt. After that, a piece of cake. The maritime museum is in a very old ship building complex that’s a noteworthy piece of architecture itself. The displays are nicely arranged and chronicle the development of sea going vessels through many eras, sail to steam, and also rowed. The blockbuster display is a full size replica of an oar powered fighting vessel that’s astonishing for its size and design. 

 

Then a trip on a funicular partway up a mountain and lunch in a cafe with a commanding view of the city below.  I took our bike out after that to explore a part of the city and test out the bike infrastructure. It passed. There are generally well designed bike lanes with good traffic signals and I found a pleasant path along the beach. Cycling along the Mediterranean, now that’s a rare treat.

Then dinner time. It was a half hour walk and a half hour wait for a seat at the bar at a recommended tapas restaurant   It was worth the effort and time   Sitting at the bar we had a fascinating show watching all the prep and cooking, all fast paced and methodical with no wasted motions. And the food was absolutely delicious making the combination of eating and viewing a truly memorable meal. I smiled the entire time there.

 

Barcelona, day three

5/21/24

 

Started the day with a nice bike ride to the beach, mostly retracing yesterday’s route. Ann Louise grumbled some at first over some of the maneuvering through some rush hour traffic but enjoyed the ride as we continued on to the beach. It was early morning and her morning tea was delayed until after the ride. 

 

Then another moment on this trip when you feel that “this was worth a trip overseas just for this alone”. Sagrada Familia, the cathedral designed by Antoni Gaudi is being finished almost 150 years later thanks to the devotion and efforts of countless people over many generations. It’s the kind of dedication that built the great cathedrals of the past. This is unlike any cathedral I had seen. I was stunned. Seldom, if ever, have I been mesmerized and delighted by a piece of architecture like this. 

 

In my architecture studies I was introduced to some of Gaudi’s work. I admired some of his unconventional forms and, especially, his mastery of structural engineering. This was different. The elegant engineering is there but there’s so much more. You have light, sunlight playing off so many different surfaces, the surfaces molded in fascinating shapes. The light comes from multiple directions through multiple elements such as stained glass and delicate perforated ceilings.  His devotion to his religion is remarkable as was his collaboration with artists and architects. Not that he passed on many of the numerous details, statuary, furnishings. He designed many of those items himself. Compared to him most of us are dimwitted slackers. 

 

I can imagine, hope, this building will inspire a generation of artists, architects, engineers. 

 

Finished the day with a delightful visit to our friend Enrique’s studio/apartment followed by another tapas meal. Enrique noted how we’ve settled into the local schedule- eating lunch at 1500 hours and dinner at 2000. I still get up at sunrise though.

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Valencia

5/23/24

 

One day in Valencia after a nice train ride from Barcelona with frequent views of the Mediterranean. Sometimes the train was practically on the beach. Staying two nights in a small hotel/restaurant in the middle of the old city. 

 

During dinner outside several beggars came and went, stopping at each table with hand out and trying to look worthy. I had previously donated to a man and his dog. I’m an easy touch when it’s a dog.  In the morning they are out in force. I’m guessing this tourist area is a better begging environment but why Valencia and we didn’t see the same in Barcelona, France, and the rest?  I’ll leave it at that because I have no good answers except to say that each society has to find a way to help each other. 

 

Valencia is not a big tourist draw but, still, one day can’t do justice. It has a famous cathedral, a well preserved medieval old town, an extensive urban park, and several signature structures by native son Santiago Calatrava.  

 

Ann Louise suggested that I rent a bike to explore some of the city. We had decided to keep our bike packed up because it’s only one day here plus the hotel has zero space to assemble it. I had taken an early morning walk to the nearby extensive linear park and noted its very nice paths for walking and bicycling. Alas, not to be. So, she read my mind, or heart, it seems. 

 

The park is several miles long crossing the city and I rode its length, ending at the beach. At the beach I waded into the Mediterranean (no, I didn’t dip the bike wheel). My chance to test its waters. 

 

The art and science center is at the end of this linear park and feature a huge collection of Calatrava designed buildings. Were they all built at one time? It looks like a world’s fair site with numerous attention grabbing structures. I’ll hand it to him, he has a way with drama, and salesmanship I might add. Will some of his buildings achieve the status of the Sidney Opera House, an emblem of a city?  I admit to limited knowledge without visiting the interiors or seeing them in use. The forms are arresting. The scale is gigantic. Everything, with one exception, is white. Despite people all around the complex seemed surgical room antiseptic. And those poor trees!  They look like they’re protected from flood waters with a circle of sand bags. 

 

Meanwhile, Ann Louise visited the cathedral, repository of the one and only Vatican authorized genuine(maybe) holy grail, plus some of the blessed virgin’s locks-and that’s not all folks-a garment worn by baby Jesus.  I am no longer a Catholic.

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