Eglise St. Jean-Baptiste, in St. Jean de Luz (e.g., Atlantic, part 2)

Altar

up in back where servants used to sit

One of chandeliers

It seems to be random spacing again; maybe I will someday get this figured out. OR maybe someday I will once again have Office on this computer and can draft these posts in Word and the paste them into Blogger. That's another story...So my narrative (IF you're still reading) will, er, jump around the photos a bit...

view across nave

doorway on outside of church

One of the claims to fame of the town of St. Jean de Luz (besides being a resort where the rich and wannabe rich go on holiday) is its cathedral. It's down very near the port and should, IMHO, be famous even if it weren't where Louis XIV of France (see, Versailles, Hall of Mirrors, Sun King, etc.) was married to the Infanta Marie-Therese of Austria on June 9, 1660. I finally looked up "Infanta", as Catherine of Aragon who married Henry VIII of England was also referred to as the "Infanta" and neither of us knew exactly what it means; Infante or Infanta means a child of the reigning monarch who is NOT the immediate heir to the throne. The cathedral is incredible. Seriously old, rebuilt in 15th century after a fire destroyed was was there before, but with 17th century inside.   Possibly the interior was re-done in anticipation of the king's marriage. At any rate, it is incredible, and just left me speechless, from the altar to the painted designs (or whatever they are) on the walls, to the upper galleries, to the chandeliers, not least of which is the one that is a sailing boat dangling up there. After the wedding they sealed off the doorway where he and his new queen left the church; just above is a photo of the sealed doorway with a plaque on it.

Marie-Therese stayed here until the wedding

Maison Louis XIV

sign in front of Maison Louis XIV

Two other buildings (shown above) down by the actual port (just a couple of hundred meters away from the cathedral) are also interesting. Both are currently privately owned, but are at least partly open to the public (also there are businesses on the ground floor, of course!) Louis XIV spent most of the summer of 1660 in the one called Maison Louis XIV, and Marie-Therese stayed at the other one after her arrival in St. Jean de Luz until the wedding. The two building are next to the port about 100 meters apart.

houses

more houses

The architecture in the town in general is different from what we've seen anywhere else, period. Couldn't put my finger on what exactly it is that is different, but it is different.

Cheers, Lillie