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Post by kerouac2 on May 16, 2021 19:07:18 GMT
Charleville-Mézières is a town of only 50,000 in the Grand Est region, very close to the Belgian border, but absolutely everybody in France knows it for one reason. And I knew it for the same reason, as well as the fact that it has some of the worst weather in France, cloudy, frost late into spring and absolutely horrible winters. We are having one of the worst months of May in many years, so it seemed like the perfect time to go. I Whatsapped this photo to three different friends without comment, and they all replied the same thing: "Arthur Rimbaud." Arthur Rimbaud remains an obligatory topic in French school programmes and fascinates just about everybody, even those who don't like to read. He was a brilliant student but he dropped out as a teenager. On top of that, he published just one book -- A Season in Hell -- at his own expense and abandoned literature completely at age 20. He became... well, I am not going to recopy his biography here because it's easy to find. I am convinced that his popularity owes a lot to the most famous photograph of him, taken at age 17. He looks like the perfect insolent teenage snot.
I can imagine his mother screaming that he could at least have combed his hair. No matter -- he was off to Paris to join the Commune. But here I am to discover Charleville.
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Post by onlyMark on May 16, 2021 19:17:14 GMT
That's a short report. I hope there's a bit more.
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Post by kerouac2 on May 16, 2021 19:21:19 GMT
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Post by bjd on May 16, 2021 19:37:09 GMT
When my daughter moved to Bayonne, lots of friends from Paris came to visit. She figured that the attraction would not have been the same if she had gone to Charleville-Mézières. Well, it looks okay as far as the architecture goes, but I imagine the climate must be rather dull.
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Post by kerouac2 on May 16, 2021 19:37:55 GMT
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Post by kerouac2 on May 16, 2021 20:02:07 GMT
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Post by kerouac2 on May 16, 2021 20:25:06 GMT
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Post by kerouac2 on May 16, 2021 21:34:19 GMT
It turns out the Charleville-Mézières has another claim to fame, but not even the French from other regions know this. It is the world capital of puppetry. It has the marionnette museum, the Institut International de la Marionnette and the Ecole Nationale Supérieure des Arts de la Marionnette. Every two years it hosts the World Puppet Theatre Festival with more than 30 nations participating and more than 130 troupes. Charleville is also the headquarters of the Union Internationale de la Marionnette - International Puppetry Association which was founded in Prague but transferred to Charleville in 1981. Time to drop off my stuff at the hotel. Ha ha, a new comedy of errors. I arrived at the hotel at 12:10 and it was closed. My reservation clearly said "check-in at 12:00, check-out at 11:00." But there was a notice on the door giving new pandemic hours. "Closed from 12:00 to 18:00." But a chambermaid inside saw me. She of course explained that they were closed, but she also phoned the owner. He and the receptionist arrived by car about 5 minutes later (why were they together?) and I checked in without delay. I explained that I could have easily checked in at 11 a.m. but I had respected the information on my reservation. No apology was forthcoming, but I am not the sort of person who requires such things, so no problem. I received the code for opening the outside door when the reception was closed. This was really an old fashioned place because I think it was the first time that I have received a real metal key for opening the door of the room in at least two or three years. But the room was fine, and that's what counts.
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Post by kerouac2 on May 16, 2021 21:48:54 GMT
Just a few more minutes until the show. (What show?)
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Post by kerouac2 on May 16, 2021 22:12:53 GMT
There was supposed to be a puppet festival put on by two troupes this weekend. Well, it was one weekend too early, so it was cancelled. But the troupes decided that they needed to do SOMETHING so they devised a short show performed from various balconies at 15:00, 16:00 and 17:00. Can they attract a crowd on a chilly rainy day? The puppets complained about life of this past year. Two actors wanted to go out "but what if a producer calls? We'd better stay in." A prostitute was ironic about CULTE (religious) and CUL (sex) places being open but not CULTURE, while her eccliastical customer complained about waiting behind the curtain. Madame Death was quite happy, though. One year of total success! "We brought them the plague and cholera and other diseases in the past and they kept the sick people inside. This is the first time we managed to lock up the healthy people and it is better than ever! We have lots of new afflictions -- claustrophobia, agoraphobia, alcohol and tobacco abuse and, best of all, domestic violence!"
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Post by kerouac2 on May 16, 2021 22:28:02 GMT
And so this morning, back to Paris. I said goodbye to Arthur in front of the train station. There was also a monument to Franco-Belgian solidarity during the war. The station was very calm on a Sunday morning. Arthur came to the platform. The TGV was about to arrive from Sedan... Goodbye.
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Post by onlyMark on May 16, 2021 23:33:24 GMT
Lebanese flag, but how associated with Mount Olympus in Greece, no idea. The young girl statue with the palm frond(?), any idea of its significance? Ever since being traumatised by Punch and Judy at the seaside as a kid, never much gone for puppets. There's plenty of skill to them for sure, but watching a puppet show is not my thing. At least it looks like it didn't rain all the time. Nice trip out though with a real mix of architecture, and it's nice it's not just me who has to go up and down loads of steep steps.
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Post by bjd on May 17, 2021 8:44:39 GMT
I too wondered about the young girl with the palm frond. I would like it in my house in a smaller size..
Your pictures are interesting, as usual, but Charleville-Mézières really doesn't look like the kind of place that sunshine would cheer up --it probably remains gray. No wonder Rimbaud ran away.
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Post by kerouac2 on May 17, 2021 9:23:52 GMT
The girl with the palm frond was standing at the foot of another war monument, since you can never have enough of those in this region.
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Post by cheerypeabrain on May 17, 2021 10:27:32 GMT
Thank you Kerouac. Ive spent a pleasant half an hour looking theough your photos, watching the videos and reading your informative commentary. Excellent.
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Post by mich64 on May 17, 2021 15:33:14 GMT
What a wonderful thread. I kept going in and out checking wikipedia on things, so interesting.
I knew immediately the flag was from Lebannon, for an unknown reason, I seem to remember flags and do well on flag quizzes.
The girl with the palm, I did not think it was a palm at all, I saw it as an extremely large quill representing a quill pen reading to dip in ink following the poet fame of the town.
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Post by kerouac2 on May 17, 2021 15:36:25 GMT
Of course, I knew the Lebanese flag immediately (I am a flag geek), even though Mark seemed to think I was an imbecile. I just didn't know what it was at that specific location.
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Post by bjd on May 17, 2021 15:43:42 GMT
I just tried to find a description of the young girl statue but can't find anything. Perhaps she is holding an olive branch (symbol of peace) since she is beside the monument to the war dead?
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Post by kerouac2 on May 17, 2021 16:32:48 GMT
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Post by onlyMark on May 17, 2021 16:40:44 GMT
No, I know nothing about the flag. Yes, my mistake. Quite clear and unambiguous what you said. It is evident you knew what the flag was but not in this context. How on earth could I have thought differently. Must be old age creeping up on me.
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Post by kerouac2 on May 17, 2021 16:45:14 GMT
Just trying to preserve you from excess words. Next time I will write "No, I know nothing about why the Lebanese flag is there." If it had been the flag of Burundi or Brunei, my original statement would have been accurate in terms of ignorance.
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Post by onlyMark on May 17, 2021 16:52:21 GMT
The extra words may have helped. But then you never know.
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Post by kerouac2 on May 17, 2021 16:58:07 GMT
I guess I just overestimated you.
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Post by onlyMark on May 17, 2021 17:17:56 GMT
Easily done.
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Post by lugg on May 17, 2021 19:40:56 GMT
. Really interesting and enjoyable thread thank you K2. It is so good to see members being able to spread their wings finally.Yes the weather looked crap at times but that is the case in many parts of Europe right now. So Charleville-Mézières can know at least now it is not alone. always think of belvederes in terms of an official outlook point, Yes but does it not have to be a building or is that my misinterpretation or is it lost in translation. The police were not amused and appeared to be threatening them with a sanction. Has that police officer really climbed into the fountain to issue his sanction?
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Post by kerouac2 on May 17, 2021 20:04:21 GMT
No, it looks like it, but he was standing in front of the fountain wall.
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Post by lagatta on May 17, 2021 20:11:42 GMT
Yes, lots of Lebanese in Montréal. Not surprised though that other posters beat me to it.
I must be hungry - crave some Greek and Lebanese food...
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Post by fumobici on May 17, 2021 21:16:12 GMT
I could easily spend an afternoon happily tripping around there on a sunny day I think. The marionette clock borders on the brilliant and it seems to have the not inconsiderable usual charms of an anonymous French town.
Picture this: Rimbaud biopic eponymously named "Rimbaud", starring Sly Stallone. Couldn't miss!
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Post by mich64 on May 17, 2021 22:59:29 GMT
Checking the map, I noticed that you were just about an hour from where I was born.
Nice to know a fellow flag enthusiast!
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Post by patricklondon on May 18, 2021 4:34:52 GMT
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