CERN And Ferney-Voltaire
Feb. 27th, 2010 05:02 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
poliphiloMonday morning was all about packing and cleaning the appartment. In the afternoon we drove Matt home to CERN. We'd hoped to take a tour of the visitor centre- the wooden globe in the photo below- but it was closed for repairs. CERN above ground looks like a business park.
With time on our hands, we went to Ferney- a not particularly pretty, small town- famous as the home of Voltaire- and the site of his many, philanthropic and daring social experiments. There's a statue- inscribed to Le patriarche de Ferney, a fountain with his bust on it, and a painting on the side of the hotel which shows him in silhouette, sitting, drinking some enlightenment beverage, legs crossed, with a slipper dangling from his toes. Voltaire was a very great man and a very good man- a secular saint- and I was moved to be in his presence. His so-called chateau, on the edge of town- is a tasteful and modest country house. I don't know if it opens to the public, but it was certainly closed on this occasion- and I got no closer than the gates.
In the evening we dined at the Coq Rouge in St Genois. I ate foie gras, fried in a raspberry vinegar sauce, veal kidneys in a gingerbread and mustard sauce and a coupe colonel- which is lemon sorbet with vodka. I've racked my brains to remember if I've ever had a better meal in the past 59 years- and I don't believe I have.
With time on our hands, we went to Ferney- a not particularly pretty, small town- famous as the home of Voltaire- and the site of his many, philanthropic and daring social experiments. There's a statue- inscribed to Le patriarche de Ferney, a fountain with his bust on it, and a painting on the side of the hotel which shows him in silhouette, sitting, drinking some enlightenment beverage, legs crossed, with a slipper dangling from his toes. Voltaire was a very great man and a very good man- a secular saint- and I was moved to be in his presence. His so-called chateau, on the edge of town- is a tasteful and modest country house. I don't know if it opens to the public, but it was certainly closed on this occasion- and I got no closer than the gates.
In the evening we dined at the Coq Rouge in St Genois. I ate foie gras, fried in a raspberry vinegar sauce, veal kidneys in a gingerbread and mustard sauce and a coupe colonel- which is lemon sorbet with vodka. I've racked my brains to remember if I've ever had a better meal in the past 59 years- and I don't believe I have.
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Date: 2010-02-27 05:34 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-02-27 07:47 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-02-27 08:29 pm (UTC)And that meal you describe...a most fitting ending!
:)
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Date: 2010-02-27 09:22 pm (UTC)To Tony -- with admiration
Date: 2010-02-28 02:28 am (UTC)Paul Brucker
Re: To Tony -- with admiration
Date: 2010-02-28 09:47 am (UTC)I'm pleased you like the blog. You're someone whose good opinion it's worth having. People who know me in person think I'm a grumpy sod, but I try to work at the good old joie de vivre. As Stevenson wrote (approximately),
The world is so full of such wonderful things
I'm sure we should all be as happy as kings.
It would be good if you got a livejournal- for several reasons. 1. It's a great medium for self-expression, 2. there are some excellent writers here- and they're good company. 3. We could talk more often- and not just once every five years or whatever it is.
Hoping to see you you around (so to speak)
Tony
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Date: 2010-02-28 11:45 pm (UTC)That tall bearded guy looks like one of my exes.
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Date: 2010-02-28 11:46 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-03-01 09:15 am (UTC)