I slept well in the Hotel with No People and got up and packed my rucksack for the last time ready for the flight home. Just round the corner was a trolleybus stop, which took me to Place Winston Churchill, one of the transport hubs of the city. Bus stations are never very beautiful at the best of times, but I must say that this one, planted with lots of plane trees to give the passengers some shade, blended in rather better than most.
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| Place Winston Churchill |
It was still only 9.15, so I wandered down into the old town to find some breakfast. There was a better view of the Central Market than I had the previous day in the driving rain, and also a reassuring sign that I was still on the right path.
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| Limoges Central Market |
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| The Pilgrim Way symbol set in the pavement
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At 10am the Musée National Adrien Dubouché, the largest ceramic collection in France. Housed in a very splendid mid-nineteenth century building much expanded by a modern wing hidden behind, this was a perfect way to spend the last morning of my trip.
Moving through the museum took the visitor through the stages of the history of ceramic production, the different techniques, the stages of industrialization, the application of colour and so on. All very clearly laid out and labelled. The collection is then presented: a huge range of ceramics from prehistory to the present day. I will offer you only a taste of its splendours here:
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| Andrea della Robbia |
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| A gilded plaque of St Jerome and his lion – about 45 cms tall – German 16 C |
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| Minton, late 19C English – huge – about 5 ft tall – gaudy and vulgar but amazing! |
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| 19 C French table – made in Limoges |
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| mid 20 C – a plate by Picasso |
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| Belgian early 20C – a life sized ceramic sculpture of a miner |
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| Some very wacky contemporary teapots |
The museum has a brilliant app which gives you much more – if you want it look for MNADLimoges in your usual app store. And it is well worth turning off the autoroute to go and see.
It was a fantastic way to spend the morning. I picked up a sandwich and a drink and got the bus to the airport. Limoges International is fairly modest.
But it does the trick. Lots of English people coming and going – quite a few are resident in the area, and other passengers were heading home either from visiting French resident family or friends or to see family in the UK over half term. The plane was full. The winds were picking up and it was a bumpy ride to Stansted. We were on the ground by 16:45. Thereafter it took me six hours to get from Stansted to Newark Northgate, so I was very tired by the time Laurence got me home. By this stage I was just relieved the travelling was over! I will write one more part of the blog with reflections on this stage of the journey.
From The Quire 