We set out by the port of Sète, where we saw huge ships that apparently run between France and Morocco. Outside Sète is a huge saltwater “pond” (I would be more inclined to call it a marsh) that seems to have some low-growing vegetation.
The goal of my trip to France is to visit two glass museums, one in Claret, north of Montpellier, and one at Carmaux, north of Toulouse and Albi. Today is Claret, reached by some very back roads, but now I’ve seen a lot of the south of France.
The idea is to write an article about some of the glass museums for a Tucson publication, including “professional” photos. We’ll see. We arrived at Claret about 10:45. This gives us a little over an hour and a half before the museum has a two-hour lunch break.
Halle de Verre, Claret
After the Deutsches Museum für Modernes Glas in Rödental, Germany, plus some other U.S. museums, this is a let-down. I found it online, so I wanted to check it out. If Jacqueline hadn’t driven me, I would have been all day getting there — train to Montpellier, tram to somewhere, then bus to Claret, where I’m not sure there was even a hotel.
The museum is on two floors. We had a reduced admission because they were doing some kind of work. On the first floor there’s a very complete history of glass, along with reproductions of some of the old pieces, and information about modern glass techniques. These are explained through some short videos, all in French (of course — we’re in France…). There’s also a very nice gift shop, with local / French artists.
Piece in the current exhibit
Upstairs is the current exhibit, which is made up of French glass artists, many of whom are connected to large educational facilities. This includes one at Vannes-le-Chatel, which Jacqueline and I visited a couple of years ago.
After Claret we stopped at the Abbaye of Vermagne, a vineyard to buy some wine, then the town of Marseillan, where we bought more wine, looked around and I had a cup of coffee. Then it was back to the Cap.
The Abbaye of Vermagne was pretty interesting.
Abbaye de Valmagne, built in 1139
I’m not “into” churches — this one is huge. The property is full of trees, so it’s much cooler than many other places.
Church at Valmagne, Jacqueline is front left
Wine barrels in the church at Abbaye de Valmagne
The church has huge barrels for wine — it’s in private hands and has been for some 7 generations. It produces a regional wine, though we didn’t buy any. It dates from 1139. Its claim to fame was that one of the heads of the abbey decided, around 1575, that he wasn’t going to be a Catholic anymore, so he led a group to slaughter all the monks and the 80-year-old man who took care of the wine in those days. The abbey was pretty much destroyed. A modern piece of stained glass was made from fragments and two new stained glass windows have been created.
Small stained glass window created from fragments of an old window
Stained glass window at Valmagne, one of two remaining
Detail from one of the existing stained glass windows at Valmagne
Second stained glass window at Valmagne
Fountain under grape arbor in courtyard at Valmagne
Shaded road, this near the abbey, but we passed by many like this
We went to La Madeleine winery in Marseillan (my granddaughter is also Madeleine). It’s a picturesque little town, as are all the towns in the area, with narrow streets.
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Oleanders used as trees in Marseillan
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View of part of the harbor at Marseillan
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Mural at a café in Marseillan
Then it was back to Cap d’Agde. I was disappointed not to see any flamingos after Jacqueline told me that they were in the pond between Marseillan and Sète.
After dinner (never before 8 p.m.), we took a long walk around part of Cap d’Agde. There was to be an eclipse of the moon, but the sky was covered in fog, so we didn’t see anything.
more photos to come
diane's fused glass 