OMG, this place has jumped right off the pages of a fairy tale. i am overnighting in a 9th century abbey that is inhabited and managed by catholic monks. the stone circular staircase is the kind where you never quite feel alone even though noone is visibly standing nearby or even within earshot. and of course, any self-respecting 9th century architect would build at least one secret passageway into the new abbey's stairwell! the village sits in a tight deep valley and every building looks the part. now i get where disney's inspiration came from!
supped in the abbey with the 40-strong members of the lourdes choir who gave a concert that very evening. told them my mom would go bananos over a vial of water from bernadette's grotto. ask and ye shall receive. mom, the water's in the mail!
some churches don't translate well into good musical venues for the natural accoustics confound the source sound with its own powerful echoes. the abbey however proved a gorgeous locale as the kyrie eleison's rose up, filling the cathedral with the voices of 200 angels. beautiful.
to further pad the ambience, i heard the sound of high-pitched screeching coming from inside the walls throughout the choir's performance. as i left the abbey, i spotted clusters of bats chasing each other from the cracks in the high midieval facade. spooooooooky!!
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