When we were in Belorus we got a little confused about the local currency, the Belorussian rouble. The notes are worth ten times the amount printed on them, which caused some embarrassment. In a restaurant in Minsk we paid in Russian roubles and the waitress refused to give us any change. After a discussion (in Russian) she gave us some Belorussian rouble notes (small ones with animals printed on them) and told us they were worth ten times the value printed on them. We thought she was trying to deceive us, but later found out she was not.
Monthly Archives: January 2009
Budget attractions in France
Conques, in south western France, has a medieval shrine that was a way station on a pilgrimage route to Santiago Compostella. The collection of medieval religious art, especially Ste. Foy in Majesty is worth the effort to go there.
Gordon S. Patton – USA (6/8/97)
The Grottes de Betharram is a massive cave complex situated 5 km outside of Nay on the N937 to Lourdes. A coach from the car park takes you up the hill to the cave entrance. The cave, always at a cool 13C is on five levels carved out by a river now residing on the lowest level. The Grande Salle, is an impressive cavern on the top level. From here an 80m deep stairway takes you down through the levels the path becoming more enclosed by rock until it opens out at the river. A boat then takes you a quarter of a mile upstream where you then continue to walk gradually upward for 400m. It?s a relief to get on the small train that whizzes you through the last 1 km of cavern, careening around corners dripping with stalactites.
Sarah Bath Watkins – UK (14/7/97)
Angers, in the Brittany region, is a beautiful and historic city and is well worth a day?s visit. There is a lot to see including the medieval chateau and the cathedral St. Maurice. The medieval “Apocalypse” tapestry, dating from the 1300?s is displayed in the chateau, and the modern tapestry “Le Chant due Monde” by Jean Lurcat is close-by. These magnificent works as well as the many other attractions in Angers make the city a great place to spend a day or even two.
Stephanie Abba – France (24/3/97)
Chinese Karakters
This broad programme of more than 20 videos, documentaries and films attempts to paint a picture of modern China and the sweeping changes that are underway there. The focus is not only social (the changing role of women and the coming out of homosexuals, for instance) – there’s also an exploration of the current state of dance, theatre, visual art and multimedia. The subtitles are in English.
