Mary Magdalene and Saint Maximin la Sainte Baume

Saturday.
The plan ... lets go to a castle that is nearby and do indoor things 'cause it is freakin' cold out.

Reality... We check the castle website, read the French part, not the English part, we take note that on the French part it clearly says, Castle was supposed to open Feb 11, but hey the weather is terrible, so try again on the 18th.  The English part of the site of course says, see you in April...

So we need a new plan, indoors, not too much driving....GOOGLE..HELP.  Google maps shows a town nearby with a ridiculously long name : saint maximin la sainte baume.  Looks good, has Max Min in it, loved Calculus so this could be good, and we can convince the girls there is a patron saint of bums... I'm intrigued.  Wikipedia what say thou?.

I, the great, if not often inaccurate, Wikipedia say unto you, that the big attraction in the town of calculus and bums, is the basilica of Mary Magdalene.  As it turns out this is the largest gothic building in the South-East of France, and only about 40 minutes away.....CALCULUS and BUMS here we come!

The Basillica of Mary Magdalene:  Note the flying buttresses, man I love those.

My Sacred Feminine (s) going inside 

Centre view showing the great arches and the domed ceiling....those flying buttresses are not just for show.

Entry to the crypt.

Sainte Mary Magdalene

 The Reliquary, containing amongst other things, the skull of Mary Magdalene.  Somewhat creepy.

 The sarcophagus of Mary Magdalene with various figures etched in bas relief.  Many are broken and a sign explains that this was from "pilgrims" of the past helping themselves to a souvenir.

 Back upstairs:
The wooden carvings in this particular church are amazing.  This one ordains the top of the Chair in the middle of the church, and shows Mary Magdalene ascending, surrounded by angels.  Apparently it is carved from a single block of wood.

The pipe organ.

Again the wood carvers got their hands on this one also, lots of fine detail including some figures near the top, not sure who they are.  Carved on one of the sarcophaguses in the crypt is the earliest representation of a pipe organ, so it was fitting to include a picture of the one upstairs.