And now for a change of pace: France has everything, including the coalfields of the Nord-Pas de Calais, a far cry from sunny, bird-filled Provence. However, the French have applied to Unesco to add the coalfields, which closed in 1990, to the World Heritage List. The goal is to preserve the record of an industry and an industrial way of life: mining activities, slag heaps, pits, housing estates, churches, and the intangible history of immigration and the struggle of workers for a decent standard of living. There are more traditional monuments as well, including the stained glass and staircase in the town hall of Bruay (dating from 1931) and the nearby Cite des Electriciens, built in 1865.
Steampunk is an anachronistic combination of 19th/early 20th century and futuristic technology and is a genre of sci fi, seen in Warehouse 13 (TV) and the acclaimed novel Boneshaker. It’s easy to forget that grit is also part (perhaps the major part) of history and of human experience. Silk, lace, gold, perfume, fans, and even multiple changes of clothing were, until recently, available only to the very few. Go see for yourself – perhaps take pictures with your digital camera or share your thoughts via text messages or call home on Skype at an internet cafe and consider how the world has changed and what wonders are underway even as I write and you read.
And then go to France – and experience over a thousand years of vivid history for yourself.