Bonjour mes amis!
For our 20th wedding anniversary, Karen and Jeff are taking a two-week trip to Paris and France to celebrate. Below is a travel diary of the trip, with text by Karen (usually) and photos by Jeff (usually). We hope you enjoy the blog.
September 4th - New York to Paris
We are here in Paris and there is so much to say.
First things first – our trip to JFK was uneventful. However, there was some white knuckle driving. Neither Jeff nor I have ever been outside of Manhattan in NYC, so it was fun to drive by some of the places that have become icons (thanks to Woody Allen movies). Yes, Virginia, there really is a Coney Island, a Sheepshead Bay and Rockaway Beach.
We arrived at the airport with time to spare and boarded at the appointed hour. As is our habit, we get prescription sleeping meds from our PCP. We take them once the plane is on the tarmac. The last thing I remember was the pilot announcing that there would be a delay because of bad weather 100 miles off the coast and all European travel would be grounded for a time. I have a vague memory of the jet taking off. The next thing I remember is, “Would you like a croissant?” and less than hour later we were on the ground at Charles de Gaulle Airport.
Our transport was waiting for us and whisked us away to a waiting van. He was transporting another couple from Chicago. Birders. Traveled to many of the places we have. We had a wonderful conversation and I am happy to say that I have their e-mail address.
Our hotel is wonderful and located just a few minutes away from the Eiffel Tower. We spent much of the day getting our bearings. We walked here and there ogling the beautiful architecture. We have found that it is much like looking in a rear view mirror – things are closer than they appear. Much of Paris is just a short walk away.
You are right, Sue, this city takes my breath away!
We had dinner at a bistro. It was a chance to get our feet wet in the world of cuisine. On the menu was a cocktail that one of Jeff’s Brazilian co- workers told him about. Delicious and, oh, so potent! Well, the food was mediocre. The service OK and we are both very glad that we took French lessons and spent some time with the conversational French group. Sometimes being prepared can change a good vacation into a great vacation.
Oh, by the way…Sue, Keith, Bill, Lee, Kim and Sam…the wine is wonderful. Even Jeff enjoyed it.
There are a couple of special events going on while we are here. Next week, the Pope is visiting. They are building the grandstand about 2 blocks from our hotel. On Sunday, there is a women’s marathon, The Pariesienne. Runners from all over will be running all over historic Paris. There will be a lot of special events, including a Bollywood Festival (Go figure!). We plan to find a place to stand, observe and cheer on the runners.
A couple of interesting observations and experiences:
Tomorrow, we will get more serious about our sightseeing. Thunderstorms are predicted for tomorrow and we plan to spend the day in the Louvre and the D’Orsay. We will try our hand at the Metro, too.
Stay tuned.
September 5th - TGIF for you, day two for us
We started our day with a wonderful breakfast in the cheerful breakfast room at our hotel. It was serve-your-self style and it far surpassed the French Continental Breakfast that I expected. The breakfast room is wonderfully appointed with bistro tables out ofArchitects Digest. It overlooks a small garden that fills the triangle between three buildings. It is a very small, but charming courtyard.
We jumped on the Metro and took it as far as the Louvre. By happenstance, we were able to walk from the Metro through a shopping concourse and directly into the bottom level of the Louvre. No lines. Just flashed our Museum Pass and walked right in.
It is huge, but the maps and diagrams make it pretty easy to find one’s way around. We started with the must-see’s, Winged Victory, the Mona Lisa and Venus de Milo. At the Mona Lisa, I took Rick Steve’s (of the Travel Channel) advise and walked into the middle of the crowd and listened to “I didn’t know it was so small!” in a myriad of languages. It is small, but it is bigger than a breadbox, so it is not allthat small. Winged Victory is huge. The Venus de Milo is life size.
We wondered around the Louve for 5 hours. We strolled into the Ancient Iran section. The Persian artifacts, entire stonewalls comprised of glazed bricks in soft hues of green, blue and yellow, are beyond description. My jaw dropped. I am so sorry that you weren’t there today to see them for yourself.
There is more than one wing of Egyptian artifacts and sarcophagi. There was one gallery with a long display of nested sarcophagus, you know, a coffin inside a coffin inside a coffin…. Jeff remarked that it looked like a coffin factory. We could visualize the Pharaoh, “I’ll take this one and two of those and maybe that one over there.”
Near the Coffin Factory, there was a decorated top to a black stone crypt that was simple in design and oh, so graceful. The image was a bas-relief of the goddess of the sky holding a disk, the sun. The name of the goddess is Nut. I’m not making this stuff up. That is her name!
At the very bottom of the Louvre is the excavated “first Louvre.” It was a medieval castle-like fortress that looked a lot like Cinderella’s Castle at Disney World. The excavated portion was from the base up to about 30 feet. The king’s chambers were excavated and we got to walk around inside. We were surprised at how small the footprint of the castle was.
After five hours we were saturated and opted out of going to the D’Orsay. Instead we walked around the outside of the Louvre, through the Tuilleries (long, long, sculpture garden with topiary, flowers and trees) to the Place du Concord, the most elaborate traffic circle on the planet. It is resplendent with elaborate fountains and it’s very own Egyptian obelisk, not unlike the Washington Monument, except the point is gilded… which is a big “except.”
It was an easy walk to our neighborhood. We stopped for wine and martinis at a Brasserie and then back to our hotel. After dark, we plan to walk, around Paris and enjoy The City of Lights.
September 6th - A grand day worthy of the Grand Republic
We really took advantage of the museum passes that we bought. If you are not familiar with the Museum Pass, we paid a reduced fee in advance and get instant entry into over 80 museums and 60 other places, plus unlimited metro rides (within a specified area) for 6 days. There is something for everyone and we picked out a few for today.
Our day started at the Invalides, a series of museums dedicated to the paraphernalia, history and theory of war. The museums are housed in a former military school and hospital within block or so of our hotel. As is much of the architecture here, the building is huge, elaborate and beautiful. It was a good place to start.
Napoleon’s tomb is there in a huge cathedral anchoring the main entrance. Rather fitting, given his purported ego. The dome of the cathedral is gilded and it can be seen from some distance. In fact, we use it as a landmark to find our way back to our hotel. Not to forget Napoleon’s favorite lady, Josephine, is buried on the same site, opulent and impressive, but not quite as grand…upstairs.
We spent some time at the World War I and World War II museums. Both wars were fought on French soil and we wanted to get the French perspective. We did the same kind of thing when we spent time in England. Both the English and the French museums were very interesting, informative and filled with artifacts of the war(s). However, England’s museum seemed to say, “Look how we suffered and how we survived.” The French museum was more like, “Here’s another war we made it through.”
Jeff and I were both surprised to see how small the equipment was. Tanks used in WWI and early in WWII were so small there was barely enough room for 2 men. It was as if it was built around them much like the first space capsule was engineered around John Glenn’s body. Jeeps were about the same foot print as the Miata, but much higher off the ground. Gee, I could have had a jeep. NOT!
Much credit was given to the French Resistant Movement. The original purpose of the Resistance was to avoid the political vacuum that results at the end of a war. The resistance assembled and protected a group of political leaders who were ready to step into position at war’s end. It was a safety measure to reduce the likelihood of an ally (a.k.a. USA) occupying France because there was no one ready to run the country.
Next stop was the D’Orsey Museum, a renovated train station that houses wonderful art work. Much of the art is French Impressionist Paintings, our favorite style. We saw room after room of Degas (the sculpture of the little ballerina), Pissaro, Monet (one of the Waterlilies), Manet, Renoir, Van Gogh (one of his famous self-portrait--the one with both ears), Toulouse Lautrec and more, more, more. We were in our element! Oh, yeah, I almost forgot, we were very surprised to see the REAL Whistler’s Mother.
But there was a lot more than Impressionist paintings. The center of the main floor was a sculpture garden. The museum had some wonderful examples of the furniture made in the Art Nouveau and Art Deco style. We loved it. Jeff took at least one picture of each piece. Sam and Kim, we will pass copies of the pictures on to you.
The building itself is a work of art. There is natural light everywhere. Many times we were walking on glass floors.
We left the museum in late afternoon and decided to walk along the Champ Elysees to the Arch de Triomphe. The Champs Elysees is a high-end shopping mecca not too different from Fifth Avenue. It was packed with people. It would rival New York City at rush hour. It was a long walk, approximately 3 miles.
We arrived at the Arch at the same time an honor guard of retired veterans (men and women) marched in. These retired heroes were resplendent with campaign flags waiving and the medals on their chests sparkling in the sunshine (Hey! These vets deserve a little purple prose!) Accompanying them were obvious dignitaries who gave a few brief speeches and placed large bouquets of colorful flowers near the eternal flame. There was a group of young athletic-looking people accompanying the dignitaries. Perhaps they were athletes ready for tomorrow’sLa Parisienne (a breast cancer walk)or maybe participants in the Olympics. We will probably never know. After the crowd sang the Marseilles, there was much shaking of hands and smiling. It was very nice to present at the ceremony.
After the veterans, dignitaries and “athletes” disbursed, Jeff and I climbed to the top of Arch, up all 284 steps of a circular staircase. Round and round and round. I, for one, was huffing and puffing and had to stop to catch my breath, but we both made it all the way up to the very top to the observation deck. I probably do not have to tell you that the view of Paris was spectacular. And way, way, over there, was our landmark, the gold dome of Napoleon’s Tomb. From our excellent vantage point, we looked around for the easiest route and opted for a nearby Metro stop. So down all 284 steps, round and round and round. Then out onto the street, two dizzy Americans, staggering and stumbling into the Metro station. We were back at the hotel in a flash. This is such an easy city to get around and round and round.
More adventures are on the horizon.
September 7th - From the bottom to the top
That’s what we did today.
I thought it might be fun to watch La Pariseinne from the top of the Eiffel Tower, but we got up too late. Then we thought we might watch it from the street, but we lingered too long over breakfast. So we wandered down to the Seine River and found our way to the underground tour of the storm sewers of Paris. Don’t be shocked, it is more interesting than you think.
The Romans built the first sewers in the town that became Paris. And it has been a struggle ever since to provide drinking water, get rid of wastewater and keep everything in an ecological balance. We were surprised how much of the drain cleaning is done by hand, from inspecting, dredging and flushing. The sewers are flushed with a wooden ball just slightly smaller than the pipe. It rolls down the pipe pushing water in front of it and stirring up the sand in back of it. Modern sewers are moderated via computer, but are still flushed with these crazy wooden balls.
Out of the sewer for a walk along the Seine.
Later in the afternoon we took the Metro to Notre Dame. It is one of two churches on this little tiny island in the middle of the Seine. We toured the Conciergerie, a castle that became a prison. The Concierge was the jail keeper in charge of everything from food, supplies, incoming and outgoing prisoners. I suppose a modern-day concierge does pretty much the same thing. Interestingly, prisoners who were rich and famous could buy better accommodations. Marie Antoinette had quite a nice cell for the two months she spent in jail before taking that ride to the guillotine at the Place de Concorde.
We spent some time viewing the remains of a Roman town that was located under Notre Dame. There was a home with a heated bath and another with a heated floor. There were enough artifacts and pieces of plaster to make a good guess on what the wall decorations lo0ked like; decorations not unlike we have today. Everything old is new again.
At Notre Dame Cathedral, we joined the long line of people and marched in one door, down the nave, around the altar, up the other side of the nave and out the door. Dotty, Jeff has pix and questions for you.
The little-island-in-the-middle-of-the-Seine is packed with buildings and packed with people. We decide to find a less habited part of Paris. We stopped here for a drink and there for a light dinner. We decide to walk back along the Seine to the Eiffel Tower where we can hop on a river cruise. We arrived there about dusk and are on a river cruise in about 15 minutes. It was a lovely and relaxing cruise up the river (and back again). Some of the buildings where glowing in the last sunlight of the day. We picked up some facts about some of the buildings along the way. For example, when we were looking for a place to have a drink, we were walking around the Sorbonne campus. No wonder everyone looked so young and there was a proliferation of bars.
As it turned out, we ended our sightseeing not far from where we started it, but today we managed to cover travel the Seine from the bottom of the historic district to the top.
September 8th - Paris in three tales
Today’s adventures will be told in three tales.
Jeffroise and Karenette
In a land far away, Jeffroise and Karenette visited the land of the Water Lillies. They are kept in a special place called the L’Orangerie, a house rebuilt by the King for the Great Impressionists and their leader, Claude Monet. Both of our travelers had seen the Water Lillies before, but these were like no others. Several canvases extended across a curved wall and magically became a mural. In this room of large proportions were four magical murals. Jeffroise and Karenette were transfixed but refused to be put under the spell. Karenette and Jeffroise fled the building before the clock struck two.
Jeffzimodo and Miser-Elder Climb the Tower of Notre Dame
It was a day of sun and many people across the land came to the great site of Notre Dame. Jeffzimodo was sent afield to find the moneychanger while Miser-Elder found a place in line and kept others at bay until she earned the right to climb the 400 steps to the heavenly pinnacle at the top of the Tower. As the time wore on, Jeffzimodo limped into view. “My dear Jeffzimodo, what ever has happened? Have you been fighting evil-doers?” “No my wise and wonderful, Miser-Elder. I met a dragon and now I have a blister on my toe the size of an onion.” “Why Jeffzimodo, not only are you limping, but you arehunched, too!” “ Oh, my kind, sweet, generous and good, Miser-Elder, my pack is so heavy from the keepsakes I have acquired!”
Jeffzimodo and Miser-Elder began to climb the spiral stairs worn smooth by the feet of many pilgrims. One hundred steps later, they arrive at the place of indulgences, offering toy gargoyles and souvenir coffee mugs, but both resist and climb another 119 steps to the Bell Tower. They overlook the ancient city. They remark about the spirit of the gargoyles. They capture every corner of the land into their memories. But they are not at the end of their journey. They climb more steps than they can count and are soon on to the very top of the tower. They are as one with the gargoyles and watch the city below. Soon the Tower’s protectors remind them that it is time to return to the life below.
As they descend the narrow, winding staircase, they are met by a host of travelers on a journey to the top. There is not enough room for those ascending and those descending to pass. Everyone is stuck in the Tower stair! Miser-Elder calls to Jeffzimodo, “Quick, throw me your hunch/pack!” Jeffzimodo understands and passes the heavy pack to his wonderful, wonderful Miser-Elder. She tells the others to go to the top because no one can go down until they pass by. They look into the wise old eyes of MiserElder and know that she speaks the truth. They stand up straight, they push pass and they continue on their pilgrimage. Miser-Elder declares that the way is clear and Jeffzismodo and Miser-Elder fly down the steps. Once on solid ground the two smile and nod and continue on their way.
Line-el and Whinelle at the Eiffel
Line-el and Whinelle are near the end of their visit to the capital of the Francophiles. The Eiffel Tower has not been breached. The time has come and Line-el and Whinelle must pass the troll that lives under the Tower. The troll stands guard as a line of a thousand people wind from here to there for as far as the eye can see. Line-el and Whinelle join the line because it is the only way to pass the troll and enter the Tower. Finally they make it to the elevator and are transported to the first landing, half way to the sky. But again, they must join the line of a thousand people until the hour strikes half past when the elevator arrives and takes Line-el and Whinelle to the highest landing. Now they are touching the sky.
They stay until Whinelle says to Line-el, “ Good Sir, I am starving. I have not eaten since the sun was high in the sky. Now the sun is about to descend the horizon.” Line-el responds, “My wonderful, wonderful Whinelle, let us take the advise of the good Queen Marie Antoinette, “Let us eat cake!’ ” Whinelle says, “Hurrah! Let us descend upon the snack bar and follow the good queen’s advise!” Whinelle, who believes that it is proper to speak the language whenever one can, asks the Keeper of All Snacks for an apple donut, a brownie and a bag of bar-b-que potato chips. The Keeper of All Snacks is so pleased with her attempt at the language that he gently and delicately puts the snacks in the finest paper bag in all the land. Line-el is so moved that he decides that, he, too, will have a brownie.
The sun begins to disappear, Line-el and Whinelle continue to enjoy touching the sky. They stay until the Tower turns blue and the lights twinkle. Then and only then do they join the line of a thousand people to return to the land of the Francophiles.
September 9th - Paris, our anniversary
Today was our last full day in Paris and we had one last “must do” on our list, Versailles.
It is a huge chateau and estate about 30 minutes from Paris. A series of kings added their own personalities to the place, but it has an orderly and homogeneous look to it. One of the Louis’s (there ar so many King Louis’s how do French children learn them all?) moved the French government there and for a century or so, it was the place that the king would entertain 20,000 (yes that is in thousands) of his nearest and dearest. Marie Antoinette had a mini-estate built on the chateau grounds, The Petite Trianon, where she and the King would go to escape the hubbub of the main chateau. It is much more intimate and I would like to live there, too.
There is much to Versailles. The gardens are extensive. We got a glimpse of the machines that are used to give everything that topiary-look. It is not dissimilar to a cherry picker attached to and arm that sweeps back and forth. At the end of the arm are 3 revolving blades. It sort of reminded me a huge electric shaver.
There is a Grand Canal big enough and deep enough to canoe from here to there. There is also a mini French town, Marie Antoinette’s favorite play land. I have come to think of it as Michael Jackson’s Neverland.
We took the train and it was an easy trip. The place was packed with tourists, at least 20,000. I know how Marie must have felt and no wonder she wanted to escape to the Petite Trianon! The King’s and the Queen’s chambers were part of the tour. As well as some many of the “public spaces.” I would like to mention how beautiful the ceilings are. I mention that because there were so many people there that I could see nothing else. (Emma, Tom, Warren and Cathi, this reminded me of the times we went to the New Year’s Eve Celebration at the Old Post Office Building in DC. Remember what it was like when half a million people tried to squeeze into one of four Metro stations? You’ve got the picture.)
Today is also our 20th anniversary. We made reservations at a recommended restaurant last week. It more than lived up to our expectations. The food and wine was exquisite and the staff genuinely loves what they do. And in the scheme of things, it was not expensive.
Tomorrow, our time in Paris comes to and end and we start the next leg of our journey, driving around France. Some closing thoughts about Paris that we visited:
This is an easy town. It is easy to get around in and a pleasure to walk in. The Metro is a breeze to navigate and goes to all the right places. There is so much to do here that one would never be bored. We found the French people to be helpful and polite.
It is quiet here. People talk softly. There is a lot of traffic, but there is not a lot of noise (car horns, radios blasting, motorcycles zooming, engine noise). Rarely did we here an airplane.
The most fashionable people in Paris (in my very limited experience) are the Japanese. Men and women were always dressed very stylishly. Of those I designate as non-tourists, everyone wears stylish and wonderful shoes. From this vantage point, it looks like hoodies and flip flops are on the way out. I say very few even among the tourists. The bubble is everywhere. I saw women of all ages and sizes wearing bubble skirts, dresses, pants, shorts, jackets, and coats.
Windows do not have screens. Bugs do not seem to be a problem. Few places have air conditioning. Many windows have flowerpots and window boxes.
Bathrooms are more casual. At the Louve, behind the door marked Toillettes, are 2 stalls. One has the icon of a women and right next to it is a stall with an icon of a man. At the D’orsay, a very modern museum, the icon for men was at the entrances of both bathrooms. Some one had taken a magic marker and drawn a skirt on one of them. A sex change operation? When we went on the boat cruise, I visited the head below deck. There was a long line of stalls with wood louvered doors. The doors are floor to ceiling so it was difficult to tell if a stall was occupied. I went down the line to locate one with the door open. Suddenly the row of stalls ends and there are a bunch of urinals on the wall. I thought, am I in the Men’s Room? I turned around and looked for those little icons. None. I looked for a separate room for Ladies. None. All righty then, I will use this stall in the front. I am very glad that I did not surprise a gentleman as I was wandering about.
It is very civilized in Paris.
We don't know where the next stop will be so the next entry may be delayed a day or two. I hope you're not disappointed!
September 10th - On the road to Rouen or Where The Wind Blows
We left our lovely hotel in Paris this morning. We made our way via metro and train to the Charles de Gaulle Airport and picked up our car. Funny, in all the times we have used the Metro while we have been in Paris, neither of us noticed how many steps there are. Nothing like a couple of suitcases to bring those steps to your attention!
For a few moments we thought we had gone to the wrong Metro station to pick up the train line. We thought we might have to retrace our steps (pun definitely intended). Jeff talked to the rail line attendant who reassured us that all we had to do was change trains at the third stop. Easy. This is such an easy town.
At Charles de Gaulle, we picked up our car. Jeff had a grand time using his French. But as things go, it wasn’t too long until he couldn’t keep up. The car attendant immediately switched to English. We have found that people are very courteous and patient. They let us go as far as we can go, and then switch to English (sometimes they are struggling with their English.). Almost everyday we comment about how smart we were to brush up on our French. About half of the museums we have visited have signage in English. We can piece together a few things, but cannot do any in-depth translation, Now I understand why foreign visitors to our country speed through museums.
After we got the rental car and loaded our luggage into it, we went back to a bookshop we passed near the car rental and bought a map. Then we were off to Rouen. Jeff was interested in the Joan of Arc story and Rouen is where she was burned at the stake. Also Rouen has the cathedral that Monet painted. With help from Jeff’s GPS we arrived in Rouen in early afternoon. It took us two tries, but we found a hotel room in the historic district.
We are talking about major historic, too. Rouen is called the city of an hundred spires. Wait until you see Jeff’s pictures, it is beyond description. The first cathedral was started in 393 and the next one in A.D. 1063. Church building must have been an important industry here. Sometimes it took a couple of centuries to complete a cathedral. But you know how it is, no sooner is it finished than it has to be redecorated.
Mixed in with the 4-5 cathedrals (all within one square mile) there are ancient timber fronted buildings. At first, I thought that I was some how transported to Stratford Upon Avon in England. I half expect to see Shakespeare waltzing down the street. Jeff’s pictures will say it all.
This area was bombed repeatedly in World War II (by the Americans, we are sad to say). Many of the buildings, including the cathedrals were badly damaged or destroyed. The townspeople and French government tried to save the pieces and reconstruct what they could. Other things were rebuilt from scratch. Sometimes it was in the original style and sometimes it was modern. As we walked around, we saw the remains of a cathedral wall, flanked by two modern buildings, used as a gateway into the university. Other times in a block of timber-fronted buildings there was a modern building at the end of the block.
Enjoy the pictures!
September 11th - Excuse Me, I Need Your Help
We started our day at the laundromat. It was nice and clean and had lots of machines. Of course, all of the instructions are in French. We discerned what we could, and I trotted over to slide in my money. The quizzical look on my face must have given it away that I not sure what to do. A man who was servicing the coin machine politely asked if I needed help. I gratefully said yes and he pretty much took care of everything. While our clothes were washing and drying, Jeff and I took turns wandering about. We found the spot where Joan of Arc was burned at the stake. It is on the grounds of a very modern, beautiful church. The roof of the church is the prominent architectural feature. It represents the flames of the fire. The interior is quite lovely and two of the windows are shaped like eyes. The window coverings have an abstract circle that could represent the iris of the eye.
After the laundry was done, we checked out, jumped in the car and started the next leg of our journey. We headed into Normandy, towards Caen and THE beaches (Omaha, Idaho, Juno, Sword and Gold). We stopped in Caen, about 2 hours from Rouen, to check out one of the castles that William the Conqueror built. It is situated on a hill and the walls are really high. From the top of the wall, one can see the entire town… or the closest phone booth. As it turned out, someone left one’s coat at the hotel in Rouen along with one’s wallet inher pocket. Yes, it was me…
We went to the phone booth, but we couldn’t figure out how it worked. It refused all of the credit cards. We looked around for an alternative. Jeff came across a hotel. We went inside, explained what had happened in enough broken French and English that the lady at the desk came to our rescue. She called our hotel in Rouen, found out the coat was discovered by housekeeping and taken to a safe place. We offered to pay, but she refused. We thanked her profusely, hopped back in the car and drove back to Rouen. Of course, it was not an easy trip. There was road construction, rush hour delays, a traffic accident and more than one wrong turn. Finally, we arrived and the coat was retrieved. The wallet and all the contents were in place.
We fought our way out of Rouen, saw the Golden Arches up ahead and figured that we needed a break today. It was around 6:00 PM and we hadn’t eaten since breakfast. It was the most stylish McDonald’s I have ever seen. Plus, it had wi-fi. Jeff ran out and grabbed his laptop and started banging away (that’s when yesterday’s entry was posted). He also checked our credit card activity and found out there was no improper activity. After a nice long break, we were back on the road to Caen.
Now, this is the third time today that we have traveled this road. I wouldn’t be at all surprised if the toll booth attendants didn’t start to recognize us and report us as gun runners or something. But we made it to Caen without any police intervention.
(PS. There are few pictures from today as Jeff was busy driving back and forth from Rouen to Caen, to Rouen, to Caen. The road pretty much looks like a road…)
September 12th - Every Lost Soldier Should Be Remembered
We started our day early.
On our way to Omaha Beach, we stopped in a little town, Bayeux, to see a “tapestry” that was over a 1000 years old. It was really wool embroidery on white linen, so I guess it isn’treally a tapestry. It was about 36 inches high and about 70 yards long, all one piece. Every few feet, there was a number that divided the tapestry into segments or chapters of the story. When you think about it, it was one of the first graphic novels, much like a comic strip.
It depicts the Battle of Hastings. If you are not familiar with the story, it stars those two bad boys, Duke (I-am-married-to-the-king’s-sister) Harold and William the Bastard (no-explanation-needed). Harold double-crosses William and tries to rob him of the crown of England. William is too smart, they have a huge battle, lot’s of soldiers die, William’s team wins and he is forever more known as William the Conqueror. Through out history, the tapestry was displayed at religious holidays and on special occasions to remind the citizenry of the importance of the battle.
On the road again and off to the D-Day Invasion. First of all, Omaha Beach (our first stop) and Utah Beach (our last stop) are the most beautiful beaches I have ever seen. Both are pristine. The sand is like powder. The beaches are miles long and 500-800 feet wide from the shoreline to the ocean. The waves are gentle. It would be a superb place for a resort, but of course, it wouldn’t be pristine for long if that were the case.
We spent some time in the Omaha Beach Museum. There were many high tech graphics and not a lot of gore. I don’t think that I knew that the Allies had been gearing up for the invasion for over a year. All of the soldiers, sailors, airmen, and marines were well trained and practiced their role(s) repeatedly before the big day. New equipment was designed and developed solely for this invasion. Military Intelligence kept the Germans guessing. And after the loss of thousand and thousands of lives from many Allied countries, the good guys won.
We drove over to the US Cemetery. It is quite awe inspiring to see row after precise row of identical crosses. There was one cross for each soldier. All of the headstones are brilliant white. We saw a worker washing the headstones with a brush and some kind of cleaner. He started at the beginning of a row and kept on going. We noticed that several of the headstones shaped with a Star of David had a stone or piece of gravel on one side of the crosspiece. We overheard someone explaining to her child that the stone indicated that a family member had visited. There was security everywhere. While we were here, we checked the computerized roster for men who had last names like ours (Dodd, Kirschner, Krichbaum). We weren’t looking for relatives; we knew the score there, no fatalities. We were looking for a little commonality. There were a couple of Dodds. We wandered around for a while and were shocked that so many of the men were 19 and 20 years old. I was under the impression that the men of this war were older on average, maybe closer to thirty years. I never expected to see so many graves marked as unknown soldiers, but considering the carnage of the battle, it should not have been such a surprise to me.
We had heard that there is a similar cemetery for German soldiers who died in battle near by. We consulted our GPS and set off to find it. It was about 26 miles away and the route led us over some very small back roads and through many picturesque villages. We were cruising down a one-lane road and saw a horse in a farmyard. There were a lot of trees and vegetation growing up around the fence between the yard and the road. Near the fence was a big mound of dirt and standing on top of it was a horse, shaking his head and looking around. We loved the image so much that we stopped, turned around and tried to get a picture. It is not the best but Jeff will post it.
Our little road trip to the German Cemetery was a beautiful ride and we felt that we were fortunate to be able to see this quaint side of Normandy. We were so busy looking around that we drove by the German Cemetery a couple of times before we found it. There are no big markers or signs. The entrance is through a simple Romanesque-style chapel. Pamphlets were neatly displayed at the entrance. In one small room to the side, there were bound books with an alphabetical listing of all the names and the location of the gravesites. A map was displayed on the wall. There was a guest book nearby. A handful of visitors were roaming around the cemetery, but no security and no curators.
I couldn’t help but be moved by row after precise row of gray granite crosses. The markers are shorter and shaped a bit differently than the ones in the American Cemetery, but the visual effect is the same. There were 6 names on each cross, three on the front and three on the back. A quick look around confirmed that there was a higher percentage of unknown soldiers than at the American cemetery. A few bouquets of flowers were left here and there. Over 10,000 German soldiers are buried in this cemetery. It is beautifully cared for with lovely brick pathways. We decided to go back into the chapel and conduct another name search. Jeff found four Kirschners. One was 19 years old when he died.
We ended our day at Utah Beach at sunset. It was a fitting way to close a day devoted to remembering so many lost soldiers.
September 13th - A Little French and a Little English
We got a late start today and decided to have breakfast on the road. Our drive to Mont de St. Michele is only about an hour and we stopped midway at a rest stop. By the way, the roads are well maintained, few if any patches or potholes. This is the northern part of France and there is a winter, so we were a little surprised. Of course, the French are willing to pay high taxes to support the building and repair of their infrastructure. There are frequent rest areas on the toll roads we have been traveling. As we have seen in just about everything in France, they are efficient and glamorous.
There were very short lines at the counter. We just stepped up and placed our order. I got to use my French and ordered a cup of coffee, a cup of tea and 2 sweet rolls. We got two cups of coffee and one cup of tea and no rolls. So I reverted to the universal language, stutter and point. The rolls were so good; we went back for more.
Our hotel is in a converted mill on a river in a beautiful little town called Ducey. Our room sits over the slow moving stream and we have a wonderful view of the garden setting. A picture cannot do it justice, but we will try to post one. I love this room. It is the first place we have stayed that has a coffee pot.
We dropped our bags at the hotel, and take the short drive to Mont St. Michele. Even as you approach, it is a jaw-dropping sight. In the tidal basin, built on a huge granite rock are a cathederal (complete with vaulted ceilings) and a village. So upon approach, you see a lot of flat land, sand and water and suddenly there is a tall mountain in the middle of the ocean.
We spent most of the day there. It is amazing how many tourist shops, restaurants, snack shops and homes can be built on a granite rock. No space is taken for granted. There are very small alleyways and lots and lots of steps. On the very top of the rock is a huge cathedral. The pilgrimage to the cathedral is up one set of steep stone steps after another. It was worth the huffing and puffing to get there. The view is magnificent and the tour of the cathedral was extremely interesting. By the by, the cathedral and adjacent abbey are now occupied by Benedictine Monks, but we got to tour the place anyway.
We returned to our cute little village of Ducey and decided it was time to get something for dinner. Most restaurants don’t open until 8:00 PM, so we decided to eat at the hotel. Well it was closed. We started looking around the village around 9:30. OK. It is a little village on Saturday night and we drove around a bit before we found a pizza place. There were lots of tables open and we walked in and found a place. The server came over and in French explained to us that we had to wait at the bar until they were ready for us. At least that is what we thing she said after several tries and lots of hand gesturing. We did as we were told. Ordered a pizza to share, and again with lots of effort on our part and our server’s part found out that sharing was not allowed. We both had to order one. We are glad we did. The pizza was huge for one person, about 18 inches across, but the crust was real thin and the toppings were generous, plus it was flavored as only Normandy can do. They were far to good to share. We finished our dinner around 11:30 PM. The place had filled up and most tables were taken. It wasn’t just young people either. There were at least one group of elderly couples and another family ranging in age from a 4 year old to grandpa.
By the way, not everyone in France speaks English. Not everyone in the United States speaks English, either.
September 14th - Where the Wind Blows Part 2
We have left Ducey and landed in the Loire Valley in a town called Tours. It was about a 3-hour drive and we arrived in late afternoon. Sunday is a good travel day; many things are not open.
Much of Tours was bombed and destroyed during World War II. The town salvaged what it could, which was very little and rebuilt the rest in the 1950’s architectural style. We walked around the small historic district. It has not been well maintained and some buildings and the remains of the ancient cathedral are boarded up. It was originally built in 100-something AD. Damaged, rebuilt, torn down, built again…on and on. I suppose by this time it is hard to tell if anything of the original church remains. There is one section of the historic district that has a lot of ambiance and a lot of sidewalk cafes. We chose a table outside and watched the world go by while we had an informal dinner.
We are making this an early night. We have a lovely hotel room and the bath is sumptuous. In one corner is a large shower. In another corner is a huge soaking tub. The double sink and counter are made from pressed glass. Oh, and let’s not forget that big fluffy bathrobe. The coffee pot, did I mention the sleek and modern coffee pot?
French TV and commercials are fascinating, probably because we don’t concentrate so much on the words but the presentation. All the commercials are new to us so they all seem innovative. We watched some video of the Pope’s visit to Paris and we knew exactly where the video was taken. We walked through that common area at least once every day.
Every vacation needs a little rest and relaxation. We are taking it today.
September 15th - Sleeping Beauty’s Castle and More.
There is so much to tell you. I will type as fast as I can.
We started early today because we wanted to visit three of the grand chateaux. We started the day with a chateau close to Tours, Villandry. It is famous for it’s extensive gardens. Even though Villandry is only 12 miles from Tours, it took us more than 90 minutes to find it. Our GPS seemed to be as confused as we were, we finally shut it off. We used a combination of a travel book, the brochure and a road map of France to locate it. What it really came down to was dumb luck.
Now that our time is running out, we have to pick and choose our activities carefully. We decided that we would skip the and the branches were covered. The grape arbor was very long and encompassed the perimeter tour of the chateau and concentrate on the gardens. They were magnificent. Ed, you would have loved the vegetable garden. It was a patterned garden so every color and texture was designed to fit neatly into a pattern. The veggies were huge. The pear trees were loaded with fruit. The apple trees were espaliered of the garden, 4 different sections and a different grape on each section.
Time to move on to Usse Chateau, Sleeping Beauty’s Castle. It looks like a castle should and is framed by the dark green trees on the hillside behind it. The author of the story, The Sleeping Beauty, was a guest at the chateau and was so inspired by the magic of the place that he had to write a story about it.
Some rooms have been renovated in the last 10 years or so, other rooms have not. The house is filled with the collections of many, many generations. As an extra tidbit, there were displays of evening and cocktail clothing from the 1920’s and 1930’s. I am not sure if the items were personal possessions or not. Many of the rooms were set up as if there was a cocktail party in progress and mannequins dressed in evening attire were in most of the furnished rooms. It really gave us the feeling that a real family not only lived there in the 30’s, but lives there now.
A couple of rooms on the first floor had not been renovated to show the older (read that as ancient) parts of the building. One of the rooms had a doorway that led down to a “basement” and then to an escape passage into the caves behind the building. It had been used on more than one occasion.
We were able to climb Sleeping Beauty’s Tower. Of course, it was up a spiral staircase that seemed to go on forever. At the top there were a series of rooms around the ramparts. Several were set to tell the story of Sleeping Beauty. Both Jeff and I were impressed by the detail of the set decorations and the expensive and plush costumes. Other rooms contained vignettes in the children’s play room, the laundress’s room and the Madame’s bath. All were very interesting and not as hokey as it sounds.
While we were driving to the Usse Chateau, we noticed that there were many caves dug into the hillside and many had elaborate doors. We wondered what that was all about and got the answer at the chateau. The chateau used the cave as extra space to press grapes into wine and to bottle and to store it. It was just the right temperature. Some were used as storage areas and others as barns. In the town, mushrooms are grown in some of the caves. So, there you have it.
We wondered around the roads looking for our next stop, Chenenceau. This is such a picturesque place that it is on the cover of our travel book. It is a chateau that is built on a bridge that crosses the Cher River. I couldn’t resist singing “I’ve Got You Babe” as we drove across the river.
We got there around 6 PM and opted to enjoy the gardens and not go into the chateau, there just wasn’t enough time to do them both. Many of the flowers grown near the green houses were ones that I had never seen before. Melons and gourds and several varieties of squashes were grown on trellises and arbors. It was quite a sight to see three-foot gourds hanging down from the top of the arbor. Janice, you would have loved this.
September 16th - Coffee, a Candy Bar and Thee
This morning we stopped at the famous Chateau Chambord. What a place! Legend has it that Leonardo DaVinci had a hand in designing it. He stayed there during one of the renovations and brought his Italian perspective with him. He is credited with designing the double helix staircase. There are actually two staircases that intertwine. If one person starts at the top and another at the bottom, the two will not meet. Cool. It is a lovely and well-organized building complete with the King’s apartments. By the way, every chateau had to have a room designated for the King in the event that he came to visit and he usually did.
We wanted to make sure that we would have time to spend our last full day at Giverny, Monet’s home and gardens. As two people who love impressionist painting, there could be no better way to end a wonderful vacation. It promised to be a long drive, but we knew we would be able to take in the Chartres Cathederal on the way. Jeff took some good photos of the stained glass windows. Much of the exterior is being restored. We are finding that everywhere we go. It stands to reason that if a building is hundreds or some close to a thousand years old, it will need a facelift from time to time.
The rest of the trip to Giverny should have been an easy drive. However, we have discovered that our GPS logic doesn’t work well in the Loire Valley. Of course, we discovered this the hard way and at the end of the road rather than at the beginning. It appears that most medieval towns have a chateau in the middle or very near by. As one would expect, there are roads that circumvent the village because the roads in the village were designed for foot traffic and donkey carts, not for cars. So it is logical that if you want to circumvent the town, drive from Point A to Point B and turn right; then drive to Point C (your destination). The GPS doesn’t see it that way. It says, “Look, they are at Point A and want to get to Point C the fastest way. I’ll take them through the town. Go .3 of a mile (our GPS is set for miles instead of kilometers and we are thankful) and turn left. Go .2 of a mile and turn right. Go .1 of a mile and go left…” and on, and on until arriving at Point C. Arrrggghh!
It gets worse. A drive that should have taken 3 hours took 6 because the GPS took us to Paris and then out again. Once we got in the area of Giverny, we located a hotel room, but not without some trouble. There were few hotels in the area and they were booked. The person at one hotel called around and found us a place. We set off counting on the GPS (fools that we were) to get us there. It was confused. It crashed. Jeff rebooted. The battery ran low. We switched it with the battery from my phone. It worked for a while. It crashed. We went round and round the town. Finally we found a bar that was open and asked for directions. They sent us on our way, but the French-English thing wasn’t as exact as we needed. More round and round. We stopped at a hotel and the desk clerk gives us even worse directions. Jeff tries to boot the GPS again and it stays alive long enough to get us into visual range.
We see the hotel and it is buried in a business campus that is surrounded by chain link fence. We see a guard gate ahead and we drive up to it and the guard lets us in, no questions asked. We drive into “Hotel Island,” a group of hotels within a stone throw from each other. We get our room and it is obvious that the hotel is being renovated; that fresh paint smell is everywhere. We don’t care. It is after midnight and all we want to do is go to bed. We get to our room and our room ‘s renovation is not quite completed. There is new carpeting everywhere in the room except near the door and bathroom. The workman, very neatly rolled the carpet and place it along with his tools neatly in the corner so he could continue his work after we left in the morning. The bathroom had been fully renovated and was quite nice, but I don’t think the paint was dry. The rest of the room was as tired as we were.
No worries. We both slept surprisingly well. There is a coffee pot in the room and I have a left over candy bar. The day promises to be a very good one.
September 17th - Going Down the Garden Path
Our day at Giverney was splendid.
We arrived early before the crowds started accumulating. Jeff wanted to get pictures of the plants and flowers with dew on them and he did.
The gardens are larger than one might think. Many of the plants are organized by color and grouped together in a fanciful way. We found it delightful and spent a lot of time touring the flower gardens near the house. We also spent a lot of time at the gardens gracing a nearby stream filled with those famous water lillies. The scene is a re-creation of Monet’s water lilly series. Jeff took pictures at 2 different times of day so that he would be able to capture the change in light.
Monet’s house is as delightful and colorful as his paintings. Each room has a color scheme and it is bright. Dotty, you will appreciate his bedroom, it has green walls and lavender trim. The kitchen is the kind that we all wish for. The table and the ceiling had a very shiny surface. The ceiling was so shiny that it reflected the things on the walls in much the same way the pond with the water lillies creates a mirror image.
We walked to the cemetery and saw his grave. Nothing spectacular or unusual and then it was time to drive to the airport. Our hotel is adjacent to the Charles de Gaulle Airport. We will need to leave the hotel at 7:00 tomorrow and the close proximity will make our day so much easier.
I am not sure when Jeff will get the last blogs posted. Internet access here is exorbitantly expensive, especially if you consider that McDonalds has free, unlimited wi-fi.
September 18th - Between the Moon and New York City
We had no problems with the trip home. The alarm went off on schedule. The bus to airport arrived on schedule. We passed through all the points of security and customs on schedule. And, yes, the plane left on schedule and arrived on schedule.
The trip home from New York’s JFK was as expected, long and tedious. The money we saved by purchasing our tickets with a departure out of JFK was off set by the high parking rates and the aggravation of getting there and back. Live and learn.
We were so happy to see those crazy cats! But they are ignoring us. They have either traded us in for Kristin or they are mad at us. We know that way, down deep inside they all missed us. Way, down deep. They just don’t want us to know it. I am certain when it is time to be fed in the morning they will suddenly remember who I am how very glad they are to see me. The power of the food dish!
Back home
It is always sad when a vacation ends. This one was an especially nice one. Sometimes, I wish that I had come to Paris and explored France earlier in my life. If I had done so, I probably would have returned again and again. Of course, there would have been an enormous trade off. I would have missed some of the extraordinary places that Jeff and I have traveled and how sad that would be.
There are so many places to go that I suppose it’s time to start planning our next trip… wherever the wind blows.
I hope you have enjoyed reading our blog. I enjoyed writing it and Jeff enjoyed illustrating it.
We will see you all soon!
