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Sunny and bright, but cool (10 degrees C – 50 degrees F) this morning. After the heat and humidity of trips to Asia, this is heavenly!  Chantal tells us that it is often cloudy and rainy in this part of France so we are enjoying wonderful weather. We will be visiting two of the most spectacular chateaus in the Loire Valley today: Château de Chenonceau and Château de Villandry.  Most of the Loire Vally chateaus reflect the Renaissance style of architecture and were built in the 16th century.  Francis 1 was the king of France at the time, and Henry VIII was the king in England. Leonardo De Vinci was even living in the area and died in the Loire Valley in 1519.

Château au de Chenonceau was built by a banker, over a period of 8 years. The original owner died shortly after its completion and the château was conscripted by King Francis1.  Francis was a womanizer and died at the age of 52, likely from “the Italian disease”.  His son, Henry, succeeded him and inherited Chenonceau . Henry was married at the time to Catherine De Medici (the famous Italian family). But it was complicated as Henry also had a mistress, Diane de Poitiers, who was 20 years older than him. Catherine loved Château Chenonceau but Henry gave it to Diane! Surprisingly the three of them lived together at Chenonceau, a French menage-a-trois. Henry died at age of 40, accidentally killed while jousting, and Catherine got her revenge by then banning Diane from Chenonceau. Surprisingly, Catherine gave Diane an alternative château and she lived comfortably until dying at the age of 60. The stories surrounding these women and Henry are sordid enough that you might want to delve more into them on your own.

A bit of trivia:  Chateaus were often unoccupied and only used on occasion by the king. The king (and his entourage which could be as large as 15,000) would stay in a château for a few days and then move on.

Chateau Chenonceau is now privately owned. It is the 2nd most visited château in France; only Versailles gets more visitors. A local guide took us through the gardens and château, explaining what we were seeing and the history behind the château. It turns out there was a lot of mystery, intrigue, and sex involved over the centuries involving the king(s), his wife  and mistress(es)! This château is magnificent and certainly worth its reputation.

By 1PM we were on the road again headed to yet another famous château, Château de Villandry to see its famous gardens. Since it was about 45 minutes away we were able to rest a bit (i.e. nap) after the morning “stroll”.

I have seen gardens in the past but I have never seen one like the one at Château de Villandry! It is an OMG sight. There are a series of manicured gardens featuring kitchen produce. There are a series of gardens dedicated to the themes of love, music and religion. There is a boxwood maze, a water garden and a herb garden. All are designed symmetrically in a formal manner, and planted with different flowers multiple times of the year. They are a work of art.

The château dates back to the 16th century, built by Jean Le Breton. During the 18th century French Revolution the property was confiscated, and in the early 19th century Emperor Napoleon acquired it for his brother. In 1906 Joachim Carvallo purchased the property and poured an enormous amount of time, money and devotion into repairing it and creating the extremely beautiful gardens that exist today.

 

Tonight is our “farewell dinner” because we return to Paris tomorrow and there was an “optional” event planned for that night. There was a pre-dinner cocktail party hosted by Chantal to thank us for traveling with Insight, followed by a three course dinner served in the beautiful dining room at the hotel.

Thus ended our very nice stay in the boutique hotel where my only complaint was the slow internet speed.

 

What better way to start our day then stop at a winery to taste some sparkling wines from the Loire Valley. As you know they can’t call it champagne because it does not come from the champagne region of France, but for all practical purposes it is champagne. The Bouvet Ladubay winery dates back to the 19th century and makes fairly inexpensive ($10-15) sparkling wines. We were given a tour of their aging cellars which were actually caves where stone had been mined in earlier centuries for buildings. The wine aging cellars are basically abandoned stone quarries. We tasted three different sparkling wines before moving on to our next adventure-lunch!

We stopped for lunch in the town of Saumur (population 28,000), situated on the Loire River. Since we had several hours we decided it was time for a proper French lunch…with a two-course luncheon and wine! We even managed to order in a local restaurant where English was hard to come by.

We were then off to see our first Loire Valley château, Chateau d’Azay-le-Rideau. Built by Gilles Berthelot, the treasurer-general of finances for King Francis 1, between 1518 and 1527, this château is considered one of the foremost examples of early French renaissance architecture. Set on an island in the middle of the Indre river, this picturesque château has become one of the most popular places to visit in the valley. Interestingly we learned that most of these elegant chateaus were built by bankers, financiers, and keepers of the monies of the time ..Hmmm. Is it because they had control of all the money?  Many of the chateaus were subsequently appropriated by the king for his personal use.  Hmmm.  Obviously, it is good to be king! We were given self-guided audio guides to use for our tour of the château.

By this time it was late afternoon and we proceeded to our home for the next two nights, Chateau de Rochecotte. This château is a late 18th-century château located in the French village of Saint-Patrice. It is a smaller château that has been made into an elegant boutique hotel.

There was another optional dinner tonight, again at a family-owned restaurant called Errard in the village of Langeais (population of 4,000). As we drove up to the restaurant we were met by a jolly, mustached chef, toque blanche and all, waving his arms to welcome us and I knew we were in for a special evening. We were the only patrons this evening. His wife acted as our hostess while Yannick worked his magic in the kitchen. The chef led a toast with Kir Royals to start the festivities before retiring to the kitchen. The food was superb, the wine flowed freely and we had a wonderful time. When we left several hours later, Yannick even walked us to the bus to bid us farewell. He was a congenial host and it seemed like we had dinner at a friend or relative’s home, rather than at a restaurant.

The driver put on some music and there was a group sing of “Sweet Caroline” and “Mama Mia” as we drove back to our hotel. It was a marvelous day and evening.

 

 

 

R

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Our tour director, Chantal, is from Normandy and she wanted us to know that Mont-Saint-Michel is in Normandy, not Brittany as some people profess! We assured her we would remember that. She spent a little time telling us about her childhood here, which surprisingly was  a bit austere given when she was born (circa 1950). There was no running water, no indoor toilets, baths once a week in a bucket, cooking on wood stoves, 1 kilometer walk to/from school, etc. Furthermore, her parents left her to be raised by neighbors from the age of 5 (?) until 11 because they had to move  to Paris for jobs.

I should comment that the land in Normandy is green and heavily forested with manicured farm fields dotting the landscape. This is agricultural country and it is visually pretty.

Mont-Saint-Michel is an island about 1 kilometer off the coast of Normandy at the mouth of Couesnon River. The island has held strategic fortifications since ancient times. Since the 8th century AD it has been the seat of the monastery from which it draws its name. About 50 people currently live on the island, including a small number of monks and nuns.  The structural composition of the town exemplifies the feudal society that constructed it: on top, God as reflected in the abbey and monastery; below, the great halls for visiting pilgrims, then stores and housing; and at the bottom, outside the walls, houses for local fishermen and farmers.

In the past you could walk to the island but only at low tide. You had to be very careful as there are patches of quicksand in places!  Also the tides in this area are huge; they can be as large as 46 feet. Since 2012 there has been a more permanent roadway built and a shuttle service established to take you from the mainland to the island. You can also still walk the 1.6 miles on the roadway during virtually all tide conditions to get to the site. Because of time constraints we rode on the shuttle.

From a distance the buildings on Mont-Saint-Michel do not look all that large but as you get to the base of the island they suddenly looks pretty enormous. It is one of those “ how in the heck did they build this thing back in Medieval times”?  What was even more surprising was the number of steps we had to climb to get to the monastery and abbey at the top of the hill. My iPhone said we climbed the equivalent of 23 stories. The amount of stone work in the buildings is astounding. How they got it there and built the massive multi-storied structures is even more puzzling to me. It was a major construction job which obviously took centuries and thousands of workers to accomplish.

We toured the various levels of the monastery and abbey, seeing where they prayed, worked and lived. Afterwards we had some spare time to grab a quick bite to eat and shop. Surprisingly we have not seen much shopping, certainly no where near what we have experienced on other trips. There have been no stops at rug shops or jewelry stores on this trip!  What was more surprising was that there was no real artwork for sale, only postcards. We thought Rouen, Normandy or Mont-Saint-Michel would be an obvious place for artists to ply their works.

From Mont-Saint-Michel we proceeded to our final destination of the day, Saint Malo, a lovely walled seaport town with a very old fort. It has a population of about 46,000 but swells to 200,000 during the summer months. Saint Malo was known as the base for pirates who roamed the area. Its most famous pirate was Jacques Cartier, who is credited with discovering Canada. His statue graces the waterfront. We walked along the fort walls where our local guide told us stories about the history of the area and its inhabitants. As we worked our way through the old section of the town Chantal treated us to yet another “flourish(i.e. snack)” which is called a Kouignette pastry, which was awesome!  It resembled baklava but without the nuts. I could have eaten several.

Our hotel for the night was nearby on the waterfront. There was another optional dinner tonight at a locally owned restaurant (a contre Courant) a small nearby fishing village of  Cancale. As is our normal custom we signed up for it as did most of our travel companions as the food is usually much better than that offered in a hotel. Furthermore we were offered several choices of starters and main dishes that were intriguing and specialties of the area. The village was idyllic and the restaurant was packed with locals and probably other tourists like us. We were glad we chose to partake in the optional tour.

Back at Saint Malo for a quick walk along the beach to take a sunset photo (or 3, or maybe it was 6- I do tend to go overboard when taking sunrise or sunset photos) before calling it a night.

 

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Today was a day of remembering the sacrifices made by the “Greatest Generation”.  Every person (especially politicians) should be required to experience the somber sights on the beaches of Normandy. We first visited the American cemetery where 9,386 soldiers (including 4 women) are buried, the victims of the D-Day invasion on June 6, 1944.  It is a somber sight and a reminder of the horrors of war. A local guide walked us through the garden-like location that overlooks Omaha Beach (where US troops landed),  sharing stories of what happened during that invasion and facts about the cemetery. Note: The other invasion site the US was responsible for was Utah beach which we did not visit.

By the way do you know what the D means in D-Day? I did not, so I looked it up. It simply stands for “day” as it was day 1 of the invasion. Now you know the rest of the story.

Our next stop was at Pointe du Hoc, the site where Lt. Colonel Rudder’s 225 Rangers launched an assault on a German gun emplacement located on top of a 100 foot cliff that the soldiers had to climb. The site has been left unrestored, with multiple bomb craters and destroyed gun emplacements still there. The assault was ultimately successful but at a heavy loss of personnel. Rudder’s Rangers suffered a seventy percent casualty rate.  Less than seventy-five of the original 225 who came ashore on 6 June were fit for duty.  Of those who served in the 2nd Ranger Battalion on D-Day, seventy-seven were killed and 152 wounded. If you are interested there is a good description of the battle on www.armyhistory.org.

As an aside, friends from Wisconsin (Bob & Marji Horvat) have a direct connection to the D-Day invasion. Bob’s father was involved in the invasion, and survived. And if I recall correctly he might have been part of the assault on Pointe du Hoc with the ranger unit.

Leaving the Omaha Beach area we drove to the village of Arromanches-les-Bains where the British managed an amazing engineering feat by building an artificial harbor during the D-Day invasion in a period of a week or so, sinking old ships and concrete caissons to create a harbor where supplies could be unloaded to support the invasion.  During the 10 month period of use 2.5 million troops, 500,000 vehicle and 4 million tons of supplies were unloaded here.  Prior to visiting the museum We had some free time for lunch and sightseeing in the village. We then visited a local museum dedicated to the harbor project where we saw a movie about its fabrication and viewed very good displays of military hardware and clothing worn by the various allied troops. The building of that harbor was a very impressive feat of engineering and deployment. You can still see portions of the harbor still afloat off the beach 75 years later.

It was then back to our lovely hotel (Hotel du Golf Barrière), located a few miles outside Deauville where we had a group dinner at the hotel.

Tomorrow we will visit Mont-Saint-Michel (which is in Normandy not Brittany as some claim) and then head to the neighboring area of France called Brittany.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A cool, sunny morning greeted us as we left Paris, bound for Normandy. Our first stop was in the city of Rouen, famous because of its relationship with Joan of Arc. It was in Rouen  that she was convicted  as being a heretic and burned at the stake at the age of 19 on May 30, 1431. She was later canonized and became the patron saint of France.

Rouen is the capital of Normandy and has a population of about 655,000. Rouen is well-known for its Rouen Cathedral, with its Tour de Beurre (butter tower) financed by the sale of indulgences for the consumption of butter during Lent. The cathedral’s gothic façade (completed in the 16th century) was the subject of a series of paintings by Claude Monet, some of which are exhibited in the Musée d’Orsay in Paris. Unfortunately because it was Sunday morning and church services were being held, we could not take a tour of the cathedral. We were able to quickly enter a side door for a quick peek of the interior, which is quite austere compared to other churches we have seen.

Although Rouen was extensively damaged during WWII an area of the city survived that contained many wood timbered homes of medieval times.  Chantal walked us through this area, pointing out some of the features of these ancient homes and narrow streets. It was lovely time warp walk. We also saw the Gros Horloge , an astronomical clock that dates back to the 14th century. We ended our walking tour In the centre of the Place du Vieux Marché , the site of Joan of Arc’s pyre, and the site of the modern church of St Joan of Arc. This large, modern structure which dominates the square is in the form of the building represents an upturned Viking boat and a fish shape. We were given free time and chose to sit in the sun, enjoying a cup of tea and hot chocolate. Gerry and Sue were more adventuresome and ordered a popular Norman dessert (Le Trou Norman) that consists of apple sorbet topped with Calvados (made with apples) liquor. It was quite good and I was sorry I did not order it.

Our next stop was in the seaside city of Honfluer. This village of about 8,000 people is located on the estuary of one of the principal rivers (Seine) of France with a safe harbour and relatively rich hinterland, Honfleur profited from its strategic position from the start of the Hundred Years’ War.

Honfluer traces it’s history back to the 11th century and is noted for the church of Saint Catherine, the largest wooden church in France, which dates back to the 15th century. There is a lovely harbor surrounded by old buildings, cobble stone streets and small bistros, and was a popular subject for French painters in the 19th century. It reminded me of Copenhagen, but on a much smaller scale.

It was lunch time and we were not interested in seafood, which is the predominant menu item here, we settled on a small bistro that specialized in pizza. It was a nice change of pace as we knew that we would be eating a lot of seafood in the next few days.

Our final destination of the day was the town of Deauville which will act as our focal point for exploring the sites of D-Day. We were offered a short walking tour of Deauville and we were glad we chose to go as it offered us a unique insight into the history of this town. It turned out that Deauville was and is the favorite destination for Parisian high society and is called the “Parisian Riviera”. The rich and famous come here during the summer for sun, the sea, casinos, polo and horse racing. It should be mentioned that Normandy is the major site of of horse breeding in France, and Deauville is the epicenter. Deauville is even the site of an important movie festival held each year. The avenue along the sea features luxury homes, hotels and apartments that are virtually empty until the summer months. The shops are those of high-end designers. Coco Chanel started her business here and we walked past her first store.

On the beach are a series of very small “changing” rooms that people rent  ($900/season) to change into their bathing suits. The names of the rich and famous who have used these facilities over the years appear in front of the doors. We were shocked to see names of Hollywood stars we all know- Elizabeth Taylor, Debbie Reynolds, John Travolta, Jack Nicholson and many other past and present stars. Our walking tour is Deauville was amazing!

We were on our own for dinner and not wanting to eat at the hotel I searched out a French bistro in Deauville for a celebratory birthday party for Gerry who turns 69 on May 13. Using my trusty internet source (TripAdvisor) I selected a small French bistro in Deauville  called Le Spinnaker, which had many positive reviews. Well after spending a wonderful evening there I will certainly add my endorsement for the establishment; it was simply a superb evening. Menus in most French restaurants offer a three course (starter, plat and dessert) meal with multiple choices in each category that provides a savings over selection of the same courses a la carte. Le Spinnaker is a bit more aggressive, offering either a 5 or 7 course meal.

The owner greeted us at the door and acted as a superb host throughout the evening, guiding us through the menu, appropriate wine selection and the meal itself as we feasted. Three of us opted for the 5 course menu but the birthday boy went all in and selected the 7 course menu. We felt sorry for the dishwasher as there were new eating utensils offered with each course. The plating of the various dishes was superb and we all ate items we normally would not have selected. To top off the meal the chef came out to explain the dessert offerings for the evening and take our order. We were all crying uncle by the time we left the restaurant but agreeing it was a wonderful dinner experience.

It was a busy day, filled with new adventures and surprises and now my bed beckons…

 

And the day begins with good news and bad news!  The good news is that we slept through the night, waking up around 7 AM refreshed and ready to tackle the day. The bad news is that it is cloudy, cool and raining this morning…. and we are scheduled for a food walking tour in the Montmartre area of Paris this morning at 11 AM! No problem for as seasoned travelers we brought along sweaters, rain gear and umbrellas. We shall prevail! We purposely ate a light breakfast as we have done food tours before and know there is usually a lot of food samples during the tour.

Because it was raining we decided that a cab was a better way of getting to our meeting point rather than trying to take the local metro subway. As it turned out it was just as cheap because there were four of us sharing a cab. I had arranged for a private tour with a young lady named “Nella” who is part of group of tour guides associated with www.localguides.com, an agency we have used before in other cities. Meeting Nella outside a metro station in Montmartre we learned she was originally from Prague, studied art in college, and has lived in Paris for 5 years. She is attempting to make a living as an artist, supplementing her income by offering to act as a tour guide with a focus on the art history of the Montmartre area, the original home of the bohemian artists who lived here in the early 1900s, like Lautrec, Picasso, Van Gogh, Pisarro, and Renoir. As we walked the back streets of Montmartre learning about the history of the area and some of the people who lived here, we made stops along the way to taste quiche, baguettes, macarons, meat stuffed pasties, madeleines, cheeses, wine, French coffee and a classic crepe, before finishing outside the Sacre Ceour church atop Montmartre three hours later. Needless to say we had plenty to eat! Oh, and the rain became intermittent so we only had to resort to the use of umbrellas on a few occasions.

By the time our tour ended the sun was out and we opted to take a “hop on-hop off” bus tour of the city before we had to be back for our tour group dinner at 5:30 PM. We ran out of time before seeing all of the major Paris sites, returning to the hotel right before 5:30.

We met our tour director, a French lady named Chantal and some of the other people who are making up our group of 34. Dinner was at a nearby restaurant. Ten people opted to take an optional bus tour of the city after dinner; the rest of us have been here for a few days and chose not to go.

Tomorrow morning we head north to our first destination of Deauville, with a stop and tour in Rouen on the way.

As is our custom we are going to Paris a day early to allow these “maturing” bodies to readjust our body clocks. It is not as easy as it was 20 years ago!  It will also give us an extra day to reacquaint ourselves with “the City of Light”. Surprisingly no one currently offers non-stops to Paris from Seattle so we are flying Lufthansa, via Frankfurt. A pleasant surprise is that the Seattle to Frankfurt segment is on one of my favorite airplanes- “the Queen of the Skies”- the 747. It is one of the few 747s still in service as most airlines have relegated them to retirement. I was working at Boeing when the first 747 was rolled out in 1969.  I remember watching it take off and seriously wondering how a plane weighing close to a million pounds was going to get off the ground! it has always been one sweet airplane and my favorite, now replaced on my favorite list by the 787.

Normally Seattle’s weather in May is not that good-cool and rainy. That is one of the reasons we decided to go to France now. This year has been totally different; there has been zero rain in May so far and the temperatures the next few days are expected to be in the 80s, setting records! So much for planning and trying to outguess Mother Nature. Our flight out should offer spectacular views of the surrounding mountains.

Our flight left about 30 minutes late but we have a 3 hour layover in Frankfurt so it is not a problem. I liked the business class seat layout on our 747-400. It is  2-3-2 but what makes it nice is that the window seats are slightly angled toward the window, not the normal “face the front of the plane” arrangement, giving you a little more privacy. The entertainment system is first-rate with lots of choices (>200 movies), an 18” monitor and Bose noise cancelling headsets!  I did avoid the temptation to watch movies, choosing to read and listen to music offered. A fascinating addition was the great mapping system they have, showing the flight of the plane with what looked like Google map views of the terrain below us. I had not seen this before. Our flight path took us northeast over Canada, Greenland, Iceland, Scotland, and  England before eventually landing in Frankfurt. We did see some awesome mountains as we crossed the Canadian Rockies.

Dinner was quite good (actually better than most) but our first choice (seafood) was already unavailable by the time they got to us. I had some good German Dr. Loosen Riesling wine to accompany my meal. For my food-loving friends who await my pictures I must apologize as I had inadvertently put my camera away before dinner and could not get to it to record the meal!

May 10:  Frankfurt, Germany. You have to admire German efficiency. Our plane landed in a remote location, but the stairs and buses were there waiting for us so unloading was quick and efficient. Because we were 30 minutes late in arriving there was even a car awaiting to transport several people directly to their connecting flight. When we entered the terminal there were people stationed to answer questions and guide us to our destination. I wish every country and airport operated this way.

When we got to the Lufthansa lounge in Frankfurt I noticed that there were several rooms that had signs inferring they could be used to nap. I manage to sleep a few hours on these long flights but Yvonne always has trouble sleeping on planes so I asked if one of these rooms were available for her to grab a couple hours of sleep. Of course, they said and Yvonne got a private room with a lounging couch/bed while I sat in the lounge working on this blog. Lufthansa even has showers available in their lounge for travelers wishing to freshen up.

Our flight to Paris was only 50 minutes but Lufthansa managed to serve a decent cold plate lunch in that time. I cannot imagine US airlines doing that. Paris was cloudy with the threat of rain when we landed. I had arranged for a private transfer from the airport using a company called Suntransfers. Their prices are not much more than a standard cab ride and it is nice to be met by a driver with a sign having your name. Also their cars tend to be nicer than the typical cab. A humorous aspect of the ride was that the driver did not speak much English but communicated with us using his iPad and Goggle Translate. He would speak in French to it, and hand the iPad to us to hear the English translation. We would then answer in English and it would translate to French for him. It was a funny exchange of conversation, relying on high-tech. We were a bit concerned as he was also driving us through heavy Paris traffic while doing this, but we arrived safely at our hotel around 3 PM local time.

My brother, Gerry, and his wife , Sue, had arrived earlier in the day and left us their room number. We chatted with them and agreed to meet for dinner at 6:30 PM. They went sightseeing at the local mall while we grabbed another couple of hours of sleep.

It was raining by 6:30 but we decided to go to a small, local French restaurant, “ Le Ballon des Ternes” that was only a block away and had good reviews. You have to love google maps that show nearby places of interest along with patron reviews. It turned out to be a lovely neighborhood restaurant with colorful flowers and decor. Also there were mostly local, French-speaking people there so it is not a tourist trap that caters mostly to foreigners.  You could tell we were in Paris!  Luckily the waiters did speak some English and offered us English menus so our decision was easier to make. But now a problem existed-what do we chose from the menu?  Obviously a bottle of French wine along with French onion soup as a starter, followed by seafood (and veal for my meat-loving brother). The French onion soup was magnificent- a rich beef broth with lots of melted cheese. We shared a couple of bowls and everyone loved it.  Oh, I forgot to mention the “to die for”  basket of French bread that was so good they had to deliver us a second basket because we literally inhaled the first.   Prices of entrees (they are called plats in France) are running about 23-25 euros, which is not that bad as the Euro is now worth $1.12. I remember it being around $1.30 the last time we were in Europe, so our dollar goes further these days. The meal and experience was an excellent start of our trip.

Tomorrow morning we are taking a food tour in the Montmartre region of Paris.

From October 1999 to February 2001 we made three separate trips to Paris, spending a week each time. Sadly we have not returned to Paris or France since then. Time to change that as we have always enjoyed the sights, wine and food of France!

My brother, Gerry (and wife Sue), has seeing Mont Saint Michel on his to-do wish list for many years. I finally found an interesting escorted tour(Insight Vacations) to the Loire( pronounced Low-Wah)Valley that included a stop at Mont Saint Michel. We have traveled multiple times with Insight and enjoy their offerings so we put it on our calendars.  It may not be “April in Paris” but it is darn close and hopefully the weather will be even nicer!

Our French was never good and has gotten worse with age!  We even went to a quick Rick Steve’s class on conversational French but I doubt much has stuck with me.  Luckily my smartphone translator should help and hopefully the French have become more tolerant of our futile attempts to fit in. Time will tell.