The French Trip (summary)

Bastille Day – The 14th of July is celebrated in grand fashion in Paris, with military parades, fireworks, and an all-night party. This is the French National Celebration, also known as Bastille Day, akin to the USA’s 4th of July.

It was a terrific light and fireworks show, starring of course the 133-year-old Eiffel tower. We walked about two miles home after the show to our apartment, and the Paris streets were alive with after parties until late. Fantastic!

Giverny – Claude Monet’s gardens in Giverny inspired his impressionist painting for more than forty years. “My Garden is my most beautiful masterpiece” he said.

We visited his home and garden in May, and found it inspiring as well.

“I must have flowers, always, and always.” ― Claude Monet

Calvados – this is a high-quality brandy made from apples (and sometimes pears). 

It is AOC, so producers can only brand it “Calvados” if it is produced in the region and with specific standards. 

Distillers have been working in the area since at least the 700s.  Today, producers will use dozens of specific types of apples to get the right taste.

Carcassonne – About 1200 years ago, Charlemagne’s army besieged La Cité for a year.  The defenders were nearly starving when Madam Carcas fed the last of the grain to the last pig, and threw it down at the enemy.  Believing that their siege had failed, they left in frustration. La Cité  sounded it’s bells in victory.  Soon after, the city name was changed to “Madam Carcas-sounded-the-bells” (Carcassonne). 

The story is probably not true, but it makes a great tale, nonetheless.

Mont Blanc – At 15,780 feet, Mont Blanc is the crown of the Alps.  

Jaques Balmat and Dr. Michel Picard, provisioned with a little bread and brandy from Chamonix, first summited the “White Mountain” on August 8, 1786. 

Today, multitudes follow in their literal footsteps, albeit better equipped.

Lac Blanc – My friend Kevin’s tale of the beauty of the Tour du Mont Blanc made this a “must see” for The French Trip.

Kevin does some challenging adventure nearly year. This year’s is his toughest, and he continues to inspire (you got this, Kevin!).

We weren’t quite as ambitious in our Mont Blanc plan, and so tackled only the Lac Blanc (White Lake) section. And we used La Flégère and l’Index chair lifts to get up to the starting point!

Mer de Glace – is the largest Glacier in France, a beautiful and foreboding place. 

Mary Shelly visited in 1816 as she eloped with her husband, Percy.  She was writing “Frankenstein” at the time, and in her story set the fateful meeting of the Doctor and his monster here on the Glacier.

Our hike was not so fateful; we enjoyed a blue skies, wildflowers, and lively marmots.

Annecy – I had high expectations for Annecy. And Mark Twain summed it up best:

“ …Then at the end of an hour you come to Annecy and rattle through its old crooked lanes, built solidly up with curious old houses that are a dream of the middle ages, and presently you come to the main object of your trip–Lake Annecy. It is a revelation, it is a miracle. It brings the tears to a body’s eyes it is so enchanting.”

Beaune – Beaune is the heart of Burgundy (Bourgogne) wine country.

We biked from Beaune to Santenay through vineyards and villages on a dedicated cycle, walking and wine worker route. A a bee swarm swirled in front of the church steeple, and flowers bloomed along the lane.

A lunch of coq-au-vin (literally “rooster in wine”, cooked long and low to tenderize) fueled us for the ride home.

Dijon – the city famous for mustard!

Nobility in the 1600’s loved spicy mustard, and Dijon had exclusive production rights in France. Edmond Fallot remains one of the few traditional moustarderies (yes, that is a French word ), with with herbal, fig, wine varieties. They even have a mustard vending machine!

P.S. yes, I looked for Grey Poupon. No luck.

Verdun – Verdun is beautiful, but with a dark history. It gives rest to more than 300,000 who lost their lives here in WW1. In the cellar of Douaumont Ossuary lies – quite literally – a jumbled-pile of unidentified bones.

Ironically, the 843 A.D. Treaty of Verdun dividing Charlemange’s kingdom among his grandsons set the divisions that resulted in many of the European wars, including the Napoleonic Wars, The War of 1870, WW1 and WW2.

Normandy American Cemetery – the land is hallowed by those who gave their lives on the beaches just beyond. The French donated this ground to the US in perpetuity as a memorial.

As we gazed, the silence was rent by the shriek of fighter jets in formation, racing overhead. One peeled away in the “missing man” formation. My heart nearly stopped.

We found US flags and “thank you” posters throughout Normandy. The sacrifice is not forgotten.

Oradour-sur-Glane – June 10, 1944, the Nazis murdered 642 civilians and burned the entire village, hoping to instill submission by fear as the allies advanced after D-Day. The village remains untouched as a memorial.

On the pretense of searching for resistance weapons, the Nazi separated the men into shops, and the women and children were locked into the church. The men were gunned down, and the church burned down with all inside.

Reims – at busy Roosevelt High School, a side door leads to a museum.

Here, Eisenhower’s Allied Command set up shop in a few classrooms. In this room, the Germans signed unconditional surrender on May 7, 1945.

The room remains untouched since, with original maps still showing 1945 troop positions still on the wall.

Honfleur has a small, sheltered harbor. It’s reflections of the colorful fisherman’s apartments, awnings, and ships inspired impressionist painters, including Monet who was born just across the river in Le Havre.

Monet had severe cataracts; I wonder if this is the basis of his dreamy, hazy style?

Luxembourg celebrates May 1st as “Labor Day“, with street fairs, live music, and lots of trade-union pamphlets passed about.

This zany (and rather scary) band marched through the fair frightening children.

Ok, maybe not children, just me.

Bruges is known for its beautiful canals, old city and of course Bengian beer!

We were fortunate to catch live jazz in the cellar of De Halve Maan (The Half Moon) Brewery. It was about 40 locals and us, down the stairs and through a hidden door at the back of a store-room. Great musical talent from Brittany, Portugal, Italy and Belgium, what a treat.

Yes the beer was excellent too!

Reims Cathedral is where, for centuries, the Kings of France were crowned.

Joan of Arc prophesied that she would see King Charles crowned here if he gave her an army to defeat the English invaders, and (by God) she did.

Reims is also the capital of the Champaign region, so of course, we drank bubbly while sitting in this square!

Rouen is where Joan of Arc was martyred, burned at the stake.

Captured by mercenaries in battle, she was tried for heresy by French collaborators of the English. The trial was one of the most well documented in history, and was politically rigged. The verdict was overturned a few years later, and Joan sainted. She become the national symbol of France.

This graceful church on the site of her death, with a simple memorial outside on the site of the pyre.

Bayeux – gives home to the amazing Bayeux Tapestry, now nearly 1000 years old.

Created around 1070AD, the tapestry is 75 yards long and reads like a comic strip. It tells the story of the Norman Invasion of England by William the Conqueror.

Ironically, Bayeux is only a few miles from Normandy beach, were the Allies, including the English, landed nearly 900 years later to liberate Normandy. Bayeux was one of the first cities liberated by the allies.

Mont St. Michel – more than 1000 years old, the abbey features prominently on the Bayeux tapestry. William the Bastard (later, the Conqueror) came for advice and blessing before invading England.

The abbey was once (appropriately) named “Mount Saint Michael at the Peril of the Sea”. At high tide, it becomes an island; at low tide you can walk to it on the shifting sand of the bay floor.

Early morning vespers in the abbey, with the rising light, are magical.

The Loire Valley – the Loire was the playground for French nobility for centuries, with hundreds of chateaus and vineyards gracing its rivers.

Chateau de Chenonceau (pictured) was the abode of the king’s mistress, until he died in a joust. The queen, Catherine de Medici, promptly booted the mistress.

Leonardo Da Vinci’s final home was Chateau du Clos Luce in nearby Amboise. In 1516, the French King Francois I invited him here, where he spent his final years inventing.

Sarlat-la-Caneda – Sarlat is the beautiful little capital of the Dordogne region.

We spent a day canoeing past stony villages on the Dordogne River, and also enjoyed a local fair, complete with sheep, cows, horses and rabbits.

Sarlat is know for its goose and duck foie gras (literally “fat liver”, just like Mardi Gras is “fat Tuesday”) and also confit, or “preserves”, made out of all the other parts and stored in the fat. Yum, but don’t eat too much or you will be fatter than the geese.