Day 15,16 Expect the unexpected.

We have visited Paris previously, so this time we are able to dig deeper into the layers of history, culture and art that the city has to offer. Highlights include a return to the sublime Impressionist collection at the Musee d’Orsay, a first time visit to the Musee Rodin to view The Thinker and a visit to the medieval museum Musee de Cluny to see the famous Lady and the Unicorn tapestries which are, sadly for us, on tour in Japan at the moment.Planned visits to museums and cultural sites are a must, but sometimes just hanging around a city like Paris presents the unexpected and rather spectacular.

While walking one day towards the Marais we noticed in front of us a huge mass of people. Many of them were dressed in yellow or blue. We figured that it might be a demonstration, which was blocking the road ahead. Suddenly we noticed that the huge crowd appeared to be heading towards us, up the street, at speed. Finally we noticed that the crowd of two or three thousand people were actually on roller blades and we were witnessing the commencement of a Sunday afternoon tradition an organised roller blade ride around Paris. Amazing!

A couple of days later we are patiently waiting in a long queue to enter a museum when we suddenly hear a roar in the sky. Over the roof of a neighbouring building came a fighter jet leaving a trail of red, white and blue smoke across the sky. For the next  fifteen minutes wave after wave of military aircraft paraded above. We guess it is a practice for Bastille Day next week. Dozens of fighter jets, three types of transport carriers, refuelling planes, satellite surveillance planes and a few others that we were unable to identify, proceeded to fly directly above us in close formations. This event was again unexpected and very impressive… and certainly made our time in the queue more enjoyable.

Day 14. Our favourite church in Paris

There are many grand and famous church buildings in Paris. As we don’t speak French we are not really able to attend any services to find out how churches are actually functioning.  On a previous visit we discovered the American Church in Paris and on our only Sunday in Paris we are thrilled to be able to attend this church and not just visit a building.

Although the building is less than a hundred years old it is nevertheless rather grand. The service we attend is traditional, but very well done. A visiting choir from a prestigious school in London is an unexpected highlight. The members are friendly, the church is packed, the message is challenging, the singing is good, the communion is inspiring, the staff of the church are warm and engaging and the prayers challenge us to be committed to making a difference in the world. The church is clearly focussed on the expat community as well as the huge numbers of visitors who come to Paris each year. However the church also has a significant outreach to its local community and those in the area in need.

Col Porter famously wrote the line ‘I love Paris in the summer … when it sizzles’ . This is certainly true of our only Sunday in Paris. Approaching 30 degrees, and overflowing with tourists, Paris is certainly sizzling today.  

Day 13. Chartres- Bible stories and product placement.

At the start of Dan Brown’s book The Da Vinci Code the protagonist is in Paris to give a lecture on the labyrinth in the floor of the cathedral in Chartres.  At the start of Day 13 we set out from Paris to explore the town of Chartres and its famous cathedral.

As far as cathedrals go, this one is rather special. The stained glass windows, which were removed during WW2 and reinstated after the war, are famous for their glorious colours especially the blues. On a beautiful sunny day they are truly magnificent. They proclaimed the wonderful stories of the Bible, in a period when most people were illiterate. They still speak today. However, not all of the windows depict Bible stories.  Many windows simply depict the agrarian world of the time. One window paid for by the local blacksmiths is said to be a very early example of product placement.

 The cathedral is also home to thousands of statues. A series of forty intricate sculptures around the choir stalls dramatically tells the story of Jesus.  We enjoy testing our Bible knowledge as we try to interpret each scene. See if you can work out which part of the story is depicted in the photo.

At the entrance to the cathedral are two huge spires one built in the 16^th century and the other in the 12^th. We climb the 300 or so steps up the inside of the younger spire to look down not only on the cathedral and the town but also the vast district that surrounds it. This vantage point was important in another chapter of the cathedral’s history.

During the Allied advance through France the decision was made to bomb and destroy the ancient cathedral for fear it was a German observation tower (which would have made sense). One American soldier was so disturbed by this plan that he volunteered to scout ahead into enemy territory to find out if the spire was being exploited, which it wasn’t. His dangerous mission saved the church from destruction. Tragically for the American soldier his gallantry was not rewarded as he lost his own life in battle a few weeks later. 

Day 12. A millenium of military history.

Next year is the sixtieth anniversary of the D-Day landings on the Normandy coast. After much debate the Allied Forces decided on a section of the coast from Cherbourg to Le Havre to invade Europe.  The landings were the largest amphibious operation in history. The initial landing on 6 June 1944 included 45000 troops landing with the help of 6000 sea craft while 13000 planes offered air support. Most tourists get a bus tour to explore this area, or hire a car. We do our best by public transport, which is particularly difficult as poor transport connections cause significant delay.

The nearest town to the beaches is Bayeux, which was the first town to be liberated following the D Day landings. At Bayeux we visit an excellent museum The Musee Memorial de la Bataille de Normandie. Hitler was determined to repel the invasion, which he was expecting and the museum reminds us of the incredible challenges faced by this operation.

Our own challenge is to get to Omaha Beach and the American Cemetery, which we finally achieve on a rather slow, local bus. The cemetery is a visual reminder of the enormous human toll of this campaign. Thousand of white marble crosses (and many Stars of David) are laid out symmetrically across a lawn that covers 75 acres. . Today the beach below is tranquil and peaceful. From the hill above the beach we try to imagine the sight of this massive invasion, sixty years ago.

Our final train delay on our return to Paris proves to be an unexpected blessing.  We have some time to fill, so we decide to visit what is described in the tour guide as ‘Bayeux’s famous tapestry’. This tapestry is worth a visit to the town itself. A 70 metre tapestry, created in the 11^th century depicts the Battle of Hastings in which the local hero William the Bastard (later known as William the Conqueror) crosses the English Channel to take the English crown in 1066.  The tapestry is almost 1000 years old and is fascinating, informative, beautiful but also brutally graphic in its depiction of war.

With the help of an audio guide we walk the length of this tapestry, which is beautifully displayed behind glass, and follow the pictorial story of another amphibious military operation which took place almost millenium before D- Day.

Day 11 A French obsession

By and large the French are a skinny lot, which is surprising given their fondness for chocolate. When you think of wonderful chocolate you usually think of Switzerland, but the French are very committed to their chocolate and find many creative ways of eating it.

Not being a big coffee culture, a French day can start with a hot chocolate. This is not normally in a cup but a bowl – a bit like a dessert bowl. Not only is the hot chocolate yummy but also on a cold day you warm your hands as you enjoy a large bowl of often rather strong chocolate.

Croissants are a famous French breakfast delight but just as popular are pains au chocolat. In Australia these are often sickly sweet counterfeits but in France they are beautiful pastries centred with two strips of delightful dark chocolate.

If that is not enough chocolate for breakfast then there are many breakfast cereals that are also often laced with chocolate. We love toasted muesli with shavings of wicked dark chocolate throughout it. We have also tried another muesli laced with a troika of white, milk and dark chocolate.

There are often other opportunities during the day to indulge in chocolate and we would feel culturally insensitive to ignore them. Chocolate mousse for dessert made with dark chocolate is mouth watering. Delicious chocolate ice cream is a seaside must. It doesn’t hurt to have a piece of chocolate at the end of the day with a cup of tea. Not to mention our favourite biscuit, which are a thin layer of biscuit, coated with a much thicker layer of chocolate.

Finally we are introduced to a French school child’s delight, which again out of cultural sensitivity we are obliged to try. Morning tea with baguette sounds harmless. Baguette with a nice piece of dark chocolate as a sandwich filler is beyond wicked.

Oo la la! 

Day 10 The best of Brittany

St Malo, Brittany has much to commend and for us a highlight is the great regional food. Nothing fancy just hearty and tasty. High on the list is vegetable soup made with leeks, carrots, celery (including the leaves), potato and a couple of vegetable stock cubes. Next comes buckwheat pancakes (galette) filled with an egg, ham and cheese. Unusual, but delicious! It was served with cooked mushrooms and onion. Dessert is orange and vanilla cake served warm from the oven with a cluster of gooseberries on the side.

Another delight is the local markets.  We explore a covered market full of food stalls and an outdoor textile market, which displayed a variety of different types of clothing. We were quickly spotted as tourists and our host overhears two old men complaining about us taking photos and speaking in a strange language. The markets are even better than the Paris markets and we delight in watching our young local host interacting with the store holders.

In the afternoon we drive to Mont Saint-Michel, a monastery begun in 708 and set high up on a rock, which is surrounded by the sea at high tide. It is very impressive, but rather chaotic on the day of our visit, as a strike by the staff has meant that all tourist control has evaporated.  Approaching Mont Saint-Michel along country lanes through the fields we were able to see the fresh food of Brittany being grown. Lettuce, wheat, corn, potatoes, carrots, leeks. We are alerted to the famous local sheep grazing close to the sea. These sheep produce highly sought after and very expensive meat because they are eating the salty grass.

In the evening we attend a cultural festival at the local Hotel de Ville (town hall), starting at 9pm on a Wednesday night. We are promised one of France’s leading Celtic guitarists, but due to a program change, we enjoy some very creative music from a trio of musicians playing piano, flute and percussion. Following the concert the locals settle in for a long night of folk dancing, which to be honest, looks like a lot of fun.

Day 9 Dinan and Dinard

Today we exchange timetables, maps, and travel guides for a local who is willing to give us guided tours via secret back roads and hidden car parking spots. Diane promises us a medieval village in the morning and a harbourside town in the afternoon.

We park below the village of Dinan and walk up and up and up the hill to find a 16^th century town bustling with 21^st tourists and locals. We discover a local pastry delicacy called Kouign Amman, which is tasty, crisp, light, not too sweet, and rather filling. We find the resting place of a medieval knight whose body is buried on the side of the street. The stone box in which he lies is topped by a horizontal statue. Sadly the statue lost its head, at the same time that the nobility where losing theirs, at the height of the French revolution. We would never have noticed, or understood, this detail had Diane not been there to point it out to us.

In the afternoon we again access free local parking and walk along the seaside to explore the town of Dinard. The weather warms up and occasionally the sun bursts through the clouds. From Dinard we look back to St Malo and see the old city standing proudly across a glorious bay. Sailboat enthusiasts are enjoying the good weather and we enjoy watching a race between high schoolers, which ends quickly, when one of the Hobie Cats decides the breeze is too strong to remain upright and dramatically flips over into the sea. Wendy enjoys the pungent delights of a famous local teashop, Lindfield, while Richard braves the 13 degree ocean, not for a swim, but an ankle deep paddle.Dinner is another home cooked meal around the family table. 

Wendy is given a lesson in cooking French vegetable soup using a variety of vegetables including celery leaves. Buckwheat gallette with egg, ham, cheese and accompanied by onions and mushrooms completes our feast, not to mention cheese, cake and of course bread.