Travelogue: Port-en-Bessin-Huppain

While visiting Normandy last August, we stayed three nights in the fishing village of Port-en-Bessin-Huppain. As land-locked Coloradans, we seize every opportunity to stay near the ocean when we can, and it was perfect for access to all the Normandy Beach sites as well as Bayeaux.

We found marvelous restaurants along the water's edge, an interesting beach to walk along, and this amazing church. I've visited many churches over the past few years, from the Vatican in Rome to tiny, unheated and unlit St. Oswald's church along Hadrian's Wall, but this one stood out as providing incredible insight into the people who worship in the church from the town.

First and foremost, Port-en-Bessin-Huppain is a fishing village, and has been so from time immemorial.

Here's a peak inside the church so you can see what I mean...

Travelogue: Normandy Beaches

I just finished Stephen Ambrose's magnificent D-Day June 6, 1944: The Climactic Battle of World War II, and thought it appropriate that I incorporate it into my post on visiting the Normandy Beaches in August.

After Mont St Michel, we drove across the Cotentin peninsula to the Normandy beaches, where we would spend three nights in the lovely little fishing village of Port-en-Bessein, which will be getting its own post later on, and is between Omaha and Gold beaches.

We stopped enroute at Utah Beach, the westernmost part of the D-Day landings because our tour the next day didn't include it and we wanted to see it. We didn't have time to visit the museum, but instead opted to sit on the beach and eat the sandwiches we picked up in Mont St Michel and enjoy the beauty of the place.

A very striking monument at Utah beach, showing a replica of a Higgins boat.

The next day we did two tours with Bayeux Shuttle -- the morning focused on the British beaches and cemeteries, and the afternoon focused on the American beaches, ending with a visit to the American cemetery. I'm usually not one for tours, but I felt that this would really be the best way to get to the most interesting sites and get good info from an expert. 

The tours were both fantastic--definitely the right choice. In the morning, my husband and I were the only ones on the tour, so we had the very personable and knowledgeable guide all to ourselves. We got to ask loads of questions, and he gave us a first rate intro to D-Day. In the afternoon, the American tour had about a dozen people and so was less personal but still excellent.

We started at Longues Sur Mer and I got my first view of the German pillboxes, or batteries that shelled the beaches on D-Day.  The ground around was cratered by the aerial bombing that the Allies did leading up to D-Day, and it was eerie to walk inside and stand behind the guns.

We also visited the town of Arromanches (Gold Beach), and I was absolutely fascinated by the remains of "Port Winston," which was a Mulberry (or temporary) harbor that the Allies constructed  since there isn't a natural harbor in the immediate area.

Arromanches, Gold Beach - absolutely lovely, would love to return and spend some time here.

WWII remnants- full disclosure, my husband photoshopped the people out of this image. 

We ended our morning with a visit to one of many British cemeteries, which included casualties from Great Britain as well as Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and also German troops. Not a lot, but some. Unlike the American cemetery, the gravestones are not uniform, and family members were able to add a few words (usually scripture or poetry) to the vital information. 

Ryes British War Cemetery

In the afternoon, we visited Pointe du Hoc, a cliff overlooking the beach, and then Omaha Beach. Omaha is a spectacularly beautiful beach, and since we visited on a hot August day, it was crowded with people playing in the surf and sun. Our guide made a point of saying that while sometimes visitors are a bit shocked that people are playing where so many thousands died, it is a fitting tribute to the cause for which they died that the beach can today be enjoyed by everyone.

Memorial at Omaha Beach with people photoshopped out.

We ended the day at the exquisite American cemetery, where we observed the flag ceremony at the end of the day, which was very moving.

During our morning tour, I asked the guide for a book recommendation and his number 1 choice was D-Day by Stephen Ambrose. It was absolutely excellent, with most of the narrative being snippets of interviews the author conducted with veterans of the landing. The stories they told surpass anything that a novelist could create and reading their words was inspiring, chilling, and incredibly moving. Ambrose did an first-rate job of putting the invasion into context--from the massive preparation, including years of training and scouting right up to the last minute--as well as his own analysis of why it succeeded, what the Allies did right and what the Nazis did wrong. 

I was so glad that I was able to visit Normandy before reading the book as the place names and geography and feel of the land and sea helped me better understand the stories that the soldiers told of their experiences.

Travelogue: Saint Malo and Mont Saint Michel

I knew from the minute we started planning our trip to France that I wanted to make sure we went to Mont Saint Michel. It wasn't until I started looking for books to read about France that I remembered how much I loved All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doer and looked on the map to see where Saint Malo was. I was overjoyed to discover its proximity to MSM and immediately put it on the itinerary.

From Paris, we took the train to Rennes and then rented a car and drove to Saint Malo where we had lunch, walked on the ramparts and down on the beach, wandered through the rebuilt ancient walled town, watched a game of petang, and found #4 Rue Vauborel, where fictional Marie-Laure lived with Uncle Etienne in All the Light We Cannot See.

Looking up at Saint Malo from the beach at low tide.

Outside the city gate, where the men play petang.

Beautiful beach fringed with rocky islands.

The white door is #4 Rue Vauborel.

From Saint Malo, we drove to Mont Saint Michel, where we spent the night in a hotel right next to the boardwalk that takes you to the island by foot. You can also catch a shuttle--jam packed--but we preferred to walk and take pictures.

We went after dinner, and enjoyed the twilight on the abbey. It really is a storybook place. We didn't spend much time on the rock itself--too many people and it was getting dark, but I loved seeing this beautiful place so much.

We walked back the next morning, to get some pictures in the daylight and gather sand for our sand collection--yes, we have spice jars filled with sand from beaches we have visited over the past 35 years. It's a nice way to remember some of our vacations and is just one of the things we always try to remember to do when we visit a beach.

Travelogue: Paris

I fully intended to blog during my recent trip to France, but...I didn't! I've been back almost a week, and am still catching up.

This wasn't my first trip to Paris, but the first one where I wasn't there on business and only able to sight see a very tiny bit.

We stayed in the 5th arrondissement, across from the Fountaine Saint-Michel, which is a marvelous location for Notre Dame in particular, and many of the literary pilgrimage sites that were high on my list, and mere steps to a metro stop and taxi queue. It is, however, a bit like staying in Times Square in New York. Lots of people, lots of tourists, and lots of kitsch.

My favorite view of Notre Dame Cathedral - love those flying buttresses!

We tried to balance seeing the top tourist attractions with visiting parks, making pilgrimages, and getting the vibe of the city.

Loved the Musee d'Orsay -- not only the fantastic collection of most of my favorite paintings in one location, but the overall beauty of the space, which is a renovated train station, was breathtaking. It was light and bright with lots of levels and open spaces.

And, of course, it was full of Monets and Manets, Pisarros and Renoirs, Van Goghs and many others.

I particularly enjoyed the special exhibit on 19th polychrome sculpture, which I knew nothing about but found beautiful and so interesting.

We went in the morning, had lunch, and then went back for another round. Bordered on sensory overload, but what a wonderful place!

I've loved this Renoir painting for decades! I had a poster of it in my college dorm room.

Another of my favorite places was the Pantheon, next to the Sorbonne. I loved the Pantheon in Rome when we visited that lovely city in 2015, and the history of Paris's Pantheon is absolutely fascinating. Its use as a religious building, then a secular, then political, then back to religious, then secular, etc.  chronicles the lurching about that has characterized France over the past couple of hundred years.

Now on to pilgrimages...

Cafe des 2 Moulins in Montmarte, where Amelie works in the movie, Amelie

We had coffee in this literary hangout that pre-dated the Lost Generation.

Two blocks from our hotel!

We also visited Versailles, Montmartre, the Louvre (but a very short visit--not a fan), Luxembourg Gardens (big fan!), and the wonderful Rodin museum and garden. We did a lot of walking, rode the metro some, took a few taxis and ubers, and felt like we got around pretty well.

It was quite hot while we were there--mercifully, I insisted on a hotel with air conditioning. I can't say that the food was fantastic--we mostly ate lightly--salads, charcuterie boards, and coffee and croissants--but that was fine as we didn't want to break the bank on food on this trip.

I was so glad that I did a lot of reading about Paris before the trip so I had a good sense of where things were and had a context for understanding the geography and history of the city.

Next up...Normandy (and a tiny slice of Brittany).

Paris in July - Books, Videos, Plans

In exactly three weeks, I will be a couple of days into the Paris portion of our family trip to France.

To prep for the trip, I have been reading, watching movies, listening to podcasts, and planning.

Reading thus far (links are to my blog posts on the book):

1. The Most Beautiful Walk in the World: A Pedestrian in Paris, by John Baxter - loved this book so much, will probably throw it in the suitcase to reread while in Paris
2. Madame de Pompadour, by Nancy Mitford - an okay bio of a royal mistress, good prep for visit to Versailles
3. A Farewell to Arms, by Ernest Hemingway - flavor of Paris in the 1920s
4. A Moveable Feast, by Ernest Hemingway - we're staying in his neighborhood so lots of places I want to walk to
5. The Paradise, by Emile Zola - a terrific look at how Paris changed at the end of the 19th century
6. A Paris Year: My Day-to-Day Adventures in the Most Romantic City in the World, by Janice Macleod - easy to read, lovely pictures, lightweight but fun
7. Vincent and Theo: The Van Gogh Brothers, by Deborah Heiligman - an excellent YA bio of Vincent and his brother
8. Paris to the Moon, by Adam Gopnik - interesting essays about living in Paris as an ex-pat
9. All the Light We Cannot See, by Anthony Doerr (second time) - loved this book so much--planning on visiting St Malo the day we leave Paris for Brittany/Normandy
10. Bruno, Chief of Police: A Novel of France, by Martin Walker - loved the first in a mystery series set in Dordorgne.

We're staying near this famous bookstore!

Currently reading:

1. Impressionism:Art, Leisure, and Parisian Society, by Robert L. Herbert - really good, hoping to finish before we leave
2. My Life in France, by Julia Child - a reread but so enjoyable; just booked a reservation in Rouen where Julia ate her first meal in France
3. The Table Comes First: Family, France, and the Meaning of Food, by Adam Gopnik - Gopnik is so good, I couldn't resist diving into another of his books
4. Paris, Paris: Journey Into the City of Light, by David Downie - I've been working on this for 6 months, good but not compelling

Videos/Movies

1. Versailles, seasons 1 and 2 - really enjoyed this, waiting for season 3 to arrive in the US
2. The Impressionists, 3 episodes (rewatched) - Richard Armitage as Claude Monet, cannot wait to get to Giverny on second to last day in France
3. Amelie - so charming
4. Untouchable - wonderful movie
5. The Chorus (Les Choristes) - another great movie, set just after WWII
6. La Vie En Rose - all about Edith Piaf
7. 10 Golden Days (10 Journs en or) - fun
8. Midnight in Paris - Woody Allen's time-traveling movie

Phillippe and his brother Louis XIV - Versailles

Planning

Join Us in France - Facebook page and website with podcasts

Annie and guest Elise cover everything - from driving in France, to museums, to dress codes, to train strikes, to food to try, how to picnic, wear to shop, wear to stay, and the FB page lets you ask questions and fellow Francophiles share their experiences and advice.

My husband and I are birders, and so final planning stretch is learning what birds to look for and where in Paris and Brittany/Normandy.

I will try to post each week as my trip approaches and then I hope to do travelogue posts while I'm traveling.

Paris to the Moon

I just finished Adam Gopnik's marvelous book of essays about life in Paris, Paris to the Moon, and think I have a new favorite writer.

Gopnik is a New Yorker writer and in this book he writes about the five years he and his wife lived in Paris with their young son in the mid-1990s. He is a marvelous writer--the flow and richness of the language, his story-telling skills, and his focus on the little things that make up a life together make this an absolute joy to read. This was my bedtime reading for the past few months, wherein a read just a few pages or a short chapter each night to savor the experience.

I loved exploring neighborhoods, trying new foods and recipes, making friends, hanging out at the Ritz, and dealing with French bureaucracy along with Gopnik.

Here are my tweets in which I quoted the book while reading it:

“Not really liking it much is a precondition of art criticism of all kinds.”  

“...religion depends on being able to find the holy in the ordinary.” Jean-Philippe Derenne, as quoted by Adam Gopnik in Paris to the Moon

“...good cooking is made up of familiar things done right.”

“ We breathe in our first language, and swim in our second.”

As you can see, Gopnik has a lovely turn of phase. I've added a few of his books to my GoodReads want-to-read list, with The Table Comes First: Family, France, and the Meaning of Food high on the list!

Counting down to my vacation to France, starting in Paris in 31 days!

Bonjour!