Fontevraud

Me at Fontevraud Abbey, Anjou, France- taken by my beloved.

Zen Toothbrush, Zen Toothpaste

Enroute from Paris to Houston. Am in Newark. Whew. Long flights. Ok, so my teeth were fuzzy and I forgot to brush them on the last plane when I had the toothbrush kit thingie, and so I went in search of one. I found one of those little jobbers where the tooth brush is in two parts, and the brush end fits into what we shall call a “handle”. So I go to the bathroom and put it together, and 15 seconds later the freakin’ thing comes in two (cuz it is in two parts, don’t ya know) and the brush falls on the floor. Ah, the Zen of travel.

Gaiman on a Rainy London Day

I haven’t had a head cold since 2003. No lie. I simply refuse to get them. So, I guess a nearly 5 year streak is pretty good. Dog gone it.

The cabs in London are my favorite. They are very cute and squat and fat, like British pub cat, I imagine, and they have all this great room inside for luggage instead of a trunk.

I spent the rainy, cold, July day nursing my runny nose and reading Neil Gaiman stories in London about London.

A Few Pics

Rainbow over the Loire

Chenonceaux

Chateau Saumur. Saumer, France

Me with the dolmen in the Grotto of the Fairies. Mettray, France

Roman Aqueduct, near Luynes, France

Road Weary

Still in London. Am really wiped as evidenced by my newly acquired sniffles and scratchy throat which I am managing to fend off nicely with beaucoup Vit C, zinc suckies, improvised neti, and the Brit government’s generous over-the-counter laws on pharmaceuticals. Great. We schlepped around London a bit yesterday- yes, yes, more old stuff. Far less impressive than Paris. Am I jaded or what? Much I’d like to see in England upon another return- sacred sites, standing stones, chalk drawings, etc….but I am ready to get on a plane- gotta get my head cleared for flight for sure. Dave has a meeting this afternoon and then we are training back to Paris tomorrow.

Burn Out

Long drive to from Saumur back to Paris to drop the rental car (nightmare) and ride the Eurostar to London. Am bedded down for a spoiled nite in a corporate suite. We are staying in Mayfair right near Hyde Park. The ride from the train station past the parliament building, with only a glimpse of Buckingham Palace, is reminiscent of the buildings of Boston (New England, don’t cha know). I have now morphed into a big homesick, grumpy, ungrateful baby. There. I said it. Yes, yes, everything is old, ya got yer castles, and lots and lots of art, ya got yer Kings and Queens. Got it. Where are my kitties?

I haven't watched any TV is several weeks and Dame Shirley Bassey belting out Pink's 'Get this Party Started' in her top of the charts video on Brit TV is a surreal sight, indeed. Gold Fing-ah...

Tomorrow we explore the environs for a day or so...then back to Paris to catch a flight home. Whew!

Garden of Eden

July 23 2007
Today began slowly, with a quiet breakfast downstairs at the chateau, and then making train travel arrangements at the gare. We stopped and bought our hosts Yolaine and Teri an olive tree in downtown Saumur. We stopped at an amazing savonnerie for fresh made soaps, and then on to the Abbey at Fontevraud. Beautiful and having gone under many series of restorations from it’s origins in the 11th century, including a 19th century prison. Beautifully preserved effigies of Eleanor of Aquitaine, Henry II, and Richard the Lionheart from the early 12th century. Amazing. I use that word a lot.

On our way from the Abbey back to Saumur, there were beautiful rain clouds…we chose a very, very country road, full of grapes and sunflowers (is there anything else to life, really? I don’t think so!). The road took us up and over a high crest of a grape vine covered hill overlooking the rainy sky expanse of the Loire Valley…as if that wasn’t enough, a rainbow emerged bridging the winding river—and shimmered into and out of colorful being. Wow...the valley is just full of apple and pear orchards, wheat and hay fields...giant fig trees everywhere...mushrooms and of course, grapes, grapes, grapes...! The roses are just astonishing, and some rows of grape vines have rose bush finials...other fields are bordered in dreamy rose bushes...the old stone walls of churches and chateaux often have climbing varieties in full bloom, maybe 20 feet tall...flowers and roses everywhere in full splendor.

Driving Around in a Painting

July 22

Back to Saumur

The beautiful 17th century farm and B&B, La Cornilliere, owned by Didier (what a character!: “Oh, my wife, she does not like to send the guests to the provincial restaurants because they are too Frenchy, but I say, ‘When I go to New York, I do not want to eat in a French restaurant!’). The also had pet chickens to the farm… "they are stupid like the aristocracy!" and Catherine where we stayed last nite, had a nearby dolmen, “Grotto aux fees” right around the way in a wheat field. It is surrounded by large trees…amazing…amazing…amazing…

We headed south again back toward Luynes, to discover yet another amazing site: the many arches of a Roman aqueduct stretched across a farmer’s hay fields. Too cool.

We wended our way back to Yolaine’s chateau at Saumur to spend this lazy beautiful July afternoon, just lounging about.

I will have plenty of pics to go through when I get home for the photo journal- several thousand at least!

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July 21, 2007

The day began with sneaking up on Chenonceaux via a back road sans tourists, to come upon the bridge-like castle reflected in the river. Breathtaking.
We then went on to Loches on a hunch due to a flyer we’d seen about a Ren fair there. When we got to the center of the small town, there was a meager looking Ren fair set up in the town square which had been there a good 1000 years (the square not the fair), and with a closer look the artisans and players were revealed to be folks that were preserving the ancient ways of their (our) ancestors: wine, cheese, and preserved meat making, traditional medieval weaving, scabbard and blade making. D got a beautiful small spiral handled knife made my the knife maker at his forge. Wow. What a find. We starting driving out of town, and then quickly saw the enormous castle keep rising from the small town. We parked and explored, probably, the most amazing medieval castle we’ve seen: the fortress of Folques Nerra, King of Anjou, circa 1000-ish AD. Wow. We’d seen the remnants of a Folques Nerra fortress at the beautiful medieval chateau Langeais, as well. This bigger, totally amazing castle in Loches, was also the site in the 1400’s when Jean d’Arc met the dauphin-to-be-king for the second time, after winning the battle of Orleans, and convinced him to ride into France and claim the crown as Charles (whichever number). We explored the keep with its spiral stair towers and historical graffiti that let to the incredible vista of the valley, which surely revealed any approaching marauding army…and of course the dungeons for political prisoners. We tired about before seeing the later church and chateau in the vicinity.

Without a room for the nite, we headed toward Tours (sort of), and stopped in Cormery to call our previous lodging to see if they had a vacancy (on a Saturday nite in high season). Of course, they didn’t, but had a referral, and that place had a referral, and another referral, and so did the next, etc, until we found this AMAZING little place in Mettray. It is gentleman’s farm of the most amazing sort- beautiful little houses surrounding the main estate house- gardens and gardens, surrounded by wheat and sunflower fields. Our room’s door is wreathed in an old grape vine and when we returned from dinner, fresh figs from the garden were on our little breakfast table. Dreamy. The couple who owns it, of course, speak beautiful English and are full of personality—showing us every corner of the property and gardens including the soon to be restored pigeonnere. Love it. Then off to dinner at a wonderful, very local restaurant for homemade treats of all sorts, and of course, local wine, wine, wine.

Tomorrow it is back to Saumur for two days before whisking thru Paris on our way to London for a couple of days, and then back to Paris to catch the plane home.

A Gargoyle-ing We Go!

I had good intentions of keeping a detailed dairy of our travels, but there is so much to see and do, and the French summer sun doesn't set until nearly 10:30pm so, by the time we return to the hotel, it is time to crash. We've been chateaux-ing a great deal. The ruins of Cinq-Mars de Pile were amazing. It is owned by a little old French man who teaches at a school of architecture in Paris during the week, lives at the chateau at the base of the fascinating towers on the weekends and during summer, tending to the chateau his father bought. We tend to like the ones that are earlier and have had less 19th century restoration- even if they are falling down...the Chateaux at Langeais was stunning too- fairy tale spires...and finding the ones that can only be driven to, avoids the tourists...last night at an overnight in Tours, we stumbled upon the stunning Cathédrale St-Gatien, built between 1239 and 1484..with AMAZING gargoyles a-plenty!
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Earlier:

I keep putting off starting another entry, because there is so much I want to write, and so little time I am willing to spend writing it, with all this beauty around me…Our days have been filled with drives through the Loire valley roads- on the opposite side from the levee- we are near Saumer…and the beautiful towns of Candes St Martin…the champingnon farmers in their troglodytes….the endless eglises, one after the next- each with their own interest- Notre Dame at Treves-Cunault with it’s fortress tower next door and four-faced baptismal font…the stunning “tuffa” towns…flowers, flowers everywhere and fields and field of Van Gogh loved sunflowers. Sunflowers. Sunflowers—L’Helianthe…flowers tall as me all over the place….church after church after church after wonderous church- places of power before Christianity…L’eglise Saint Aubin at Treves with the mud dauber birds that seem to inhabit so many old churches, especially, perhaps holding the spirits of those that have gone before in their soaring flight to and fro the eaves…l’eglise Eusee at the hilltop in Gennes where we walked the churche’s walled outer paths and discovered a small carves stone figurine…I love all the many, many, many carved faces that line the eaves of the churches- funnily looking for replicas in the design, yet knowing each was carved by a stone artisan by hand… and gargoyle rainspouts who wretch and hold their tummies, and make faces- sometimes human, demonic, angelic, monkish, animalia, fantasia…the several Neolithic dolmens we searched and searched for- that simply arrive from a farmer’s fields of sunflowers- where he is happy to allow you to tread lightly on his land to take in the spectacle…the Gallo-Roman amphitheater near genes under excavation with it’s later hermitage and empty sarcophagus of the early monk who came to convert the populous. Plessis Bourré’s Conte de Fées fairy-tale castle with moat included…and miles of island speckled river- sometimes wide, sometimes narrow…the Chateau at Montsorreau with its lovely spires and stone walls rising right out of the water- we could climb inside and see the miles down the Loire and over the valley…the Chateau Saumur high on the town hill, lit at night with it’s spires…seen from the window of the chateau we are staying at- Chateau Verrieres…the bridge crossing the Loire coming into town- and the view of the bank of the river with the town and castle rising from the green, low bank…lavender and sage growing wild wild wild everywhere everywhere…and chestnut trees (the US doesn’t have any)…we’ve been warned by our eloquent hosts to keep the beautiful chateau casement windows closed in our bedroom while our lights are on- for bats will fly into our room! The late July bugless nights are so cool we sleep with the windows open wide to the view of the castle and tall garden trees…Uno, the doggie, begs for treats at our table in at breakfast and sleeps at Dave’s feet when we took tea tonight after dinner in our (long) talk with a couple of Aussie guests.

Loire

So, I have another long blog entry about the past few days on D's laptop, but I'm at (weird) cyber cafe in France and cannot upload it...lots of incredible everything's, and D is taking a gazillion beatiful pics...Much, much, more later...

Vive La France!

I might as well start what is surely to be a long post on our 2-plus weeks in France. We've been in Paris about five days, and have discovered the beauty of the New Orleans-esque cimetières. Stumbling upon the Cimetière de Montparnesse and the grave of Camille Saint-Saëns was the first of the solemn, quiet, and shady fun. We visited Cimetière de Passy and both Fauré and Debussy's graves, as well as the Cimetière de Montmarte and Nijinsky's grave...the cimetières are so beautiful and the statuary completely amazing.

We've had some outstanding French food at a couple of quiet restaurants, and the deeeeeelish bread (thankfully baked in the US, aussi!) at the boulangers et pâtisseries. I love how every block has the boulanger, the charuterie et boucherie, the veggie stand, the toiletry shop, etc, etc. The experience of daily shopping has so much more of a community feel than going to a giant supermarket. We even had to find the electricity shop to buy batteries- a tiny little place that sold only electrical things like light bulbs, etc- sort of an Old World Radio Shack...including a young guy behind the counter who wanted to speak English and tell us how he learns it from listening to American music...

Other highlights have included the Palais Garnier, and the out of the way Domaine de Marie-Antoinette at Versailles, which no one seems to know about (yay!)...

Our first night we stayed near the Louvre, and the surreal Coney Island amusement park nearby. I also did not expect our lovely view of Paris from the hotel room to include le Tour Eiffel bursting into a show of Las Vegas sparkles at midnight! Apparently that happens every hour until about 4am! Hahahaha! We've spent the last few night au rive gauche in St Germain in a little hotel with a great view of Sacré-Coeur de Montmartre....and of course a glimpse of the funny ferris wheel near the Louvre in the foreground.

The heart of Parisienne culture seems to be people watching and cafe fare at the extremely smokey brasseries. A delightful unfortunate idea: the clouds and clouds of cigarette smoke are deal-breakers. Pardonnez-moi, mes amis Parisiennes, mais cesser de fumer!

D has a business meeting here in Paris Monday, and that afternoon we rent a car and venture to the Loire Valley to Saumer; and a stay at the lovely Château de Verrières for more explorations...

D has been taking yards of pics...will post lots later...

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Ok, back now from a lovely dinner at a tres cool restaurant non-fumer I found called Giufeli south of the Cimetière de Montparnasse. Very chic and very small and very casual, and the young chef greets you, yum, yum, yum....

Earlier we'd gotten a call from a business associate of D's to join him and his wife on their rooftop flat at the base of le Tour Eiffel for the Bastille Day fireworks. Well, there ya go. And lemme tell ya, the French are très sérieuse about their fireworks. Holy mackerel. I've never seen anything like it. A little pic D took is above from the breathtaking evening. The crowd below spanned the whole of the Champs de Mars...with a light show on the Trocadero. The music was surreal: medleys of West Side Story, the James Bond and Star Wars themes....where was Gloire immortelle?

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Today brought us to both l'église Saint-Gervais and Saint-Paul Saint-Louis...beautiful, tranquil, cool (on such a hot day) and full of incense and quietude. Ah...

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I will upload many pics or a link to Flickr later, but another cool thing is the river boat culture...there are beautiful gardened river boats with tiny cars atop for touring through the intricate river systems no doubt, or just living la vie en rive, je pense. Just like the gypsy river boats in Chocolat!