Still on the road with Joyce and Robin

Day 10, September 8, 2008– Today was a great day! After a quick tour of Limoges, we headed off the beaten path along country roads in the hills of France. Our destination was the Lascaux Cave area, a prehistoric site where people lived over 25,000 years ago. This route took us through more little villages, each with a church and stone shops, houses, and other structures. At one point we ended up at a chateau with a swing set in the yard—it looked like a small castle.


We passed a farm with acres of geese--the biggest gaggle of geese we ever saw—they do a lot of pate de foie gras here (goose liver paste)!

We were wanting a drink and a lunch snack when we encountered what looked like a Mexican restaurant and the name sounded Spanish. (We were only about 150 miles from Spain at the time—now we're much closer.) We are really tiring of this French food—Mexican sounded like a treat! Once we got inside, we discovered that this little restaurant was so very French—a buffet of appetizers that I didn't recognize except hard-boiled eggs and then we would have had to choose a “plat” (main dish) all for 11 euros (roughly $18 each)--we just didn't want that much to eat. We sat down to have a Coke and Robin saw a sign that said “sandwiches,” so he asked for a “jambon” sandwich. He got a narrow baguette (about 18 inches long) stuffed with ham—nothing else on it--for only 2.8 euros (under $5).


Another thing is that all over France, it is almost impossible to get ice. Even if you order a drink at McDonald's, it comes with little or no ice. If you ask for water in a restaurant, you get cold water but first they try to upgrade to sparkling water or Evian.

When we reached the area of the caves, we discovered huge limestone cliffs with overhangings into which the French have built houses so that the rock serves as the roof of the house or, in many cases, the back wall. They probably inherited the property from their caveman ancestors.

As we drive all over France, I find myself comparing the terrain to that of the Shenandoah Valley, West Virginia (the mountains aren't that high here), western Maryland, and southwestern PA. Today we even saw a tobacco farm and in some of the villages there were crape myrtles and mimosa trees. One thing I've learned since arriving here is that the landowners often enclose their property with hedgerows. They are tall and very dense. Robin tells me that the Americans had a hard time chasing the Germans out of France because they had trouble getting through the hedgerows during WWII.

We reluctantly left our meandering and hit the toll road for Toulouse. The French have wonderful roads, as I've said before; however, they should for what they charge. To go 150 km (about 90 miles), we paid over $18. Every ten miles or so they have rest areas. Some have restaurants and playgrounds and picnic areas; others just have facilities and a parking area. We have learned that when you go to the latter—just the facilities—you must have your own tissues.

Of course, we arrived in Toulouse after dark and could not find a train station or our hotel. It was very frustrating. We called the hotel and the clerk patiently directed us—he in very basic English, we in less basic French! The highlight of Toulouse so far has been the pizza we shared sitting at a sidewalk cafe across from the hotel. Another discovery here—I used the computer in the lobby to check e-mail messages. I had never thought about French keyboards or any other keyboards for that matter. I sat down and typed in my name and password and hit enter without thinking, and I got a message in French saying my password was wrong. You bet it was! The keys were not in the same place. How enlightening—we take so much of the way we do things for granted!

Robin and I have begun talking “pidgin French” to each other now. We'll find a McDonald's tomorrow and post this blog. We do not have access on our computer tonight. Tomorrow we're on our way to the Mediterranean and Montpellier!

The Loire River Valley

September 7, 2008, the ninth day—This morning we left Tours for Limoges by way of the Loire River Valley, which is really not on the way. What a surprise! I always imagined the Loire to be mighty; however, today we drove along a shallow, serene river that is reminiscent of the Shenandoah River in VA. The road took us through farmland and little villages. We didn't stop at any of the chateaus—we just enjoyed the scenic ride. At one bend in the road, we happened upon an aqueduct that stretched across the fields as far as we could see. This was exciting—I remember building an aqueduct in Latin class in 9th grade and had only seen pictures of them. Once we got to Orleans, we headed south. We stopped at a little village “faire” and walked around for a few minutes. It was basically a big yard sale—lots of old dishes and bicycles and such; however, every little booth was decorated with cut flowers and greenery hanging from the canopies.

Today as we moved out of the lovely farmlands, we moved into the central mountains in France and got up into spruce forests. What a treat!

What's interesting is that in every city we have been booked in hotels across from or very near the train stations--”la gare”--which means we have to find our way around in the center of large towns on mostly unmarked roads and sometimes at night. We had no idea that these were major cities when we planned this road trip—I guess we thought because they are ancient that they would be small. Not true.

We've made a few more observations. I can't remember if I wrote that since we left Paris we have not had washcloths to use. Also, in every hotel, when you step out of the elevator or into your room, there are no lights. In the hallways, there are motion lights that go on as we go down the hall. Every step we take, a new light comes on. We feel very regal. Robin says it's more like Maxwell Smart! In our rooms, we must put the key card into a slot and that allows minimal lights to come on. We have yet to have a light good enough for reading!

What I enjoy most, I think, is getting reacquainted with the language. I can still hear and see my French professor—many years ago—saying specific phrases and the language is beginning to come back. Tonight we had our first rude server. He approached us speaking speed French. I told him in French that we only spoke French “un peu” (a little), and he threw his arms up in the air and said in French that he didn't speak English. He was also impatient. We have books to help us translate menus; however, these French restaurants make up fancy words on the menus that are not in the book and are probably not even French. I chose my trusty “saumon” (salmon), which I've had four times since we arrived! Good Omega-3. I ordered mint tea and ice cream after dinner and got mint ice cream and regular tea. That wasn't so bad.

Tomorrow it's on to Toulouse—our longest drive.

More pictures later - couldn't get online last night.

Mont St. Michel, oh, my....

After a busy ride along the coast of Normandy--twisting through little towns with stone buildings sticking out in the road and getting our first glimpse of the English Channel--yesterday afternoon we stopped at the D-Day Memorial at Omaha Beach. That was a very moving experience, thinking about the thousands of American lives lost in that area during World War II and the families left behind, and seeing all the white crosses lined up along the coast of the Channel. I couldn't help think how fortunate we are--my dad, Robin's dad, and our uncles were in different areas of the world supporting the war, and they came home.

After that stop, we headed straight for Mont St. Michel. This has to be the best place I've ever been. Jutting out in the Channel and mostly surrounded by water at high tide, this centuries-old abbey should be one of the wonders of the world. Our hotel was tucked up against its walls. We arrived at dusk and it was raining. Naively, for some reason, I thought we'd be able to drive up to the front of the hotel and get our luggage in and then go to the parking area. When we got to the area, we called the hotel. They told us to park in the first parking area, that the tide wouldn't be high enough to cover it this weekend. We were also told to walk up to the hotel--"it isn't far," she said. As I said, it was raining and the wind was blowing hard. We rearranged our luggage to downsize for our hike--through the parking lot, down the cobblestone walkway, across a boardwalk, up another cobblestone path to La Mere Poulard, our hotel. The umbrella blew inside out on the way. Our room was on the fourth level--up a winding, steep staircase. (Did I really expect an elevator??)




Today--after the best breakfast that we've had since we arrived in France--we explored and managed to get over half-way to the top. It is just amazing. The wind blew so hard and, because it was Saturday, there were many people. Robin started to go up on his own, and I told him I was going with him,and off we went! I was pleased that we did so well. What a day! I remember studying about this abbey when I was a French major in college and hoping that one day I would get there.



Tonight we're in Tours in the Loire Valley after a long drive through Brittany. The French have wonderful,litter-free roads, and for the most part one can drive about 70 mph on them--even the backroads; however, every time there's a crossroad,there is a beautiful traffic circle with flowers planted in the middle and signs pointing out directions, and you have to stop. While it's a beautiful ride on good roads, it takes forever. Robin is becoming an expert on the roads,just whizzing around those traffic circles.

Tomorrow we'll be off to Limoges, heading south. Catch you next time.

Day 7--on the road...

We are sitting in a McDonald's in Ouistreham, Normandy, France--of all places. It's a rainy day as we approach the Normandy beaches, and we were delighted to see McDonald's because we were in search of "toilettes." When we got in here out of the rain, we discovered that McDonald's has free internet connection, so we ordered some drinks and eventually a filet o' fish to share and Robin ran out to the car and got his little computer and we set up shop.

Yesterday we enjoyed the wonderful cathedral in Rouen. My friend Toni Bennett (at work) raved about it so much that we added it to our itinerary. It was breathtaking inside that huge structure that was originally built in the 13th Century and bombed during World War II; however, the stained glass windows were removed before the bombing and preserved. I felt so safe in there.

On our way to the car we spoke to another couple in the underground parking deck. In fact, they asked if we spoke English. We talked for about 15 minutes--the first totally English conversation we've had in 7 days, and it was wonderful. They were from Rochester, NY, and they know of my friend from childhood who plays in the Rochester Philharmonic.

After somewhat of an adventure getting around in the traffic and going around and around in traffic circles yesterday, we visited probably the most unique little village I've ever seen--Honfleur, France. The architecture was medieval and the streets were cobblestone. It was lovely. We spent last night in Caen and are on our way to Mont St. Michel. If you don't know Mont St. Michel, you should google it because it is a site to behold on the internet. I can't wait to see it for real.

Paris to Normandy

Leaving Paris...we felt sad to go but hopeful of what is yet to come. When we arrived at the train station by taxi, we found ourselves and our luggage in what felt like a big, old basement with no information about trains. It was one of those moments of hopelessness that has punctuated this trip thus far. Everywhere we looked, we saw steep steps—tons of them—and there we stood with two big suitcases and two carry-ons between us and arrows pointing upstairs for the trains. I almost cried, but I was determined to do it, and I started up the stairs with my load when a sweet young woman who did not speak English grabbed the bottom of my case and lifted it to help me. Her kindness was so touching, and, as I looked back at Robin—he had the two big cases—a young man came soaring up the stairs with the big red suitcase and went on his way without a word—our a suitcase. For these two we are very grateful.

The train sped on its way—it was wonderful, very comfortable. Ever since we've been in France, anytime we've had to use “les toilettes” in public, we had to drop in a coin—about ½ euro. Consequently, the bathrooms are very clean and well-equipped. Before the train left the station I made my way to the rest room and the door wouldn't open. So I looked for a place to put a coin and found a small circle in the door. I fit my coin into it and it wouldn't drop down, nor would the door open. I went back to my seat and sent Robin back to check it out. He couldn't get the coin in or out or the door to open either. After the train started, the doors opened—for free! As I mentioned before, we keep learning. Today we also saw the first houses we've seen in France—after we got out of Paris a little.

When we arrived in Rouen, we were happy to find a Hertz Rental office at the station and immediately took care of that. Oh, we had to search for “-2 section, #58” for the car, only to discover a little European minivan. We made sure that we knew how to put it in reverse before we left the parking deck—on the advice of some other French travelers. We drove outside the garage only to discover that our hotel was right there in front of us. And guess where the parking was?? In the same parking garage. We got caught up in the traffic and were whisked away until we lost the hotel temporarily. We eventually found a spot on the street to unload our bags and as long as we move it before 9 a.m., it can stay there, so we're going to try to get on the road early tomorrow after we see the Cathedral in this town. Our room is in a turret—about six sides, I think. The elevator holds one suitcase and one person—about the size of our coat closet at home in the entrance hall.

Dinner in Normandy, where we are, was not appealing to me when I translated the menu: duck, rabbit, goose liver paste, kidneys of veal, etc. I've just been ordering either “poisson” (fish) or “saumon” (salmon)--the fish is usually white and the French know how to prepare anything well. The sauces are fantastic. Robin chose “canard” (duck). I had some kind of white fish on a bed of mashed potatoes with a wonderful sauce of some sort. It was very good.

For those of you who have been e-mailing us, please know that we haven't been able to get into Comcast from this hotel today—after paying 10 euros for three hours on the internet. So we have no access. We can, however, get into our blog.

When I started up those stairs at Gare St. Lazare (train station) in Paris today, I couldn't help but think that I was a contestant on “Survivor.” Then I remembered Tom Hanks saying in “A League of Their Own” that being hard is what makes things worthwhile. I'm going to continue to hold onto that. Au revoir!

Au revoir, Paris!

Today is our final full day in Paris; we leave by train tomorrow afternoon for Rouen where we pick up a car to go on our road trip. We've had very busy, tiring days every day in Paris; however, it's been grand. I thought that the Louvre was "vast" seeing it from the water, I had no idea until I was actually on the grounds how big it is. I know it's probably a two-mile stretch from one end of the Louvre through the Tuilleries Gardens. We went by boat and foot--lots of foot!

So far we've only eaten two meals indoors. All the rest have been enjoyed sitting along busy sidewalks. The weather has been wonderful--we couldn't have asked for better weather. Our servers have been friendly and helpful (one last night has a master's in finance from Berkeley!), and we're understanding the menus and enjoying the food and Robin's appreciating the fact that in France wine is almost as available as water and not as expensive as Coke or tea! No iced tea though. I'm having withdrawals! Also, no Cheerios, but I found Special K here in the hotel for breakfast. They also serve baskets and baskets of breads, lots of cheese, and meats like salami and ham--this is probably more than you want to know!

Today we headed to Montmartre--a bohemian area on the top of the only hill I've noticed in Paris. On our way we got off the Metro and went up and stood in front of the Arc de Triomphe. It was as impressive as I always thought. The Cathedral of the Sacre Coeur is at the center of Montmartre. The area is full of windy cobblestone roads, little shops, bistros, and lots of artists painting and trying to sell their art. We took a "funicular" up the side of the hill (a cable car) and took the steps down,

While we were on top, Robin was looking at some merchandise in front of a shop and chose something to take into the shop to buy. Two guys approached him--right out of West Side Story with leather jackets and black tee shirts. They flashed police identification and showed him a gun and starteed speaking rapid French. They insisted that he open his backpack and they began asking questions. They told us in a little English that they had seen a pickpocket with his hands on the backpack and wondered if something was missing. This was scary. At first we thought they were accusing Robin of stealing something. Then I wondered if the ID was legit. I'm still wondering about it--it was so strange. Later, as we were about to descend the 224 steps to find the metro, I saw another guy eyeing the backpack; as I approached Robin, the guy looked at me and smiled and asked if I wanted him to take our picture. Right! He would've been down the hill with the camera before we could blink.We watched him jump over the gate and hop on the funicular without a ticket. Robin said he felt the guy's hand at his pocket, and he quickly turned away. That's when I approached.

Riding the Metro is not much fun because we had to walk miles underground, up and down stairs, on and on, and it was so hot in there, and no one, not one person on the Metro ever looks happy.

Just a few other observations about Paris--all the dogs we've seen are white. On Sunday I saw a lady about 80 or older dressed in a white suit with white high heels and a white poodle in her arms strolling up the Bouldevard de Montparnasse. Women wear high, high heels for power walking in the park and riding bikes. The French love bread! And they're pencil thin. They walk around with baguettes sticking out of bags, and they pull hunks off and eat as they dodge the zooming cars. French people so far have not been as rude as we heard they would be. In fact, they've been quite nice except for the pickpockets and the police. And even the pickpocket was nice. All the little cars here have big rubber bumpers--they squeeze into tiny parking spaces and bump right into each other. We haven't seen one house; everybody lives in apartments.

Okay. That's it from here. Hope all is well where you are.

Joyce

The City of Lights

Well, here we are--our real Day 1 in Paris. I can hardly believe we're here. We've been in learning mode all day. We have had two cruises on the Seine--one in the afternoon and one in the evening and it was wonderful fun. I love all the rooftops and windows on the builidings--the architecture is amazing. And I could hardly believe I was at last standing beneath the Eiffel Tower--at night it is really awesome.

So is the Cathedral of Notre Dame.

Dining is quite the experience here. An interesting experience when you know little about the culture and not a lot about the spoken language. This afternoon we sat down at a sidewalk cafe for a late lunch. I asked for a menu; the server let us know in part-French/part-English that they only served one meal. I had a hint because I was sure she said frites, and that means fries and she asked if we wanted something rare, medium, or well. Consequently, we were served a tiny salad of lettuce and walnuts with a tad of vinegarette, a small, thin steak au jus, and a big pile of thin fries. Bread and water were included. Robin ordered a glass of wine; I ordered a cup of tea. (A Lipton bag with hot water was 6 euros--about $9--more than our cab ride to the hotel from the Eiffel Tower! However, the glass of wine was only about 3 euros.) The entire meal would have taken us out to dinner at least three times in Richmond, maybe four. I hope things are more reasonable once we are out in the provinces. We leave Paris on Wednesday and take a train to Rouen where we will get an Opel (car) for the rest of our trip.

For those of you who knew my concerns about walking so much, I'm really walking a lot and it gets better every day--especially after all the miles logged moving around the airports. I feel strong and healthy. My heel has not bothered me, nor my leg. Robin is concerned about his ability to keep up with me once I get going.

Tomorrow we're hoping to get to the Musee de l'Orangerie where Monet's murals are in the round. We might also stop by the Musee d'Orsay where a lot of impressionist paintings are located. And we haven't seen the Arc de Triomphe yet. Tomorrow we'll be getting around by boat--we bought a Bateaux Bus pass. It will take us to the museums. We cruised by the Louvre twice today--it seems to go on for about 1/2 mile or longer.

We'll check back in when we can. J.