We left Normandy with regret. There was still so much to see and do and yet no time!! Paris and the Loire awaited and beyond that..London.
On the way to Paris we stopped in a village called Giverny. It was made famous by the painter Monet who lived there from 1883 until he died in 1926. Here he tended his lovely garden that became the subject of so many of his famous paintings. He made his Jardin d’Eau, filled with water lilies. We visited the Maison et Jardins de Claude Monet and felt that we had stepped into one of his paintings. His house, painted pink, still looks much as it did when Monet lived there and his studio, including his paintings on the walls, is almost unchanged.
We arrived in Paris in heavy traffic and were thankful when we finally parked the car outside our apartment and agreed not to drive in Paris again unless it was absolutely necessary!! Our apartment was located in Montmatre and from our entrance we had a superb view of the Basilique du Sacre Coeur. In the late 1800’s and early 1900’s, Montmartre was the artistic centre of Paris, home to many writers and artists. Today it is touristy but fun and there are still some lovely quiet residential areas. Our apartment was tiny but comfortable, with easy access to the underground.
On our first day in Paris, we met up with our friends Jerome and Elise. We had met them while in Sifnos ( see earlier blog!) and they had suggested we contact them when we were in Paris. Jerome is Parisien and Elise is from Lyon. They love the city and were happy to share it with us. We spent the entire day with them, walking the city and marveling at its beauty. On our way to meet them we walked past the Opera House and through Place Vendome. In the centre of Place Vendome is the column erected in honour of Napoleon I (Bonaparte). It was inspired by the Column of Trajan in Rome, which we had seen in the spring. It is topped by a statue of Napoleon dressed as Caeser. No inferiority issues for Napoleon!! We met Jerome and Elise outside the Louvre although we saved our visit to that historic museum for the next day. We wandered through the gardens of the Palais Royal, stopping for lunch at a place known to J and E. It was wonderful to have “locals” choose the restaurant. The food was predictably great and although the place was packed, there were very few tourists. We discovered Café Gourmand which is a wonderful invention. It is a coffee accompanied by several mini dessert selections (for example a tiny crème brulee and an itsy bitsy crème fraiche with a morceau de gateaux. Yummy!) We walked along the banks of the Seine, staying on the right bank until we crossed the bridge to Ile de la Cite where Notre Dame is located. The building of the church apparently began in 1163 but was not completed for a couple of centuries. It was Sunday when we were visiting and a service was in progress. An amazing sight, accompanied by awesome organ music and some spectacular singing! We then walked past the Palais du Justice to Sainte-Chapelle. We waited in line to enter Sainte-Chapelle but were rewarded when we got inside. What a magnificent gem of a church. It is actually two chapels, one on top of the other and both lovely. The lower chapel has a much lower vaulted ceiling and the decorations are the richly painted pillars, walls and ceilings. The upper church is breath taking. You emerge from a narrow staircase and are confronted by a chapel that is almost completely stain glass windows. On a sunny day, which we were blessed with, the effect is stunning. From there we stopped for a coffee and enjoyed a very entertaining waiter (cheerful in a way that is unusual in Paris!) and then wandered around the left bank. We walked past the Pantheon but it was closed by the time we got there. It was originally built as a church in 1758 but eventually became a “secular temple” following the Revolution and is the site where many of the “giants” of France are buried - Rousseau, Victor Hugo, and Voltaire to name a few. We did manage to go into another lovely church, St Severin, originally built at the end of the 11th century when it was the main church for the left bank. We walked around the Sorbonne (a part of the University of Paris for the last 700 years). After a long but delightful day, we finally bid Jerome and Elise goodbye hoping that our paths would one day cross again.
The next day dawned rather gray and overcast. Perfect for a visit to the Louvre. We got up early and were in line before the doors opened. That turned out to be an excellent plan given that it really minimized our wait. Our strategy was to get audioguides and try to keep our tour focused. Also a good idea. We began with the masterpieces tour which focused on highlights like Venus de Milo and the Mona Lisa. We also really enjoyed the French and Dutch paintings and the Greek sculpture. We stopped for lunch midway which energized us for the early afternoon. The Lourve itself is a magnificent building (or rather series of buildings!). Its origins date back to the 12th century when it was built as a fortress. In fact our tour began in the basement at the base of the original fortress. Later it was used as a palace by the kings and queens of France; however when the royal court moved to Versailles in 1682 it fell into disrepair. It was not until the late 1700’s that the palace was renovated by Napoleon I opening to the public as a museum in 1793.
After leaving the Louvre we walked up to Place de la Concorde, at the end of the Champs Elysee. This too is an impressive square, During the revolution a guillotine was erected where once there was a statue of Louis XV. Louis XVI died there as did his wife, Marie-Antoinette, and erstwhile revolutionaries Robespierre and Danton. From there we crossed the river and walked along the banks of the Seine (this time on the left bank) until we came to the Eiffel Tower. Even for those of us who have seen it before, it is still a marvelous sight. It seems to epitomize Paris for some reason. Built for the world fair in 1889, it is still a masterpiece. There were huge lineups to go up so we stayed firmly planted on the ground and admired it from beneath and beside. To get home, we elected to take the bus for better views of the city. Although the metro (underground) is handy, it doesn’t provide good sightseeing!! On the way home our bus took us by the Arc de Triomphe. We arrived home to our apartment exhausted but happy.
Third day in Paris…..off to the Musee D’Orsay. We had wondered if we had the get up and go to tackle another museum and were really glad that we did. The building was originally a train station built for the universal exhibition in 1900. Inside were the train platforms and a luxury hotel. It fell into decline and was abandoned in 1939, but in the 1970’s was declared a national monument and became an art gallery. We loved it. We were introduced to the impressionists (Monet, Renoir, Degas, Manet, Pissaro), the post-impressionists (the likes of Toulouse-Lautrec, Van Gogh, Signac, Gauguin) and finally the Nabis group (Bonnard, Vuillard). We knew little about these painters but recognized many famous works of art. We also enjoyed the architecture wing with its art nouveau furnishings. The rest of the day was spent wandering around St. Germain on the left bank the Marais district on the right bank (lots of wonderful little shops and restaurants) and then on to our own neighborhood, Montmartre. The girls did some shopping (mostly window type stuff but fun all the same) while Dave and Rory got their hair cut!! Dave got what will now be referred to by the family as “The Parisien”…hair on his head, face, nose, neck and ears all attended to!! That evening we treated ourselves to an evening cruise on the Seine. We came up from the subway next to the Eiffel Tour and discovered it twinkling! It seems to do this on the hour and it was quite magical. Even when not twinkling it is lit up and very beautiful. In fact all of Paris sparkles at night. Though it was a late night and we were exhausted when we got home, it was a wonderful experience. Holly turned to me and said “Can we really be here seeing this?” I felt the same way. On our last morning in Paris we wandered around Montmartre, walked up to Sacre Coeur and bought a small painting that reminded us of the countryside around Bretigny.
We were sad to leave Paris but it is a city that you vow to return to. Lets hope we will!!
From Paris we headed to the Loire, stopping on our way in Chartres where there is a magnificent 13th century cathedral with a medieval town surrounding it. It has two distinctly different spires - one Gothic and the other Romanesque. The stained glass is also spectacular and famous for its “blueness”. It is sometimes described as the most beautiful cathedral in France and we can see why.
We stayed at a B and B close to Blois on the edge of the villege of Couddes, run by a Belgian couple. The other guests were Belgian and French and we had dinner as a group around a huge wooden table set up outside in their garden on our second night there. One of the joys of staying at these places is the opportunity to meet so many other interesting travelers. This place was once a winery. We had only the one full day in the Loire and so had to choose our chateaux carefully. We finally settled on Amboise and Chateau de Chenonceau. Chenonceau is the very famous chateau that spans the Cher River. It was initially built in 1515 but was then modified by Diane de Poitiers, Henry II’s mistress. . It was eventually taken over by Catherine de Medici, Henry’s wife, after he died. Guess Catherine didn’t really fancy the former mistress living in such a lovely place. During the second world war, the Cher marked the boundary between ‘free’ (Vichy) and occupied France. This put the Chateau in an interesting position as it spanned the river. Some say it was used as an escape route out of Nazi occupied France. It is truly a lovely place - very tranquil despite its many visitors!
Amboise was also very lovely in a different way. It was the home of Charles VII and is on the Loire River. It was a much more fortified castle and therefore quite different. It was first built in the 15th century. In the town of Amboise that surrounds the Chateau we had a picnic down at the river ( wine, cheese, bread….appropriate fare for an afternoon on the Loire). After our tour of the castle, we wandered around the town and stopped for coffee and pastries. One final splurge before leaving France! We drove around for a little longer in the afternoon and saw, from the outside, several more chateaux. Then back to our B and B for aperitifs and dinner.
The next day was our last in France. We all felt very sad about leaving. We drove back to Paris and returned our car to the Renault dealership. We had leased the car for six months and had become quite attached to it!! During the course of our travels we had put on more than 11,000 km and had packed and unpacked it many times. We unloaded our luggage and then traveled by underground to the train station to catch the Eurostar to London. The trip to the Gare de la Nord was challenging, loaded down with all our luggage! In Paris, many of the tube stations don’t have escalators or elevators. The Eurostar is fast and efficient and for the kids, was their first real train trip. We were worried about the border control here given that, despite everything, we still did not have visas granting us permission to be in Europe for longer than three months. We had found out only days earlier that our visas had been granted but needed to be picked up in Lausanne! Given that that was impossible, we took our chances. There were a few questions, but the customs officer seemed satisfied that I had been working legitimately in Switzerland and therefore the rest of the family must have been okay too!! Much cause for rejoicing. We enjoyed the train ride (although I find the thought of the chunnel a little off putting) and arrived at St. Pancras station in London, mid afternoon. Lorraine, my English cousin, was there to greet us and we began our British sojourn with a Sri Lankan meal in West Hampstead.
