A Grand Opera and France Wrap Up

 On my last day in Paris,  I only had an hour and so sought out the modest 19th century opera house for a quick visit-

The place only took up little more than one city block.  The French really do know how to cover scaffolding.  

So, that is pretty much it for my latest visit to France.  A few surprising and unsurprising observations -

• The French are in many ways, tho not all, sneakily efficient.   They do a lot of things well and efficiently- e.g. resturaunt service, wine making, tours, biking riding, subways,bnbs, etc.  They are more business like and customer friendly  than one might think and I say that as a (American) compliment.

• While not openly convivial and sociable like some others (e.g. the Irish),  I found the French  very friendly in general and very solicitous and helpful on the many occasions where I needed assistance.  

• I found really no one averse to speaking English, including in Paris, and many who speak it quite well.  A change from the 70s when I visited Paris.  

• I found the country side of Northern France truly delightful, dotted with many ancient and interesting different types of places to visit 

• Unsurprisingly, given its history (TdF), France is quite bike friendly and offers safe bike routes almost everywhere.  Just a terrific place to bike. 

• Like  every country I have visited, I found the French justifiably proud (and not in an arrogant way) of their ancient and beautiful country.  As one explained to me, they see it as a place with so many different things to see- from Roman ruins, to beautiful medieval churches, to moving historical sites, to beautiful Chateaux, to the beaches of the Mediterranean or Atlantic, to the Alps, to the many vineyards and stone medieval villages, to Paris with its stupendous museums, monuments, churches and historical and cultural sites.  

• Where I went, the French seem to genuinely honor the American contribution to aiding and saving them in WWI and WWII and you can see that, not only in Normandy (where I heard many speaking French in the American cemetery) but also in other American military cemeteries from WWI- e.g,  Argonne and St. Mihail (sp?)

And if you add to all of the above, the fact that their food and wine is as good as any in the world- and I think a very good value overall-  well it would be darn hard not to enjoy a visit to France.

C'est finis.  

Impressionism Round 2: Vosges and Savoir-faire; Night Biking

 I visited the Musee D'Orsay in Paris which reputedly has the best collection of Impressionist paintings in the world. 

  And they did have quite a few of the most famous ones-

Quite a bit of confetti in one- maybe the French had just won the super bowl,  I don't know. 

I had heard that the Place des Vosges is one of the most stylish and fashionable squares in Paris and so being well known for my interest in fashion and style, I naturally headed there.  The square was originally planned by Henri IV around 1610 and some say was the beginning of the Paris most know today (i.e. the Paris of famous monuments, 5 story buildings, wide boulevards, large squares or 'places', grand baroque or neo-classical structures).  With my sense of fashion and style, French fluency and general air of Savoir-fare, it I thought I fit in well with the younger chic crowd and could have been taken for one of the locals lounging about the grass-

I discovered One American trend currently sweeping the  Parisian cafe scene that I had no hesitation in participating in-

Paris really is such a delightful city and one enjoys its many pretty venues just aimlessly walking  about (my speciality)-

I also visited the church of Saint Chapelle which was built by Louis IX around 1250.  The church- actually built by Saint Louis as a private chapel for himself and a few hundred of his closest friends- is famous for its stunning stained glass windows, 2/3rds of which are original from the 13th century.  And coming around noon with the sunlight hitting the windows was an awesome experience-

Pictures do not capture this at all.

And I strolled down this oddly named, but for some reason quite popular, blvd and stopped briefly at its most famous cafe-

And I observed a kid eating a well known French dish, which if you are going to see that anywhere, it will be on the Champs Elysee-

Later,I joined a tour for a very fun and informative bike and boat ride in the evening, which took us to some of the more off the beaten path and little known type places- 

Really, though, Paris is quite the place and, I think, deserves its lofty reputation.  

Liberte, Equalitie, Fraternitie; Medieval Scaffolding; Surprisingly Friendly Parisians

 Paris is known for its small cars, modest houses and culture of understatement and humility-

Went to this house in the suburbs called  Versailles where I found  myself pretty much alone in the famous hall of mirrors-

I think it would have been possible to squeeze a couple more people in there.

But I think this somewhat  monotonous place captures  the spirit of the Commune and Libertie, Equalitie and Fraternatie and the French Revolution-

I have never seen a better example of Gothic scaffolding than what is in place at Notre Dame Cathedral.  IF you like scaffolding, this is as good as it gets-

ONe small part where there were gargoyles were yet affected by the scaffolding, but maybe their turn is coming-

Actually, the story of its reconstruction was quite interesting simply by itself.  The French are taking the opportunity to really clean and restore the Cathedral.  It seems to be going well.  It will be something to see when they take the 15 stories of scaffolding down. They are trying hard to finish by 2024.  It is an impressive effort.  

In fact, All of Paris seems to be undergoing renovation as they get ready for the 2024 Olympics.  Setting humor aside for one short moment, the City of Light really is a beautiful and stunning place with seemingly endless beautiful and awesome monuments, boulevards, churches and museums and.... cafes.  

Bubbly Reims; Fishing Dogs and Smiling Angels

 The French really do not know how to pronounce Reims, home of the famous cathedral where 27 kings were crowned rulers of France beginning in the 800s (tho Clovis- king of the Franks-  was baptized here in 497, getting a jump on things).   They seem to say 'Rems' when those more fluent say 'Reams'.  Whatever, they have a Gothic cathedral that is that equal of any in the world-

It is truly stunning and awe inspiring.  Notre Dame is not really a match IMO-

It famously includes the smiling angel (from c. 1250)-

But almost 800 years is a long time to hold a smile.  I guess it gives new meaning to the term 'frozen smile'  

They even dogs that search for fish in the fountains-

Not sure he came away with much.   

But Reims is also the centre of the Champagne region.  I found the place somewhat effervescent and the caves more congenial than those of Fort Douamont in Verdun-

Somber Verdun

 Leaving Beaune, I headed for Verdun and then Reims, the latter the home of the famous cathedral and center of the champagne region and industry.  Verdun of course was the location of the dreadful and tragic battle in WWI in 1916 between the French and Germans where there were more than 1 million casaulties in a battle that decided pretty much nothing (very little land was gained or lost).  The pockmarked landscape, while overgrown, still showed the scars of 6m+ shells-

I toured Ft Douemont which seemed as cold and miserable now as then (I felt like a WWI soldier for about 15 minutes which was quite enough).  4 men to a bunk which seemed even rougher than my digs in Beaune-

I did see one very close aerial dog fight which I adroitly captured with my quick photographic skills-

But overall a sad and somber place-

WWI was such a tragedy and Verdun, along with the Somme,  probably its most futile example.  The French do tend the graves well, tho.

I did stay at a beautiful bnb in Verdun, however, owned by a lovely older French couple who had stunning outdoor garden-