Bordeaux part one

Bordeaux, arrive Sunday July 24 depart Sunday July 31-- Part one

ps - I've also sent a picture of a huge concrete structure in some water. it's now a exhibition hall but the Nazis built it as a submarine bases and it's pretty indestructible. many Italians were stationed here.  

Bonjour!  So wonderful to hear from those of you who have written.  We’re so glad you’re enjoying the blog.  It’s been a great way for us to go back and remember some of the things we’ve done.

On the last Paris entry, I wasn’t sure why it market was the Marche des Rogues Enfants.  Turns out there was an orphanage located in the area in the 1500’s and the red clothes they wore meant they were supported by Christian charities.  The market was newly revived about 20 years ago and now it’s quite the popular shot for tourists and locals.  We highly recommend it.  I even saw a gluten free kiosk.

We left Paris on Sunday morning by TGV.  We left at 9:46 and arrived in Bordeaux at 1:47. All of the pictures we have seen of Bordeaux have been beautiful so we were a little questioning when we arrived at the train station and the rental car location.  It’s obvious there is a lot of work going on in these areas, but they have a long way to go and it’s a little concerning.  However, once you get to the Cite Center, you see the beautiful pictures.  It is a charming city.  I can’t wait to come back, and not just because of the fantastic wines.  It’s like being in a foreign Napa, but with a more centralized area.  We were going to spend one night at the Intercontinental, Le Grand Hotel and the next day drive to Gascony, a rural farming area for twonights.  Instead once we checked into the hotel, which is indeed the “Grand Hotel”, saw the exquisite room with air conditioning, we abandoned to the plans to go to Gascony and decided to stay here two additional nights.  Excellent choice!  I highly recommend this hotel. They will spoil you rotten.  Plus, we would have missed so much in Bordeaux if we had decided to leave.

As with most large cities in Europe, it’s settled on a river, the Garonne which is the color of coffee lait, was originally settled by the Celts and then settled by the Romans.  They took wine making to an art in the 1500’s and were one of the richest cities in Europe during that time.  It was also a huge shipping port.The sun is hot during the day, but no humidity, but cool at night, perfect for growing vines. They were in the Aquitaine area of France and the marriage of their Queen Eleanor (always one of the historic individuals I’ve always wanted to have for dinner), they became closely allied with the English.  This lasted about 300 years.  Some unfortunate events happened and they fell on hard times.  Through the leadership of their mayor in 1995, who should not only have a bridge named after him, but be given sainthood status, they began a cooperative effort to put Bordeaux back on the map and they have succeeded in a major way. The buildings have all been cleaned and much if it is pedestrian.  They have also built an amazing “mirror” water front park parallel to the river which uses 2 km of water.   It first produces a mist and then produces a small layer of water.  Everyone comes and plays in this beautiful park.  There is a lot of renovation and construction happening in the area.  They’re in the process of laying new water pipes new the hotel so some of this feels very familiar.   After Mexico, they are the second most visited place in the world for 2015 according to the NY Times.  I imagine they could be number one before too long.

The hotel is known for its amazing roof top bar.  The 360 degrees view of this beautiful city is definitely worth one if not more visits. After drinks on the roof, things got-off on the right foot at dinner Sunday night at the hotel’s Gordon Ramsay brasserie, we ate outside and had snails as an appetizer, Beef Wellington for two as our main dish and superb Bordeaux wines, one of the best dining experiences ever. Monday July 25 we spent getting to know the town, we took the petit train ride around the historic center of the city, then went to the famous Maison du Vins for lunch and wine tastings and then in the afternoon we went on an hour and a half boat ride on the Garonne River, all very informative and fun. Tuesday July 26 we spent all day (from 11:00 to 5:30) at the just opened in June 2016 La Cite du Vin. It is located at the other end of town from the historic center and is an eight story, very chic designed building, devoted to nothing but telling the story of wines from across the world. There is too much information to detail on this blog but suffice it to say whether you are unknowledgeable or an expert on wine you would enjoy this facility. The view from the eighth floor and the lunch were both very memorable. 

Our bags are packed and we’re now ready for Part Two of the Bordeaux adventure. Our friends, Betsy and Alan Towne from Richmond, are arriving on the 12:30 and we are picking them up at the train station. We are sadly saying good bye to the Le Grand Hotel and moving to our Airbnb apt in a very fun area of the city, not too far away from our current location.  We are going on an extensive private wine tour tomorrow (Thursday) and a private oyster estuary tour in the Arcachon area on Friday.  The Townes are leaving us on Saturday to have their own biking adventure in the Dordogne river valley.  We’ll spend one more night on Saturday and then leave on the train for Carcassone for one night and then head to Avignon for four.

Thanks for keeping in touch.  We also thank you for your continued prayers for safety.  I would be lying to say it isn’t always in the back of our minds, but we feel like we are blessed with this journey and will continue to enjoy it.   

Until later!

Edie and Cham

Edie and Cham

Paris 

I’m sorry I’ve gotten so behind in the blog, but Paris called.  It’s still one of the most beautiful, vibrant places on earth.  I’m writing this on the TGV to Bordeaux. When we left the apt. at 9:00 this am., it was hard to believe how quiet the neighborhood was.  The Marais starts to come alive around 4:30 and is really hopping around 11:30. Our apt truly was an oasis in the middle of all of this fun chaos.

The heat finally broke on Wed.  What a beautiful day in Paris!  We went to Rodin museum.  I highly recommend it, especially the garden.  It was absolutely beautiful and so peaceful.  I took a picture of the penthouse behind the museum.  I can only imagine what it would be like to look over that park.  I think you have to pay an admission to get into the park, but it appeared that there’s a small entrance at the back and many business people were eating their lunches there. We did the audio guide with the visit because we like learning as much as we can.  For those of you who may have visited the special exhibit when it was in Richmond, the traveling exhibit was very well done.  It actually contained information that wasn’t in the permanent exhibit.  We ate a lovely lunch in the garden from the café, but we certainly could have brought our own.  Perfect way to spend a morning.

After our Rodin visit, we went to the Legion of Honor museum.  It’s free of charge and located across from the Musee d’Orssey.  That visit has always been on Cham’s bucket list.  It explained the various military, govt. and some of the secular orders, not just from France but also many other countries. It was very informative.  I was struck by the plainness of the American medals versus the ornateness of the European orders.  The jewels and enamel work were beautiful.  That evening we met Carole and Andy Morris, Susan and Dick’s son, for dinner at a great Corsican restaurant in the neighborhood.  Time flew as we learned about their jobs and their future travel plans.   We are looking forward to seeing them when they come to Lynchburg at Christmas.  Carole also gave us some great market recommendations for a visit the following day. The next morning Thursday July 21 was designated as going to the post office to mail some of Cham’s books and some of my clothing back home.  Even if  we had understood the language, their system is very confusing.  Once again we were rescued by a wonderful person.  The postal employee spoke no English, but when she realized how clueless we were, she guided us through the various stations.  She didn’t stand behind a desk but seemed to float through the various stations.  One station didn’t do everything, we had to go to several.  It was really quite an experience.  Packages mailed, we realized how close we were to Place des Vosges, my favorite square in Paris.  This is the first time I’ve been there with the fountains on.  It was another beautiful day and everyone was outside eating their lunch.  We were approached by these two darling girls who were selling lunches in the park.  The group was called Menu Next Door.  According to them, people can drop by certain homes and pick up lunches for sale.  They help by taking them to the park and selling them for the woman. I guess it’s similar to our food trucks, but I can guarantee you the food trucks don’t sell what we had.  It was probably the best meal we had in Paris for 8 euro – chopped cucumber and tomato salad, small spanakopita, a meat patty in a pastry, delicious cooked carrots and a fantastic ratitoulle.  It was so wonderful to sit on the park bench and eat it.  We then headed to the Marche des Rogue Enfants (we still need to find out why they were red infants).  Carole told us it was the oldest market in Paris.  What an experience! It was surprisingly small.  It took us quite a while to find it.  It basically consists of a couple of produce stands and the rest are food and cheese vendors.  They had everything there.  The most popular seemed to be the Moroccan restaurant, but we opted for a French place because Cham noticed several locals eating there and rightfully thought if this is their choice, it must be pretty good.  We ended up getting some pate along with a bottle of red wine.  It was a great place to people watch.  The pate was a little too livery for me, but Cham really enjoyed it.  We then strolled back to the apt.  It truly was a wonderful day in Paris.

The next day we went to Vieux l’Comte.  This is a chateau outside of Paris.  It was one of the most beautiful I’ve ever seen.  It was built by Louis XIV’s finance minister Nicholas Fouqetrkey.  He had a fabulous party which included a new style of garden and also fireworks.  It was the party of the century and it’s still written up today!  It was such the event that Louis had Fouqet arrested the next day on trumped up charges. He spent the rest of his life in prison, almost 20 years.  It is an extraordinary estate.  I prefer it to Versailles.  The pictures don’t do it justice.  I can only imagine what it was like the night of the party.

Yesterday, Saturday, we decided to spend the day in another one of my favorite areas, St. Germain.  It was another perfect day.  We started at St. Suplice and ended at the Odeon fountain.  I had written by the Luxembourg gardens numerous times, but had never actually been in them.  They are exquisite.  They were the gardens of the former Luxembourg palace built by Maria d’Medici. The palace now houses the French senate.  After walking through the gardens, we headed to the Pantheon.  It’s on the top of a hill in the 5th arrondisement.  We decided to save it for another visit because it’s such a formidable site and we didn’t feel like we had the time to do it justice. While we were walking in the neighborhood, we passed a school, Lycee Henry IV,  that had a sign that was installed in memory of the students who were interred by the Nazi’s from 1942-44 and never returned.  What was particularly striking was that the plaque specifically says they were turned in by the Vichy Government. About 30 years ago, Bill Paxton’s uncle, a noted scholar, published a very unpopular book which said the Vichy government was much more involved with the Nazi’s than previously thought. Needless to say, this wasn’t a popular view at the time, but history has proven him correct.  It was the first time we’ve seen a plaque that acknowledged it.  We ended this perfect day eating oysters at our favorite oyster bar, Opium.  It’s absolutely tiny and we all had a hard time finding it last year, but found it this year without any problem.  We ate three kinds of different oysters, enjoyed a terrific Bordeaux, drank a toast to our friends and family and vowed to come back.  The lone employee was a wonderful young man from Algeria who spoke excellent English.  He said it gets harder and harder to go home to visit.  His family is encouraging him to stay in Paris because there’s nothing for him in Algeria. He is also a student at the Sorbonne.  He really wanted to teach English, but apparently didn’t score  highly enough so he’s going to teach French instead.  He had never seen an oyster until he took the job at the bar about a year ago.  He was absolutely charming.

It was such a gorgeous day, we decided to walk back to the apt. because we wanted to cross the Seine.  When we arrived at the Odeon fountain, we decided to stop for a beverage.  There were a group of black individuals who were having a very animated conversation, a gentleman playing the acoustic guitar and tons of people around.  All of a sudden a security van pulled up and 6 military personnel got out with machine guns.  I had to laugh because the acoustic guitarist was singing “Don’t Worry, Be Happy” while a woman with a machine gun was hiding behind a tree behind him.  I started laughing because of the irony of the situation.  However, unfortunately, it seems to be the new normal.  No one seemed upset about it. Where we stayed in the Marais is an historic Jewish quarter and a large gay population.  It was very common to see the officers with machine guns walking through the Jewish quarter. So sad, but readily accepted.

We’re on the train headed to Bordeaux.  When we get to the train station we pick-up a rental car, are staying at an Intercontinental hotel, Le Grand, tonight and then on Monday head to the town of Auch in Gascony for two nights and to visit this remote and un-touristy part of southwest France. We’ll return to Bordeaux where we’ll meet our good friends, Betsy and Alan Towne.  We plan to have an all day wine tour on Thursday and on Friday July 29 spend the day in a small boat with a private guide for an oyster tour on Friday in the Bay of Arachon. All this should be tons of fun.

Two things:  they eat a phenomenal amount of ice cream! It seems like there’s a shop on every corner.  The other thing we noticed in our neighborhood is that they love eyeglass frames as well.  One shop was especially popular, and they’re not inexpensive. Finally, the French seem to be able to go with it a lot better than we do.  My train seat was double booked so I’m in the back with Cham.  This has happened to three other people as well.  They just shrug and find another seat.  

It’s always wonderful to hear from you.  It’s hard to believe we’ve been here for a month.  Don’t forget us!  We miss all of you, but know October will be here in a snap.

More later!  Edie and Cham

  

c

Colmar and Paris

Good morning from Paris!  I'm sorry I'm so far behind, so I'll catch up as best I can.

  ago when I was in Komar, their goal was to become a destination point in  France. Well, they have far exceeded that goal. There were people from all over the world they are. It is still a charming place, but in some parts unrecognizable as from 12 years ago. We spent the first day  taking a small boat cruise down the Lau river and then took a small train ride through the town. The next morning we got up and decided to go to Haut Konigsburg a palace/fortress that was restored by Wilhelm  The second. Unfortunately, I left my phone in the car so I was unable to take any pictures, but we could see as far as the alps from the fortress.  while there are some controversy oh points about the restoration, it is Indeed a fortress. It's astounding anyone was ever able to take it. It was a magnificent day. On the way back to colmar,we decided not to go by the highway but by the wine route.  Cham noticed one of the small towns with having a wine festival so we decided to join in the fun. I have posted to pictures of Cham in the Congo line. It was obvious it was a tightly knit community but everyone was sitting under the tent drinking a local wine or beer and dancing singing  to the music. We got back in the car and then stopped in the beautiful town of Riquewehr.  this area has definitely changed since I was there 12 years ago. At the wine house Dopff, someone has definitely gone to California because it was a beautiful tasting room  with some terrific wine. The city has also made the entire center of the town a  pedestrian area. Unfortunately, we were running out of time so we weren't able to walk the streets, but it is still a gorgeous area. I doubt I will ever go back to colmar  again, but I heartily recommend the area as a place to visit. 

 we started the long journey to Paris on Monday morning. We went through some incredible farmland as we traveled north west into the city. It was unlike what I had seen Indiana because  that's so flat. this was miles and miles of rolling hills of grain, corn and occasional sunflowers. It truly was lovely. We were able to return the rental car to the airport with no problem, hop the train from the airport to the Gare Nord train station in  Paris, and caught a cab to our apartment. We are currently staying in the Marias District of Paris. While it's been incredibly hot here the last three days and we have no air conditioning in the apartment. the apartment itself is set behind huge doors  which enters into a courtyard. We have to walk up four incredibly, old wide  flights of stairs to reach our apartment, but once you're here, it's like you're in an Oasis.  We're on an iconic, that's not the word, street in that Helmut Newton, the famous photographer, took pictures here. While we were waiting for the keys I saw two couples using very good equipment for,pics and wondered what was happening.  Our delightful landlord, Pierre filled us in.  Google Paris pics by Helmut Newton to see them   It's a very trendy section - lots of interior design shops, eyeglass shops, etc. all located on the exterior of an historic Jewish section. I walked over to get falaleh for dinner last night, supposedly the best in Paris, and I would agree, and found the head rabbi for France lived in the neighborhood from1955 to 1980.  

I spoke with the children last night and Paige asked about Nice.  There's a huge statue here, and I'm sorry I don't know the name probably somehpthing along the lines of liberty or fraternity, which has flowers at her feet, many wreaths and some graffiti. I haven't heard anyone saying anything, but we're also in a very nice neighborhood.  We're having dinner with Andy Morris and is lovely French wife Carole so I look forward to talking with them about it.

We spent the am at the Rodin museum. I highly recommend it, especially the garden. A very tranquil place in Paris.  I'm putting in one pic because I can only imagine being in the pent house and have the view into the garden.  One of,the other pics has napoleon's tomb, the tip of the Eiffel Tower, a sculpture and Cham.  We ended the afternoon by going to the Legion of Honor museum located across from the musee d'orssay. It's always been on Cham's bucket list.  I'm very glad we had the opportunity to visit. 

So, off to dinner with the Morris.  We miss all of you very much and so wish you could be with us to share these experiences.  We leave Paris on Sunday for Bordeaux so more to come!  Stay cool!

 Edie and Cham

ps now  that I see the pics, so additional thoughts, tons of security around Norte dome, they say they're cleaning up,Piganelle, it's still the sex area of Paris, if you went to the Rodin exhibit at Vmfa, that traveling exhibit was very well done.  it even included some info not in the permanent collection.