wish-you-were-here-too

Day 18: Home!

2009-06-02T20:09:00.027-05:00

Friday - May 29, 2009

It was our last morning. We were at the Comfort Inn next to the Bordeaux airport and we had an 8am reservation for the free airport shuttle (mind you we only needed it for the bags because we had walked the distance 3 times already). [Resolution: NEVER travel with this much stuff again!!!!!]

By now we had the routine down. Set the alarm. Try to wake up just before the alarm so you won't hear the awful noise. Shower if that wasn't done the night before. Jump into the clothes laid out. Hot rollers and hairspray - essential. Makeup - almost as important. Munch the breakfast treats we had saved. DONE. We checked out of the hotel. Our shuttle was a poor man with barely enough space to fit our bags in his car. [Remember Resolution!!]

Arrived at Bordeaux airport more than two hours before our flight, concerned that we couldn't confirm the night before and didn't have assigned seats - no problem - it was a French airline and a small airport - we got the emergency row, checked our bags to our home and got boarding passes to Atlanta. The flight was on time to Paris.

In Paris, we tried to avoid going through security again; no luck. Every hallway dumped us outside. We eventually found the right terminal, passed security and found the gate. NO TIME FOR SHOPPING IN THE DUTY FREE STORES - they started boarding for Atlanta as soon as we arrived. We had no more room in our luggage - so no loss.

We got to our seats. This time we received head phones, eye masks and EARPLUGS????? in addition to the pillow and blanket. Three rows ahead of us there was a whimper and Janet said "Oh no, a baby." NINE HOURS LATER the crying had not let up. By now it was a gusty wail. The poor baby had just flown nine hours from India and was overtired. The flight attendants were glad they could move around and get away. But hey, I was still floating - totally contented - remembering bits and pieces of the trip. It didn't matter at all.

Arriving in Atlanta we were herded through the lengthly (3 step?) process at customs. Crowd control shouted at us to move to probably the longest line available each time as we stumbled along. We claimed and redeposited our bags to more shouts and found our gate to HOME...or so we thought.

Janet took a nap. I called my boss. We looked up a couple of minutes to boarding time -- the gate had changed to the other end of the terminal.

Janet ran ahead and threw herself in front of one of the electric carts that shuttle old people (we qualified by then) and we loaded up and raced to the new gate. We were all amused by surprised looks from people on cell phones as we pulled up inches from where they stood. Pilots of course thought they owned the place, but our driver said "No, they come and go - I am in charge here." We tipped her well as we jumped off and got in the check-in line to board for home. We tried to pretend we were asleep the last leg - we had had enough airline pretzels and soda.

A phone call from the taxiway confirmed my dear husband was at the gate and had been waiting an hour in case we arrived early. I put on my French hat. Janet and I grabbed our things, and were so glad to be HOME.

Here is a picture of Janet and me with our splurges: Janet's cashmere scarf and gloves from Amsterdam, our linen cabbage rose pins from somewhere I can't remember, and my French hat from Bordeaux. Notice the smiles. We had a great time - a once in a lifetime experience, just the two of us with our guide, to the most amazing variety of places and adventures in the countryside of France.

The next day, the doorbell rang, and this flower basket arrived as a welcome home/Mother's Day/birthday/Christmas present from my daughter.

It is called "French Garden."

Love to you all from
Janet and Rozanne

THERE IS NO PLACE LIKE HOME!!!!!!

Day 17: Bordeaux, Our Last Fling Before Home

2009-06-02T19:52:00.059-05:00

Thursday - May 28, 2009

Thursday morning, John drove us from Saint-Emillion to the Bordeaux airport Comfort Inn, so we could check in and stow our luggage before heading into the historic city center, to explore.

We dodged the Bordeaux rush hour traffic at 9am on our way to the airport. While we checked in, John asked about transportation at the desk and then called the Tourist office in Bordeaux to find the cheapest transport between the city and airport. Cab fares were steep, and buses and trains were complicated, so he drove us into the city and told us about the tourist shuttle which would take us to the airport at a reasonable price. We said goodbye at the Tourist Office - John had a long drive home to Normandy. We had a city to see.
The tourist office helped us with maps of Bordeaux and sold us the shuttle tickets for 7 euros.

Janet and I located the bus stop we would need a couple of blocks away, then we set off to see the sights.

It was a beautiful day.

Hubert de Boüard de Laforest, owner of Chateau Angelus had told us the day before how gorgeous the Bordeaux stone buildings would look in the sunshine when we got there.

We headed toward the Garonne River to the huge esplanade - the Place des Quinconces with the Girondins Column and fountain and statues of Montaigne and Montesquieu nearby.

Next we walked to Notre Dame - another beautiful Romanesque church.

We found a darling tea shop which served lunch at noon. We stopped in for tea and vowed to return later for lunch. A tinyspiral staircase went up to the lavatory (and down to the kitchen). We were old hands at spirals by now after climbing the Saint-Emillion bell tower and climbing up to our hotel rooms.

We traveled the shopping streets, mostly window shopping, but stopping occasionally to try on clothes in the chic boutiques. We saw a caneles truck and behind it the kind of caneles and macaroon shop we had been looking for. At last, we found the missing items on our list of things to try. We had to buy 12 macaroons in order to get a box, so we purchased "rose", "cassis" and "nutella" macaroons as well as standard flavors. Supper and breakfast were now under control.

We found Cathedral Saint Andre the largest church in Bordeaux. It is the cathedral where Eleanor of Aquataine and the Future King of France, Louis VII were married. Francois I was formally received in the cathedral. Napoleon restored worship in the cathedral after the Revolution. The walls are gradually being cleaned and the work uncovers gorgeous stonework beneath the soot. Sandblasting is occurring all over the city as Bordeaux works to become even more beautiful than it already is.

We returned to our lovely tea room for lunch. On the way out, I spotted a hat store and fell in love with a soft gray hat. It was an impulse buy, but I love it. I had purchased three linen roses in Delft? and pinned one on for my trip home. See our last post for a picture!

We found the Opera House and went in to see the entrance hall and grand staircase. On the way out, we passed an open window - the opera chorus was rehearsing. We stopped along the tree and flower filled walking street to listen. I shot several pictures through the window, reminiscent of creepy movies I have seen - just to remember the unusual moment.

We walked and shopped some more.

We made one last sprint to The Great Bell: La Grosse Cloche before heading back to the bus stop. We purchased sandwiches and drinks for our supper. As we approached our bus stop, one bus just pulled away. We ran for the bus but missed it - so we sat on a curb in the shade and drank the drinks - it was hot. The next bus was late, but the previous one had been late, too and knew we were at the right stop, so did not worry.

The air conditioned bus was a welcomed treat. We cooled off during the ride to the airport. Asked to exit early near our hotel, but had to ride to the terminal and walk back. We found walkways and shortcuts and arrived at the hotel safe in no time.

The hotel had a patio bar and we ordered kir, connected my iPhone to wifi, checked in with family at home, and saw John Bromage come online. He had arrived home after his long drive. All was well.

We tried to confirm our flights for the next day from the computer, but couldn't get through. Worried, we walked back to the airport terminal in hopes of finding an Air France rep to help us. "No Problem." they said. "Can't do it now. Come back tomorrow - everything is fine. We will not cancel your reservation."

We walked back to the hotel. On the way, we noticed that magpies were out. John had identified the birds for us earlier in the trip. He quoted a chidren's poem which our friend Mary tells us begins "One for sorrow, two for joy, three for a girl and four for a boy......" We had only seen one or two before. This time we saw four and have the picture to prove it.

We finished our dinner snacks and turned in, sad that our vacation was over. We are a little tired of dragging our things from hotel to van to hotel. Yet we brought so many things, we could have stayed another month without running out of clothes. Tomorrow we would make the trip home. This has been the longest trip in my life, but there were so many different things to do, the time passed in a flash. John had arranged the trip and the hotels so that time never dragged - there was always something new to enjoy. In a way, it seemed we had just left home. Funny about time...

Good night to you again.
We will see you soon, now.
Love from
Janet and Rozanne

Day 16: Visiting Bordeaux Vineyards:The Best Day Ever except our visit to the Bromages in Maisons

2009-06-02T18:24:00.139-05:00

Wednesday - May 27, 2009

Well here we are, almost at the end of our journey - and almost at the end of my blog updates. I have written most of these entries from home as a way of preserving my memories of the great trip. (Also we were too busy HAVING fun to write about having fun.) I have saved the best 'til last so I would keep writing. I still have the entries from our trip to Normandy and the Bromages house to write - that was my most favorite part of the trip and my least likely to forget.

Today our plan is to tour some of the wineries of the Bordeaux wine region, the most important wine growing region in the world. Due to the prestige associated with these wines, we are prepared to pay for cookie-cutter tours by staff hired just to take care of tourists. We expect that the wine tastings will, however be worth our time. John called several commended wineries in the Saint-Emilion and Pomorol AOCs and tried for small family chateaus in hopes of finding nice tours. A few days before, a terrible hailstorm had damaged some of the vines and owners were busy assessing and repairing damage - some did not want visitors. John found us three that said to come ahead.

Our first visit is to Chateau Arnaud de Jacquemeau, a Saint-Emilion Grand Cru. We are met by the former owner, Denis Dupuy, now a great grandfather. He has turned the growing business over to his son. He delights in showing visitors his pride and joy. The the grapes are organic. He tells us that barley and oats are planted between the rows of vines so that insects will tend to eat the tastier grass and leave the grapes alone. We understand that the grasses help restore nitrogen to the soil and help with weed and erosion control. The rose plants at the end of the rows are early indicators of powdery mildew, so sulfer can be applied to the vines when necessary as a preventative.

Denis carefully explains the process of wine tasting. After removing the cork and letting the wine breathe, he wipes the mouth of the bottle. He pours a small amount in a glass - turning the bottle to wash away remaining cork debris. This is discarded. He inserts a pouring spout.

Denis now lights a candle and pours wine into a glass, so that we can look at the color of the wine, particularly around the edges. As a wine ages, the tints become more brown. The wine is swirled to incorporate more oxygen into the wine and let the flavor develop. The sheeting of the wine on the sides of the glass is observed. Covering the glass, swirling it more, releases more of the fragrance into the glass.

Denis goes through an elaborate process to fill both nostrils with the smell of the wine. He finally puts a small amount in his mouth, sucking in air. The wine is washed over the entire tongue to capture all elements of taste. Denis is quite the showman. We are an appreciative audience - especially after tasting the wine.

Everyone buys his wine. Denis says it is best after five years - or in 2011.

That is when Janet is planning a trip to Italy. She wants Gigi to come with John and do the tour since she speaks Italian.

I buy a bottle and label it: "Not this wine before it's time", marking it for Janet's 2011 trip to Italy. I send it home with John to cellar for Janet.

John thinks the tasting process is a little over the top. We think Denis is a great flirt - "Viva la Français!"

Chateau Angelus, a Premier Grand Cru Classé B Saint-Emilion is our next visit. This is a very prestigious chateau. John tells us to expect a polished presentation by an employee who is fluent in English. Our literature tells us the cost of the tour is 10 euros each. We drive up to a large elegant building and go to the reception area.

There is a James Bond Casino Royale poster on the wall advertising the Angelus wine as Bond's choice in the movie. There is also a picture of the chateau owner with Bill Clinton.

We are introduced to Stephanie de Boüard de Laforest, daughter of the owner. Normally her sister gives the chateau tours, but she is expecting a baby soon and Stephanie is filling in. Stephanie is a banker in London. She is moving to a new job in three months and is enjoying a break at home. Stephanie's husband is a negotiator in the wine business - an intermediary between growers and distributers. While in London, Stephanie puts together wine tastings for corporate clients in her spare time.The vineyards have been owned by her family for seven generations - since before the French Revolution. She gives us a tour of the vinyard and then takes us through the fermentation tank areas and the oak barrel aging cellar. Her father has created a new design for the oak fermentation tank a UVO (play on UFO since the new tank looks like a space ship). Fermentation takes place in concrete, stainless steel and oak - each material has advantages which are beneficial to different grapes. The barrels are all painted with red wine around the middle band. This is so that spills will not show from testing and topping off the barrels. They are all beautiful when painted this way. It is obvious that extreme attention to detail is observed at all levels. Grapes are sorted and resorted so there are no stems or poor quality fruit in the wine. Stephanie compares the sorted grapes to caviar. Chateau Angelus was upgraded in the 1996 ten-year rating. It maintained its rating in 2006 (improvement two ratings in a row is out of the question). The chateau is trying for another improvement at the next rating in 2016.

Stephanie discusses the effects of the recent economic downturn. Wine prices for the current vintage are down almost by half. Angelus expects that by the time the vintage is released for sale, prices will return to more normal levels. As a consequence, this one time, they have held back 20% of the harvest and plan to sell later. It is a constraint on cash flow to do this. Because they are large and established, they are able to take the gamble on future prices. Stephanie's banking background prepares her to understand and participate in these decisions.

Stephanie's father introduces himself and welcomes us. He is on his way to Paris and confers briefly with his daughter.

He is curious about our trip, offering to make our reservations in Saint-Emilion for our last dinner. He tells us that we will enjoy Bordeaux the next day - that the sunshine will bring out the best color in the yellow-white buildings.

Stephanie opens two bottles for us to taste. Each is exquisite.

We understand that each bottle sells for about 400 euros.

Fortunately, the chateau's agreements with distributers preclude them from selling directly from the chateau. We are spared from making apologies when we do not buy.

Reservations for our dinner are made as we depart. John exchanges contact informaiton with Stephanie - his brother in Surrey may wish to host a wine tasting when she returns to London. When we try to pay for our tour and are told that there is no charge. We have spent an hour and a half visiting this wonderful chateau. The visit has been a total surprise.

In the afternoon we visit Chateau Enclos Haut-Mayzeyres a Pomerol. We meet the proprietors, Marianne and Roland de Pedro and their daughter Françoise. Their vineyard has been in the family for two hundred years. Recently, the winery has passed down through the women in the family.

Marianne owned the vineyards before she was married and knew the business. Roland was a scientist who worked with meterological balloons. He has used his knowledge of science and weather to improve their wines and also to predict the optimum timing for grape harvest. It was wonderful to see the partnership and admiration that each one feels for the other.

Their daughter has studied wine in college and is preparing to take over the family business. She came out and spent the afternoon with us. When we took pictures of the family, they were surprised and got their camera to photograph us.

They show us their operation and spend a great deal of time explaining their oak barrels. They have been testing several coopers in an effort to find the best oak which enhances their wine. Barrels are used for three years - this is the same policy used at Chateau Arnaud de Jacquemeau our first chateau today. Chateau Angelus uses barrels only once - the much larger operation, can negotiate better prices on barrels, also Angelus is more expensive.

They lead us through the house several times. We look at a map on the dining room wall where Roland explains the historical significance of their location. We see the cellar and at their photo album of grape maturation and harvesting process. We look at their charts on barrels currently being aged. We are invited to taste their wines.

The family sets their patio table and invites us to sit by their pool and share their wine. Francoise stays in the sun until he mother teases her into coming up with us. They open a 2001 which is wonderful. Marianne and Roland explain that the flavor of their Pomerol wine is like silk or velvet. We agree. We talk for a long time - John interpreting much of what they say, although we can catch a lot on our own when more than one conversation is going. They devote their afternoon to our visit. We are guests and friends. We ask if we can buy some wine - Marianne says with a twinkle that we can fill up our car. The 2001 is my second bottle to take home - it is so good. John buys some to take home as well.

It has been an incredible day. I can not believe the warmth and hospitality we have been shown. There are many hugs and kisses as we get back in the car to leave.

Before returning to Saint-Emilion, we make a detour to Chateau Petrus - the most famous and most expensive Pomerol. We take pictures in front of the building, wary that at any moment a pack of Dobermanns might storm out to attack trespassers, but the property was deserted.

We drive back to get cleaned up for our final dinner together.

On the way to the restaurant, we spot a price list for Petrus in a wine shop. We thought that Chateau Angelus was expensive. The 2005 vintage costs 2700 euros a bottle, the 2000 vintage is 3400 euros.

"Splashing Out"

For our last dinner, we wanted to celebrate.

Hubert de Boüard de Laforest, owner of Chateau Angelus had recommended Logis de la Cadene during our visit to his winery earlier that day. His receptionist made our reservations.

The Logis is a family-owned restaurant in Saint-Emillion established in 1848. The specialties are meats roasted over vine cuttings and local cuisine. The food was wonderful. We tried a local wine.

The dinner was Janet's treat!
[Thank you!]

We adjourn in time for the Barcelona vs. Manchester European Champions Football (Soccer) League finals that night. Poor John, Barcelona won (my kids were happy).

Love to you all
Rozanne and Janet

Day 15: Toulouse to St Emillion

2009-06-02T18:02:00.073-05:00

Tuesday - May 26, 2009

Today is our only rainy day, and even that doesn't last.

On our way to Saint-Emillion, we drive to Toulouse: "la ville rose" - the pink city, with its beautiful brickwork buildings dating from the late 12th century. Toulouse is also a vibrant modern city, home of the French Aerospace industry, and the University.

The Saint Sernin Basilica is the largest Romanesque church in France. The organ is widely considered to be the most beautiful French pipe organ. This picture is from Wikipedia since my pictures were blurred due to the lighting.(http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:StSerninCCorgan.jpg)

Saint Exupery and other early flyers always stayed at the Hotel Grand Balcon in the heart of town when they were in Toulouse. There is a wall of photographs in the hotel to their honor.

I have always loved Saint Exupery: The Little Prince, Night Flight, Wind Sand and Stars. John mentioned that St Ex was alleged to have been working for the Germans as a spy at one point - Charles deGaulle had alluded to this. I can't believe it. His supporters vehemently deny it, citing his steadfast loyalty to France during WWII. Vichy government positions and loyalty matters are confusing to understand....

We stop in a Monoprix for great picnic food (a lifesaving store with a grocery department). We find a park.

John pulls a blanket from the car for our bench and mops his own with the canoe trip dry towel.

After lunch, I venture into the park restroom. It is the most primitive yet. Janet refuses, but I am desperate and file it under "Try new things while on vacation." Now mind you, France is a land of contrasts and it was so with bathrooms. Last Wednesday in Montignac, while John was buying our tickets for Lascaux II, Janet and I ventured around the visitors center and noticed a rather impressive washroom. It said that it was totally automatic and self-cleaning. We went in to try it out. You can only go in when the indicator light on the door is green. Janet decided to come in too. The instructions indicate that as soon as you leave, within 10 seconds, the entire bathroom is hosed down automatically and sanitized. Since I finished first, I threatened to leave and see if Janet AND the bathroom would be sanitized. Note: The door locks during the sanitation process. The pictures below illustrate the range of our low-loo and hi-loo experiences on this trip.

Here is our view for the rest of the trip to Saint-Emillion - the rear end of a logging truck. It was a two lane road the whole way.

Every time we would go downhill and passing was allowed and safe, the truck sped up above the speed limit.

Every time we went uphill, the truck slowed down.

John should get a medal for his self-control; it didn't bother him at all - I was nuts. I explained about the US and "road rage" - it was a good thing for the trucker he was in France or someone would have ended his career long ago.

We arrive in Saint-Emillion and check in to our great hotel, Logis des Ramparts in the heart of the city. We walk to the visitors center, just in time for an English tour of the Saint Emillion underground. We see the cave where the monk Emillion lived and served his church, a chapel, a crypt, and the "Monolithic Church" - an underground Gothic church carved within a single rock. This is the picture of the outside of the church - you can not imagine the carved vaulted sanctuary below.

For one euro, we get the key to the bell tower of the Monolithic Church and walk up the tiny circular staircase for great views of Saint-Emillion from the top (133 meters up).

Since the town is carved into the hillside, natural springs are everywhere. They gurgle in mini-gardens throughout the town. Janet and I explore before dinner. One word of caution - the walking streets are steep cobbled paths - often with hand rails to help, but one still needs to get from handrail to handrail. Sturdy walking shoes and careful negotiating are required.

We are tired. I am hungry for crepes for dinner after the great ones we had on our trip to France last fall. We find an outdoor creperie which opens early for dinner. This is my savory crepe called a galette. For dessert, I order one loaded with banana, ice cream, chocolate sauce, walnuts and sliced almonds. Yum! (I didn't gain any weight on this trip, by the way - lots of walking.)

Good night and sweet dreams
(no logging trucks)
Rozanne and Janet

Day 14: Land of the Cathars - In search of wine and cassoulet

2009-06-02T16:05:00.057-05:00

Monday - May 25, 2009

John reached the proprieters of Chateau Les Palais, producer of the Corbieres we had with our meal last night. He made an appointment to visit their winery. We drove southeast from Carcassonne to the Corbieres region.

We found the chateau and were welcomed into their wine cellar. The cellar is a 12th century vaulted chapel from a priory to the Holy Virgin and Saint Randolin. Anne and Xavier de Volentat own the chateau. The winery has been in their family for over 200 years. The family from Bas-Languedoc can trace ancestors back to Roman times.

Anne explains the wines they produce: reds, a white and a rose. We are most interested in the red wines, but taste their white. We taste two reds: Cuvee Tradition is the wine we had last night. It is still excellent and is reasonably priced at 6 euros a bottle. The Cuvee Randolin was more expensive at 12 euros, but was my favorite.

The two reds were blended from a slightly different mix of Carignan, Grenache and Syrah grapes with a higher concentration of Syrah in the more expensive wine. The more expensive wine came from older vines; the more expensive one is aged in oak for 12 months prior to bottling. The less expensive wine is good for 5 to 8 years; the more expensive one 10 years. Only 20-40,000 bottles of Randolin are produced each year. 150-180,000 bottles of Tradition are produced annually. I bought two bottles of Randolin - one for a picnic - one to take home. Janet and John bought the Tradition they came for.

Chateau Saint Esteve also produces Corbieres and has a fine reputation. Sylvie and Eric Latham have been the proprietors of the chateau since 1984.

They grow Syrah, Black Grenache, Carignan, Mourvèdre and Cinsault varieties in the clay and limestone soils. Picking is done mainly by hand, especially for the finest cuvées. Two main methods of carbonic maceration are used: whole-berry harvest with bunches intact and classic with grapes destemmed. Each grape variety is vinified separately to ensure that a variety's individual characteristics are preserved throughout the maturing process.

The winery was built 150 years ago. It is air conditioned and houses a series of small vats for individual treatment of different vineyards.

The wines are matured in the vats for two years. The tanks facilitate selection of varieties for blended cuvées, some of which will be aged in oak.

Sylvie opens wines for us to taste, and John buys some of the excellent wine.

Sadly Sylvie has a migraine headache, so we do not stay long.

The views of the Montagne Noire from their vinyards are stunning. We pause before leaving to take in the view and take a few pictures to remember.

We drive to Homps for lunch on the amazing Canal Midi. The Canal Midi opened in 1681, connecting the Mediterranean Ocean with the Atlantic Ocean via the Garonne Estuary near Bordeaux. The canal is 150 miles long. A series of locks allows ships to travel either way through the canal, saving time and protecting ships from the Barbary Coast pirates during the 17th and 18th centuries.

La Peniche is open for lunch and has a lovely outdoor court. I order Cassoulet.

We return to Carcassonne through the Minervois wine region.

We decide that dinner should be in Castelnaudary, home of the Cassoulet.

We drive on the auto route to Castelnaudary. Signs announcing the city show pictures of the famous cassoulet dish. We pass a canning factory where cassoulet is canned for supermarket sales and shipping overseas.

We stop at a market in town to buy the dry beans we will need to recreate this dish from scratch when we get home. We have promised our friends a French dinner and are sure that cans would not be acceptable. We get pointers from the butcher about the meats we should use and preparation techniques.

We know that we are in the right place, since Cassoulet was invented here.

We have made reservations at a beautiful restaurant. This plaque appears on the door to certify that their cassoulet is excellent. We are seated and look at the menu.

However, we look at one another - we are all so full of beans, duck and sausage we can't eat one more portion - even if it is the very best.

No one orders Cassoulet.

After a rather light dinner. We drive back to Carcassonne.

There is a beautiful view of the city lighted up on the horizon as we approach. We get out to take a picture, but the contrast of light and dark is too great for my camera, and the photograph won't work. Here is a photo from Wikipedia of what we saw (http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Cite_carca_nuit.jpg).

Good night and sweet dreams
Janet and Rozanne

Day 13: The Journey to Carcassonne

2009-06-02T15:01:00.071-05:00

Sunday - May 24, 2009

It was a gorgeous morning; we were up and anxious to be at the Toulouse Lautrec Museum when it opened at 10:00am so we could get on our way to Carcassonne by noon. We saw John's van in front of the hotel and had the desk clerk call his room so we could load up the bags. John gave us a ride to the museum - we were early and hungry. We questioned people carrying food and found the covered city market for a great spread.

The Toulouse Lautrec Museum is being renovated, and it is important to find all the exhibits that are open. The museum gives you a list at the entry, but we almost missed the famous posters. Lautrec was originally an adept portraitist and painted many of his famous contemporaries. We were rounding the room reading the famous names first and then looking at the paintings. We happened on the card for the portrait of Mademoiselle Rochefort de Woogt by Fernand Cormon in with the Lautrec portraits - "Who is this?" Janet asked. "Emily." I said. There was the pre-incarnation (much less attractive, mind you) of the daughter of one of our friends. Too funny!

We met John at the parking lot and headed for Carcassonne. We noticed that the roads were lined with sycamore trees or plane trees to the French. The trees are attributed to Napoleon who had them planted so his soldiers could march in shade. Many of the trees are now being cut down to reduce the number of car/tree traffic deaths when people run off the road.

We stop in Lautrec a short way south of Albi for lunch. The town is known for its Pink Garlic.

The restaurants were closed for Sunday, but we found a shop open, bought picnic food and snapped a picture of the famous Pink Garlic Soup. Our picnic table had a great view of the valley around Lautrec.

The scenery to Carcassonne was beautiful - tree lined highways, hills and valleys, vineyards and fields of wild poppies.

Carcassonne is Europe's largest fortified city, occupied since the 6th century B.C. by Gauls and then Romans. In the 1100s the city was refuge for Cathars - all killed in the Albigensian Crusade(1209-1229). The city became French and Simon de Montfort built the massive walls.

Today it is a much visited tourist site. During the day, untagged motor vehicles are not permitted within the walls. Our hotel is the Best Western inside the walls. John drove to a special gated parking area and we called for a baggage shuttle car to take our things in. Janet and I check in and go exploring. Almost immediately we found a cute shop which had tapestries and table linens. The lady who owns the store, shows us a table cloth she made which is perfect for Janet. Her cat is named Bill Clinton, and she was fun to talk to, even though we could barely speak each other's language.

With our table cloth in tow, we climb onto the ramparts, loving the view. Walking the ramparts at night is supposed to be even more fun, but Janet and I are basically chicken when it comes to high places so we skipped this activity.

We visit the Basilica St Nazaire. It is fascinating. Originally it was built in Romanesque style. Plans to convert it to Gothic had to be curtailed when funds ran out, so the nave remains Romanesque with beautiful barrel vaulting. The rest is Gothic.

The architect masterfully joined the Romanesque and the Gothic portions of the church as a "deliberate harmonisation of contrasts" to quote the church literature.

The organ from 1522 is one of the oldest in existence.

There are stunning Gothic rose windows in the transept: the North lit by the rising sun is in roses and violets reflecting the dawn-the encasement is a turning wheel of time; the South window in vibrant reds is lit by the setting sun-the encasing stone unable to turn-Heaven and Eternal Light have arrived.

At the Restaurant Auberge de Dame Carcas in Carcassonne that evening, we had the famous cassoulet and a great Corbiere wine: Ch. Les Palais 2006. This wine would be the subject of our search for the perfect wine from the Land of the Cathars - tomorrow.

Love from the stuffed
Janet and Rozanne
in Carcassonne

Day 12: Sarlat to Cahors to Albi

2009-06-02T14:24:00.049-05:00

Saturday - May 23, 2009

It is Saturday and market day in Sarlat and Cahors (even bigger and better - pictures below). We buy fruit, bread and sausages for a picnic lunch at the Sarlat market. The luggage is loaded and we set off for Cahors - Albi will be our stop for the night.

On the way, we pass a Citroen dealership with an entire lot of classic Citroens - another photo stop for our guide!

We arrive in Cahors and find parking near the unique 14th century fortified Valentré bridge, also known as Devil's bridge. On the middle tower is a small figure of the Devil trying to pull out the stone. According to legend, the bridge construction was so long and difficult (70 years) that the architect made a pact with the Devil, trading his soul for help with the bridge. There was a series of tricks played on both sides - with this last decoy devil the final trick so the real Devil would stop trying to take the bridge apart.

The Cahors market was great. There were wine tastings in addition to the produce and spices. US farmers' markets, take note! We bought some wine to go with the fruit, cheese, bread and sausages. We left the wine with the vendor since John offered to take it to the car when he finished at the market.

We headed to the Cathédrale Saint-Étienne de Cahors.

The cathedral was built in late Romanesque style with two domes which are the largest in France (18x32meters each to the top of the domes from the floor) only one dome is still painted. Gothic elements were first added in 13th and 14th century rennovations.

The market food made a great picnic - we were in a lovely park and it was a fine day - perfect for relaxing. We caught this shot of John after Janet and I returned from washing up the picnic ware packed for us by John's wife.

Have I mentioned? We all missed Gigi a lot and wished she could have come with us on this great vacation.

We drove on to Albi and checked into our Hotel Pasteliers, a garret room with everything, including refrigerator and internet. It was so inexpensive, we were worried, but it was lovely, a real find.

John walked us to the City center, pointing out landmarks so we could find our way back to the hotel in the evening and left us to explore. He urged us to see the imposing Cathédrale Sainte-Cécile d'Albi before we ate dinner.

The cathedral is the largest brick cathedral in the world - built in response to the Albigensian heresy (the Cathars) between 1282 and 1393 after the successful crusade wiping out the entire Cathar population.

The power of the "true" church was symbolized in the stark, militaristic exterior.

The church is situated at the banks of the Tarn and therefore has no transept (the arms of the cross on most Gothic cathedrals). It is extremely ornate with inside buttresses supporting the elaborately carved and painted vault.

In 1495 Louis I d'Amboise commissioned a fantastic 270 square meter painting of the Last Judgement in the Flemish style. In 1693, an entrance to the bell tower chapel was cut in the middle of the painting. Here is a drawing of the original. Picture a huge door cut in the middle.

Janet and I walked for a long time to see the beautiful old buildings and criss cross the bridges.

We took a break from French food, I had lamb curry and Janet had lasagna - but we did order a local red wine. We were contented and stuffed. We had gotten lost and found a few times but made it back to our hotel for a good night's sleep.

Love to you all from Albi,
Janet and Rozanne

Day 11: Canoeing the Dordogne - Lascaux II

2009-06-02T13:49:00.010-05:00

Friday - May 22, 2009

Well, the big news is: John loves canoing.

We drove to Vitrac on the Dordogne river and found Copeyre Canoe Rentals. With three of us, we rented a canoe and a kayak: John and Janet in the canoe since neither had canoed before; I took the kayak.

John graciously agreed to go with us so we would have two boats if someone got in trouble, but close to the start, we passed a family with little kids, teaching their 8 year old (or so) daughter to kayac - he was hooked. The little girl was darling. Her dad pushed her from the river bank and spoke to her in German, offering instructions on how to work the paddle and which direction to move. She glided away, thrilled. We were all charmed.

The weather had been humid and grey all morning, but turned warm and sunny as soon as we were on our way to the river.

Huge white cliffs flank the river in places. The vegetation was lush and green. Spring is a great time to float. The first part of the river was peaceful. We all got used to the paddles and went under the first of three bridges - the current gentle. Occasional sand bars offered places for others to play and picnic.

Our lunch stop posed the only challenge, really. La Roque Gageac is midway on the trip to Beynac and the best pullout for lunch. We couldn't see where to take out the canoes. There were a few pirate boat looking things next to the town, but not a lot of canoes. Janet and I tried to recall the PBS episode of Rick Steves and the Dordogne. I remembered the shot of him getting out at a wall and knew exactly where to aim. I stroked ahead and got the kayak up so I could help pull the canoe in. We left the boats and went up and up to look at the remains of the fortified structures in the cliff face dating from 850AD. We wandered a bit and found a crowded restaurant (which eventually thinned out) and had a great lunch.

By lunch end, the river was packed with canoes. Figuring that the trip offered John an opportunity to be certified in two water craft in one day, John switched to the kayak and I to the stern of the canoe. After abandoning all hope for dry shorts and passing his wallet and phone to the dry bag in the canoe, he sped off. First muscling the double paddle as a machine, then crashing through low hanging trees just for the fun of it (and a bonus bug for dessert) then checking the shore for bird types - we almost fell out of the canoe laughing.

This was the scenic part of the trip: four castles from the 1300s overlook the river - this part of the Dordogne was the center of fighting during the Hundred Years War. It was a spectacular sight. Quite different from our float trips through Missouri. We pulled out in Beynac and waited for our bus back to Vitrac. A 1960s red e-type Jaguar was parked in the lot across from our bus stop. It was hilarious watching the people pass by. Almost everyone stopped to take a picture. Many posed before it - one especially theatrical girl from our bus pranced in front of the car posing for her boyfriend's camera.

Oops, I almost forgot, this morning we saw Lascaux II and were amazed. We took a French speaking tour, but with our reading and the cave and museum from Wednesday, we had no trouble figuring out what to view. The animals truly surround you in the cave. They are numerous, vivid, and astonishingly beautiful. They appear to stampede past you from one room to the next. It is a copy of the original now closed to the public, but the displays as you enter are carefully laid out and the tour is detailed and wonderful.

What a day. We said 'goodbye' to John hours ago. We are doing laundry now but will stop for a bite to eat in the town of Sarlat where we are staying. We must figure out how to get all our bags out of the pedestrian section near the hotel tomorrow. Since it has been a holiday weekend and tomorrow is market day, it will be jammed.

Bon nuit! Love again from Rozanne and Janet

Day 10: The most beautiful villages in France

2009-06-02T12:53:00.060-05:00

Thursday - May 21, 2009

Today, we drove through some of the "Plus Beaux Villages de France" in the remote eastern Dordogne. Each is a lovely medieval town with a beautiful cathedral and stunning views of the countryside. Most cathedrals are Romanesque.

I had thought I preferred Gothic architecture after seeing the Basilica in Cologne, Germany and Notre Dame in Paris. However, the clean elegant lines of these churches are more beautifully proportioned than anything I have seen. The absolute simplicity of design is breathtaking.

I was quite taken with the pigeonaires and bories (above) scattered about the countryside.

Rocamadour - situated at the top of a gorge, is the sight of perhaps the most important of some 200 Black Virgins in France. To recent pagan converts, black symbolized motherhood and fertility and was a familiar icon for worship. The city was a top pilgrimage sight - the body of Zacchaeus (taxcollector/follower of Jesus) was found there according to legend. As you can see from the picture, Rocamadour is built on three levels: the city at the bottom, the church in the middle-up a 223 step climb, and the chateau at the top.

Autoire - was my favorite. Saint Pierre is the quintessential Romanesque cathedral. Look at the way the rounded column wraps across the vaulted ceiling and down the opposite side. Everything about it is perfect. Each window forms a perfect arch. Everything is rounded, heavy, and connotes peace and strength everlasting. It is not fussy or frivolous.

We had a fabulous lunch. I had trout, Janet had duck and John had roast kangaroo. All was served with garlic soup, grilled squash and fabulous potatoes sarladaise.

People watching was superb - I am quite certain I saw Julia Child II, complete with a walking stick and fingerless Nordic walking gloves.

The shop across the street featured a poster of 32 pigeonaires from the southwest of France. I took a picture. I was loaded with posters from the Mauritshuis at the Hague.

Carennac - features the 11th Century Saint-Pierre church with a stunning carved Romanesque tympanum over the west entrance. Christ and the four Apostles sit in Judgement at the end of time. The Romanesque arches inside are beautiful. The town was home to Fenelon, and also home to the charming pigeonaire at the top.

Vayrac - We stopped briefly at John's request to take pictures of the spectacular black cockerel at the top of the town's World War I memorial.

Collonges-la-Rouge - The buildings are entirely of red sandstone with slate roofs. The church, again named Saint-Pierre has a Moorish entry with a white 12th century tympanum representing the Ascension of Christ. This piece was hidden during the Wars of Religion and not replaced until 1923.

We returned to Sarlat in time to wander past the beautiful Medieval buildings with a new appreciation after all we had seen today.

Good night again.
Love from
Rozanne and Janet

Day 9: Prehistory Museum, Faunt de Gaume and Death by Foie Gras

2009-06-02T12:51:00.034-05:00

Wednesday - May 20, 2009

Good morning! It is Friday, May 22 and we are in Sarlat la Caneda. Today we see Lascaux II and go canoeing on the Dordogne River. But more of that later.

We have been offline due to lack of internet connection or sheer exhaustion. By the time we return to our room, we have had such a full day, we crash into bed.

I must tell you about Wednesday, our first day in Sarlat. We had spent the night on a goat farm and had seen the animals and heard about the making of goat cheese. Great farm house and with thick stone walls, you could hardly hear the rooster in the morning.

We drove toward Sarlat, stopping in the town of Montignac to buy Friday's tickets to Lascaux II, and then toured the fascinating Museum of Prehistory in Les Eyzies. It contains artifacts from the many prehistoric caves in this Dordogne region of France. We only went to the top floor to see the artifact portion because we had less than an hour available.

The highlight of this morning was Font de Gaume - the only remaining cave in the world where the 14,ooo year old polychrome cave paintings are open to the public. Now acquiring the necessary advance reservations is difficult. Our guide, John, called for two and a half hours before someone would answer the phone. When he picked up the tickets, he noticed the phones were not ringing. They told him they were short of staff and when the office was open and people were there, they turned off the phones and left them go to the voice mail announcement that you must call advance for reservations. Only about 180 people are allowed in the cave a day.

How wonderful it was. The paintings are everywhere inside, although only a small portion are lighted for normal viewing. The proportions on the animals are perfect. The cave artists used perspective in drawing groups of animals. Foreshortening was used in drawing legs closer and further from the viewer. The artists used realistic shading. Most amazing, they used the contours of the cave (shadows from rocks seen by torchlight) to create the rounded shading of animal bellies - some were not drawn in but could be seen only by torch. The animals were in color. The colors were blended into various tones. The techniques used 14,000 years ago by Cro-Magnon man were lost and would not be in widespread use again until the 15th century European Renaissance. This picture is the most famous from the cave, the male reindeer is tenderly licking the pregnant female before him. You can see the delicate shading and emotion. What an amazing people must have done these art works. This is a site not to be missed if you are lucky to get advance reservations, or show up at the ticket office when someone has cancelled.

We checked into our great apartment/hotel, Villa Consuls and then drove to Vitrac for a private cooking demonstration by Philippe Latreille, owner of Hotel la Treille and restaurant.

Our demonstration covered

 three foie gras first courses (sauteed with black cherry and wine sauce, poached with green walnut sauce and pate in a terraine),
 two duck main courses(tournados and duck l'orange) and
 two desserts (vervain and sorrel creme brule and strawberries in a wine, peach, cassis and blackberry cordial sauce).

Philippe was charming and thorough in his demonstrations. John translated to English for us.

We tasted the sauces and ate foie gras and then drove to a recommended store in Domme to buy oils and other special ingredients to take home.

Since we were so taken with the natural caves in this region, while we were buying out the shop, John found a tour of Domme cave, nicknamed the "Acropolis of Black Perigord" starting immediately. It was a fascinating array of limestone formations: stalactites and stalagmites, an unusual limestone disk in the ceiling and pools of water. The cave had provided shelter to people during the Wars of Religion and the Second World War, but was now home to hundreds of fuzzy little bats sleeping on the ceiling, who were apparently not disturbed by the electric lighting or tourists below.

We would return to the restaurant at 7:00 to eat what we had learned about.

Now I must tell you, during the last four months, I have worked out daily and have eaten neither fats nor sugars and have lost nearly twenty pounds in preparation for the walking required on this trip.

We arrived at the restaurant and had a lovely walnut apertif.

We ate two foie gras starters with white wine.

The duck tournados were accompanied by a local red wine. I ate half.

The desserts arrived, one flambe. I took two bites of the creme brule. I tried to fish the fresh strawberries from the ice cream and sauce, and then began gulping water from the carafe d'eau.

I felt totally disarranged and went out of the restaurant to stand outside. Back in the hotel, I gulped more water to cool off, tried not to move the rest of the sleepless night. Getting up only to find several handfulls of Advil to try to thwart the splitting headache. The next morning I found a market and some NONFAT yogurt to calm my overtaxed stomach.

We drove to Rocamadour and I had a strong cup of coffee, more Advil and experienced a miraculous healing. I avoided all fats, sweets and alcohol the rest of the day and am now returned to health.

But, we must now get ready for canoeing, so our tales of the picturesque French villages from Thursday, and of course the rest of Amsterdam, Normandy with the Bromages and Brittany will have to wait for a new post.

Bon chance to you all. We are off.

Love from Janet and Rozanne

Day 8: Cognac and the stay at Patrick's Goat Farm

2009-06-02T12:32:00.031-05:00

Tuesday - May 19, 2009

Today was our long drive to the Perigord Noir. John arranged a visit to the town of Cognac to break up our trip. We had a great lunch at the Brasserie du Coq D'Or, and headed to the Hennessy factory for the English tour.

Hennessy makes more than 40% of the world's Cognac. The tour was very interesting and provided a good basis as we toured the wineries in the Carcassonne and Saint-Emilion areas. Janet and I had bought the least expensive tickets at 8 euros which included the tour and one tasting. It turned out that we were the only "cheapskates." Everyone else had paid several times more for 2 or three samples. We laughed. We had the same tour, learned a bunch, and neither of us likes Cognac.

I documented the process used for making Cognac in photos so I would remember it later. Here are some of the shots - the fermentation tanks, the new and old press, the distillation equipment, two shots of barrel making, aging in barrels, blending, and the finished product:

Barrels are all made of French Oak. This is important to both Cognac and each of the wines we saw. Some use a barrel only once and sell it to Scotland for aging whiskey, others use barrels for three years to save on costs. The insides are charred and the outsides soaked in water to curve the wood to the shape of the bands. All establishments were very concerned with finding the best quality suppliers for their barrels.

John had planned a stay at his sister's house this night, but when it was torn apart for rennovations, he surprised us with a visit to a goat farm. Janet loves goat cheese. I vacationed on my dad's family farm every summer when I was little. Heaven.

There is one white male (what a life) and many brown females who supply the milk for cheese. The babies are all white.

The goat milk is mixed with rennet each day and poured into molds. The cheese is firm the next day and begins to age. The younger cheeses on the top of the rack are white. The older cheeses below are turning gray on the outside. We bought cheeses, apple juice and jams produced on farms in the area.

The rooms were cozy - I think I got my best night's sleep of the trip. What a great surprise.

Bon Chance from
Rozanne and Janet
in the country

Day 7: Off to Brittany

2009-06-02T12:30:00.070-05:00

Monday - May 18, 2009

Monday, having said goodbye to the Bromage family in Normandy, we begin our custom tour of Brittany, the Dordogne, Albi, Carcassonne, St. Emillion and Bordeaux.

I had designed John Bromage's new website, www.FranceCustomTours.com after our September, 2008 tour to Normandy and Loire. (My son Dan did the Flash and content management.) Janet drooled over the tour pages and wanted to come back this year. We sent John a list of places to visit and Voila!

Thank goodness John's Mercedes van holds seven people - we had been warned that European vehicles had no luggage space, but there was plenty of room for everything we had brought, plus a library of travel books and picnic supplies. Gigi had given each of us gift bags of Bayeux cider, cookies and candy to help with our lunches.

We stop briefly in Villedieu-les-Poêles for coffee and hot chocolate and to buy copper cleaner for the cookware we had purchased in September.

Our first destination is Saint Malo, the beautiful medieval walled city on the English Channel in Brittany. The city ramparts offer a great view of the channel.

This city at the mouth of the Rance River has always been known for its shipping prowess. Saint Malo was home to Jacques Cartier (1491-1557), who explored and claimed Canada for France. During medieval times the city controlled both the river and the English Channel. During the 18th century, corçaires (swashbuckling French privateers) from the town collected levies for the French crown from British ships traveling the channel. Robert Surcouf (1773-1827), was a famous corçaire in the war with Britain during the French Revolutionary Wars. Hated by the British for capturing 47 British ships, he was a hero to France. Surcouf's actions brought incredible wealth to St. Malo; it is said that Napoleon borrowed from the city's treasury to pay for his campaigns. The writer François-René de Chateaubriand (1768-1848), father of French Romanticism is buried on Grand Bé island with the remains of an old fort (the photo above). It can be reached on foot at low tide.

The rose window in the Cathedral Saint Vincent in the heart of Saint Malo, reflects beautiful colors throughout the church.

We drive through the picturesque Rance Estuary, arriving at Dinan. We climb about the ancient city, up steep hillsides to cobbled streets, passing very beautiful buildings until we reach the top of the city walls for a view of the River Rance below.

Dinan also contains a beautiful gothic cathedral: St Malo Cathedral.

We drive to Hotel Manoir de Rigourdaine, our lodging for the night which overlooks the Rance Estuary. The picture on the right is the view from our spacious room and sitting area. This is a three star hotel at a two star price. A great stop for the night if you have a car.

It has been a fantastic day!
Love to you from Brittany,
Rozanne and Janet

Day 6: Sunday Market and More Fabulous French Food

2009-06-02T12:19:00.059-05:00

Sunday - May 17, 2009

It is Sunday morning and we are really still at the Bromages in Maisons. We had a great night's sleep. We were thankful we had spent three days in the Netherlands getting adjusted to European time.

We woke up, but waited to go next door until we heard the kids awake. When we went into the kitchen, we saw this welcome message to us. We had missed it in all the excitement the night before.

Gigi has an expresso machine which John had bought for her. She made latte to go with my yogurt for breakfast. Janet helped with breakfast for the kids and had cereal and yogurt with them. I sat down to copy some more files to the new computer.

On Sunday mornings, the town of Bayeux has a fabulous market. It is quite the family adventure. We pile into the Bromage's car and drive to Bayeux. We meet several of their friends. We look at all the food. There are fruit and vegetable stands. Sausages of every kind are piled high.

I spot a vendor selling andouillette. This sausage is notorious. Once we heard what it was made of last fall, we avoided it like the plague. Andouille is good. Andouillette, we thought, was not. But at Thanksgiving at my daughter's, we talked with their friend Carolyn from Paris who was studying French Holocaust Literature at Harvard. What was the thing she missed the most about being away from France? The food. Which food? Andouillette. Hmmmmm. Perhaps I had been wrong.

I asked John about buying some. He was worried because he has seen the raw sausage at one of the stands. It smells horrible when it cooks. But no, I found some cooked andouillette and we buy a link to take home. Next I see a vendor with blood sausage. John raved about this last fall. Every March, Mortagne au Perche, in south Normandy hosts the Foire au Boudin - the black pudding (Boudin noir) festival. More than three miles of sausage is consumed during the event. We buy some of that too.

John is looking for fish. The scallops are gone for the season. There is a nice sole. John has it filleted and wrapped.

We see beautiful white asparagus and buy some.

Then we come to the cheese stand. Apparently John and the vendor have a rapport. John is a fan of the great cheese. The vendor always tries to sell him more than he asks. John buys Roquefort and a Beaufort from Savoie.

We drive back home. John and Gigi unwrap the purchases. They set out the sausages and cheeses to taste. The andouillette is ok. Quite good with mustard. (My daughter can't believe I tried this and liked it - her boyfriend Felipe, with a cast iron stomach got sick on it when visiting Carolyn last year.) The blood sausage was GOOD! No kidding. Janet agrees. We even bought some more for a picnic later on.

Gigi brought out a plate of buffalo mozzarella, tomatoes and basil drizzled with the best olive oil in the world from the Alpilles area of Provence (see http://www.francecustomtours.com/tour-ideas/provence for a tour to get some of your own.) It was fabulous - oh my gosh, the best I have ever eaten.

Next came a platter of steamed shrimp.

Now comes the sole and the fresh asparagus. We could just stop the trip right now and be happy. We ate and ate. Everything was so good. The company was great - John and Gigi are so much fun together.

After Sunday dinner, John calls Benjamin's parents, Rosemary and the Colonel. We have heard of them before. John loves to read the Colonel's military history books. They have a farm and are keeping the sheep that John bought last year. During the winter John's sheep had lambs and Rosemary bottle fed one to keep it alive when John and Gigi were visiting her parents in Maryland. They are "almost parents" to the Bromage family. This time, we need internet. They tell us to bring the computers over and hook into their network.John drives me to the Colonel's farm armed with the new computer and the old one too. We go in. Benjamin and his brother Martin are both there interviewing their dad with a video camera to document family history. Rosemary welcomes us and offers coffee.

John leads me to the office and helps me hook up the computers. He leaves me work and goes to visit the Colonel. My bag of wires comes in handy as I plug into their modem. Nothing works at first - the new computer asks for a user id and password to log into the network. This is strange for a wired home network. I try various things. John comes back and looks through their instructions. I fuss some more and probably push the cords in better because all at once I am connected. John is able to log into AOL. He can find all his new messages and saved ones. He checks Gigi's mail which works as well. The software appears to be working - the virus scanner updates for new threats. We are done. The computer should be good as soon as the Bromage house is reconnected to internet. We say our goodbyes and return home.

John has promised us a visit to the Mulberry Harbor at Arrowmanches. I had read about it when putting together the web pages on Normandy. It was an artificial harbor built off the coast of Normandy to supply the Allied forces during the Battle of Normandy. Winston Churchill had encouraged the development. He knew the Germans would not surrender working natural ports along French northern coast. Artificial harbors would be required to supply the troops. This is what remains today of the Mulberry Harbor.

There were two harbors - Mulberry 'A' at Omaha Beach and Mulberry 'B' at Arrowmanches. They were started on June 9th, three days after D Day.

floating outer breakwaters called "Bombardons" - fabricated in steel and anchored outside the static breakwaters ,
static breakwaters called "Gooseberries" (Block ships "Corn Cobs" which crossed the channel either under their own steam or were towed and then scuttled to create sheltered waters),
reinforced concrete caissons called "Phoenixes" - constructed and then sunk to avoid detection by the Germans. They were refloated and towed across the channel to Normandy where they were again sunk in their permanent location,
floating piers code named "Whale" - the floating roadways that connected the 'Spud' pier heads to the land. The roadways were made from flexible bridging units that had a span of 80 ft. and were mounted on pontoon units of either steel or concrete called 'Beetles', and
the pier heads or landing wharves code named "Spuds" at which ships were unloaded. Each of these consisted of a pontoon with four legs that rested on the sea bed to anchor the pontoon, yet allowed it to float up and down freely with the tide.

Sadly Mulberry 'A' at Omaha Beach was not securely anchored to the sea bed and it was destroyed in severe storms at the end of June, 1944. Salvageable parts were taken to Arrowmanches and used to repair Mulberry 'B'. Although designed for only 3 months' service, during the 10 months after D-Day, it was used to land over 2.5 million men, 500,000 vehicles, and 4 million tons of supplies for Allied operations in France.

The museum has great tour guides which explain the construction of the amazing harbor. There is a touching film. It is awe inspiring to once again stand at the site of such pivotal importance in the liberation of Europe during World War II. I am more touched even than by our visit to the American Cemetary and Memorial at Omaha Beach last fall. Perhaps because I have done much more research since that trip and understand the importance.

We find John and his son on the beach and we drive home to Maisons. At my request, we stop for photographs along the way. Their home is situated in a beautiful area and I need to add photographs to the webpage about their gites.

An old church and cemetary.

The castle which originally owned the land on which John's house is built.
The tree lined road near John's house.

We return and the children are tired and ready for bed. John had wanted to take us out for dinner. We know that Gigi will need to stay home with the children. We will be leaving her in the morning, so ask if we can stay home and have leftovers instead.

We are expecting eggs. Instead Gigi makes a large quiche using some of the cheeses we brought home and a few leftovers chopped and added. It was fabulous. We had some greens to go with the quiche and finally wine and cheese at the end. Gigi is wonderful at drawing people into conversation and listening. We talk late around the table - but tomorrow we leave, and John must get packed. John brings out a library of travel books for the trip. Gigi donates the family cooler and picnic set to our journey - we will be in the country where there are wonderful markets - we will picnic when we can.

Sadly we say goodnight. Janet and I will stay in our room in the morning so we do not interrupt John's goodbyes to his wife and children as he drives them to school. We will leave when he comes back.

We know that these two days with John and his family will be the best of our trip. The warmth and love in their family spills out everywhere. We have been very blessed to be a part of it.

There is nothing better than love. Sometimes you need to go away and then come home to see the love you overlook every day. It was that way with us.

Good night.
May you too be richly blessed.
Love from
Janet and Rozanne

Day 5: Our Journey to Bayeux - Meeting the Bromages at Last

2009-06-02T11:53:00.093-05:00

Saturday - May 16, 2009

It is Saturday morning and we are so excited to go to France, to visit the Bromages in Maisons, that we wake up before the alarm and are ready in record time.

It takes several trips to get the suitcases to the lobby in the small elevator. Fortunately luggage carts were parked in front of the CitizenM. I was able to pile all of my things into a cart including our bouquet of flowers for Gigi and head for the airport train station. Janet preferred to pull her suitcases - practice for the connections ahead.

We had booked the high speed train to Paris arriving in Gare du Nord station. Our train to Bayeux leaves from St. Lazare. We have a little over an hour to get between stations in Paris with our luggage and find the right train for Normandy. John has told us about the stairs at the Bayeux station - we have no idea how we are going to get everything moved.

AMSTERDAM AIRPORT: Our track to Paris was an escalator ride down from the main level - DOWN thank goodness, since the luggage cart had to stay upstairs. After looking at the yellow departure board several times and staring at the signs overhead, we eventually figured out which side of the platform was ours. We even saw numbers painted on the subway posts and knew they marked the car number for our reserved seats. We knew exactly where to stand.

This picture is deceptive - there is a whole layer of luggage not shown behind the bags you see. The flowers are still safe, on top.

Luckily we boarded at Schiphol airport ahead of Amsterdam Centraal, so there was still space in the luggage racks before the hordes boarded at city center. The high speed train stopped in Brussels and Bruges on its way to Paris. It was a restful trip.

Janet and I had packed food for the day. A grocery at the airport had a great assortment of drinks, fruits, breads and sandwich fixings. We had purchased a small gouda cheese in Amsterdam on Wednesday and it had been ripening in our room. We ate our breakfast and saved food for the afternoon trip to Bayeaux.

PARIS - GARE DU NORD: I thought I was going to die when we got off the train in Paris. Our car was way at the end of the train and we had to drag everything into the station and find transportation to St. Lazare. My suitcases used to buckle together, but the tonnage inside was too much for the strap and it wouldn't hold. Now I had two rolling bags, two carry-ons and one beautiful bunch of flowers. Janet took pity on me and carried the flowers along with all her things while I attempted to get the two rolling bags going the same direction along the rough, pitted concrete train station platform.

Now normally, I travel pretty light when flying, but I had never been away for 18 days. We were told that it would be cold and rainy in the Netherlands, Normandy and Brittany. It would be hot in the south. I had canoeing shoes, a hat, a dry bag, and a special fanny pack for the canoe trip. I had a collapsable walking stick for Rocamadour.

This was the message on the door of our room in CitizenM. Where was this advice BEFORE we left home?

Oh yes, after doing the France Custom Tours website, I decided to become self-appointed tech-support for the Bromages. This had been a terrible year for them. Their AOL internet service was at war with France Telecom and they had been without a land telephone line and internet for six weeks.

Their computer was ready to die. I have a great boss, Dale Kubler, who is up on all the latest gadgets and discounts, so I asked him for help in locating a new computer. We found a great deal on the latest HP at Staples.com and I bought software and loaded it on the new widescreen laptop. That was in the bags. Memory sticks for transferring data, the software disks and system backup disks and handbooks were packed. Also, since the internet service was still out, I had packed a modem/hub and a bunch of cables so we could find internet somewhere and activate all the software and get the latest antivirus database. And the flowers - when you are already doing something foolhardy or impossible - why not do it with style? And so we did.

PARIS - ST. LAZARE: Now there is connecting Metro service between the two train stations in Paris, but in our current state, we wisely decided to take a cab and pay whatever they asked to get us to St. Lazare. We found a cab stand and a nice driver (and his able volunteer gypsy assistant) who helped us load up the luggage. Tips to the assistant and we were off. The trip only cost 11€ including tip and baggage charges. We were dropped at a convenient spot and went inside to find the train to Bayeux. The station was packed. We each went to the washroom while the other guarded the bags. We kept looking at the boards but could not find a train to Bayeux.

On this trip, I came up with a new rule: "If you are looking for something and can't find it within five minutes, you are in the wrong place. Go ask someone for help." This is a good rule.

We WERE in the wrong place. After asking a conductor, we found that the correct departure board and tracks were at the end of the station - the board was too big - we hadn't seen it before.

We moved our things to the RIGHT place and waited for our departure to post. Finally it did and the sea of travelers swept ahead to the track and onto the train. Once again we were in second class and our car was far down the platform. This platform was in good repair and I managed to get everthing in hand and rolling well. Janet was talking to a group of travellers about Eurail Passes and unreserved seats as we walked.

The car numbers were hard to see. Sometimes the number signs were INSIDE the train opposite the car door opening. I counted and looked and looked and counted and finally found what had to be car 13. I looked up and Janet was gone. I felt awful. I should have paid attention to where Janet was instead of the bags. I had to find her.

I threw my bags onboard, stacking them in a bicycle storage area and went back to find Janet. She wasn't there. By this time the platform had cleared off and hardly anyone was left. No Janet. What to do? Should I stay on the train and assume she was on somewhere? There was no one on the platform. Should I get off and change my ticket? I left my bags on and got off by the door. No Janet.

Suddenly from car 12, Janet burst through the door connecting the cars - with all of her luggage. I have no idea how she got through the narrow aisles on the train. She had lost track of the car numbers, couldn't see me and got on the train a ways back. I jumped back on the train. We stacked her big bags in bicycle storage and found our seat. We were still in Paris and people were milling around from car to car. I went back and sat on the bags - at least until we got rolling and people found their seats. Two young men, on Eurail passes came in the bicycle area from car 12 looking for empty seats. One is from Arkansas - he had been tracing the path of his grandfather during the Second World War and is headed to Caen. His friend was from Canada and is going on the Cherbourg. We talk about Normandy and the landing beaches and our September tour to Omaha Beach and Pointe du Hoc. They find seats together.

The train starts up and I sit down next to Janet. Both of us had been really frightened. We had been so busy looking for the right car in the crowd, that we had lost track of each other. We calmed down and ate our lunch. The car was filled with families and they were fun to watch. This is a rare shot where there aren't happy little children in the aisle.

I tried to call John on my cell phone to confirm that we had made the train. First there was no service on France Telecom. In Paris? I tried putting in the country code and calling and taking it out and calling. Nothing worked. Sometimes I got a recording in French - it was too fast to understand.

I waited to try again. What were we going to do if the cell phone didn't work - use a pay phone in Bayeux? [I found out later that pay phones don't take cash - you must have a prepaid card - great.]

After a while I try and fail again, but a second try and: Ring. "Hello, Rozanne." It is John. We are saved! I read off the arrival time and tell him we are in car 13. "I think I rember what you look like", he said. "No! Our luggage! You have to be at car 13 to help us get off - we have too much luggage." I gasp. It had been a crazy and stressful last hour - I had no idea how we would get off by ourselves on a quick stop at a little town like Bayeux - let alone navigate the stairs to get from the platform. But we had made contact. Surely help would be at the door of car 13 in Bayeux.

BAYEUX: INDEED IT WAS! We were wedged in the doorway with all of our things as we rolled into the Bayeux station(pointed to the wrong side of the train, of course, the platform was on the other side). Several families were getting off. There was John at the door, and he had brought reinforcements.

We met Benjamin, John's longtime friend from London and now, brother-in-law-once-removed. He was visiting his parents in Normandy for the weekend and came with John to rescue us from the train. The four of us dragged all the luggage off the platform and down the stairs to the parking lot to John's seven-passenger Mercedes van. We could keep all of our luggage for the rest of the trip. Hurray!

MAISONS: John drove us home.

After doing the website and looking at countless pictures of their house, their two rental gites and their family, we finally got to see them all.

Now we were so enchanted with our visit to the Bromages, that we hardly took any pictures. Gigi sent us these pictures of she and John, their house and their English garden.

To understand where our friends live, and how they have become involved in the remembrance of the wars in France, we are including these pictures from Gigi taken the week after we returned home:

Gigi attended the 65th Reunion of the D-Day Invasion at Omaha Beach with her friend Elizabeth (on the left - the flower photographer above). It is the last celebration of the formal Reunion ceremony with the Allied Heads of State, since the soldiers are now in their late 80s.

This picture above is taken after the ceremony: Gigi and Liz are sitting on the stage, in the seat occupied by President Obama. Patrick Thomines, mayor of Colleville-sur-Mer is with them. Elizabeth's husband James is a director of the American Battle Monuments Commission and Liz and James are good friends of John and Gigi. Gigi was their guest at the ceremony. Liz and Gigi's pictures rival CNN. John was at the ceremony too, with six clients. Janet and I and the rest of our friends from our first trip with John last September, watched the D-Day ceremonies together on CNN as we planned our next trip to France in 2010. We looked for Gigi and John, but couldn't pick them out of the crowd.

Gigi and the kids are darling. We were so glad to finally meet them after hearing about them our previous trip. We handed over the flowers - still in great shape - to Gigi. They coordinated with her yellow and blue French kitchen and living room. There were bright yellow calla lilies, alstroemeria and other yellow and white flowers. She had the perfect vase.

John and Benjamin carried our things into the gite. John drove Benjamin home while we unpacked.
Now the Bromages offered to give us each a gite, but I don't like making beds and I knew there were many guests arriving when we left, so Janet and I took the twin bed room in the main gite.
We did, however take over the gite master bedroom and spread the luggage out all over the floor, careful not to muss the bed. We looked in the bathroom - a tub AND AMERICAN WASHCLOTHS!
We got out our gifts for our hosts and took them downstairs. Janet had brought two books and sat down with the children to read with them. That was pretty much where she stayed the entire visit unless we were eating or touring Normandy.

I sat with the new computer - I was on a mission to get it set up before we left with John on our trip.

When John returned, we had strawberries and cream and champagne on the patio to celebrate our arrival at last.

It was a beautiful day and we wanted to sit outside in the garden. We visited a long time.

John was going to make dinner for us that night: Boeuf Bourgogne, Sauteed Leeks, Proscioutto & Melon, Wine, and Assorted Cheeses. John and Gigi went to finish the preparations.

Janet returned to the children and books. I to the new computer. Gigi loves to take pictures. She had many archives on the old laptop. John's business records needed to be moved, too. I wanted everything carefully stored on the new machine before we left.

Dinner was delicious. The Beef Bourgogne was served with rice. The Leeks were sauteed in a balsamic reduction. The proscioutto and melon were beautifully presented. Gigi calls John the chef. John has a diploma from Leith's in London in cooking and wine. She is right.

That night, the city of Bayeux was celebrating the Festival des Jeux de Bayeux and all the museums were open, and were free. After dinner, we went to see the Bayeux Tapestry again. Musicians played outside the museum. Volunteers gave demonstrations of the medieval, dress, weapons and the outdoor life of hunters and soldiers. One woman was recreating a section of the Bayeux tapestry.

We then went to the Bayeux Military Museum (Musée Memorial de la Bataille de Normandie). Set up as a bunker, the museum describes the Battle of Normandy, from June 6th to August 22, 1944 in detail.
An M10 Tank Destroyer (pictured), and a Crocodile Flamethrower Tank are outside the museum.

John's son liked this the best.

We drove home. It had been a wild day; we were so glad to be with friends.

We turned in and fell right to sleep.

GOOD NIGHT WORLD.
Love from Rozanne and Janet
in Maisons, France

Day 4: Our Belated Post on the Rijksmuseum and the Van Gogh museum

2009-05-18T15:46:00.009-05:00

Friday - May 15, 2009

Hello all. It is Tuesday and we are in St. Emilion in southern France. We need to catch you up on our trip.

Friday was our last day in Amsterdam. We must have been exhausted – we slept until 10:30 in the morning. We hurried to the train for Amsterdam Centraal and Tram #2 for the museums. The Rijksmuseum was hung with banners announcing the visit of the Vermeer Woman with a Balance from Washington DC that I had seen last summer. The Rijksmuseum normally has four Vermeers. The Love Letter is on loan, so we would still get to see four Vermeers.

We grabbed a light lunch across from the museum so we could spend the afternoon inside. The Rijksmuseum has been under renovation since 2005 and will open fully in 2012/13. The Phillips wing is open and houses the Dutch masters from the Golden Age (1600s). The Rembrandts are extraordinary. I had not seen my favorite, Jeremiah Lamenting the Destruction of Jerusalem in 40 years. I managed to capture a picture of this small painting before the guard told me that cameras were not allowed (Our Rick Steves’ guide book had indicated that non-flash photography was permitted, but not true). Of course Night Watch is the largest and most famous Rembrandt to see. There were many other extremely beautiful ones.

The four Vermeers were stunning: The Little Street is a unique street scene with incredible detail. We almost didn’t see it since it was separate from the others; the Women with a Balance is graceful and beautiful; Woman in Blue with a Letter is classic Vermeer: the window, the woman, and the map on the back wall; the Milkmaid brought tears – the colors are vivid and beautiful.

The Van Gogh museum is showing a special evening and night themed collection of Van Gogh paintings and his inspirations from all over the world. Starry Starry Night is the highlight and was so much more beautiful in this setting than in the MoMA in March. So interesting to see how Millet, Rembrandt and Delacroix all influenced Van Gogh's work. You are so aware of the tragedy of his suicide after struggling with epilepsy became impossible for him.

We finished the exhibition, exhausted and starving, looked outside the museum and it was pouring. We knew there was the whole permanent exhibition to go, so had a GREAT dinner in the museum coffee shop. There was a cool camera setup where you could appear to stand in the middle of a Van Gogh painting projected up on a wall. Janet and I played with that and finished the museum in time for the rain to stop, a Friday night band to start playing and throngs of young people to pack the entrance.

We rode the train back to Schiphol and made a final look at the shops. The trains were clean and comfortable. Some looked brand new.

This was the end of our transition phase. Tomorrow we are set to leave on an early train to Paris and Bayeux to begin our two-week dream vacation in France. We would be staying with our friends John and Gigi Bromage, owners of FranceCustomTours.com for two nights in one of their gites before heading out for a trip to Brittany, the Dordogne, Albi, Carcassonne, Toulouse, St. Emilion and Bordeaux with John.

We kept passing a great flower stand at the airport – and even though we were lugging hundreds of pounds of luggage (see first post), it seemed wrong to come for a visit from Amsterdam and not bring flowers. We bought a beautiful yellow lily bouquet for Gigi and figured that we would find a way to get it to Bayeux (begging a water carafe from the CitizenM front desk for the night for starters). We stayed up packing (Did I mention there was absolutely no room in this chic Hotel room?) and set early alarms, crashing to bed for a restless short night – eager to begin.

Stay tuned for more,
Love from Janet and Rozanne

Day 3: The Fantastic Hague and Delft

2009-05-14T15:13:00.022-05:00

Thursday - May 14, 2009

Watch out for the bikes! Bikes are everywhere. Rush hour in Amsterdam is a bike rush hour and crowded trains and buses.

Our biggest challenge has been our "rainshower" in our room. You can not turn on the water until you are inside the shower. When you do turn on the water, it rains cold water on your head until the water heats up to the temperature you have set. Of course the temperature is in Centigrade and you need glasses to read the fine print on the control. At least the hotel put a cotton bathmat in the shower because it is too slippery without it. We are ready for a bathtub.
We took a train to the Hague. There was a transfer involved, however the level of detail in our Rick Steves books and our willingness to ask questions got us to the right place.

The art work at the Mauritshuis was amazing. The three Vermeers were the highlight. Girl with a Pearl Earring is so much more vibrant when you see the painting. Prints can not capture the luminosity. The View of Delft is a very famous Vermeer. The works by Rembrandt, Steen and others were wonderful. This is a museum well worth the trip.

We had wonderful brie and goat cheese salads at Cafe Lunden in the Hague. Rozanne had mint tea. They made it by putting fresh mint leaves in a tea cup and pouring in hot water.

We traveled to Delft by Tram.
The Royal Delft shop was great - we spent a lot of time looking at all the collections and bought many gifts here.

Delft is a cozy town to explore. We followed streets along the many canals.

Dinner was Dutch Pancakes (Pannenkoeken)served on a canal boat by our restaurant. I had a farm special with cooked vegetables and cheese - delicious. We tasted Dutch gin and drank more cassis.

Delft would be a nice town to spend a night. People are friendly and helpful. It is smaller and less traveled than Amsterdam.

The Netherlands have been a restful treat. Everyone can speak English. We have asked directions many times and have been answered with friendly smiles.

Goodnight again. Tomorrow we see the great art museums in Amsterdam and a concert at the Van Gogh Museum.

Rozanne and Janet

Days 1 & 2: We made it to Amsterdam!

2009-05-13T13:47:00.011-05:00

Tuesday & Wednesday - May 12-13, 2009

After frantic calls to our airport limousine Tuesday morning, we found out the driver had been in a crash and another driver would be an hour late to pick us up. Fortunately Janet called Brigitte Westphal and she jumped in her car and got us to the airport on time. Janet was able to check in. My reservation was lost. However, it eventually became found and we checked our free bags and dragged hundreds of pounds of luggage through the carry on process and got everything stored in overhead bins - first to Atlanta and ultimately to Amsterdam.

We had a peaceful night, but unfortunately were not able to sleep a wink. We were warned about rain and wind in Amsterdam. We planned to hunker down and complete our destinations in spite of weather and eventually go to sleep. (Today's post will be brief because it is already 9pm and we are TIRED!!!!!)

We arrived to balmy weather and sun! We found out there is a mini-Rijksmuseum at the airport with a collection of Dutch masters behind airport security. We saw them - beautiful. We collected our luggage and pulled our caravan of bags out the door of the Schiphol airport directly to the CitizenM - our hotel.

They found us a room even though it was 8:30am. We put on new clothes and headed for Amsterdam and the Anne Frank house.

The lovely people there took pity on the two tired Americans and let us in immediately with our internet tickets, even though we were almost three hours early. The house is unbelievable. Steep flights of tiny stairs go up to the secret rooms where a total of 8 people including the 4 Franks hid for four years. It is unbelievable, their life. It is tragic that all were captured and deported to death camps. Seven died within months of liberation at the end of the war. Only Anne's father survived to publish his daughter's diary and create the museum.

We spent the afternoon walking the beautiful Jordaan neighborhood and viewing the buildings at the Dam. We finished our day with an early dinner at the "Kantjil de Tigre" (Rabbit & Tiger) an Indonesian restaurant with mini-Rijsttafel dinners and an easy train ride back to CitizenM.

We have had a wonderful first day and are going to sleep now. We wish you well. Good night, Janet and Rozanne

Tomorrow we leave

2009-05-11T20:46:00.004-05:00

Monday - May 11, 2009

Well, this is just a test to make sure I know how to publish our journal. Janet and Rozanne leave for the Netherlands and France tomorrow morning. We are leaving behind four of our wonderful group who went to France with us in September, 2008. It feels like we are leaving behind part of ourselves (indeed we are).

Right now, we are trying to stuff the last of the necessities into our suitcases. I have unzipped the suitcase expander on the checked bag and pushed more things in. Still looking at vitamins and makeup sitting on the bed next to the already full carry-ons. It was a good time to take a break and learn to blog.

Our next update will probably be on Wednesday evening from Amsterdam. We will send out the link to our blog to family and our trip friends from September so you can follow our adventures. We miss you and "wish you were here too".

Love to you all,
Janet and Rozanne