France 2013 A few Highlights of the Trip

We began in this trip in Paris, a favorite city we have visited often over the years

beginning in 1967, when we stopped on our way to living in Germany. Our cozy Rue

Nollet apartment was in Batignolles, a colorful 17th arrondissement area of narrow one-

way streets, sidewalk cafes, small shops, and little tourist presence. We visited no

museums or famous places, and mostly hung around our neighborhood. Our first night

in town we overcame jet lag and met Jean-Louis and Rosine Terrier, old Parisian

friends, for dinner at a wonderful little place a short walk from the apartment. In fact,

including one elegantly served meal in a cooking school and several Michelin

recommendations, we walked to dinner every night. One of the most memorable dishes

in Paris was a plate of escargot in pesto sauce served over an ample marrow bone.

Delicious!

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Dogs are welcome in Restaurants but usually don’t sit at the table like this little guy.

After five days in Paris, we began our meander though the Loire Valley and along the

Dordogne, areas with some of the most beautiful scenery in France, if not the world.

Our first stop was in Chartres where we had lunch directly across from the entrance of

the famous cathedral. Our destination was the tiny hamlet of Chenonceaux where our

small hotel for the next two nights was across the street from the storied château. This

area is famous for the literally hundreds of châteaux here, grand country houses mainly

built in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries by aristocrats whose wealth derived

from their extensive land holdings. Château Chenonceau is particularly grand; it sits

like a bridge spanning the river Cher; river boats pass directly underneath. It had been

45 years since our last visit and, except for a bigger parking lot, little seemed to have

changed. Dinner that night was in our hotel’s restaurant, which lived up to its one star.

The following day, we explored the surrounding area, stopping for lunch in Tours, and

then visiting Château de Villandry, a UN world heritage palace/castle with an interesting

history (confiscated after the revolution, Emperor Napoleon gave the place to his

brother) and known for its elaborate gardens of vegetable, medicinal, and decorative

plants.

Chartes Cathedral

Château Chenonceau

We next drove the fast but expensive toll road directly to Bordeaux and checked into our

B&B. It was in an area of hundred-year-old stone-fronted two- and three-story houses

lining narrow cobble stoned streets with parking on one side and barely room for

passing cars. The young owner of the comfortable, recently-renovated establishment

helped us find a street parking spot two blocks away; we did not move the car for our

entire two-day stay.

Bordeaux is a UN World Heritage Site and a major wine industry capital that has been

producing fruit of the vine since the 8th century. Although it is the ninth largest city in

France with almost a quarter million inhabitants, it is compactly configured along a

broad bend of the 500 m. wide Gironde River (actually an estuary) and is eminently

walkable. We explored the old town, discovered many glaciers, and strolled the

enormous square, said to be the largest in Europe. On the waterfront, just below an

extensive pedestrian-only area was an extraordinary football-sized “mirror pond”. Over

the course of an hour or so, the rectangular stone-lined pond alternately bellowed white

steamy mist, filled to depth of an inch or so and then drained dry. It was visually

stunning and a delightful place for kids of all ages to run and frolic.

Bordeaux Mirror Pond

Leaving Bordeaux we generally followed the Dordogne River, hiked up the steep rough

paving stoned streets of Saint Émilion for café au lait and hot chocolate, and had lunch

in Bergerac (stay away from Le Croq Magnon, which served us the world’s worst steak).

The Dordogne as seen from Bergerac

Leaving Bergerac we continued on to our home base for the next two days, Le Mas de

Castel, a country hotel just outside Sarlat-la-Canéda. Medieval Sarlat is considered to

be one of the most attractive and alluring towns in southwestern France; we agree:

impossibly narrow streets, ancient stone buildings, and the restaurant where we had

arguably the best meal of the trip thus far; the profiteroles were world class! We visited

the Périgord region where it is possible to drive for hours on narrow lanes through lush

fields, leafy forests, and tiny hamlets, encountering only an occasional car or farm

vehicle. The area is also known for its grottos, some with cave paintings so old as to

make Egypt’s pyramids seem modern. We visited Pech Merle with paintings believed to

be 25,000 years old! Perhaps the most celebrated cave paintings are those of Lescaux.

Discovered by three local boys in 1949, these astounding 15,000-year-old paintings

became so popular that the government was forced to close them to the public because

of damage from human presence. However, in an exacting 11-year scientific/artistic

process, Lescaux II, a near perfect replica, was constructed nearby. We thought it was

spectacular.

A 25,000 year old Picture from the Pech Merle Cave

After visiting Lescaux II, we headed for Cognac through the unremarkable but scenic

rural countryside. The town gives its name to one of the world's best-known types of

brandy and many of major the producers are located there and offer tastings to the

public. We spent the night in this medieval but otherwise unremarkable town, caught up

on laundry at a local launderette, and celebrated the first two weeks of the trip with our

fanciest meal so far, an eight-course feast eaten on the idyllic terrace of nearby

Château de l'Yeuse overlooking distant fields, vineyards, and the Charente river.

Several distilleries line the riverfront in Cognac.

Cognac is not far from Île de Ré, our home for the next two weeks. We were early for

our check-in so we visited La Rochelle, the nearest mainland town of any size. There is

a large pedestrian-only area, a snug harbor guarded by massive old stone towers and

fortifications, and a good selection of cafés and small restaurants. After lunch and

checkingout the local glaciers, we crossed over to Île de Ré, made a grocery run, and

easily found our house in La Couarde-Sur-Mer, a small hamlet in the middle of the 19-

mile-long island. David and his family soon arrived, also bearing groceries; we sorted

out the many bedrooms, and settled in. Brent and his family arrived by train from Paris

the next day.

Harbor entrance at La Rochelle

Like the several other villages on the island, La Couarde is a collection low white

plaster-over-stone houses, densely arrayed on very narrow winding streets, with no

space between adjacent buildings and little room for parking. Most houses have at

least one or two street-facing windows with heavy shutters, which like most doors, are

painted in various shades of green. From the outside, the houses are very similar; it is

hard to tell where one ends and its neighbor begins. Despite wall-to-wall pavement and

little or no sidewalk, tall red, pink, violet, and even black-purple hollyhocks sprout from

any available crack, significantly brightening up what is otherwise a rather drab urban

scene.

Our large house is a hodgepodge of six very comfortable suites, a dining room with a

table that easily seats all eleven of us, and several living rooms including a big one off

the well-equipped kitchen. (It has three refrigerators, a freezer, a dishwasher, and an

induction cook top.) The three older kids are bunking in their own cottage in the back

garden near the compact swimming pool, and our very nice modern place is somewhat

removed from the others with its own garden and hide-covered floors. The entire house

looks as though it may have been assembled from separate units, but it is spacious,

well appointed, and ideally suited to our crew.

Our house on Ile de Re is just beyond the tree in this picture.

A typical day here begins with a walk to the town’s “Artisanal Boulanger” for baguettes,

croissants, and other mouthwatering pastries; thusly provisioned, we move to a nearby

café for coffee, hot chocolate, and orange juice. Some of us may then take off on bikes.

Île de Ré has many bike paths, some of which were originally used by donkeys hauling

locally-produced salt. We have also walked though the surrounding fields and

vineyards to the next village, Le Bois Plage En Ré, where there is a large Sunday

market. The most adventurous have even ridden bikes to La Rochelle, a 30-mile round

trip, where there is arguably the best glacier in the area. Lunch is usually an ad hoc

affair, eaten wherever we find ourselves. Afternoons are for reading, sleeping, walking

to the beach, or playing music. Our rented piano was in place when we arrived, and our

ensemble also includes two flutes, a guitar, and tenor sax. So far the neighbors have

not complained about our concerts. Our crew includes several excellent cooks but we

usually walk to one of the local restaurants for dinner. It’s a tough life.

Rue Pasteur, our street in Ile de Re

We have already mentioned glaciers or French ice cream shops several times but this

important subject merits a few more words. While hard to find outside the tourist areas

of Paris, ice cream shops are relatively common everywhere we’ve been on the trip.

The product differs from Italian gelato, typically a bit less creamy, but we have found all

our samples to be intensely flavored and delicious. Shops usually have at least a dozen

flavors and our favorite shops in Saint Martin and La Rochelle each have upwards to

thirty different choices. Fleur-de-Sel, caramel with just a hint of salt, is a local specialty,

but who wants to acquire the taste when several dark chocolate flavors are available?

We are just past the mid-point in our trip, and plan to continue dutifully surveying this

wonderful food at every opportunity.

Nantes

Following one last morning pilgrimage to our favorite boulanger and café, we departed

Ile de Ré, our home for the past two weeks, and began a short tour of the provinces of

Bretagne and Normandie, the northern-most provinces of France's Atlantic coast. Our

first stop was in Nantes, a modern city of almost one million persons located on the

Loire River that is regarded by many as the capital of Brittany. Although severely

damaged by Allied bombing in 1943, the restored old city center retains much of its

medieval character. We visited two of the city's most acclaimed monuments, the

massive fortified château and nearby towering cathedral.

We continue to be impressed by the many huge cathedrals that we have seen

throughout France. both by their architectural magnificence and by the wealth and

resources that went into their original construction. The Nantes Cathedral of St. Peter

and Paul was no exception. Construction was begun in 1434 and lasted a remarkable

457 years. This view was taken from a small park to the rear of the building, which

actually sits facing the large main city square.

The Cathedral at Nantes

Unlike the more somber atmosphere inside the cathedral, the scene in the square

outside was quite lively. Something, we never learned what, was being celebrated by a

talented brass choir of French horns; free drinks and snacks were being passed around.

The show was ending as we arrived, and the musicians retreated to a nearby building.

We followed them, found an open restaurant, and had a nice lunch of tartines (open-

faced sandwiches).

These guys playing in front of the Cathedral sounded pretty good.

After lunch, we walked around the old medieval city center with it narrow cobblestoned

streets that are barely wide enough for a modern car to pass. We were looking for the

Château des Ducs de Bretagne, a much-celebrated site listed in our Michelin

guidebook. Unlike the châteaux we visited in the Loire Valley, this imposing château is

much more heavily fortified against attack. As an autonomous region in feudal Europe,

Brittany had to defend against the territorial ambitions of the larger surrounding

countries. The region was not unified with France until 1532.

The Chateau of the Duke of Bretagne was refortified in 1466

Leaving Nantes we made good time on the limited-access road and arrived well before

dark in the town of Quimper, which was to be our base for exploring Brittany for the next

two days. Quimper is an attractive ancient town than sits between the leafy banks of

the swiftly flowing Steir and Odet rivers. While not a prime tourist destination, we

enjoyed the town's medieval ambiance and relative absence of commercial hustle. Like

other parts of Brittany, Quimper has a fascinating history. It was once an ancient capital

of the region, and still celebrates its strong Celtic heritage. Following the collapse of the

Roman empire in the late fourth century, many Celtic mercenaries remained and were

joined by immigrants from Southwest England, Ireland, and Wales. Their language,

Breton, which is related to Welsh and Cornish, is officially recognized today; we noticed

its use on many bilingual road signs and place names. In Breton, the town is known as,

"Kemper", which refers to the confluence of its two rivers.

Before beginning our explorations, we checked into our marvelous B&B located in the

countryside a few miles outside of Quimper. By law a French B&B can have no more

than five rooms, and we have found these small establishments to be very satisfactory.

"Le Logis du Stang" occupies a large traditional family home set in a beautifully

landscaped garden meticulously maintained by its gardening-enthusiast owners, Annie

& Gerard Herve. We were shortly invited out to the lawn where we joined our host and

other guests, two German couples, for a slice of home-made chocolate gateau and a

glass of sparkling apple cider produced on a nearby property.

Le Logis du Stang near Quimper

A highlight of any B&B stay is, of course, breakfast, and breakfast at Le Logis du Stang

was extraordinary.

Breakfast at Le Logis du Stang

We wanted to explore the Brittany coastline and the next day headed to Pointe du Raz,

a promontory extending into the Atlantic and almost the western-most extent of France.

Although the area was blanked by a thin fog, we greatly enjoyed a brisk several-mile

walk to the lighthouse at the tip. The path through colorful purple, yellow and green

ground cover was well-marked and we could hear and see the waves crashing on the

rocks far below.

Path to the tip of Pointe du Raz

One of our great discoveries of this trip to France was the galette. We first experienced

these tasty creations on Ile de Ré, but particularly enjoyed the Breton galette, a large

thin buckwheat crepe folded over melted cheese (Ementaller works well), ham, or

virtually any filling. We ate fine examples of these galettes, washed down with cider, at

a simple restaurant at the Pointe du Raz trailhead.

After lunch we explored the coast a bit more but then left the fog for the small village of

Locronan, founded in 1505 and known during the age of sail for its hemp manufacture.

The cobbled streets and well-preserved stone buildings still exude an air of prosperity.

Today the town is primarily a tourist destination, complete with a glacier and shop

offering one hundred varieties of bottled Breton beer. The proprietor helped us select a

large bottle which we brought back to the B&B and shared with everyone out on the

lawn. The well-hopped beer was quite strong, very slightly sweet, and enjoyed by all.

Main square of the Village of Locronan

We seriously considered revising our itinerary in order to stay for a longer period in the

wonderful Logis du Stang, but were excited to continue on to Normandy where, based

on input from one of the other guests, we revised our itinerary to stay in an

extraordinary château. So after another exceptional breakfast, we hit the road and

headed north.

Our first destination was Saint-Malo, an ancient walled port city on the English Channel

coast west of the border between Brittany and Normandy. Originally just a fortified

island, the city prospered beginning in the sixteenth century as a shipping and trading

center. In the nineteenth century Saint-Malo was infamous as the lair of privateers and

pirates. It is also the birthplace of François-René de Chateaubriand, the French writer,

politician, and diplomat, whogave his name to the tenderloin steak, which ironically may

be better known than its namesake. Today the massive ramparts and impressive

centuries-old stone buildings, many built by wealthy local ship owners, create an

impressive and unique spectacle and attract not a few other tourists. Parking outside

the walls, we entered and spent a couple of hours exploring. We had no trouble finding

a restaurant for lunch, as there seemed to be an exceptionally large number of them

lining the narrow streets of this compact town.

At low tide you can walk to the small island off Saint-Malo. We didn't.

After lunch we drove east, crossing into Normandy, and on to the eagerly-anticipated

Château de Boucéel. We were not disappointed. Old, authentic, and possibly what a

Hollywood set designer might envision, the château is approached through a mile-long

tree-lined drive that eventually opens to reveal the classic building surrounded on all

sides by acres of lawn and set behind a large reflecting pond with resident white geese.

Our charming host, Comte Régis de Roquefeuil, explained that the property had been in

his family since the thirteenth century. Now an innkeeper, and marvelous raconteur, he

told us that he was born and grew up at the château, but that he had studied in the U.S.

and had a thirty year chiropractic career in Paris.

Château de Boucéel

Our main objective for the next day was nearby Le Mont Saint-Michel, which we had

last visited some 45 years before with David and Brent while living in Germany. We had

recently studied pictures from that earlier visit and were therefore interested to see what

had changed. In a word, not much. Visitors now walk or use a shuttle and can no

longer drive there on the half-mile-long causeway to the island. We climbed to the very

top of the abbey and descended through the various chapels, monastery halls, and

vaulted chambers to emerge back into the what was once a fishermen's village and is

now wall-to-wall shops and restaurants.

Le Mont-Saint-Michel

A typical chamber in the lower reaches of Mont-Saint-Michel

Declining to remain with the crowds at Mont Saint-Michel, we drove on and joined them

at the medieval town of Dinan, which the travel writer Rick Steeves says is favorite

place in Brittany.

Ancient wooden-beamed houses along the main street of Dinan

A pedestrian-only street in the old town of Rouen

After two nights at the Château de Boucéel, it was time for the long drive back to Paris

and Charles de Gaulle airport. There wasn't a lot of time for sightseeing along the way

but we did a very short tour of the city of Caen and stopped for lunch in the old medieval

center of Rouen. Then it was on to the village of Roissey in the shadow of the airport,

where we spent the night in the least pretentious accommodation of the trip. In the

village center we found a small traditional restaurant where we enjoyed our last French

meal, what else but excellent galettes with a good local wine. The next morning we

drove ten minutes to the airport, turned in our car, and endured the long but uneventful

flight home, arriving in San Francisco thirty minutes early!