Sunday, April 12, 2015

bikes and tulips

bikes and tulips                  April 12, 2015

Bucket List
            Riding bikes in Holland - check!
            Seeing tulips in Holland - check!

I don't really have much of a bucket list. I pretty much take life as it comes.  But, for quite a long time, I have wanted to see tulips and ride bikes in Holland.  Both have happened this week.  

Bruce and I are staying in Utrecht for nearly a week.  It's a beautiful old city - where our nephew, Tomek, happens to be living right now.  We'll see him tomorrow.  In the meantime, we've been busy getting that bucket list attended to!  

This is our first visit to Holland, and we are loving it!  It feels fresh and pretty and healthy and on a human scale.  The first evening, after a very long bus ride from Nancy, France, the taxi left us off next to a canal, not far from our BnB in the central section of the city.  Old brick homes lined the canal.  No cars passing.  It was sooo quiet - just the sound of bicycles whooshing past on the brick streets, perhaps a bit of slight clattering from them, since they were all old, too.  Birds twittered; frothy, pink cherry trees and daffies brightened the sides of the canal.  The evening light glanced off the water. It felt peaceful and magical!



We had been told, before we arrived, that Holland is a country that loves its bikes.  We couldn't have imagined the truth behind those words.  Bicycle riders are treated equally to auto drivers, with bike lanes and massive bicycle parking lots everywhere.  Equality is a core value here in the Netherlands (as are practicality and frugality:  we fit right in :).  While people of all ages ride, the young bikers zoom around fast, some with one hand on the handle bar while the other holds a cell phone or an ice cream cone or an umbrella!   I saw one fellow riding while texting a message.  Mothers routinely ride with babies in seats, front and back.  Some have big wooden boxes on the front of their bikes to hold half grown kids or groceries.  It's wonderful!

One day we borrowed our hosts' "city" bikes - as opposed to "country" bikes -  and made our maiden ride, through Utrecht and out onto some off-road trails beside canals in the suburbs.  It was lovely to join the hordes of folks who ride bikes - and because there are special lanes for the bikers, it wasn't too scary to be in traffic. Quickly we left the bustle behind and were out in the countryside, rolling along on a sunny day on flat ground amidst beautiful scenery. Heavenly!  Here are some photos of our biking excursion.

                  Here I am, on a bicycle in Holland, at last.  

Houseboats lined a section of one canal, as we headed out of town.  They looked like weekend places.  

Not far outside of Utrecht was this medieval castle, surrounded by water, of course. 


           An antique and no longer used - but so picturesque!


As we returned to town, we came upon this green/yellow space between two streets.


I loved this Muslim woman - on her bike with her toddler son in the back - and her black covering blowing in the wind.  I couldn't catch up close enough to get a good shot.  BTW, that whole lane that she's riding in is for bikes.  

With sun predicted for the day after our bike outing, we pressed forward on this bucket list thing and caught a train to the world renowned Keukenhof Gardens, just north of Leiden.   We have never seen anything like it!  Called the Garden of Europe, its nearly 80 acres of spring flowers are magnificent.  Having tulips on my mind, I was at first a bit disappointed to see bed after bed of those posies not quite in bloom yet.  Not to worry.  Further along, we saw all the tulips one could ever imagine - every color, variety, displayed in curvy beds, straight beds, single color, mixed colors, indoors and out. Hyacinths and daffodils and other spring flowers, too. Wow.  Pictures describe them in a way that I can't.  









If you ever have a chance to visit Holland and the Keukenhof Gardens in the spring, GO!  

Saturday, April 11, 2015

Battlefield Sites in France (Bruce)

Battlefield Sites in France (Bruce) April 11, 2015



One of my earliest childhood memories was reading about the battles of World War II. Memories of the war were still raw in the early 50’s, and there was a lot being written about those times. My dad had served in the Navy in the Pacific and many of my friends had family members who had served, so naturally, playing war was a favorite activity for many of us.


Growing up, I was an active reader - spurred on, no doubt, by my mother who was a Kindergarten teacher and by my father who devoured books about many topics, especially about the war in which he had participated.  I, too, was very interested in reading about battles that seemed heroic, glorious, and exciting to a 10 year old boy.  I was interested in every aspect of that period in history. The invasion of Europe by Allied forces on June 6, 1944, was of particular interest.   How, I wondered, could all these men charge into a heavily fortified coastline and prevail against one of the best military organizations in the world?   


As an adult, this fascination has not waned, and I have watched all the movies about this era - The Longest Day,  Saving Private Ryan,  Band of Brothers - and read all the books by Stephen Ambrose, Jeff Sharra  and others.  After reading the Guns of August by Barbara Tuchman, I developed an interest in the history of World War I.  I supplemented  Tuchman’s book with All Quiet on the Western Front,  books about the Somme,  and the movie - A Very Long Engagement - all about the period from 1914 to 1918.


I have always wanted to visit the specific areas where these conflicts occurred, but, during our last few trips to Europe, other plans prevailed. This year (2015), we made specific plans for a driving tour through some of the important battlefield sites in France and Belgium.   Although the seasonal timing wasn’t perfect, we had carved out 2 weeks in mid March with the understanding that it would still be cold in Northern France.


After a week in London, we headed down to Portsmouth, the  famous seaport that was home port for the Royal Navy and where many of the forces departed for the invasion of Normandy.  We spent much of a day in the D-Day museum - immersing ourselves in history of the period,  reading about the preparations and talking to a 94 year old veteran who had landed in Normandy on June 6th as a corporal with the British Army.  We also talked with an 88 year old woman who had served as a nurse in Portsmouth, treating the wounded from D-Day - all great sources of information about the reality of the experience.


On a foggy Friday morning, we traveled from Portsmouth to Caen, Normandy - a 6 hour trip across the  English Channel aboard a comfortable modern ferry.   We couldn’t help but remark about the differences between our circumstances and those of the young men who fought in Normandy.  After a few days in Caen and a visit to an impressive memorial museum,  we picked up our rental car and headed West to see the beaches where the invasion occurred.


The landing beaches of Normandy are longer than we anticipated - 5 beaches altogether stretching from Ouistreham to Ste. Marie du Mont  -  a 35 mile stretch of coastline.  We were interested primarily in the beaches where the American forces landed but they are on the far Western end of the coast and we approached from the East.   As we traveled along the coastal road,  we stopped in Sword Beach (British Forces), Juno Beach (Canadian Forces), and Gold Beach (Combined British Commonwealth Forces).  The day was clear, sunny, and windy but we managed to visit all the memorials along the way.  We imagined how much courage it took for the young men to get out of their landing craft and charge across exposed stretches of sand against the strong opposition of the German Army.  On the first three beaches,  Sword, Juno, and Gold, the opposition was stiff but relatively brief, and many of the forces made relatively rapid advancement toward their goals behind the beaches.  Omaha Beach, where the Americans landed, was a different story and, since we arrived there late in the afternoon, we decided to find our Airbnb home and return the next day.

On Juno Beach: tiny Canadian flags and crosses placed by recent visitors from military organizations.


Omaha Beach is different from all the other beaches because it sits under a very high set of sandy bluffs  and is dominated by a prominent rocky point that juts out into the ocean.   This is the famous Pointe du Hoc, which was a heavily armed German artillery post that also served as an observation point and was protected by machine gun bunkers and anti-aircraft guns.  After the war, the French nation gave ownership of this war site - and others - to the United States government. The US Battle Monuments Commission has protected any development of this site so that the shell holes, huge concrete German bunkers, and fortifications are still intact. This strongpoint dominates the high ground over Omaha Beach toward the East and Utah Beach to the West, so it was a very important piece of territory for the Germans to hold and for the Allied forces to capture.


We also visited the American cemetery at Colleville-sur-Mer, located just behind Omaha Beach. It is a very impressive place with thousands of identical white crosses all precisely placed on a sloping field overlooking the ocean.   It’s a very peaceful site, immaculately landscaped and marked by memorials and interpretive signs. I walked down the long steep path from the cemetery to the beach and was surprised by the distance from the top of the hill to the waterline - and that was at high tide.  The beach was narrow and strewn with many small stones polished by the surf. The invasion, however, had been scheduled for low tide when the beach was very wide.   The soldiers had to avoid the large steel obstacles which the Germans had placed strategically in order to destroy their landing craft.

WW II American cemetery at Colleville-sur-Mer in Normandy


It is hard to imagine how anyone survived the long slog from the water’s edge to the base of the high bluffs overlooking the beach.  Atop these cliffs, German gunners, using machine guns and artillery, could cover the entire invasion beach and catch the soldiers in a fatal crossfire.  The first twenty minutes of the movie,  Saving Private Ryan, gives a fairly accurate depiction of what the soldiers on Omaha Beach experienced.   It was a sobering thought as I wondered how anyone could do what these young men had done.


I got some sense of this in my discussion with John Jakes, who had landed at Sword Beach on D-Day.  He was the 94 year old British veteran whom I had met at the museum in Portsmouth.  He said that he was scared to death, seasick, and cold but couldn’t show any weakness to his comrades.   He said they didn’t have any sense of what was going on because of the confusion, noise, and danger all around them.  John commented that he was doing his best to keep alive and to help his mates survive rather than for any grand or glorious purpose.  I suspect that his view is common for combat veterans.

Utah Beach. It's hard to imagine this peaceful place, where jockeys practice racing their horses now, being the scene of such intense fighting, heroism, and loss of life 71 years ago.


The next day, we visited Utah Beach on the other side of the river and very near to the town where we were staying - Sainte Marie du Mont.   The village is close to the beach, and there are numerous signs and memorials around town documenting the arrival of the Americans on D-day.  We discovered that Easy Company, the parachute regiment depicted in the HBO series, Band of Brothers,  landed here on D-Day.  The beach itself is very flat and there were a number of German bunkers that were quickly overcome by the Allies.  We also visited the small village of Sainte Mere Eglise - which is famous because of the soldier who witnessed the battle while hanging in his parachute which snagged on the church tower.   His name was John Steele, and he survived the war and was honored by the French government and the town.   We ate in a restaurant named for him.

The town of Ste. Mere Eglise honors American airman, John Steele, whose parachute got stuck on the church steeple while a battle raged below him. He was captured but managed to escape, rejoin the Allies, and survive the war.


After 4 days, we had visited the key sites and decided to move to the East to visit sites related to World War 1.  It was great to visit the beaches in Normandy and to get a much better sense of the events that took place there.  We were impressed by the courage of the men who fought there - on both sides.   We had not anticipated seeing a greater understanding of the German perspective on the war but saw several references to the fact that many of the Germans did not want to fight but were forced into the army.   This was presented in a way that was not in any way sympathetic to the German military but simply offered a contrasting view of the realities of that time.  War is complicated.

Melancholy German cementery in La Cambe, near D-Day beaches. We read that the French imposed certain restrictions. Quite a contrast to the gleaming white crosses in the American cemetery.


As we headed East, our first overnight stop was in Dieppe, a town on the North Coast - on the English Channel.   It was a lovely harbor town and the site of an Allied raid in 1942 - led by the Canadian forces - many of whom died on the beach.   We stayed there one night before moving on to Arras - which was in the very center of the Western Front of World War I.  We decided to set up base camp in Arras and visit the actual battlefield sites from there. This is a beautiful old city that is vibrant and prosperous today.  We were amazed to learn that fierce fighting had taken place during each war and that the city had been recreated anew after each conflict.   Unlike Caen - which seems very sterile and modern,  Arras was charming. It was hard to believe that the buildings were not very old.  However, the reconstruction followed the old plans and were largely based on the original old town - using modern construction methods.  Newer buildings could be identified by their “art nouveau” style, popular during the reconstruction that took place in the 1920’s.   


We explored the city on the first day and read lots of history about both wars. We were especially interested in the role that the resistance played in the second war.   Two hundred fifteen resistance fighters had been executed in the town. Bullet holes in the cathedral are a reminder of the conflict.


On our second day, rain was forecast so we decided to visit the area of the Somme battlefield where some of the most dramatic battles took place.  We had learned about a wonderful museum in Peronne and headed there for the day. As we drove the 20 miles to Peronne,  we noticed the open rolling hills - largely devoted to agricultural purposes - and could see that this landscape might be conducive to moving large groups of men across the countryside.   Unlike Normandy, which was flat and marshy, this countryside was intersected by shallow valleys and much open fields.   Another striking feature was the number of cemeteries and memorials in every little village. The French - and all of Europe - have suffered tremendous loss through the combined wars.


Fortunately, the weather turned sunny, if cold, so we had a great ride through the countryside in Northern France.  We were struck by the prevalence of cemeteries, some large and some small, at every turn, scattered across the fields and alongside the roads.  These stand as silent witness to the terrible slaughter that took place here. We couldn’t visit all the cemeteries and memorials - there are just too many - but we stopped at several British, French, and German cemeteries to marvel at the vast number of crosses planted there.  There are a few American memorials to commemorate our troops who fought and died here.  However, our country came in at the end of the war when the other armies had been largely exterminated so there were fewer battles involving the U.S.  

This impressive American WW I monument, commemorating the Battle of Belleau Wood, stands on a hill overlooking the city of Chateau-Thierry.

I was especially eager to see the Belleau Wood site - the first notable battle of WWI where American troops were engaged.  A large American cemetery and memorial commemorates the events.  Of greater interest was the actual battlefield which has been preserved intact since 1918.  Visitors have access to the woods and can follow paths through the forests and witness trenches, bunkers, fox holes and, most impressive, the many shell holes still visible.  Time has eroded the landscape but the pockmarked earth gives you a sense of the conditions faced by the men who fought there.  Of special interest, were the large oak trees that remain standing but cannot be cut down and used for firewood or lumber because they are so riddled with bullets and shrapnel that they can’t be cut.  There are also warnings not to stray too far from the trails because of the threat of unexploded ordnance.  We learned that 100,000 pieces of unexploded ordnance are discovered every year and that the danger is very real.

Foxholes and bombing craters can still be seen in the woods near the Canadian battlefield of Vimy Ridge.

These trenches at Vimy Ridge have been preserved (if tidied up) for all to learn about this WW I battle at the Canadian War Museum there. Bright young, bilingual Canadians are given an opportunity to be guides for a semester.


Our final battlefield visit was at the St. Mihiel salient site just south of Verdun, a famous fortress town on the Meuse River. This was an important battle that was fought in September, 1918, mostly by American and French forces. The Germans had made a last ditch effort to push westward near the end of the war and had made a major intrusion through the French line of defense.  The Americans were the only forces which still had significant strength and size to resist this advance, so they were brought into the fight with other allied troops.  The American divisions linked up to close the bulge in the salient and, in the process captured 15,000 German troops - which, in large part stopped the fighting.  After this battle, the war primarily involved constant fighting as German troops retreated.  On November 11, the Armistice was declared.


During our 2 weeks in Northern France, we covered a lot of territory but only covered certain historical areas where battles were fought. The highlights for me were:  


The beaches in Normandy - to see the places where these events took place was awesome and to marvel at the courage of the young men who walked into the guns to eventually prevail over a large, well-organized enemy.


The flat marshy countryside of Normandy - imagining the destruction that took place there.  Seeing the villages and the constant signs proclaiming “Thank you to our liberators” brings home the role that our country played in this enormous undertaking.


We were again impressed with the presence of war monuments in even the smallest of French towns with the names of those men killed.   In one very small town - Fismes, we counted 212 names of men killed in World War I, and 12 names of those who died in World War II.  It seems that the number of men killed in WW I were so staggering that several generations were lost.  At the outbreak of World War II,  there were very few French soldiers left to fight, so the country was quickly overrun - such a tragedy.


Another stunning observation was the massive number of military cemeteries  scattered all over this area.   We visited the beautiful American Cemetery at Omaha Beach where over 9,000 men are buried - and this is just one site - there are many others. It’s sobering to see the number of graves of American, British, French, Canadian, German and troops from other countries.  It was also hard to grasp how many of these graves are marked by the words “Known only to God” as many men were simply obliterated by gunfire and artillery and could not be identified.  


It is notable that many of the battlefields cannot be easily identified as such - given that many of the fields are now used for agriculture,  destroyed towns have been totally rebuilt,  and new roads, buildings, and structures have been built over these sites.  Still, there are a number of places that have been preserved to show the terrain as it was during the fighting.  One of the most dramatic examples of this is seen at Pointe du Hoc overlooking Omaha beach where German bunkers, artillery holes, observation points and machine gun nests are still intact.  At Vimy Ridge, a crucial battle fought by Canadians, you can explore the deep tunnels used to move men and materials safely behind the lines.  You can see the trenches, artillery shell holes, and the very deep mine holes that were exploded under enemy positions.


The Battle of Belleau Woods was the first encounter where American forces were engaged and was important because it bolstered the morale of the exhausted and depleted Allied forces. There is a large cemetery site here. The actual battlefield site is open and you can wander around the woods without any restrictions.   


One surprise was a better understanding of the German perspective in these conflicts.   There was no sympathy shown for the Germans in France, but we did learn that many of the young  soldiers were forced into the military against their will - it was either join or be shot.  We also can understand the appeal that the Nazi party had to some of the young men who found a purpose and a sense of belonging through the party. The Nazis also attracted a number of right wing fanatics with a conservative ideology who yearned for a strong leader with a desire for conquest.  Other citizens were apolitical and just went along with the prevailing tide - to oppose the party was to risk imprisonment or death.   


It was an interesting and sobering experience.  We learned a lot of history, saw some interesting sights, and gained a new perspective about important events.


Monday, April 6, 2015

bubbly

             Bubbly                                          April 6, 2015


The lacy white iron gate was closed and locked when we arrived at the private home in the small French village.  We were a bit late, having lost our way among the narrow roads that wound past ancient stone barns and open fields.  

The car's GPS, in her lovely British female voice, announced with certainty, "You have arrived at your destination." 

I jumped out of the car.  As I rushed to the gate, I did note the sign with the name, CHAMPAGNE, Durdon-Bourval.  I pushed a button that allowed me to communicate with the residents, inevitably jumbling my French in my tizzied state.  It worked, because immediately a figure emerged from the lovely new stone home set back from the road.  The gate opened.  




We had been in northern France for a week, touring World War I battle sites.  A few days previously, as we wandered east, the Nor-Pas-de-Calais region, in the northwest, had turned into the region of Champagne in the northeast.  Signs along the roadside, like the one above, began appearing.  It hadn't taken long for our new AirBnB host, Paul, to suggest that we might enjoy having a champagne tasting with a vintner friend of his.  He had made the call, and here we were, standing in the yard of Ludovic Durdon. Ludovic is blonde, blue-eyed, in his 40's, with a friendly, direct manner. He and his wife, Sandie, are owners and viticulteurs of the only biologic (organic) champagne vineyard in the whole region of Champagne. 




Ludovic invited us inside his home, where we met Sandie and were ushered to a dining - rather, sipping - table, large enough to host a group of 12 or so.  It was a gray, cold day.  The expanse of windows looked out on grassy, green fields.  The room was spotless, tidy, and chilly - and clearly set up for business.  We exchanged a few pleasantries, and they quickly asked if we'd like to taste their champagne.  Ludovic spoke no English.  Sandie spoke about as much English as I speak French.  Bruce mostly listened.  We stumbled amiably along in this state, learning quite a lot about their work. 

Ludovic opened a bottle with a very loud pop and poured four glasses.  We all sat and enjoyed the fresh, bubbly taste.  As we sipped, we found out that Sandie's grandparents had been champagne vintners, and that Ludovic had grown up in the business with his grandparents and parents, who still work their own vineyard.  The difference is that this young couple are doing things the old, old way while also experimenting with some new techniques.  

As organic farmers, Ludovic and Sandie respect the land and are committed to not using pesticides in creating their product.  In the winter, they do the necessary pruning of the vines.  Instead of burning the pruned branches as most vintners do and as we had seen in Languedoc when we lived there, they grind up the woody refuse and turn it back into the soil.  In the spring, they tie each branch of each plant onto a support to separate it from the other branches.  These processes are labor-intensive. While they do employ several workers to help with the wine-making process, the two of them do the work on the land alone.  Ludovic's family thinks they're crazy.  The result, however, is a champagne that is winning prizes and is selling well not only in this region but also in Germany, Holland, and Belgium.  Ludovic and Sandie are tapping into a demand for a product that is more healthy. 

Like all farmers, however, they are at the mercy of the weather. Two years ago, there was a freeze in April, destroying the young leaves that had just blossomed.  They lost 60% of their crop that year.  

"It was very, very difficult," said Sandie.  She and her husband are parents of three children, the eldest a university student in the field of medicine.   

Right now, in early April, the leaves have not emerged.  

"Now the work is hard ... but the stress is low," noted Sandie.  

But that all changes when the tiny leaves begin to unfurl. Then the couple will be bound even more closely to the land, checking on their new crop every day, like parents of a newborn.  They will look for signs of various maladies, like mildew, a constant threat in this damp, chilly clime.  Not until the vendange, the fall harvest of the grapes, will they be released from the constant worry of the crop.  

I wasn't sure that I had understood the details exactly right.  It didn't matter. Ludovic offered to open another bottle in order to taste a different type of champagne.  However, French laws are very strict about drinking and driving.  The legal limit is lower than at home. We politely declined.  With a pleasantly mellow glow and a new appreciation for this acclaimed beverage, we bought a bottle of the Reserve Brut, wished our hard-working young hosts good luck with this year's crop, and bid our adieus.



Last evening we turned in our rental car in the eastern city of Nancy, close to the German border.  Tomorrow we will board a bus for a long trip to Utrecht, Holland.  We'll leave behind the Normandy beaches of WW II and the gray skies and WW I battle sites of northern France, as well as the delights of wine and cheese and croissants.  We have loved the early spring flowers that are in full bloom here, but we're looking forward to masses of bright tulips and the discovery of a whole new culture for our last two weeks in Europe.

Saturday, March 28, 2015

A Tale of Three BnB's

A Tale of Three BnB's             March 28, 2015

Every once in a while, it's actually comforting to stay in a hotel that's very basic and standard - if boring.  However, that's not our usual style.  Usually Bruce goes to the AirBnB website, our favorite enterprise for finding fairly inexpensive places to stay.  Beside the good price, AirBnB's are often quirky and unique - and usually in people's homes.  Our last three accommodations have been brimming over with personality!

In Portsmouth, England, our hostess was Barbara Ann.  We called her when we arrived at the bus station, and she kindly came to pick us up.  She introduced herself with a handshake as hard as rock.  Tall and thin, in her late 50's, with red hair pulled tightly back into a ponytail, she could have been a roller derby queen.  As we loaded our stuff into her car, she advised us not to mind the mess.  

"I don't clean cars.  I just don't do it!"   I hoped that she cleaned BnB rooms!  

As we pulled into traffic, she commented on a fellow who had led a group of students across the street in front of the car. 

 "That fellow is a foreigner.  I know because he didn't thank me for letting him pass.  I'm sorry, but that's how they are!"

Oh, boy, this was not good.  What were we getting ourselves into?  For the first time in our AirBnB history, I was worried.  

On our way to the Fairlea BnB, Barbara Ann drove us around Portsmouth and Southsea, a pretty seaside resort, pointing out the highlights. Situated in a row of modest brick homes, Fairlea was a hold-over from the days when families flocked to the British seaside for their annual vacation - before the era of cheap flights to Spain.  It still had a 1960's feel to it, though it was spotlessly clean with good internet service (not always a given, even in these days).  Our bedroom was on the first floor; the toilet was on the second floor, and the two showers were on the third floor. There was a kitchen on the second floor, too, where we could put together our own breakfast of cold cereal and toast:
"Believe me, you wouldn't want me to cook for you", Barbara Ann had declared.


  Fairlea B & B, Southsea (next to Portsmouth), England


   Beach St. is a bit down at the heels, but "real" :) and at the end of the street is a "luxury, boutique B&B".  


                    The sitting room at the Fairlea B&B

The other guests in the house were long-term workers, staying in Portsmouth during the week for jobs which got them up and out early in the morning.  I met only one of them, a Spanish woman who was there to learn English in a quest to find a job in the difficult times since the crisis struck Spain.  She works on a train, serving food to the passengers who commute to London and back.

It turned out that running the Fairlea and another BnB, as well as managing other property that she owns, were Barbara Ann's full time job.  She was a hardworking business person with a soft side, not readily apparent at first. When it came time to catch the ferry to France, she was up early to take us to the terminal. Despite my initial reservations, the experience had turned out well.

Our next AirBnB experience couldn't have been more different.  It was a small farm in Ste. Marie du Mont in Normandy, France.  The somewhat eccentric couple who run it have two spare rooms in their rambling 1720's stone home.  Claire is a self-taught artist, in her 50's, and Michel, an amazing 77 years old, is a small time farmer, devoted to ecological practices. He lived through the war, albeit at a young age, and had interesting stories to share. One evening they introduced us to various forms of Normandy apple liquors, including pommeau, a bubbly aperitif, similar to champagne.  


         Claire and Michel's ancient home in Ste. Marie du Mont, Normandy, near Utah Beach.

The first evening when we stepped outside to go to our rental car, one of the resident big white geese stood defiantly by and hissed at us, her mouth open wide, showing her tongue and tiny teeth.  We jumped back until Claire came to our rescue, shooing her away and telling us that she had eggs that she was protecting in a nest next to the house.


                      Proud momma goose atop her eggs.

Michel was eager for us to see the baby lambs and their wooly mothers.  On our last evening there, he offered to take us for a walk in the area.  We first passed through a field where a mother sheep had given birth to a baby lamb that very day.  She had actually borne two wee ones, but one was not properly developed and was dead in the grass.  The survivor ran in and out through her legs, snuggling up close. Michel was delighted to hear the mother "talking" to her off-spring.  "She is a good mother", he said. "It is very important for the mother to talk to the baby - for the connection."




Our late afternoon stroll took us down leafy lanes, past a huge modern farm with lots of cows confined to a cement stable.  A huge vat of "shit", as Michel unabashedly called it in his delightful French-accented English, stood just outside the barn.  A massive mound of silage under a sheet of black plastic leaked a sour smell into the air.  Michel rambled at length about the evils of farms such as these, whose practices harm the environment and produce milk and cheese that don't have the proper taste.  



             Michel and Bruce along a Norman country lane.

Claire and Michel did talk pretty incessantly, which drove Bruce a bit batty, but they also bent over backwards to be helpful to us: calling to make resto reservations for us; offering us maps and books to guide us on our WWII explorations at Omaha and Utah beaches; and doing the heavy lifting of speaking in English.  When we left for good, they presented us with a box of caramel candies, a specialty of the area. Overall it was one of our best AirBnB experiences ever. 


Claire and Michel, AirBnB hosts, in Ste. Marie du Mont, Normandy.

The next evening, we lucked into a Chambre d'Hote, which is a common French tourist accommodation, similar to an AirBnB. We had left Claire and Michel and had traveled north to Dieppe, on the coast of the English Channel, still in Normandy.  We stopped into the tourist office, late in the afternoon, where the young woman suggested the nearby "Villa des Capucins".  Without much discussion, given the hour and our weariness, we took it and arrived there about 15 minutes later.  As we approached the address, standing on the sidewalk waiting for us was a debonaire gentleman of about 60, with a mustache and hair the length of mine, horn-rimmed glasses, a hand knit cravat tucked into his wool jacket, and a warm smile.  Bernard Clarisse, our host for the evening, opened large metal doors behind him, leading us out of the seedy neighborhood and into a lovely garden.  Just inside the walls stretched a row house of four rooms, all with their own entrances.  In years past, this had been a small convent estate, dating back to 1900, a medical clinic for the poor, and these had been the rooms reserved for nuns visiting from Africa.  Now they are loft spaces for tourists!   


          Villa les Capucins in Dieppe, northern Normandy

I could tell before we even stepped into it that this tiny doll-house-like place was CHARMING! Obviously, someone with an eye for design had been at work here.  The mirrors of the grand antique armoire seemed to enlarge the tiny space; the immaculate white tiled bathroom downstairs; the loft with its steep steps and then its beautiful bed, piled high with warm duvets and flowered sheets, the cozy lights - it was very romantic!  We loved it. 






                         Up the steep steps, carefully....



                           ...and voila!  a sweet little loft.


                    Bernard's house at the end of the garden.

At the typical French breakfast of croissants and baguette the next day, sitting in the kitchen of Bernard's lovely home at the end of the garden, we learned about his career as an artist. Having retired from teaching at the University of Rouen, he devotes himself full-time to making art.  Painting and preparing for exhibits (plus his chambre d'hote work ?) keep him busy.  His "woman" continues to teach at the University. Being there for only one night, we never did meet her.  And soon it was time to move on, but not without realizing how lucky we had been to stumble upon this interesting corner of Dieppe.  (I didn't have the courage to ask Bernard for his photo, but you can google him and see a picture there.)



Croissants, butter & jam, cafe au lait, juice - yum.  Never before had I been asked if I wanted salted butter or unsalted butter for breakfast the next day.  The Normans take their dairy products very seriously!  




    The astounding plaza in Arras, influenced by the architecture        of Amsterdam.              

So, here we are in Arras, where we landed late yesterday afternoon.  We're still in France but not far from Belgium.  Arras is a city that I had never heard of, but one that is large and beautiful - and very historic, as I'm learning.  Brits and Canadians probably know all about it, since it is in an area littered with cemeteries from WWI.  It is also near Vimy Ridge, another somber Canadian war site.  We stopped at a British cemetery beside the road yesterday and walked to one today. The inscriptions (and ages) for the young men were heart-rending.  







     WW I cemeteries for British soldiers who died in France

 
A lively Saturday market in Arras was an antidote to the futility of war with the loss of so many young lives.