A Sneak Peek of Paris Treats

My computer has been in the shop for a while now, so my Point du Hoc post will be coming later. I have access to the photos on another computer so I will start working on it shortly. In other news, I can hardly contain my excitement!

I picked up my parents at the airport yesterday. They were back from a vacation in France: 1 week in Alsace, 1 week on the Riviera, and a few days in Paris.

Before they left they asked if there was anything I really wanted. I told them two things: soap from Marseille and Pierre Hermé macarons.

There is now a box of gorgeous macarons waiting to be savored on the kitchen counter. I will definitely be taking pictures and doing a post about them. For now, here are a couple of pictures of the flavor guide.

 

I think I saw one Huile d'Olive & Vanille (olive oil and vanilla) in the box. Strangely (or maybe not so strangely), I'm looking forward to tasting that one the most.

As a side note, doing this post got me thinking. It always takes me forever to get my longer posts publish, so I think I need to figure out how to do some of these smaller ones more often between the longer ones.

 

One Day in Normandy, Part 2: Omaha Beach

Note: This post is heavy on the pictures. Back in Henri’s car, we moved swiftly down narrow country roads away from Bayeux and toward the D-Day beaches.

We were lucky to have a guide who knew where to go and exactly how to get there. Usually the person driving, almost always my dad, misses out on most of the great scenery. And this part of Normandy certainly has beautiful scenery.

I watched through the back passenger window as we passed by wide, green pastures with hedgerow fences and through towns with tall, grey stone walls. It was easy to drift off into daydreams about what these places were like throughout history and before I knew it, we had a glimpse of the coast. Soon the monument to Omaha beach was in sight.

But just as we got close, we started drive right past it.

I think we all let out a collective “Wait? What are you . . .where are you going?”

Henri told us we would be back.

A few minutes later, we parked in a small lot on a hill overlooking the beach near Saint-Laurent-sur-Mer.

Henri walked us up a dirt path the led to a small monument to the Second Infantry Division and a ruined German casemate.

There’s something about seeing these things in person that really drives home some of the realities war. You can read about it, watch videos, and look at pictures for ages but being able to touch old bunkers and see the beaches just adds a different sense of gravity.

Just as that thought really hit me, Henri showed us the other reason he brought us up to this spot.

A thick covering of greenery, including grasses, different bushes, and wild blackberry brambles, surrounded the area.

Henri plucked a dark, juicy blackberry from one of the many bushes and popped it into his mouth. As he munched, he bent down and pointed to what looked like a small hole in one of the blackberry bushes. Big enough for a fox to get through.

I got this strange tingle of excitement and horror as he pulled back the branches back to reveal something incredible. An old German foxhole. Big enough for a man to get through.

Since Henri was completely prepared and wearing tough, fatigue-like clothing that could resist the brambles, he hopped into the hole and took our camera. My dad stood on the edge of the hole and peered down like a schoolboy, trying to see whatever he could in the darkness.

While Henri was in the hole, my mom and I found our own perfect blackberries to taste (Yes, I know. Take only pictures, leave only footprints. But we were having a moment.). They were deliciously plump and sweet. I savored the flavor and looked out over the sea. The beauty of this place and the pleasure of standing on that hill washed over me.

A breeze blew through and the grasses swayed and whispered. I wondered how much this place had changed and what secrets these hills knew. I tried to imagine what daily life had been like in this spot under German occupation and, then, during and after D-Day.

Henri appeared from of the hole with his pictures and we marveled at how something that seemed so tiny led to such a large area. He told us there were many more foxholes like this all around here and that he would show us a couple.

We drove back down to Omaha beach and parked near the old mulberry that now serves as a foundation for a dock.

After a few minutes, my dad and Henri went off in search of more bunkers and holes while my mom and I walked the beach.

It was a surreal experience because it was so peaceful that day. It felt, for at least awhile, like my mom and I were the only people walking on the beach. I had my bare feet in the sand and I tried to comprehend how horrific D-Day must have been. This quiet, serene place turned into a hell on earth. Looking back toward land, knowing how well-covered it was by the Germans, I found myself overwhelmed, astonished, and emotional.

We both walked around a bit aimlessly for some time, lost in thought. We finally met up and walked up the dock together, visited the monument, and talked about what an incredible experience it was to be here.

After awhile, we started getting worried about the menfolk. They had disappeared up one of the hills and we had no idea when they were planning on coming down.

When they finally did come down, they brought some great photos with them of other hidden holes and bunkers.

And some stunning photos of the beach.

I was feeling almost reluctant to leave, but we still had so much left to see. Our next destination was Point du Hoc.

One Day In Normandy, Part 1: Bayeux

 It was a chilly early September morning in Paris, as if fall arrived overnight. It seemed fitting somehow since it was our last day in France and we had just been spoiled by ten days of Provençal heat. Nevertheless, we were going to make the best out of it because we were going on an adventure. My family, our guide—we’ll call him Henri—and I packed into a small, white Clio. Destination: Normandy.

But first, we would actually have to move. Because although it felt like most of the city was still asleep, we managed to get stuck behind a lone, lethargic garbage truck. With nowhere to go on our hotel's tiny, one-way street, we were at the mercy of the French bureaucracy.

Eventually, after mustering up some patience (because it's not like you're going to convince the garbage truck to move any faster) and inching our way down the street, we finally parted ways with the truck.

Henri was off like a shot. He sped through the streets of Paris, slowing down only to point out some significant sites and architecture while rattling off the everything he knew about them. This would become one of the themes of the day: Speeding to incredible sites and taking in mountains of information. It’s not my preferred slow-travel way of doing things, but I’ll tell you right now that it was a remarkable, once-in-a-lifetime experience.

I am not much of a morning person, so I can’t really remember what he showed us in Paris. The next thing I do remember, however, is flying up the highway. At one point, my dad asked Henri to slow down. He scoffed and told my dad the it was safer to go faster so he could get away from the cars around and in front of us. Other drivers, you see, are the real dangers. And that was the end of that discussion.

After about 3 hours of driving and an obligatory coffee/croissant stop, we finally reached our first destination: Bayeux.

Bayeux is mainly known for its massive cathedral and the Bayeux Tapestry.

At first, we were reluctant to stop here because we wanted to make sure we would have plenty of time for the D-Day beaches. But Henri insisted and he was right. This would be another theme of the trip: Henri insisting (and being right).

The town was the first to be liberated.  Incredibly, despite being very close to the D-Day beaches, it escaped a lot of damage during the war and its medieval historic center is very well-preserved. It’s one of those places that feel a bit like a historical “Where’s Waldo” game with interesting details waiting to be discovered in plain sight.

The Cathédrale Notre-Dame de Bayeux lies at the center of town. Since we had not expected to come here, none of us did any research or knew what to expect. I think we were all stunned by how beautiful and dominating the cathedral is in person.

Bishop Odo of Conteville consecrated the cathedral on the 14th of July in 1077.  The Bishop’s brother, William the Conqueror, Duke of Normandy and King of England attended the consecration. Since additions and changes continued until 15th century, it is a mixture of Norman-Romanesque and Gothic architecture.

We did not have enough time to go inside, but the entrance is free. There is also an English guided tour 5 times each day for €4. It looks like this is currently only be available between July 1 and August 31 2011, so be sure to double-check the website if you are hoping to go.

As I was looking for more information about the interior, I found this beautiful story from a member of the British Royal Navy. If you have some time, give it a quick read. He describes a touching encounter with a young French boy in the cathedral just one week after the liberation.

The cathedral was also the original home of the Bayeux Tapestry, which was our main reason for coming to Bayeux and our next stop.

The Bayeux Tapestry is actually an embroidery of wool onto linen that depicts the Norman invasion of England and the Battle of Hastings in 1066. It is housed at the Musée de la Tapisserie de Bayeux, which used to be the bishop’s palace.

There is some controversy over who actually commissioned and made it. People once believed it to be the work of William's wife, Queen Mathilde and her ladies-in-waiting, giving it the often-used name of La Tapisserie de la Reine Mathilde (Queen Mathilde's Tapestry). Historians also suggest, however, that Bishop Odo commissioned the work for his new cathedral in Bayeux and that artisans created it in England.

The tapestry itself measures 70 meters or 230 feet long and is in a dimly lit, elongated U-shaped room. You get an audio guide upon entering the room so you can follow the story around the U, panel by panel.

I was really surprised by how beautiful the workmanship is and how well it relays the story. It's kind of like a medieval comic book.

Before we got inside, Henri told us, “This is the story of how your modern language was born.”

It was an interesting concept to think about as we walked along slowly, seeing the characters and story unfold.

How languages develop is obviously an incredibly complex process, but the Norman conquest brought a new dialect, Anglo-Norman, to the ruling class of England. This new dialect spurred the language's evolution from Old to Middle English.

Here's an example of how remarkable the shift was. Listen to Lord's Prayer in Old English and, then, Middle English in the video below. Only a few words sound familiar in the Old English version, but it's pretty easy to follow the Middle English one.

The tapestry has another interesting language connection. As I mentioned before, it hung in Bayeux's cathedral where people from all walks of life could come and learn the story William the Conqueror's victory. Since not everyone could read the Latin captions, the embroidery served as an effective illustration of the events that led to the conquest. It was a great piece of propaganda that solidified William as a rightful ruler.

We did not get any pictures of the tapestry, but there are a ton of resources online. I would, however, highly recommend seeing it in person if you happen to be in the area at some point. In the meantime, however, here’s a great video:

I will also add some related links at the end of the post if you’re interested in getting lost in history for a while.

After seeing the tapestry we walked through the rest of the museum, which has a nice collection of artifacts and information that helps provide historical context for the tapestry.

We all enjoyed the museum and I think we would have liked to spend a little more time wandering Bayeux. Unfortunately, we were on a tight schedule. Next stop? Omaha Beach.

Further Reading: