Chateau de Chantilly - A Day’s Escape from Paris

By the time we arrived in the town of Chantilly it was mid-morning. The cloudy sky and cold breezes that blew down the rues of Paris had given way to glorious sunshine and frosted pastures in the Hauts-de-France department, “the North Pole of France” as the southerners, exaggeratedly, calls it.

Our destination was the Chateau de Chantilly and at the entrance gate of the vast domaine large patches of the pond were frozen and on the one or two isolated thawed spots, white swans and harlequin ducks paddled in search of food.

The train ride from Paris to Chantilly ran through the rather boring industrial north of Paris and beyond that, farmland, mostly unseen because most of the rolling hills were carved out to build a straight flat terrain for the train tracks to allow the regional train to pick up some form of speed. The few patches of landscape I could see through the dirty window looked forlorn under the grey sky. A landscape that did not looked forward to the winter ahead. Only as we neared Chantilly did the sun emerged from beyond the dissipating clouds.

 A portrait of Chantilly as it looked around 1741.

The chateau is an 800-year old outpost whose history is closely intertwined with French royals and one of the most distinguished and noble families in France, the Montmorency family. Today the statue of Anne de Montmorency on a horse, the 1^st Duke of Montmorency, (the duke originally build the first castle around 1528) can be seen in front of the castle’s drawbridge. The original mansion was destroyed during the French Revolution and between 1875 and 1882, Henri d'Orléans, the Duke of Aumale, the fifth son of King Louis-Philippe I of France, rebuilt the chateau as we see it today. (For more information about the owners of the estate click in the link.)

Within the chateau is the Musée Condé, our main focus of the day. According to a little research I did it seems the museum’s art galleries are the second largest collection of antique paintings in France after that of the Louvre. Any museum compared to the Louvre is worth a visit!

The chateau’s second major feature is its stables, which houses the Musée de Cheval, the Museum for the Horse. The STABLES could well be the most spectacular stables in France and approaching the vast chateau complex from the west and coming upon the stables first, one could easily mistake the stables for the actual chateau. Lavish in design!

French aloofness?

Many have written or talked about the aloofness of the French, but thrice on our short visit to Paris we experienced the opposite. Twice at the Gare du Nord train station. First, when a man helped M with her baggage down the stairs, (we were temporarily separated while I was searching for a ticket kiosk and which I eventually found hidden behind a huge billboard.) The second event was when another Frenchman, seeing me struggling with the ATM not accepting my credit card for some reason (I have used the same card several times before at other ATMs) helped me getting train tickets by using his own card and then I paid him back in cash.  

The third time was when we arrived at the Chantilly train station, a 25-minute ride with a regional train north of Paris. There was no taxi available at the time and the bus service to the chateau, according to another bus driver at the bus terminus, was only to arrive an hour from our arrival. I was not willing to waste that amount of time! However, a young French gentleman and his girlfriend/wife who arrived on the same train as us were waiting for a hotel shuttle to pick them up. When the shuttle arrived he asked the driver if he could drop us off at the chateau. The driver graciously agreed and we were very grateful. Later in the morning, I notice the same couple was also visitors to the Musée Condé. Upon seeing them I took the opportunity to thank them again for their assistance.    

An Unchanged Layout

The Duke of Aumale, an ardent collector of art, old books and manuscripts, was the last private owner of the Chateau de Chantilly. In the large Gallery of Painting he hung his paintings of suit his own personal taste. In fact, the layout closely relates to the Duke’s personal history and the layout has not changed since he bequeathed the domaine to the Institute of France in 1886. On the left wall of the grand gallery the art works are mainly Italian, reminders of his mother's family background and his time traveling through Italy. On the opposite wall are works from France, relating to his father’s side of the family and his own illustrious career in the French military.

 The Gallery of Painting.

Got to have some family pics on the wall too!

In the Sanctuary, a small inner room for the castle, hangs the treasures of the Museum’s collection; two paintings by Renaissance painter, Raphael: The Virgin of the House of Orleans and The Three Graces, and 40 pages of the miniature illumination manuscript, The book of Hours of Etienne Chevalier by Jean Fouquet. 

In the Reading Room, with its warm wood atmosphere, in one corner, kept in a locked glass cabinet I was thrilled to discover the Complete Works of François de Malherbe (1555 – 1628), a possible ancestor of mine on my mother’s side. Being an amateur genealogist for the past 15 years (my mother’s maiden name is Malherbe) and I having traced the Malherbes back to 1066 AD when one of them accompanied William, the Conqueror, as a knight, to conquer England, this, I have to admit, was my personal highlight of the day. The book was printed in 1630 and its cover is still in immaculate condition.

A 1630 print of Les Euvres de Mr Francois de Malherbe

 

François De Malherbe was a great reformer of French poetry and by some described as the father of French poetry. In South Africa, centuries later, the Malherbe family, descendants from Gidion Malherbe that arrived at the Cape of Good Hope from Normandy, France, in 1687, was instrumental in the development of the Afrikaans language and several of the family men were poets, writers and educators through the generations. 

Unfortunately, probably the most valuable book in the museum’s library cannot be seen except in digital format. It is the Très Riches Heures du Duc de Berry, one of the best surviving examples of French Gothic manuscript illumination. (To learn more about manuscript illumination, click on the link.)

 Entrance to the Musée de Cheval

After our visit to the Musee Conde, we walked the half mile or so to the Horse museum. Meandering through the stables, seemingly one ancient horse stall to another, modernized to museum style, it does a decent job of capturing the history of the horse in military and personal usage; the history of saddles, stirrups, horse bits, and horse racing at the famous Chantilly race course, and much more. The stables are thought-provoking, to some degree, but as the French would say: C’est mon truc, the English equivalent of “not my cup of tea.” I have to admit it seemed M enjoyed the horse museum far more than I did, especially the royal carriages on show. She's got a soft spot for carriages.

 Collage of the Horse Museum

At the totally inadequately staffed snack restaurant on site, we waited way too long to be served and lingered only a short while after the late lunch before walking back to the estate’s entrance to await our bus back to the Chantilly train station.

 The Chateau de Chantilly basking in the late afternoon sun

Chantilly, the chateau, art museum and stables is certainly worth a visit. The estate is vast with woods, ponds, leafy walkways and bike lanes, and even small hamlets in the woods where workers used to live. It would have been a pleasant adventure to rent a golf cart, take a picnic basket and tour the vast estate, but that would be more appropriate during the summer months. Unfortunately we traveled there during December.

During the trip’s planning phase I initially included a visit to the Chateau of Vincennes in Paris, (close proximity) but I am glad M did some research, discovered the Paris chateau is not worth a visit and we both looked at Chantilly as an alternative to still our grave for visiting a castle of some sort on our short trip to France. I am glad we did investigate Chantilly. It was a fantastic escape from Paris. 

 Chantilly Chapel

 Two enormous horse heads dominates a small square   

Christmas in Paris

When I started to plan for the short European vacation over the Christmas season there was one day I knew was going to be difficult to plan for: Christmas Day in Paris. According to my internet research every museum except one, most public facilities and even many restaurants were going to be closed on Christmas. And if the weather was going to be miserable that day it would mean we would be stuck in the apartment, a lost day of sightseeing. It would be a restful day, but unwanted. But you can’t believe everything you read on the Internet. Thank goodness Christmas day turned out to be sunny and a splendid day of new experiences.

On the train from Amsterdam to Paris via Brussels

This was our 3rd visit to France and 5th to Paris (what makes you think it is one of our favorite destinations) and walking the rues, between all those Haussmannian pierre de taille (dressed stone) buildings and seeing all those familiar landmarks again made me feel I’m home again. Even using the metro has become second nature.

And for not believing everything you read on the internet, well that is true. On previous occasions we have stayed in the 3^rd, 4^th, 6^th 10^th arrondissements and this time our apartment was in the 11^th. It was a little outside the usual tourist area and on the internet it showed there were several grocery stores in our area. However, arriving late on a Sunday afternoon we were in need of some basic groceries like milk, coffee, bottled water, wine (always, but specifically not needed on that day because I bought a bottle of South African red wine, a Nederburg Cabernet Sauvignon in Amsterdam) and also some vegetables, butter, cheese, etc. because I had to make dinner that night with some sausage we bought at a Christmas market in Amsterdam, which was supposed to be dried, but was not at all.

Google maps showed that all the groceries stores in the area would be closed by 12 noon with the last one opened only until 2 pm. We arrived at our apartment after 4 pm and immediately went searching for an open store, hopeful for a non-French owned produce store that sometimes also sells a few general groceries or a superette along Boulevard de Beaumarchais, which was not far from our apartment. Well, we found a Franprix convenient store, not shown on Google maps at all, just two blocks away and it was opened on Sundays until late. It was even opened on Christmas day until 12 pm. So while M had her feet up and caught up on her emails and Facebook correspondence, I slapped together a Penne with a Bolognaise sauce made from Dutch sausage, red wine, mushrooms and Swiss Emmental cheese and served it up with a small green salad and a few slices of baguette and creamy French butter. The strong flavorful dish was well supported by the Nederburg Cabernet Sauvignon.  

The George Pompidou Centre for Modern Art

One of the places that have eluded me on previous visits is the Pompidou Centre for modern art in the Beaubourg area. It is the largest modern art museum in Europe and two of its floors are dedicated as vast a library for research. I like all forms of art and all mediums, and I like to believe I have a balanced outlook on art. As long as it is reasonably pleasing on the eye or evokes a reaction or I can understand what the artist is trying to convey I will appreciate it. I will admit that since a young age I have had a soft spot for Wassily Kandinsky, Salvador Dali, Picasso and the landscapes of Camille Pissarro. I thoroughly enjoyed the morning’s visit to the Pompidou Centre, M probably not that much, although I have to acknowledge there were some works that totally baffled my mind and which I would not call art. Or rather, “art” that can be done by anyone with a few brain cells, not necessarily enough cells to be talented. But hey, who am I to judge? Their work is in the Pompidou and mine isn’t.         

Indian art exhibition inside the Saint Merry Church on Rue Saint-Martin

After a late lunch, we roamed the streets in a seemingly “aimless” fashion, browsed the open markets down Rue Saint-Martin, popped into Saint Merry Church to look at an exhibition of Indian mixed medium art, sculpture and photography, until we ended up at the Saint-Jacques Tower and from there walked to the Hôtel De Ville and a Christmas “market” on its square. There weren’t many stalls, (nothing compared to the real thing with a festive vibe we experienced in Amsterdam outside the Rijksmuseum,) just a carousel for kids, some artistic natural representation of a festive season (I guess in an effort to attract everyone without offending anyone) and not much more. Dusk was settling upon Paris and we started to walk down Quai de Gesvres toward the Place de Bastille and our apartment, realized its crazy to walk that far in a nasty cold breeze and on tired feet, so we stopped at a Starbucks for warm coffee and some people watching of Parisians hurrying passed us with their last minute shopping on Christmas Eve, and then walked back to the Hôtel De Ville metro station and caught the train home.

One of the arrangements I could secure beforehand for Christmas evening was a dinner cruise on the Seine River. It seems that among Parisians a dinner cruise on the eve of Christmas was very popular and traditional, but cruises on Christmas evening were more for tourist. The only museum that was opened according to my internet research was the Jacquemart-Andre Art Museum, which claims to have an impressive Italian collection, but also had a special exhibition over the Christmas season of Caravagio paintings. But I didn’t wanted to take the chance of buying tickets up front, not knowing whether the museum was really going to be open or not.  

On Christmas morning, the first thing I did was tried to call the museum but no one answered the phone. Maybe they were busy, maybe they were closed after all. Not deterred though, we stepped out into the cold Parisian streets, boarded the Line 1 metro at Bastille station, switched trains at Franklin Roosevelt station to Line 9, traveled to Saint-Philippe-du-Roule station and emerged from the underground in glorious sunshine. At a Starbuck on Avenue Myron Herrick we enjoyed a croissant and coffee before we walked to Boulevard Haussmann and the museum. The museum was open and very busy. Because I didn’t buy tickets beforehand we had to wait nearly an hour to get inside and the line grew longer by the minute. Tour groups and people who bought specifically timed tickets beforehand had preference. However, it was well worth the wait.

Inside the Jacquemart-Andre Museum

The museum was previously the mansion of Édouard André, a very rich Parisian banker during the late 19^th century and his wife, the painter Nélie Jacquemart, who, upon her death, bequeathed the mansion and its collections to the Institut de France as a museum. These two traveled the continent extensively and were great art collectors and built the mansion specifically as a place to display their art collection. I guess you could call them showoffs. Although impressive it was not as impressive as what we would see the next day at Chantilly, but then…there is a difference between being rich and being royal.    

After the visit to the museum we took the train to the nearest station to the Place de la Concorde. We enjoyed a light lunch and a glass of Chablis under the covered colonnade at Café Sanseveria on Rue de Rivoli and then started to explore the area. We have traveled through this area on several occasions by bus, but never actually got off to explore it. But that is why I keep on coming back to Paris. There is always something new to explore and there are still so many places I have not yet visited. After all these visits I still have not been to the Les Invalides, the L’Orangerie, the Rodin museum or the Picasso museum. Last mentioned has also been in reconstruction on previous visits and this time it was closed on the Monday before Christmas. But at least this time I got to visit the Pompidou Centre.

L'eglise de la Madeleine

First up in exploring the area around  the Place de la Concorde was a visit to the church with the most beautiful name, L'église de la Madeleine. It is just me, but the name Madeleine is such a beautiful rhythmic name. Built in the Neo-Classical style, inspired by a Roman temple in Nimes, France, it is a rather unusual style for a church, with its Corinthian columns and beautiful carved pediment featuring a scene of the Last Judgment. Arriving just before 4 pm, the place was chock-full, standing room only, Christmas afternoon Mass was probably to start any minute, but I was not sure. Not that we were planning to stay, we were just drifting through. For a usual Catholic church, the inside was rather darkish but beautiful. From its steps it offered a spectacular golden-yellowish view down Rue Royale towards the Luxor Obelisk and the French National Assembly building beyond the Pont de la Concorde.  

At the entrance gates to the Jardin des Tuileries, M indulged in a warm sugar-filled crêpe. By now thousands of Parisians and tourists, wrapped up in scarves, woolen hats and windbreakers joined us to enjoy the rare sunny day in the middle of winter as we strolled down the garden paths of the Tuileries towards the Louvre. A golden sunset was descending upon Paris and apart from enjoying the wintry scenery, the duck ponds and the statues along the paths through the Tuileries Garden we were making up time before we had to be at the marina in front of the Musee D’Orsay for our dinner cruise at 6:30pm.

We lingered for a while at the Arc de Triomphe du Carrousel, sitting on the stone blocks nearby, more taking a breath than anything else, then ventured to the Louvre to snap more photos, capturing the moment. We crossed the Pont du Carrousel to the left bank of the Seine and at the Café La Fregate, in full view of the lighted Louvre Palace, we enjoyed a hot drink, the very same place we enjoyed a breakfast 6 years ago on our first morning of our first visit to Paris.        

The icons of New York and Paris together, constructed by the same artists, Gustave Eiffel. The Status of Liberty on the little man-made island in the Seine River, Île  aux Cygnes, at the Pont de Grenelle in the 15^th arrondissements, not too far from the Eiffel Tower. (By the way, there are 5 statues of Liberty in Paris.)

  

By the time we got to the marina, darkness has descended upon Paris and a bone chilling breeze was blowing down the Seine River as we lined up and waited to board the boat. As mentioned in my previous post, this trip was not a foodies’ paradise and the dinner and the Bordeaux wine on board was nothing spectacular, but it was by no stretch of the imagination the best of the vacation, visually and on the palate. However, for me it was not about the food, it was about the atmosphere, that moment and place in time, being in Paris on a nighttime cruise, experiencing the city and its lights from a different perspective, and being with M at the end of a very unexpectedly enjoyable exploratory day.  

Paris, The Temporary New Normal

The images not usually associated with Paris.
I manipulated the original images to convey the stark reality of the current situation in Paris after the terrorist attack of 13 November 2015. 

Patrolling the streets with pedal power

and the Champs Elysees near the Arc de Triomphe on foot,

at the Bataclan Theatre

and taking in the view from Montmartre.

Mixing with the locals

and watching pedestrians.

Guarding the Notre Dame

and the Basilique du Sacré Cœur on the Mount of Martyrs 

and the Louvre.

Paris experienced much worse disasters in its past and

the temporary new normal will again give way to the old normal.

It always does with time. 

Original images sourced from various websites on the Internet.



The Gilded Glory of Palais Garnier and Other Stories

In glorious sunshine we moved from one iconic symbol of Paris to another. After our visit to the Basilique du Sacré-Cœur we returned to Château Rouge metro station, took a train to Gare l’Est and linked up with the pink line for a train to l’Opera station in the 9^th arrondissement for our last destination in Paris during this 10 day visit to France. Not planned that way at all it seemed we left something special for last. From the clean lines of the Sacré-Cœur we entered the most opulent, gilded, over-the-top, extravagance that Paris had on offer, the Academie Nationale De Musique, or simply The Palais Garnier, Paris’s old opera house, used today only for ballet. (Operas are today performed at the new opera house, The Opéra Bastille.)

There was nothing subtle about the Palais Garnier. A gluttony for various shades of brown, grey and red marble, a love for gold and large artwork that perfectly compliments the beautiful architectural lines and curves from classical antiquity origin, make this Parisian landmark in the Beaux-Arts style a must see for anyone that loves beautiful buildings.     

The Palais Garnier façade  

We have been to this area of Paris often, took some photos of the opera house’s exterior, but strangely never made it inside. There was always something else on the list to go and see until that sunny Saturday afternoon.

It is not worth my words to write about the beauty of the Palais Garnier. The opera house’s detailed and extravagant interior is something to behold and feast on to be appreciated. It is best that I allow the pictures to tell that side of the story. But there are many other stories about the opera house that lends a bit of mystery to the building and rightly so because it is such a show piece and it faced near fatal obstacles and controversies during its planning and construction.

The Assassination Attempt

After being elected by the French people as the first President of the Second Republic, and after a failed effort to change the constitution so he could continue to be President for another term, Louis-Napoleon Bonaparte seized autocratic power through a coup d’état in December 1851. A year later he was declared Emperor Napoleon III of the Second Empire. And what often happened to autocratic rulers in the past his popularity waned after a few years and he made more enemies than friends.  

On 14 January 1858 Emperor Napoleon and his wife Eugenie were on their way to the opera on Rue Le Peletier, when Felice Orsini, an Italian, and his Carbonari revolutionary friends, threw 3 bombs at the French Emperor’s carriage and killed 8 people and injured 142. The story goes that the very next day he, the Emperor, decided to build a new state funded opera house that was safer to get to and closer to the Tuileries Palace.  After they found a site in the 9^th arrondissement and plans were drawn up, a series of personnel changes at city and government level slowed the start of issuing a contract to an architect.  There is the story that Empress Eugénie wanted Eugène Viollet-le-Duc, one of her favorites, to be the architect.  At the same time another architect, Charles Rohault de Fleury, already completed his plans for the opera house as requested by the Prefect of the Seine and one Paris’s great builders under Napoleon III, Georges-Eugène Haussmann. However in November 1860 when Count Alexandre Colonna-Walewski was appointed minister of state (he got his position because his wife was one of Napoleon III’s many mistresses) he was very aware of the delicate politics of Paris, all the strings being pulled in the background and the conniving antics at the Emperor’s court. So in order not to step on any sensitive toes and cunningly sidestepping the final decision making he announced that the architect will be selected based on a design competition, which was eventually won by a relative unknown architect, Charles Garnier.  Construction on the new opera house started in 1861.

   

A high water table that was discovered during foundation work delayed construction and required a change to the blueprints, and it led to the rumor that a large underground lake was found under Paris. It was totally untrue, but the journalist Gaston Leroux used the rumor and the opera house as a background and cleverly turned it into the novel, The Phantom of the Opera.  

 Ascending the Grand Staircase

Entrance into the auditorium, guarded by two Greek inspired nymphs. Extensive Greek mythology inspiration can be seen throughout the building.  

The Franco-Prussian War

In September 1870 all work stopped when Paris was under siege during the disastrous Franco-Prussian War and the half-built opera house was used as a hospital and a food warehouse, the little food that did make it into Paris. Due to the food shortages Charles Garnier’s health  suffered and he left the city for the country side. The opera house was half built and no one knew whether it would ever be completed.

 The ceiling above the Grand Staircase

 Details of the four panels of the Grand Staircase's ceiling

The Prussian Army’s siege of Paris ended in January 1871 and soon after that, in May 1871, the war ended with disastrous consequences for France. It signaled the end of France’s Second Empire and allowed for the creation of the German Empire on France's northern borders. France also lost the regions bordering Germany, Alsace and Lorraine, and had to pay a hefty war indemnity. It was also the last time that any form of monarchy would ever rule France.  It was the end of an era.

Paris in chaos.

With the brief takeover of Paris by the Paris Commune, a self-styled socialist group that didn’t recognized the French government, 2 months of general chaos and mayhem ended in senseless destruction in what became known as "The Bloody Week" beginning 21 May 1871. The fighting between the Commune and the French Army, trying to take Paris back, came to a head when the Commune burned down, first the Tuileries Palace next to the Louvre and then the Hôtel De Ville, Paris’s city hall. They killed the archbishop of Paris and it is estimated that up to 10,000 people were killed in Paris during that time.

The new government of the Third French Republic was hesitant to provide funds for the completion of the opera house, no one wanted to touch anything associated with the Second Empire, but when the Salle Le Peletier, Paris’s old opera house, on Rue le Peletier burned down on 28 October 1873 the story of the Palais Garnier came full circle. The very same Salle Le Peletier, 15 years earlier, was the scene of the assassination attempt on Napoleon III’s life, and it led to the decision to build the Palais Garnier. Paris was now without an opera house. The government soon after provided funding and immediately requested Charles Garnier to complete the building.

The Grand Foyer of the Palais Garnier, inspired by the Hall of Mirrors at Versailles.

Another interesting story is the one during inauguration night, when Queen Isabella of Spain, broke tradition in her anticipation of admiring the Grand Foyer and entered it with her full female entourage. Prior to this night only men were allowed in opera house’s foyers where they would smoke their cigars, probably arranged for introductions to new mistresses, and did their wheeling and dealing in the business and politics of the day. Since then women were allowed in foyers.

The Great Builders

Sadly, Napoleon III, the man who started it all, never saw the completed opera house. On 1 September 1870 the Prussians captured Napoleon III when he surrendered at the Battle at Sedan. Napoleon III was later released and exiled to Chislehurst, England where he died on 9 January 1873. The Palais Garnier was inaugurated two years later on 5 January 1875.

The magnificent Grand Foyer ceiling.

Napoleon III may have lost the Franco-Prussian War and exiled to England by his own countrymen, but he was a great builder and his greatest legacy is the historic Paris that millions of tourists see today. Commissioned by the emperor and directed by his Prefect of the Seine, Georges-Eugène Haussmann, between 1853 and 1870 Paris was enlarged from 12 to the present day 20 arrondissements and it was transformed from a slum to a city with broad, and in some cases tree-lined boulevards, which linked the most important centers of the city.

I took a break from the gilded monument and gave my overexposed senses a rest, and walked out on the balcony overlooking Avenue de l'Opéra, one of the new streets created by Haussmann in 1863. The street is a classic example of the "Look of Paris". 

The “Restoration” of Paris meant to open up and aired the city. The narrow dark medieval streets and alleys and the buildings alongside them were demolished. Paris was a permanent construction zone. The strict building codes and circumscribed façade designs implemented along these new boulevards resulted in the “Look of Paris”: Buildings were not allowed to be higher than a certain number of stories with cream colored walls and typical French style roofs with dark greyish-blue tiles.

While enjoying a cigarette on the balcony musicians gathered and entertained the many folks who sat on the steps of the grand theatre.  

They were also responsible for widening the square in front of the Cathedral of Notre-Dame, restoring the cathedral’s steeple that was destroyed during the French Revolution, and in my view, probably their greatest feat, saving and restoring La Conciergerie, parts of this old Palace-turned-prison dates back to the 10^th century, and the extraordinary stained-glass masterpiece, Sainte-Chapelle. But there will also be many that would argue that the Palais Garnier was their crème de la crème achievement.

The exterior of the Palais Garnier is just as richly decorated as inside 

This is what we missed.

Disappointingly, we could not enter the auditorium because a rehearsal for the evening's ballet was in progress. The ceiling was given a modern touch during restoration in 1963 by the Russian-Jewish artists Marc Chagall. He needed 440 pounds of paint to complete the ceiling.

Picture courtesy of idesignarch.com.

Finally

Our time and trip, starting in Paris, sweeping through Burgundy and southern Ile-de-France, and finally back to Paris, was at an end and it was our most relaxing, most enjoyable and insightful European vacation to date. I think our do-and-enjoy-what-is in-front-of-you-and-don't-stick-to-a-strict-itinerary attitude rubbed off on our general mood. Hence my reluctance to return home so soon. This time I felt I really left a little of me in France and I took a lot of France home with me.

Midnight visit to the Louvre Museum

A solitary early morning walk through the near empty rues of Saint-Germain and the 6^th arrondissement, the breathtaking Impressionists on the 5^th floor of the D’Orsay, seeing the Louvre at night, viewing Paris from the top of the Arc de Triomphe, a relaxing Sunday afternoon in the Jardin Luxembourg, discovering Saint-Étienne-du-Mont behind the Panthéon and finally the Palais Garnier were the highlights, which offset the average food we had in Paris.

Late afternoon on a country road in Vougeot

Burgundy was refined, delicate, rough, beautiful and stony old. The old city center of Dijon was a marvel that nearly stood still in time. But the friendliness of Burgundians and the superb food and wine were the highlight of Burgundy to me.  The escargots with parsley and butter, the old world Boeuf Bourguignon, some exquisite quiches, and not to mention the wonderful cheeses of the area, all consumed with grand and premier crus from Nuits-Saint Georges, Côtes de Beaune and Volnay-Santenots were gastronomical experiences not soon to forget.

Waiting for sunset in Chartres

The Gothic masterpiece and richly statued Notre-Dame de Chartres, the historic Palace of Fontainebleau and staying in the 18^th century Chateau D’Esclimont provoked my senses to create memorable memories.

After our first visit to France I wrote this in a previous post:

“ If I had to summarize France into a single point of remembrance then it is the sheer audacity, and I use this word with great respect, of the French people, especially in Paris, to build such extravagantly beautiful and detailed decorated buildings. The monstrous and imposing but beautiful Arc de Triomphe or the richly gilded and artistically decorated Opera House is classic examples of this love of the French for all things beautiful and attractive.”

I said it then and it is still true.

Adieu! Viva la France!

On the square in front of the Palais Garnier it is very difficult to get an alfresco table at the Café de la Paix at 6 in the evening. I was determined to spend some time on our last night in Paris doing some people watching at this great crossroads of Paris by copying some French, who doesn't always seem to believe in standing in lines. I jumped the line, well not really a line, more a case of bundling up and I simply reacted faster than the others there waiting and walked straight to a table being vacated, not waiting for it to be cleared and clean, in a quiet alcove and secured it for us. If there were any disgruntled murmurs I didn't hear any. Tea for M and for me, my favorite beer Kronenbourg 1664. And for the next hour or so...