On Thursday, Jane drove us and our largest luggage into the city.
We dropped the bags off at John and Lee Lamson's pleasant apartment in the 16th arrondisement, and would return to stay there
the following day.
As long as we were in Paris, we wanted to use our time well,
and took Lee's advice to hop on a bus to Boulevard Hausmann, to the Musee Jacquemart-Andre.
The museum is a grand old house built by Edouard Andre, a banker and art lover.
As a middle-aged bachelor, he married Nelie Jacquemart, a portrait painter, and the two of them traveled and bought paintings
and sculptures, especially in Italy.
| Musee Jacquemart-Andre |
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| Elegant Second Empire house in central Paris |
Completed
in 1875, this elegant Second Empire city house on Boulevard Haussmann contains the fabulous collection of art, including paintings by Rembrandt, van
Dyck, Canaletto, Fragonard and Reynolds. The house
itself is a treasure, too; the monumental curving staircase at one end is surpassingly graceful and lovely. The original dining room is now a charming little cafe, where Beautiful Parisians lunched along with us.
Friday, April 29
After lunch on Friday, we took the train into Paris, transferring
to the Metro, and made it to the 16th almost without incident. Our sole glitch occurred when our train door refused
to open at the St Michel station, and we missed our stop. Fortunately we had a map, and were able to ride on to Les
Invalides, and reroute ourselves with no additional metro changes. Travel is an adventure!
That evening we went with our hosts, Lee and John Lamson
(friends we'd made in Riga), to the Louvre for a great exhibition on Romanesque France. I wish more architecture had
been included, but the gorgeous illuminated manuscripts and stained glass compensated, and the collection of sculptures was
astonishing.
Saturday, April 28
In the
morning we packed up and piled into the Lamson auto, a new BMW, to drive up to Bretagne. With
the two-week school vacations just half over, the autoroute teemed with vehicles, and it took nearly five hours to get to
St Malo, our destination on the western coast. Known as 'the Corsair City,' for its history of pirates, it was founded
in the 6th century by a Welsh monk, and became a bishopric in the 12th century. The ancient center of St. Malo was destroyed
during World War II, but has been completely and faithfully reproduced. Without that telling patina of true age, it
seemed a bit sterile, but remains pretty, and the old streets wander exactly as they always have.
We found a parking space
outside the ramparts, and joined many other tourists walking into the city. Sitting ourselves at one of the numerous
outdoor cafes, we ordered galettes au blé noir, buckwheat pancakes filled with various delicacies. I
chose a scrumptious galette with a creamed mushroom stuffing.
The walls encircle the entire
city, and it is possible to stroll atop them, absorbing marvelous views of the city, the sea and the several offshore forts.
We walked along the north side until the sun's heat made us long for shade, and then cut into the old town, past more ice
cream stalls, souvenir stands and restaurants. The cool inner darkness of the 18th century St Vincent church, formerly
a cathedral, bathed us in serenity before we stepped back out onto the streets.
| Saint Malo fort |
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| B with Lee and John Lamson |
We wandered through the streets, hoping to find one of the
restaurants we'd read about, to reserve a table for the evening. Finally near the gate where we had entered, we discovered
a street entirely filled with places to eat, and we relished one menu after another. Certainly we wanted seafood and
local preparation; our mouths watered as our eyes devoured local delicacies, or at least their descriptions. We
decided to try L'Ancrage, a charming eatery built right into the city wall.
Chuck had reserved us a place to stay, the 2-star
Hotel les Acacias, from a guidebook, and we drove eastward a mile or so, to find it. The outer part of St
Malo is very much a Victorian resort, almost British in appearance. The peaked roofs of three-story brick and
stucco rooming houses and small hotels line the broad promenade above the beach. Les Acacias rented small barely adequate
rooms, but with incomparable views. The bathroom "door," a plastic accordion affair, would not close entirely, but
through our sole bedroom window, we could look at the sea, forts, and sandy beach to our hearts' content. Comfort is
lovely, but sometimes we opt for feeding the spirit!
| Saint Malo seafront house |
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| Typical building above the promenade, this was probably built 1895 -1905 as tourist boarding house. |
Returning to the restaurant later, we ordered Cancale oysters, harvested locally, and
various kinds of fish. I discovered moelleux au chocolat, a rich chocolate and coffee steamed pudding, served
with (what else?) rich hot dark bittersweet chocolate sauce. It was a warm night and felt like summer, somehow
appropriate in a seaside resort.
| Saint Malo promenade |
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| The fin de siecle seafront with old St Malo behind and the fort on the right. |
Sunday
We had the minimal French breakfast in the sunroom at our
hotel, overlooking the sea. Afterwards we walked along the promenade and beach, and then checked out, after determining
that the eponymous Acacias were not on the hotel property at all, but lined the avenue outside.
Our next destination for my first trip to Bretagne
was Mont-Saint-Michel. I remember seeing this lovely sight more than 45 years ago on a poster in my high school French
class, and vowing I'd get there someday. The hill with its stone village and high church towers floated above the emerald
flats dotted with sheep, and I wondered how one found access.
Indeed, this problem concerned pilgrims until the late 19th
century, as high tides cut off the peninsula frequently, and quicksand endangered travelers trying to cross the narrow flats
at other times. Finally in 1879 a causeway was constructed, easing the way for pilgrims, and access these days
is on a wide paved street that ends in large parking lots. Even from there, the church, monastery and surrounding little
town looks idyllic. We walked up to the first walls and entered across a wooden path, through the gates.
| Mont Saint Michel |
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| From the parking lot |
The Abbey's history goes back over a millenium, including building collapses and
its use as prison and strategic military position. The whole thing seems to be carved from the hard granite of the Mount,
and despite the obvious and lovely Gothic quality of the construction, appears to have developed organically. In fact,
from the first chapel in the eighth century, numerous fires, building failures and reconstructions have continually altered
the shape of the place, until 1874, when the French government assumed responsibility for its preservation.
The first sights, upon our entering the town walls
through the 1590 Bavole Gate, were souvenir stands and signs to ATMs and WCs. The second was another sign, informing
us that the Abbey on top, to our minds the most interesting destination, was closed!
Disappointed, we began making our way up the winding
walkways and staircases, unfortunately lined with junky 'gift' shops and fast food vendors, although we never encountered
a MacDonalds! Naturally everything was overpriced, and we didn't linger at any of these purveyors. Nonetheless,
I caution myself that medieval vendors must have been very similar, selling sausages, sweets and pastries, and homemade baubles
and toys. Perhaps our distaste for today's shops is based in the homogeneity of wares, mass-produced in Asia for sales
in popular attractions in western countries.
| Parish church, Mont-st-michel |
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| Built in the 11th century, this church is part of the town. |
The way is steep, and we paused once or twice to catch our collective breath,
each time admiring a broader view of the western Normandy coast, sheep meadows and the sea. Along the shore we
spotted water fowl, and sheep grazed on the salt flats. And the parking lots were filling up; one family had brought
a table and complete picnic of food and wine, and were enjoying themselves beside their station wagon. The view from outside,
up to where we were, outdoes any vista from Mont-Saint-Michel.
| Mont-saint-michel |
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| Difficult steep steps for a vertiginous visitor |
We climbed to
lookouts on the town walls at the base of the Abbey, and marveled at the complex system of paths and stairways leading upwards.
This network, though, was insignificant when compared to the magnificent engineering of the monastery and church towering
above.
Sated with one sensational view after another, we finally clambered
back down narrow staircases and steep paths to the Grande Rue, and back out to the car. Our next pilgrimage would be
a search for lunch!
Through several villages we drove, finding many places closed.
Following some auspicious signs in Courtils, we found Le Manoir de la Roche Torin. This lovely grey stone house, surrounded
by a beautiful garden and furnished with lovely country French decoration, looked like the inn of our dreams, and the menu
outside, announcing agneau pre-sale, the regional specialty, confirmed our initial opinion. We entered only to discover
that the lunch serving hours had ended half an hour earlier, and they were terribly sorry not to be able to serve us.
After our reconnaissance, we realized that the sorrow was mostly on our side! Promising ourselves to return, we regretfully
drove back to the village.
| Mont-Saint-Michel from Courtils |
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| View from the Manoir de la Roche Torin |
Another sign on the road, not so pretentious, beckoned
with promise of the pre-salted lamb we sought. This dish is prepared from animals who have grazed the salt flats of
the area, absorbing salt, and is a delicacy.
Outside the modest restaurant was a display of local liquid wares, cider and wine.
Inside, comfortably cooler, we ordered our simple but very tasty lunches. Thus nourished, we set out for the hot and
crowded autoroute to return to Paris, and arrived there at the end of the afternoon.
| Gate at Castel Beranger |
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| Hector Guimard's first Art Nouveau building |
Monday, May 2
Today we listened to a forecast of cool, wet weather and
dressed accordingly, but spring's typical unpredictability turned the day hot. Chuck went off to scout out
bookstores, while Lee and I walked around the neighborhood looking at some Art Nouveau apartment buildings,
and then took the Metro over to the Bois de Boulogne, a big park on the west side of Paris, where we visited a museum.
| art nouveau drainpipe |
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| We spotted this drainpipe outside an art nouveau building in Paris' 16th. |
A French architect, Hector Guimard, is credited with bringing
Art Nouveau to Paris after a visit to the Belgian designer Hankar Horta. Best known for his graceful gates for Metro
entrances throughout the city, he also created several buildings. One of the most celebrated is his first, the Castel
Beranger (titled by his contemporary critics "Castle Deranger). He had actually begun work on this structure a year
earlier, but altered course after his trip to Brussels.
The facade of the tall building, at 14, rue la Fontaine, is rife with animal and plant
forms, gargoyles and color. It's a weirdly wonderful neo-Gothic that won a first-place award from the City of Paris.
We walked past another block of Art Nouveau, on rue Agar, named for a 19th century actress,
to whom a curvy plaque is dedicated. Several other structures in the vicinity are a similar style.
We also passed a lovely little Gothic church with a bright flower garden, where today
an orphanage is located. After a bite of lunch outside a cafe, we hopped on the Metro to ride over to the Bois de Boulogne.
This huge park, on the west side of Paris, not only offers gardens and green spaces
for urbanites, but contains many amusements including Roland Garros Tennis Facility (the French Open), tracks, open-air theater,
the Jardin d'Acclimatation amusement park, restaurants and a museum. The Musée
des Arts et Traditions Populaires (Museum of Folk Art) was our destination, and we walked through the vast park about three
blocks to a tall rather ugly building with a very wide base, probably erected around 1960.
We found upon entry that the museum exhibits were limited to the first floor, but this
proved to be more than enough, as we passed through room after room of handmade objects from the traditional French regional
cultures.
Ancient tools, clothing and artifacts showed how various farmers and artisans plied
their crafts. Old furniture, dishes, linens and domestic objects showed how they lived, and pictures, games and
musical instruments showed how they played. They featured the cultures of farmers, beekeepers, goatherds and other rural
folk, and showed cheese-making, winemaking, pottery, and woodworking. We saw beautiful hand-carved furniture, lovely
lace from Brittany, great puppets, and blown glass. Demographic maps illustrated the extent of certain styles of craftsmanship,
and overall, we felt we gained a greater understanding of this aspect of French life.
That evening we had a fine dinner at Le Christine, and on
Tuesday saw an exhibition at the Carnavalet Musee (museum of city history) near the Place des Vosges. Our primary
objective was a temporary show of pictures and objects from the Directoire period. Afterwards, we stopped
for coffee and wonderful cakes at a tea shop called "Le Loir dans la Theiere,"(the dormouse in the teapot). Through
the rain, we also dashed around the corner to see a tiny square recommended by a friend, Place du Marche Ste. Catherine.
No market that afternoon, but very quaint anyway.
On Wednesday morning we called a taxi to pick us up at the Lamson apartment on its tiny street, and when none came, Lee called
again for us. Soon we were buzzing through the streets of the Right Bank, along
a wonderfully scenic riverside boulevard, past the Eiffel Tower
and other noteworthy sights, headed for the Gare du Nord, our April in Paris adventure at an end. But our sights were
set on the next episode - Marienbad!
Some information on this page was provided by Jane Alix and
Lee Lamson.
Feedback, submissions, ideas? Email betsyw@mindspring.com
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