Normandy (part 1)

     Last week, we spent five days in Normandy with our cousins Erica and Larry, and Jessica's sister Erica. We had a great trip, and an opportunity to reflect on the profound waste and tragedy of war. We also began to better understand a kind of bipolar attitude that the French have toward Americans. On one hand, many of the French demonstrate an attitude ranging from borderline toleration to outright distain for American ways. On the other hand, there is hero worship to this day for the huge role the United States played and the sacrifice our soldiers made to liberate France in 1944. There is no better place to see all of this in play than Normandy.

We started our trip by taking the train from Paris to the city of Rouen in Upper Normandy, well east of our final destinations. During our walk around Rouen, it did not take long to discover remnants of WWII shellings.

City Hall (still in use)

Rouen may be best known for the Cathédrale Notre-Dame de Rouen. At 151 meters (495 feet), it was the tallest building in the world from 1876 to 1880, and remains the tallest church in France.

 Cathédrale Notre-Dame de Rouen

The following morning, we walked to Europcar and rented two cars, a Fiat 500 for Jessica, Erica and Eric, and a Citroën for Erica and Larry.

Our Fiat in front with Larry and the Citroën in the background

The cars would be our companions for the next four days. Both cars had manual transmissions, as do most rental cars in Europe. Off we went toward the Normandy beaches; more about that on the next entry.

Jardin des Plantes

Jardin des Plantes lower right (google earth)

A while ago, we decided to visit Jardin des Plantes in the 5th arrondissement on the left bank. As the name suggests, this is a park consisting of garden plants. The Paris Museum of Natural History is located at the southern end of the garden.

We did not visit the museum this time, but we did have a delightful day hiking through the park, looking at and photographing the plants. Here are some of those photos.

Bois de Bologne & Fondation Louis Vuitton

created in Paris by architect Frank Gehry

October 27 was Erica's birthday. It was also Opening Day for the Foundation Louis Vuitton, the Frank Gehry designed museum in the large park in west Paris, Bois de Bologne.

We set off for the woods of Bois de Bologne that day for a long hike through the park. One of our stops was at the magnificent structure of the museum.  With the mob of first-day visitors queuing up, we had no intent on visiting the museum that day.

We returned on November 5 with our cousins Erica and Larry, who were visiting from San Francisco.  This time we came prepared with tickets purchased online.  What we saw on that brisk, clear, beautiful day took our breath away.

reflecting pool before the waterfall

(see waterfall below)

reflections of a residential community

just outside the park

The brainchild of the French luxury-goods conglomerate Bernard Arnault, the contemporary art museum required court battles, an act of the National Assembly, and $143 million to create. Architectural Digest calls it a “bewitching and majestic…shiplike bellowing of glass sails…that alights in the park with the…delicacy of Winged Victory”.  The art critic for The Guardian was far less impressed, dismissing Gehry’s masterpiece as a “mess of white blotches…sculpted like whipped meringue…a thicket of steel struts and wooden beams forced into improbable shapes” that look “like a chrysalis or a strange beetle”.

We agree with the critic from Architectural Digest. Look at our photographs and links and judge for yourself.

Perhaps most interesting was the framing of the the city though the glass shell, and the large video displays that could be seen within the lower levels of the museum.

Tour Montparnasse behind                                                              Tour First

                                       The Eiffel Tower

aerial views captured from a video displays

in the lower level of the museum

Salon du Chocolat

Friday October 31 (Halloween) - what better way to celebrate this sugar-infused holiday than to pay a visit to the 20th anniversary of the Salon du Chocalat at the Porte de Versailles in Paris (same location as the auto show).

     The Salon du Chocolat attracted 120,000 visitors who sampled chocolates, pastries, and other confections from France, Italy, Belgium, Japan, Switzerland, Brazil, Lithuania, and Madagascar to name only a few of the countries represented by the 220 exhibitors. Various chocolate accessories and apparel were also on exhibit. The Salon du Chocolat is the world's largest event dedicated to chocolate and cocoa.

    To get the "flavor" of the event, check out this link.  For a calorie-free tour of my photographs, just scroll.

milk chocolate?