News and Views

We arrived back in Phoenix last night around 6:00pm. The pilot announced that it was 111 degrees as we were approaching the airport. What a shock after three weeks of temperatures in the 60s!

It was a great trip. We met a lot of friendly and helpful French people, who don’t deserve their reputation of hostility towards Americans. If you approach them respectfully they will reciprocate likewise.

Annecy in the foothills of the Alps was wonderful. Gisele and I are talking about going back there sometime and spending a few weeks, perhaps taking classes at a language institute.

Normandy was very moving, and prompted me to read “The Longest Day”, about the D-Day invasion. There is a lot of history in the area, and plenty of museums to display it.

The excesses of Versaille, the enormous estate built by Louis the 14th, helped me understand what pushed the French people to revolution a few years later. So much opulence while the people were starving in the streets. While there are still great inequities of wealth in the world, democracy tends to reduce the ability of a head of government to grab all the wealth for himself.

With the excepting of having my phone picked from my pocket, the time in Paris was also pleasant. The mass transit system there is among the best in the world. You can generally catch a subway within a 5-minute walk of wherever you are and end up within 5 minutes of where you want to go. Of course, you may walk over 5 minutes within a station going from train to train. My main complaint about Paris is the size of the hotel rooms.

Gisele would probably go back to France every year, but there are too many other places in the world I haven’t seen, or would like to see again, so I don’t expect this to become an annual pilgrimage for me. But I’ll be glad to go again some year, but let me get over jet lag first.

Driving in France has one big advantage over driving in England,at least for an American: they drive on the right side of the road here.

It’s really not bad driving here, and the French drivers are competent and disciplined. Road signs can be confusing. For example, what would you make of “Interdict sauf” followed by a picture of a bicycle? Watch for bicycles? No bicycles allowed? Actually I learned from Gisele that it means “Prohibited except bicycles”. Little things like that take some learning.

We rented an Opal Astro for our trip to Normandy. Opal is GMs European label, and the controls are very similar to my Chevy Volt. The rental agent told me that 95% of cars in France (and Europe, I assume) are diesel, and roughly the same proportion are manual transmission, most of the new ones 6-speed. Diesel fuel is much cheaper here than gas, and gets better mileage. Diesel costs about $6 per gallon, while gasoline is closer to $8. I am getting almost 40 mpg with my Opal, and the performance is quite good. I’m not sure why diesel costs more than gas in the US, but a better question might be why is gas so cheap.

Of course all the measurements are metric, but once you get used to it, it’s very easy to work with. Quick: How many feet in 1/4 miles? It takes a little thought. The equivalent metric question is easy: 250 meters in 1/4 kilometers.

Anyway, we’re enjoying our little jaunt around the French countryside.

After the other women returned to the US yesterday, Gisele and I drove to the small town of Bayeux in Normandy. Today we went to Omaha Beach, the first landing point on D-Day, June 6, 1944.

We first went to the American Cemetery near the beach.

I didn’t expect to be as moved as I was. As I walked through the field of cross after cross, I began reading the names, rank, state, and date of death on each cross (or star of David). It brought home to me that each one represented a real person who had died here in Normandy. There are so many!

We then went to the hills above the beach and explored the ruins of the German bunkers overlooking the beach.

Finally I went down on the beach where the American troops landed and looked up at the hill.

I kept thinking of the D-Day scene from “Saving Private Ryan”. I could see where the German bunkers were located, and I imagined trying to move up that hill carrying 75 pounds of equipment while being fired on from above.

I will definately watch SPR again with a new perspective.

There are several museums around the area dedicated to WW2 and especially the Allied thrust through Normandy. We visited one of the best in nearby Caen and spent over three hours going through the exhibits that started from the end of WW1 through the rise of Hitler and on to D-Day and the end of the war. Audio guides, movies, a WW2 tank, airplane and soldier’s equipment brought it to reality. Today has probably been the best part of the trip to France.

I had my phone stolen out of my pocket on a crowded subway in Paris today. In one moment I lost my:
– Phone
– GPS
– Kindle library
– Flashlight
– Camera
– Video camera
– Translator
– Encyclopedia
– Trip advisor
– Calendar
– Contact list
– Email

and more that I can’t even think of right now.

I was getting on the subway when the person behind seemed to be pushing unrealistically against me. I turned to look at him after boarding, but he just seemed to want to avoid eyes. He quickly got off at the next stop. It was a few minutes later that I reached for my phone and felt that sinking feeling.

There are signs everywhere to beware of pickpockets, and I thought I was being careful, but I guess I was no match for an expert.

I have software on the phone to help me remotely locate it and/or wipe it, but it hasn’t shown up yet. I’ll keep looking. Even if I don’t get it back, I’d like to delete my data.

It could have been worse. My wallet or passport or wife would be a lot harder to replace.

Yesterday we went to the house where Leonardo da Vinci spent the last three years of his life, in a little town called Clos Luce. I stood in the bedroom where he died.

There were many models of his inventions, some of them full size and working, that we could touch and move. Here is his machine for lifting heavy objects, demonstrated by traveling friend Sharon.

We also visited the largest castle in the region, out of more than 300, at Chenonceau. Huge castle and grounds. Somebody sure had a lot of money.

That evening the couple we are staying with treated us to a quiche dinner. Here are Karen, the Madame, the Monsieur, and Janice at the table in the back yard. Of course the meal included bread, local wine, and camembert cheese.

We made it to Tours. Gisele stayed here so many times over the years that she formed a friendship with an elderly couple who used to rent rooms to students. They are too old now to deal with students, but they welcomed Gisele, and by extension the rest of us, as old friends. The lady speaks some Spanish, so for once I could communicate without Gisele having to interpret.

Pictures and more details later.

We took a day trip up into the French Alps today to the lovely little town of Chamonix (sha mo nee). From there we took an aerial tram in two stages to the top of a nearby peak, at almost 13,000 feet elevation. It was very cold, with deep snow on the ground. Unfortunately it was also very cloudy and snowing, so we didn’t get to see much of the purportedly beautiful scenery.

Dale, I was breathing hard just climbing a couple of flights of stairs, so that brings home the need to acclimate before we set out on the John Muir Trail.

It cost us over $200 to rent a van for the day, but divided 6 ways it was cheaper and more convenient than taking the train. I am the only one who can drive a manual transmission, and automatics are rare in Europe, so I’m the designated driver. That’s Ok by me.

Tomorrow we take a 5 hour ride on the high speed train to the city of Tours, southwest of Paris.

We are eating very well. The reputation of the French for cooking is well deserved, but we are paying between $20 and $30 per meal, except breakfast, which comes in closer to $10. At least we don’t have to add tip or tax on that – it’s all included in the price.

Annecy is a nice little city (~52,000) on the edge of the French Alps,  about 20 miles from Geneva,  Switzerland.  The area has been settled since around 100-200 AD, but the earliest architecture dates from the 1100’s.

Dating from the 1100’s above is the “Island Palace”, in the middle of a canal.

Today happened to be market day,  so I got to sit around while the girls browsed stalls full of fruit,  vegetables,  cheeses and trinkets. 

Three of our party don’t eat cheese,  and two of them just tolerate it,  which is a significant problem in France.  We often have to skip a restaurant because there is nothing on the menu without cheese. Of course,  I skip the dishes with escargot,  but it’s not much of a limitation since it’s easy to find dishes without snails.

Tomorrow we will rent a car and drive up into Switzerland for the day. 

Today is our third day in Paris, and tomorrow we take the high speed train to Annecy, near Geneva.

Yesterday was a whirlwind series of visits to the Eiffel Tower, Arch De Triumph, and Notre Dame Cathedral. Today we went to the Louvre. Except for the Louvre today, admission lines were too long, so everything was just seen from the outside.

I took the self guided Masterpieces tour at the Louvre, taking in the Mona Lisa, Venus de Milo statue (poor armless lady) and several other works of art. A relatively painless way to see a lot in a short time.

Quite cool in Paris, temps in the low 60s, with light rain off and on. Annecy tomorrow is in the foothills of the Alps, so probably even cooler.

Gisele and I (and 4 other Chinese women) are going to France, leaving this Thursday and coming back on Friday, June 7. (In case any burglars are reading this, Derek and Apollo will be staying at the house, so keep away!)

We land in Paris where we spend about 3 days, then go to Annecy, which is on the edge of the Alps and just over the border from Geneva, Switzerland. We plan a day trip to Geneva.

We then travel to the city of Tours in north central France. Gisele has spent many weeks in Tours on previous trips, taking classes at the language institute there, so she will show us around the nearby countryside.

We travel back to Paris, where the other women leave us, and then Gisele and I will go to Normandy and nearby areas for a week, before finally returning to Paris and flying home.

Gisele is the only one on the trip who speaks any French. I can read most signs and understand a little spoken, but not much. The French are notorious for their impatience with Americans who don’t speak the language, but a fluent Chinese woman is received well, so we will get along fine.