The intrepid duo of Cassy and Valerie set forth on their fourth grand Gallic jaunt over Christmas and New Year's. Far from being jaded by their regular tours which criss-cross and spiderweb this grand country, they became even more enamoured of her delights this time. There is just no poor place to visit in France! Their mission was to again visit regional centres and towns that they haven't been to before and enjoy the differences from other places while relaxing in the oft seen and experienced peculiarities and beauty that can only be experienced in France.
They met in Hong Kong and a seamless interchange had them catching up in the plane all the way to Paris. Straight on to the TGV bound for Rennes, they then luxuriated in their flash hotel and took in the wonders of the town and parks before going on a magical tour of the nearby Mt. Saint Michel. A glittering view from the Rennes ferris wheel then a whisk off to Tours for their next stop.
Castles of grandeur and beauty, and cavernous, awe-inspiring cathedrals enthralled them in Tours, again the sophisticated trainery in France delivering them in and out of the main hubs. The Limoges porcelain museums and art galleries inspired and their accommodations were similarly suitable.
Paris was even more of a knockout than usual: what to do on your 5th major visit? Apparently a lot! The highlights included guided tours of the ramparts and towers of Notre Dame, the Opera Garnier for some hours, the macabre catacombs, and a stunning New Year's performance of Swan Lake at the majestic Opera Bastille.
They both enjoyed each other's company immensely and loved all the wonderful food and scenery as well as the friendly people and the unforgettable experiences and sights. I'm truncating this deliberately as I've decided to put in a very rudimentary (but looong and detailed) list of stuff I jotted down after quizzing Cassy in preparation for writing this blog entry. If you can stand it....carry on!
Here is an album consisting of just a tiny fraction of the photos taken!
France 2016/17
Highlights:
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Le Mont Saint Michel
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Musee des Beaux Arts - Rennes
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La Grande Roue (Ferris wheel ride) - Rennes
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Parc du Thabor + cat - Rennes
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Cathedrale Saint Gatien - Tours
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Villandry/Azay-le-Rideau/Chenonceau/Amboise -
castles near Tours
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View over the Marche de Noel from room - Limoges
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Musee Adrien Dubouche - porcelain museum in
Limoges
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Valerie's face when she saw all the pieces of
her dinner set available in Limoges!!!
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Musee des Beaux Arts + fountain - Limoges
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Tour Notre Dame - Paris
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Catacombs - Paris
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Swan Lake ballet performance - Paris
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Opera Garnier tour
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Train rides
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Metro rides
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Food: meals + cakes
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Wine
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Friendly people
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Good weather
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Bustling shops
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David's fantastic bookings: hotels, trains,
tours - all worked perfectly!
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Beauty everywhere!!!
Rennes:
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Met Valerie with no problems at HK airport
·
Great flight to Paris catching up on all the
latest news
·
Caught TGV to Rennes
·
Balthazar Spa Hotel - picked by David - very
good choice!:
o
same street as the Christmas market
o
very central
o
luxurious/designer décor and accessories in
rooms
o
bespoke breakfast offerings - highlights:
mushroom omelets; local cake delicacies; fresh squeezed grapefruit juice
·
Issues with gmail - set up new account and ipod
coped well
·
First day very misty; wandered to get bearings; Office
de Tourisme; main square with Opera House and (Mairie) Town Hall - grand stone
buildings; checked out some of the shops + the Marche de Noel (Christmas market)
·
Second day not so misty (3-6 degrees); inspected
local church - Eglise St Germain - on the way to explore some beautiful parks
(Jardin St Georges and Parc du Thabor - Cassy petted cat that was prowling
around a huge aviary in the middle of the park!) Parc had playground,
waterfalls, orangerie, jardins botaniques (botanical gardens); bought local
cakes (couginettes) and macarons to have in bed with Mumm champagne
·
Third day outing to Le Mont Saint Michel; quite
a misty start; walked to gare routiere (bus station); 1 hr 10 mins trip; caught
the shuttle out to the island after inspecting all the info in the visitors'
centre regarding how they are fixing the way the water moves in and out of the
channel - to allow ready access for people without upsetting the ecosystem;
winding street curves up the hill; Eglise St Pierre on the way - holding mass -
very holy with angelic singing; sun out now - blue sky blazing; Abbey like a
cross between Carcassonne and the Palais des Papes (Avignon) with its rambling
ramparts and vast monastic chambers; onion soup and galettes (savoury crepes)
with a pichet of red to wash it down for lunch; clouds return as they catch the
shuttle back - a few spits of rain; arriving back in Rennes they rode La Grande
Roue (Ferris wheel) to take in the lights of the city; circuitous walk home due
to the construction work around the station - renovations.
·
Fourth day milder with 11 degrees top temp;
misty grey; walked to Musee des Beaux Arts - wide range of wonders from
"freaky middle-aged" Baby Jesus paintings to mind-bending modern art;
building itself worth the visit - grand staircases and open spaces; light
spitting of rain + more shopping - wine coolers, D's shirt; funky café Coeur
d'Artichaut for pumpkin soup, salad and pichet of red to warm up! Cassy chatted
with the guy in the restaurant - his family is in New Caledonia and he visits
them but has never been to Australia - she did her best to sell him on the idea
of a visit there next time! Bought cake for tea…
Tours:
·
Caught TGV to Le Mans then changed for a local
train to Tours - good trip
·
Hotel Oceania L'Univers in great position - very
central as well as near the station (which comes right into the heart of the
town - a bit like Newcastle used to be…); very grand foyer/plusylounge room
with leather Chesterfields + "Gone With the Wind" style staircase led
to a 70's vibe hallway (purple carpet and groovy wallpaper) - updated room with
excellent shower! (Rainshower head with strong water pressure in a large glass
shower recess made for happy showers…)
o
Checked out the Office de Tourisme and booked
castles tour for the next day
o
Wandered the town - Tour Charlemagne + Basilique
Saint Martin - nuns praying in the (warm) crypt - I know why they were so keen
to stay there praying…
o
Beautiful city lights + huge Christmas trees
near the Mairie
o
Vegetarian and 4 cheese pizzas, salad and pichet
at brasserie near hotel
o
Cake in bed: flan Bordelais and tartelette aux
framboises (raspberry tart)
·
Second day up early for castles: Pascal is the
driver of the mini-van; two Aussies - newlyweds on their honeymoon - from
Geelong + Henry from Shanghai (working in HK) en route to Cairo to see the
pyramids and often comes to Taipei so Cassy told him about Lutetia (authentic
French café near us) so he can have a little "taste of France" next
time he is there; four castles:
o
Villandry: misty; spectacular manicured gardens
o
Azay-le-Rideau: being renovated - replacing
slate roof tiles; lots of tapestries; parquetry floors
§
Lunch break back at Tours: Cassy helped Henry
order some wine with his lunch; Cassy and Valerie took baguettes (smoked salmon/chicken)
back to their hotel room
o
Chenonceau: large; OTT Christmas decorations
detracted a little from the grandeur of the place itself
o
Amboise: high on hill overlooking the landscape
with extensive views (panorama shots); intimate Chapelle St Hubert with bones
of Leonardo da Vinci; castle with knights; beautiful gardens; large tower to
exit, winding down the spiral "road" that horses used in the past
·
Wander home; vege burger and chevre croquette +
éclairs au cafe for dinner; chilled the Veuve Cliquot on the windowsill using
the bin as an "ice bucket" filled with soon-cooled water…
·
Third day: shopping in the morning - scarf for
Xris, stockings from Calzedonia, silk singlets from Monoprix; Cassy bought
French bandaids at a local pharmacie; walked an interesting circuit visiting
amazing Cathedrale St Gatien (recommended by guide Pascal); beautiful grounds
of the Musee des Beaux Arts with cedar dating back to 1804 - all propped up
like the "giant" bonsai in some of the magnificent gardens in Japan…
·
Christmas eve - no restaurants open - had
forgotten this detail so reduced to Resto Quick hamburgers (salmon/chicken) +
super fresh salads + San Pellegrino mineral water! Not bad!
Limoges:
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Very scenic train trip via Poitiers to Limoges -
local trains so no reserved seats but this no problem; fair few people
travelling on Christmas Day + a few dogs too! (very well behaved on train); saw
fat Limousin cattle in the fields, flowing rivers and streams, and lots of
"dead" trees fly by…
·
Room overlooks the Place de la Republique where
the Marche de Noel is situated - so lots of lights, stalls of food and products
+bustling people to survey from the balcony of the room - even a snow-covered
gentle slope for "cross country snowshoeing" and the snow is
replenished each morning for more fun the next afternoon/evening; also goats to
pet!
·
Christmas night dinner very special: at Le
Versailles restaurant situated about 10 mins wander from hotel, overlooking
more decorative lights in yet another majestic square; (recommended by both the
taxi driver and the receptionist at the hotel); excellent local fare - Limousin
fillets aux poivres and au Roquefort (rich and creamy sauces to complement the
perfectly cooked steaks) with a large portion of roasted seasonal vegetables + handmade
frites - washed down with a local 2009 red; finished off with cardamom crème
brulee; despite suggestion from our quirky waiter (Manuel from Fawlty Towers
springs to mind…), no room for coffee…a Merry Christmas indeed!
·
First day: mild and a little showery; off to the
porcelain museum Musee Adrien Dubouche (patron who collected/funded this
massive collection of 10 000 pieces and though it took two goes at it, they saw
them all! After the morning in the museum, off to the Office de Tourisme -
booked ride on Le Petit Train the next night; then back to feast on more
porcelain…lovely guides there - one (whose daughter was visiting Melbourne at
that time) was keen to discuss the respective virtues of French and Australian food
culture so Cassy's French got a work out! Pooped after processing all that
beauty so visited deli on way home for gourmet doings for sandwiches + flan and
eclairs au café for feast in the room!
·
Second day: mild and sunny (10 degrees): bit of
shopping - wine cooler for Xris, Swatch for Kristin; just a warm up for the
real mission of the day - Boulevard Louis Blanc where all the porcelain is
actually sold (!); Valerie extended the collection of her Limoges dinner set
"Histoire Naturelle" and Cassy bought two white plates with blue
dots; more shopping on way home - Valerie bought Cassy some chic navy suede
pumps -thanks V! Turkish kebabs from "hole in the wall" café full of
Turkish-looking people - authentic dinner of giant chicken kebabs; cup of tea
at hotel then Le Petit Train for an hour of Christmassy French songs on the
soundtrack and a tour all around the city for a close-up of the bright lights
and major sights/sites…locals very friendly and lots waved to us in the train…
very festive!
·
Third day: mild and bright sunshine (4-10
degrees) walk to Cathedrale St Etienne + botanical gardens, fountains and
manicured grounds surrounding the (adjacent) Musee des Beaux Arts in what used
to be a municipal building; cute ginger cat liked a pet from Cassy; beautiful
oak parquetry floors - very squeaky; spent three hours exploring the different
levels:
o
Ancient Egyptian artefacts
o
History of Limoges (with models of the city from
ancient times to modern day to illustrate its growth)
o
Range of art from medieval to modern times,
including some dazzling enamels (for which Limoges is famous)
o
Very exciting for Cassy and Valerie were some
paintings by Berthe Morisot - artist whose work (reminiscent of Renoir) that
they (and David) had seen in the Musee Marmottan in Paris many years ago…
·
Stroll home; Lanson champagne + quiche +
millefeulle and flan de myrtille for dinner…yum!
Paris:
·
Up early to catch the 9:06 TGV to Paris; frosty
cold today (1-5 degrees); fields white, cows huddled, ponds frozen, whisked
along - only two stops (Chatereau and Les Aubrais)
o
Arrived on time at Gare d 'Austerlitz at around
12:10; taxi to hotel in Rue du Caumartin (near the Opera Garnier); in plenty of
time to metro back to Cite (via the #9 and #4 lines) for Notre Dame tour of the
actualTour - longed-for look at Paris from atop this famous landmark; clear,
blindingly bright and sunny; 422 steps to the top with fascinating commentary
from our knowledgeable guide; close encounters of a gargoyle nature; many
photos taken…(!)
o
Metro back to one of "our" (three)
stations - Havre-Caumartin (along with Opera and Madeleine); dinner at local
brasserie - salad, steak-frites, pichet of red; more shopping - scarf for
David; fancy bag for Cassy - thanks heaps Valerie (and Xris)!!! Back to hotel
for cup of tea + macarons (laid on in the lounge for hotel guests…)
·
Second day (big day today): off to metro
Denfert-Rochereau to tour the catacombs; found the place to meet easily with
the aid of David's very detailed pictures and instructions - thanks D!; very
macabre but mesmerizing nonetheless - staring mortality in the face (literally)
is quite confronting…
o
Metro back - late lunch/early dinner at Pizza
Firenze - local pizza restaurant- onion
soup, salade chevre, pizza quatre fromages - delish! (Too much cheese is never
enough…)
o
Metro on #8 Balard-Creteil line (old favourite!)
to Opera Bastille ("new" Opera House inaugurated in 1989) for Swan
Lake ballet performed by the first national ballet corps and orchestra -
incredible skill and sumptuous costumes! Great seats (booked by Cassy online
one day months earlier at school, moments after the tickets became available,
in the small gap between the end of school and the start of a faculty meeting!
(Just made it!)
o
Late night - too hyped up to go to bed so up
till 1 AM!
·
Third day very cold! (-3-2 degrees): tour of
Opera Garnier (the "old" Opera House) just down the road - walked and
found the place to meet our group (Cassy asked one of the guards at the exit of
the bookshop for directions to the meeting spot vaguely described on the ticket
and he noticed that it came from Taiwan; he was incredulous - that anyone from Taiwan should come to
Paris??? Anyway, he quite colloquially asked, "Taiwan, c'est quoi?"
("What is Taiwan?") and thus initiated an interesting chat about
coming all that way to Paris…
o
Learned lots about the Opera House; spied on an
army of workers festooning the main staircase with garlands of flowers - roses,
hydrangeas, orchids… - ready for the final performance of the year that evening
(some modern opera…); mini "Hall of Mirrors" a la Versailles, private
entrance for Napoleon (that he died before using), library + the splendor of
the main auditorium with its controversial re-worked ceiling covered by a
series of magnificent murals by Chagall - a bit like the glass pyramid at the
Louvre where the juxtaposition of new and old offends some sensibilities …
o
Wandered to the Tuileries via Place Vendome (and
indulged in some high-end window shopping…); Cassy's face nearly froze and
cracked off so refueled on crepes Grand Marnier before returning to hotel;
final dinner in another local brasserie for New Year's Eve - carrot soup and
pichet of red from the Saint Emilion region (one of the wine growing areas
visited by Cassy and Valerie on a previous foray in France…); V- lamb, roast
potatoes, green beans; C - four cheese ravioli + salad; later, cup of tea and macaroons in lounge at
hotel
o
Up early for taxi at 8:30 to CDG2 for flight to
HK; freezing cold - snow/ice covered trees - ghostly white…en route to airport;
quick trip so well on time
o
Screaming baby on flight (!) so little sleep; oh
well - head is spinning with all the adventures anyway…
o
Back to work for C; back to pack for V for next
trip!