Au Revoir, Paris!

After a good night's sleep and a hearty breakfast, we were prepared to explore Paris on our own. AmaWaterways offered an optional tour of the Marais, but everyone in our group had their own agenda -- shopping, Louvre, Notre Dame or just wandering the streets of the Left and Right Banks.

Several were novices with the Paris Metro, so Jerry and I started our day teaching a brief Metro 101 course while getting to Notre Dame.


The entry line at the Cathédrale was long so we opted to walk around the outside since we'd toured the interior before. Each side is unique and the flying buttresses spectacular.


The front façade is a must for all tourists, and we definitely fit that category!


By now our students seemed comfortable exploring on their own, so we began our day visiting familiar sites as well as some new ones on the Right Bank.  I used to be a "Left Bank Snob" but am finding more and more I enjoy on the Right Bank.

The bridges of Paris are some of my favorite landmarks.  This photo shows the famous Pont Neuf connecting the Left and Right Banks.

It would be a shame to say you had been to Paris without setting foot inside her most famous museum, the Louvre. Considered Europe's greatest museum, the Louvre has a magnificent art collection that was begun by Francis I with four Raphaels, three da Vincis and one Titian. On my first visit to Paris in 1971, I entered the museum, saw Winged Victory, Venus de Milo and Mona Lisa and was out of there in 30 minutes!  Criminal, eh?  My goal, when I retire is to take art history courses so I can appreciate the great works of art in the museums of Europe.

We walked through quaint old streets and stumbled upon this charming crêperie.  The Calvados crêpes I had in Honfleur were
 a distant memory, but one I wanted to renew.  Those here were also delicious, but in a different way from what I remembered from Normandy.  I will keep sampling crêpes in search of ever new and wonderful tastes.

Lunch was followed by souvenir shopping and a stop for cappuccino at the bar in the Renaisance Paris Vendome Hotel.  Two years ago my friend, Tana, and I had stayed there on a Fam trip.  The hotel was as lovely as I remembered.  Coffee renewed my energy, and I was able to complete my souvenir shopping on the Rue de Rivoli.

AmaWaterways offered a tour of Montmartre and Illuminations of Paris for our last evening in Paris. Most of our group joined the tour and reported thoroughly enjoying the evening.

Since it was our last evening in Paris and we'd seen Montmartre and the city at night (lovely!) we slipped away to a romantic little French restaurant and enjoyed a delightful farewell-to-Paris dinner.

I know Jerry and I will return to Paris some day and hope others in our group will as well.  No one ever tires of the City of Lights!
Linda

Paris - The City of Lights

This morning we bid adieu  to our home, the AmaLegro, and  disembarked in Paris.

 Since  our hotel rooms for the next 2 nights would not be ready until 3p, Ama Waterways  arranged a tour of Paris  ending with a tour of the Musee d'Orsay.

Beginning with the Left Bank, our first stop was at the Eiffel Tower which we had seen beautifully lit last night.
 Today's view was the one I recalled from previous trips but still an incredibly striking example of Gustav Eiffel's architectural genius.



From here we continued on through the Left Bank  passing by L'Hotel des Invalides.  It was originally constructed in the 17th century as a hospital for wounded and aged soldiers.  Many other uses were found for the structure and eventually became the burial site for Napolean when his body was returned from St. Helena.




A unique structure on the Left Bank was L'Eglise de la Madeleine.

 Louis XV in 1764 laid the cornerstone but the Revolution haltedconstruction.  Napolean build the huge structure with a Greek
exterior and Romanesque interior.  After Waterloo and Napolean's demise, Louise XVIII completed the work as a church.



Lunch time was fast approaching as we stopped at the Musee d'Orsay.  We had a  1 1/2hr  break for lunch in the area around the museum.  Jerry and I stopped at one tiny cafe but only after placing or order did we discover they had no restroom facilities.  Since this was our main objective, we gobbled down our sandwich and left in search of a 'full service' site.  In the next block we found a larger brasserie and enjoyed a creme brulee, cappuccino and their restrooms.

Refreshed we were now ready to enjoy a tour of the museum and with our guide in the lead, we were whisked past long lines of visitors waiting to get in. A guide and/or pre-purchased tickets is a must for the more popular museums in Paris. The museum's art treasures became much more meaningful as our guide explained the transition from early pre-Impressionist works to works by Monet and his contemporaries ending with the start of WWI in 1914.

As our tour ended we boarded our waiting bus and drove through the Right Bank.  Since we had very special plans for the evening, there wasn't time for more stops -- there would be an opportunity to tour that area tomorrow.

BUT, tonight we were looking forward to a very special evening, the Paradis Latin Cabaret.  AmaWaterways had arranged this event for us as part of our farewell to Paris .  I had read reviews of this cabaret show which declared it to be one of the best in Paris.  I would definitely agree.  From the time we entered this lovely 19th century theater designed by Gustave Eiffel to the closing performance we were treated to what has to be one of the best cabaret shows in Paris.

Champagne was poured as soon as we arrived and wine with the delicious dinner.  And then  the young "Dandy" MC announced it was time for the show to begin. The scenes changed with talented dancers in a assortment of costumes.  From masked balls and musical comedies to modern ballets and amazing acrobats we were thoroughly entertained.  And then the grande finale -- the  French Cancan!!

Back at our hotel, we had a few hours to sleep before our last day in Paris!
Linda

Conflans-Sainte-Honore - Vincent Van Gogh

Our last full day on the river.  Time flies when you're having fun-- and we certainly were.  Conflans-Sainte-Honorine is a busy port on the right bank of the Seine, not far from Paris.

Our itinerary today was a hard choice between  Malmaison, the Chateau where Napolean and Josephine lived and Auvers-sur-Oise where Vincent van Gogh lived during the last months of his life. Jerry and I chose the latter.  I've been interested in van Gogh and his work since  I was in Amsterdam on a previous river cruise.   A statute of van Gogh stands by the City Hall in Auvers.


An impoverished artist, van Gogh only sold one painting during his life and depended on financial assistance from his brother Theodore to continue to paint. The last 3 months of his life were spent in the little town of Auvers, where a statute of him stands by the City Hall.  He rented a VERY tiny room at the Auberge Ravoux, which is now a restaurant, but the room has remained unchanged his death in 1890.

Several of his most famous works were painted during his stay in Auvers.
One of my favorites was the Notre Dame d'Auvers at Auvers-sur-Oise. The small inserts are the actual painting.
Van Gogh's works reflect how his mind saw the scene, not necessarily how it actually looked.


Another was of the winding path up to the church.




Van Gogh was one of several well-known artists - Pissaro, Corot and Cezanne.

Three years after van Gogh's death, his brother Theo whom he loved dearly, passed away.  Twenty-five years later, Theo's widow had his body exhumed from his burial site

site in Utrecht and had him buried beside his beloved brother, where she felt he belonged.

Tonight was the Captain's Farewell Dinner so we felt it would be a good time to have this group photo taken on the stairs in the AmaLegro's  reception area.

At 9 pm we arrived in Paris and had a spectacular view of the dazzling Eiffel Tower from the ship's Sun Deck.

Tomorrow morning we leave the AmaLegro, our home for the past 7 days and transfer to our hotel in Paris.
Linda

Return to les Andelys

We're back in Les Andelys on the day we were initially scheduled to arrive.  The broken lock has been fixed and river boats can get in and out of Paris.    I have been looking forward to today and the optional bicycle tour here.

Again we were docked right by the city and could get on and off the boat at well.  Much better than waiting for tenders and a large group to go ashore!

After lunch, I donned my borrowed (thanks, Susan!) padded bike shorts.  Definitely made my ride much more comfortable.  AmaLegro's bicycle were in good condition as were our required helmets.  I was a bit apprehensive as I hadn't been on a bike since the Tulip Cruise I had taken many years ago.

As the old adage goes, "Once you learn to ride a bicycle, you never forget." After a few wobbly moments, we were ready to hit the trail with Fred, our trusty leader.

We biked down a path by the river to get a great view of Chateau Gaillard built by Richard the Lionheart of Britain at the end of the 12th century.  On our first day in Les Andelys we had taken advantage of the free afternoon and climbed up the path to the Chateau (no easy climb!)

We had passed our first skill's test and were ready to drive through the village.  First stop was the Visitor's Center which had an excellent scale model of the Chateau as well as implements of war in the Middle Ages.  The crests on the photo represent left to right Grand-Andely, Les Andelys, and  Petit-Andely.  The last one is the crest of the smaller village where we were docked.  Grand is the larger city and the middle crest represents both Petite and Grand.




From here we biked through Les Andelys to the Collegiate Notre-Dame  which contains The Statue of St Clotilde who converted her husband, Clovis I, king of France.

It's famous stained-glass windows tell the story of Clovis and Clotilde as well as depicting Old and New Testament scenes.

Comfortable with riding through the town, we rode back to the AmaLegro along a small river that river through the town  The trees lining the bank were turning brilliant shades of red, gold and orange creating a lovely autumn scene.
Below is a photo of our group.  Fred, our bike tour leader is standing to my right wearing a bright vest.  He is a very experienced rider and was  the only one to take a tumble from his bike.  Fortunately, no injury -- just a bit embarrassed!

We sail farewell tonight  to Conflans-Sainte-Honorine, our last port before reaching our embarkation in Paris. How fast this past week has flown!
Linda

Rouen - the Historic Capital of Normandy

 After a good night's sleep and another hearty breakfast, we were refreshed and ready to go ashore in Rouen.  A short walk along the quai and across the bridge over the Seine and we were in the Old City.

Founded by the Romans on the right bank of the Seine, Rouen was made the capital of Normandy by the Viking leader, Rollo, in the 10th century.   Rollo was baptized into the Christian faith with the name of Robert and began a lineage that extended from William the Conqueror to Queen Elizabeth II.

Rouen  eventually expanded to both sides of the Seine. During WWII the modern section of the city was heavily bombed and later rebuilt.  Fortunately, much of the old city was spared.

Walking through the historic section, we passed superb half-timbered houses.  One the top of a gate over the busiest street in the old city is Rouen's striking astrological clock built in 1527-29.  It has one hand showing the hours plus a small window beneath the dial with symbols representing days of the week and a silver spherical shape indicating the phases of the moon.

Built between the 12th and 16 centuries the Cathedral Notre-Dame is an excellent example of Flamboyant Gothic architecture.  The blue stained-glass windows were stunning and indicative of older glass.  Fortunately, they were moved to safety early in the war and later restored to the church.  

The Viking leader Rollo's bronze effigy lies atop his empty tomb in the Cathedral.

Our next stop was at the very modern church of St. Joan of Arc.  The church has stunning 16th century stained-glass windows which were removed from the church of Saint-Vincent in 1939 and hidden during WWII .  A very wise move, as Saint-Vincent was totally destroyed.

Right beside the church of St. Joan of Arc is  the Place du Vieux Marche which was the scene of public executions in the Middle Ages.

It was at this site that Joan of Arc was burnt alive in 1431 after being falsely accused of heresy.  She was later 'rehabilitated' and eventually canonized as a saint in the Church.

By now we were becoming aware of hunger pains and found Paul's Brasserie opposite the cathedral where we enjoyed a delicious lunch.  The rest of the afternoon was spent seeing other sites in the city including one of the Jewish synagogues.

More tomorrow from Les Andelys.  I'm hoping to go on a bicycle expedition.
Linda

D-Day!

The day we'd been anticipating since signing up for this cruise was finally here.  We were going to the Normandy Beaches!  We'd been cautioned to be ready to leave by 8am, and no one was late.  This would be our  'Longest Day'!  One of the guests on board is a meteorologist who gives me daily weather reports at no charge.  He assured me that the sun would come out -- and he was correct, at least by noon.

All our local guides have been outstanding, and Ann Marie was no exception.  During our drive she gave us a wonderful explanation of what had led up to WWII, which actually was a result of WWI events.  I think we all had a better understanding of how complicated Europe's political situation was in 1914 and why WWII began 21 years later.

Our focus today was to be in the Omaha Beach area, and our first stop was at the American

Cemetery.  I have very special memories of this place.  In 1998 I took a group to Normandy on a day tour from Paris.  In our group was a WWII veteran of the Normandy landing.  He is since deceased.  We happened to arrive at the cemetery at dusk and as we walked among the crosses and stars of David, the American flag was lowered and taps began to play.  I can still see the  tears streaming down his face.

Several years later, while staying in the home of an acquaintance in a small village nearby, we had dinner with the Superintendent of the Cemetery.  Again, we just happened to arrive the next day at the Cemetery and were met by this gentlemen.  He invited us to participate in the flag lowering ceremony.  This time I was the one crying as the flag was slowly lowered.

Although most Americans have seen pictures of the cemetery, no photo can portray the beauty of this sacred place.  More than 9000 white crosses and stars of David are laid out in perfect symmetry on a cliff overlooking Omaha Beach.  Exact records are kept enabling family and friends to locate their loved ones.  Those who could not be identified have the inscription "Known only to God."  The Visitor Center is another 'must visit" with it's excellent photos and videos of the actual landings.

Next stop was Omaha Beach.  How peaceful and filled-with-children-playing was the beach today -- a far cry from the videos of the carnage of D-Day we'd just seen.

The Les Braves sculpture stands at water's edge to commemorate those brave soldiers who died 6 June 1944, and symbolizes
              Hope - Freedom - Fraternity.

The last stop on today's itinerary was the D-Day Museum at Arromanches.  The Allies knew they would need a port to keep the forces adequately supplied, but the disaster of the Dieppe raid in 1942 proved the German defenses were to strong for the Allies to capture an established port.  They decided, instead, to build two prefabricated harbors from sections they would tow across the Channel.  A storm destroyed Mulberry A, the first harbor, at Omaha Beach, but Mulberry B was successfully put into operation at Arromanches.  This port played a vital role in the successful advance of Allied troops In Normandy.

D-Day at the Normandy Beaches had, indeed, been our 'Longest Day," but a very special day for all of us.  Tonight we will cruise southeast toward Paris,our final destination.

More tomorrow from Rouen.
Linda




     

Honfleur -- A Quaint Fishing Village

We awakened this morning to views of the Seine River banks passing by as we cruised  to Caudebec-en-Caux, our port for the next 2 nights.  From here we will explore Honfleur and the Normandy beaches.

After the morning briefing on today's activities, we had time to explore the town. We were docked right by the town making it easy to go ashore.


It was Saturday morning and the nearby market was in full swing.  The sun came out making the market produce very appealing.

Although I've been to France many times, somehow I never made it to the ancient port of Honfleur with its picturesque history.  I was certainly looking forward to seeing it on this trip.  I definitely wasn't disappointed.

Our drive of about 1 1/2 hrs was lovely -- with happy Normandy cows with unique black circled eyes. In addition to the happy cows, there were the numerous thatched roofed house, reminiscent of the middle ages.  I had definitely taken for granted the simplicity of these roofs.  The initial construction requires careful application of reeds in row upon row with iris rhizomes planted on the top of the roofs to absorb the water from the thatch.  The roof requires continual maintenance of removing the moss that begins to grow among the thatch.  Skilled workman that can repair and replace the roofs have a waiting list of 2-3 years.



Honfleur was everything I had imagined and more.  A fortification during the Middle Ages, it became the embarkation site for expeditions to the New World.  I was expecting the lovely port with yachts and fishing boats but was totally surprised by the abundance of quaint half-timbered buildings.  Walking through the Old City transformed a trip back to the Medieval era.

Located in a lively market in the center of the Old City, the 15th century Church of Sainte-Catherine was made entirely of wood by local ship builders.  There were no stone masons or quarries in the area, thus wood was the obvious choice.

Leaving the church we strolled along the Quai Sainte-Catherine (waterfront) with its cluster of slate-covered houses dating from the 17th and 18th centuries.  We stopped at a small restaurant along the Quai and enjoyed a yummy smack of oysters and Crepes Normandy topped with apples soaked in the local Calvados apple brandy.

When we arrived back aboard the AmaLegro, we had a few minutes before our special evening at the Chef's Table.  A former lounge at the back of the ship had been converted to a small glass-enclosed restaurant which our group had to ourselves to enjoy a delicious dinner.