Trip Part 2: Mont-Saint-Michel and Saint-Malo

After our time remembering the great sacrifice of so many brave men on June 6, 1944, we continued to drive west to explore other parts of Normandy (the name of the entire region) and Brittany (the neighboring region). We began with a visit to Mont-Saint-Michel, which towers over the horizon from miles away.

The church history of this abbey/island began as early as the beginning of the 8th century, when the Archangel Michael supposedly appeared to the Bishop of Avranches and told him to build an abbey on the island, located about 1 kilometer off the northern coast of France. He did so, and the abbey (which was added on to over the centuries) has rested on the peak of this little island ever since.

Since the island is so close to the shore, it actually is only an island at high tide; low tide offers a dangerous, marshy, mudflat which could be (and was) crossed on foot with great caution and trepidation for centuries. Mont-Saint-Michel was a place of pilgrimages for years and years. It wasn't until the 1800's that a causeway was built, allowing safe access to the island at all times. Due to its location (on the northern coast of France, facing England, France's long-standing enemies), the island also has acted as a strategic defensive point for centuries. Since even crossing to the island could only be done at certain times of day and in favorable conditions, and since the island's own geography and the ramparts provide excellent defenses, this point was not only a defensive post during the hundred years war but also a prison during the 1800's. Imagine trying to scale these walls!

And just look at the mudflats around the island when the tide is out:

The island's tortuous (and steep!), medieval streets that wind up to the abbey are full of tourists traps, but are entertaining nonetheless.

The main attraction, though, is the abbey itself. I know this is not the best picture, but I can't get over the image of these three headed into the light of heaven as they ascend the steps to enter the abbey:

The belltower (topped by a golden statue of St. Michael slaying the dragon) is so grand:

The cloisters (where the monks would go for reflection and solitude) are lovely:

The architects had a thing for oversized stone items:

Tiffany was sure to try every side door (which were all locked, unfortunately), determined to find secret passageways to explore:

But I think we all found it rewarding nonetheless:

That evening, we drove over to Saint-Malo, a medieval walled city just off the coast of Brittany (basically 45 minutes further west along the coast from Mont-Saint-Michel). Like Mont-Saint-Michel, Saint-Malo's situation changes with the tides. At low tide, there are beautiful beaches surrounding the traditional walled city; at high tide, the water laps the walls, creating an island effect (though a causeway keeps it always accessible from the mainland). The highlight is walking around on top of the city wall, seeing the medieval fortification around you and the ocean beyond:

At low tide, you can see the beautiful beaches stretched out below:

And look how beautiful God's creation is!

The trip overall was a HUGE success in my mind. If you ever want recommendations for a 2-day trip from Paris, let me know... And, of course, we loved having Ben and Tiff at our apartment and enjoying this beautiful city we now call home!

Trip Part 1: Normandy

Ben and Tiffany came to visit... Yay!! Not only do we LOVE visitors, we especially love the Walls, so it was a win-win. :-) They arrived on Friday and we headed northwest Saturday morning to Normandy, the region along the coast above Paris. Which, of course, contains the beaches of the D-Day Invasion.

On the way, we stopped in Rouen for lunch.

Rouen is home to a very famous cathedral, not only because it is a 12th century cathedral that has survived some serious opposition (including bombing during WWII), but also because Monet, the great impressionist artist, completed more than a dozen paintings of its facades. In those paintings, Monet played with light, weather, and perspective, truly revealing the "impressions" he received of the cathedral, rather than its concrete attributes.

We began our exploration of the Normandy beaches at Pointe du Hoc, a raised point along the coast with sheer cliffs, located right in between Utah Beach and Omaha Beach. With such a location (and German guns that could shoot as far as both beaches), you can imagine what a pivotal point it was. Therefore, on D-Day, 300 Rangers (led by General Rudder, a name which all Aggies know) scaled the cliffs using ladders and equipment from the London Fire Department to take over the point. Only 100 survived the assault, but they managed to control that crucial location, playing a large part in our success that day. The pillar coming up from the rocks is a monument in honor of those Rangers.

The coastline on either side provides incredible views (Omaha beach is just around that peek in the distance).

Most moving, I think, is that nothing about the landscape has been changed. The partially destroyed German bunkers, complete with barbed wire, and the bomb craters are all still present, dotting the landscape.

We then drove along the coast to Omaha Beach, where the tide was out and we could walk along the beach. It was eerily beautiful.

And there were still signs of places where German tanks and guns had sat, fending off the American soldiers.

That evening, we stayed in Bayeux, an adorable little town only 15 minutes from the beaches. Miraculously, though it is by far the closest town to the invasion, it survived without any bombing, leaving it very pleasant to wander.

It also is home to a beautiful cathedral, rather breathtaking at night.

In the morning, we visited the Bayeux Tapestry. While pictures were not allowed, it was REALLY cool (and I realize that I am a nerd, but I really think many people would enjoy this). It is an embroidered piece of linen, several hundred feet long, telling the story of the Battle of Hastings. That was the battle during which William the Conqueror (Duke of Normandy) invaded England and took over the throne. It is because of that invasion that our "English" today is a mix of Germanic and Romantic languages, rather than simply German. Anyway, the tapestry is about 1,000 years old and is fascinating. Plus, there were some cheesy statues in the second part of the museum that made for some good laughs!

Driving back to the coast that morning to visit the American Memorial Cemetery also afforded some beautiful weather and a few nice pictures of the quaint little towns there. So much of it looks like it could still be 1940.

And, as always, the cemetery is a painful pleasure. Beautiful, immaculate, sobering, and sad.

French Cooking: Catch Up

Yes, I know, I am far behind... To catch up, here are the best recipes we've enjoyed since I last posted.

Pork Tenderloin with Blue Cheese and Olive Stuffing

So this one may not truly be traditional French, but I wanted something different... With fresh French roquefort cheese and olive tapenade from the outdoor market, this pork tenderloin was delicious! You can find the full recipe and instructions at the link above, but learn from my mistakes: pound the pork tenderloin as thin as possible and be sure to actually secure the roll with toothpicks or string.

The sauce is FABULOUS, so be sure not to skip that part.

Unfortunately, I think I left the pork too thick, and we did not have toothpicks or string, which is what led to the P-shaped medallions rather than rolls. Of course, since our name is Paxton, it worked out!

Tartiflette

This dish was easy and YUMMY! We made it for brunch, which was excellent, though I'm sure it would be wonderful as a dinner side dish, as well. Tartiflette is basically a potato casserole with Reblochon cheese and bacon... Very rewarding and quick to throw together (though I'm not sure how easy it is to find Reblochon in the US). You could probably substitute another cheese, if you like, though I think the Reblochon is essential for tartiflette's truly unique flavor. Speaking of the cheese, it was too soft to slice like the recipe suggested (linked above again), so Chris molded it into strips and decided to decorate the top of the casserole:

My initials in Reblochon cheese... how romantic:

Thankfully, the cheese melted to a beautiful golden brown (and the RP was no longer recognizable):

I highly recommend both. Enjoy!

Paris Exploration: Grand Boulevards

Unfortunately, when we took this little walking tour, it was raining... So I don't have very many pictures. Instead, though, I'm going to enlighten you with a little history (don't stop reading you people who hate school! ;-). The area on the right bank (north side of the Seine) just north of the Louvre is a veritable grid work of wide, imposing boulevards with typically upscale Parisian facades. Interspersed into this grid work are a few of Napoleon I's Greco-Roman imitation monuments. While this area is quintessentially Parisian (who doesn't think Paris when they see this?), it is interesting because it represents a Paris of only the past 150 years.

Paris is old. Duh. Its history begins pre-Roman, but much of pre-medieval Paris is simply buried beneath the city. Medieval Paris, however, can still be seen today in many places. Notre Dame (12th c), St. Chapelle (13th c), the Conciergerie (10th-14th c), and the Louvre (12th-17th c) are all famous examples of the medieval times. In addition, the windy, narrow streets of the Latin Quarter (see post below) and the Marais area confirm the existence of life when people must have only been about 5 inches wide and enjoyed shoving their way down the street. And Paris existed much the same until the 19th century.

Napoleon Bonaparte was quite a character. As a young soldier in the Revolution and a rising star in subsequent wars (which took place as other countries chose to feed off of France's weaknesses following their tumultuous revolutionary period), Napoleon made a military name for himself. He took advantage of such and took over in 1799, being crowned "emperor" in 1804. Since France had just undergone a bloody revolution to rid themselves of the monarchy, Napoleon I was obviously treading on thin ice, so rather than take on the face and symbols of the previous French monarchy (such as the fleur de lis), Napoleon decided to project himself as the Emperor of the New Rome. As such, his architectural contributions to the city consist mostly of neoclassical monuments built to the glory of himself, his armies, and the empire. The most famous, of course, is the Arc de Triomphe, the Romanesque arch of victory (which, by the way, is at least double the size of any actual Roman victory arch) that sits at the Charles de Gaulle Etoile. His other monuments are scattered throughout the city, with a heavy concentration on the right bank and the location of this particular walk. See, for example, L'Eglise de la Madeleine, which Napoleon had designed as a Temple to the Glory of the Great Army (his, of course), and was later transformed into a church:

But what about the grid work? What happened to all those tortuous streets and crooked buildings typical of the medieval city? That is where Napoleon III comes in. Napoleon I was exiled to St. Helena following his defeat at the famous Battle of Waterloo, and there he met his maker. Meanwhile, France declared the Second Republic and began voting for their leaders again. Napoleon III, who happened to be the nephew of Napoleon I, was voted President of the Second Republic in 1849. In 1851, he arranged a coup d'etat and took over as emperor of the Second Empire. I guess there was a little too much of his uncle's need to compensate in his bloodline... Although the whole dictator-for-life thing is generally frowned upon, Napoleon III did instigate some incredible civil reforms for the city of Paris. Paris was disgusting... For years before the revolution, the French monarchs had been escaping the putrid Seine river and polluted city streets (remember, no sewer system except throwing it out the window to run down into the Seine, which was also their only source of "fresh" drinking water) by staying in Fontainebleau or Versailles. Rather than escape, however, Napoleon III decided to fix Paris.

With the help of Baron Haussmann (a name mentioned previously in my posts), Napoleon set out to redesign the entire city. He wanted broad boulevards: wide enough to avoid revolutionary barricades (think Les Miserables... the people weren't all fans of their newly appointed dictator) and to march grand armies in parade. The buildings were all to be straight, uniform, and functional yet beautiful. The sidewalks were to be wide for pedestrians, and the ground floor was to be commercial, regardless of the area. The plan was to include an extensive sewer system (one which the Parisians are so proud of that you can actually tour it even today) and significant city parks. This is what most people think of when they think of Paris. Almost 70% of the city was redone in this style, although Haussmann and Napoleon only held their power from 1852-1870. The area north of the Louvre is the quintessential Haussmann zone. See the straight streets and uniform facades:

So that is your history lesson for the day. Paris, as we know it, with its sidewalk cafes and beautiful parks and grand boulevards, is a relatively young invention. Although eclectic and claustrophobic areas still exist in the city, much of it is spacious, clean, and predictable because of Napoleon III and Baron Haussmann.

Explore Paris: Chateau de Fontainebleau

At this point, I am so far behind in my posting (my apologies!) that I will be posting some very brief descriptions... Hopefully, you can still taste a little of the magic of Ile de France, the area surrounding Paris. To visit Fontainebleau, we caught a 45 minute train and then a quick bus. All things considered, it was a pretty easy process; I'm thankful for France's affordable public transportation!

Although not as grand as Versailles, the Chateau de Fontainebleau certainly has its own dramatic facade:

This chateau was occupied by (and redesigned/updated) by many French kings over the years, including the emperor Napoleon I. The interior, therefore, is quite eclectic and lavish:

I especially appreciated Napoleon's office where his desk was literally larger than his bed. Haha for the short man:

So although the grounds are not nearly as impressive as Versailles, you can see that the interior is very impressive... More impressive than Versailles, in my opinion. There are some very pretty gardens, though:

And Keeley and I had a great time visiting and wandering around the area. Fontainebleau may not have the fame of Versailles, but it has some incredible decor, some impressive views, and almost a thousand years of history... Worth a visit.