tomorrow

to eht


This is Saturday, June 14th 0r 15th. I am not sure of the date, since one loses track of time when on a vacation. The last two days, Will and I spent in Puyisseguin, a small town of less than 500 souls in the Saint Emilion wine region.

We ate dinner in Saint Emilion, the best known and most beautiful of the wine villages the east of Bordeaux. The sky is a beautiful Robin's egg blue that turns darker as the evening comes on.


Our food the first night in Saint Emilion was at a cafe half way up the hill from the main square. Will had prawns and I had the steak. The food was delicious.


On night two, we returned to the main square. We started with an appetiser of snails in the shell. For the main course, Will had chicken in a red sauce and I had an almost never ending bucket of mussels with French fries. The beer I drank was a Belgian beer, Leff, a little sweeter to the taste than most beers, but good.

Dinner is always best at 9 o'clock or later. By then the hot sun has cooled off and the color of the sky begins to change from the bright pale blue to the rich blue colors of the evening and then the dark indigo blue of the night. the weather is perfect, not as hot as Wichita, cool in the evening, without the need for a sweater or jacket.

bordeaux

Bordeaux is a large city with over a million inhabitants in southwest France; it is the cpital of the Aquitaine region and the center of the famous Bordeaux vinyards. The city is not worth a visit. The traffic is slow and congested. Be prepared to stop repeatedly for red lights, bicycles, and pedestrians. In a country of beautiful cathedrals and ancient buildings, Bordeaux finds itself left out.

Instead, plan to visit the historic chateau and vinyards that surround the city. Again, traffic is a nightmare until one leaves the city and excapes into the countryside.

saint emilion

In the eighth Century, a Breton monk, Emilian came to what is now known as Saint-Emilion. He left his family and native region to take holy orders. Originally a victim of injustice, he reacted by being kind. The forests of the area are now gone and the hillsides are terraced with rows of grape vines producing the rich reds, and occasional white grapes of Bordeaux.

The countryside is now sprinkled with chateau, each one proudly displaying its name and vintage. Even Chateau Roche in Puisseguin, just to the east of Saint Emilion and west of Montagne, the town in which we are staying, proudly markets its own Chateau Roche Margaux and Premier.

The Chateau Roche is an eighteenth century edifice,built of the native limestone that makes up the bedrock of the hills of the region of Saint Emilion. The rooms are well-kept. The overall feeling is one of peace and quiet. Everyone at the hotel goes to bed early having, presumably, spent much of the day drinking many of the wines of the area.

training on the eifel tower

The Eiffel Tower is Paris' most recognized tourist destination. For Will it is also a way to train as he races up the stairs to the second floor high above the streets of Paris.

No sweat.

No pain, no gain.

Just do it.

Hey, Real Madrid just paid 110 million Euros for Christian Renaldo. Not bad.

last night in paris

The last dinner in Paris was at les Halles at the Pied au Cochon, the Pig's Feet. This restaurant celebrates the pig, every single bit and morsel of it, from the ear to the foot. The experience is interesting, to say the least. Imagine shopping at Pet's Smart for treats for your dog, you know, the knuckle bones and ears, then cooking them to perfection and serving this as a dish to French palates. It works. The taste is slightly meaty, more so fatty and salty. Be prepared for cartilage, grissle and fat, plenty of it.

Everything at the Pied au Cochen is done to perfection. The staff of waiters are professional. The plates are delivered steaming hot. The wate is replaced when needed. The check is delivered when requested.

Don't foget to try the French onion soup as an appetiser. It is thick hot and tasty, a meal in itself. The portions are all large by French standards.

While the desserts look good, we left to try the ice cream at the Ile St. Louis. This is real French ice cream and not Italian gelato. The taste is thick and creamy, a little goes a long way.

paris by arrondisement

Paris is divided into 20 districts or arrondisements. The hotel Left Bank St.Gemain is located in the 6e, just where the the Left Bank or Rive Gauche (5e) is located. Both districts are south of the Seine River. The a

reas are the familiar haunts of Ernest Hemingway, F. Scott Fitzgerald, and Gertrude Stein - the lost generation of the post World War I years. The Latin Quarter is also home to the Sorbonne and hence, the name Latin from the students who spoke the language.

The Louvre which is directly north across the Seine, is the first or 1er district. Again, going north is the 2e district, the Borse, France's financial market.

Going west from the Louvre across the Tuilleres, one enters the Champs Elysees, the 8e and the premier shopping district of Paris. Here one finds Niketown, Addidas, Louis Vouton, Renault, and other famous names. The Champs-Elysees ends at the Arc de Triomphe.

Crossing back across the Seine from 8e to the south one enters the 7e where the Eiffel Tower is located. The 7e is also home to the Hotel Invalides and Napolean's tomb.

Back north of the river and north of 2e is 9e, the Opera where many of the famous Parisian department stores, including Printemps, are located. The 9e is also home to Pigalle, a less attractive area.

Further north is 18e, the Montmarte, once famous for its Bohemean atmosphere, not as much today. Still, on weekends it is a good place to wander and find an artist who will do your portrait.

Far to the east is the 11e where the Bastille once stood. The area is blue collar chic and graffiti strewn. Artistes walk the street of rue Oberkampf.

Jack Hemingway

Reading Earnest Hemingway's A Moveable Feast - the story of Hemingway's post World War I years in Paris, France - we learn that Hemingway and his wife Hadley had, at the time, an infant son named Bumby. Bumby was a nickname of course; his real name was John or Jack, as he was called throughout his life. Jack was the father of Margaux and Muriel Hemingway, and himself an interesting individual.

There are at least two great stories of Jack. One was his experience as an OSS officer who was captured by the Germans behind enemy lines near Vosges in September of 1944. You can read of his father's attempts to free him in Hemingway's Final Years, by John Reynolds. I would like to find Jack's own story somewhere, but haven't so far.


The other interesting story is Jack's later year reminesence of life in Paris with his father before the divorce of Hadley and Ernest. You can read this in Hemingway in Sun Valley. We learn from Jack that the years recounted in Hemingway's book were abridged. In a Moveable Feast, Bumby appears as an infant in a crib, but according to Jack's own recollections, he lived in Paris at least until kindergarten. Jack remembers accompanying his father to Shakespeare & Company where Ernest, too poor at the time to purchase books, rented books to read from Sylvia Beach.

"I’d get to go with him to Shakespeare & Company on the rue de l’ Odeon," Jack recalled. "The store had a little semi-attic that was at a level just above the ground floor. There were some children’s books up there that I’d look at while Papa was down below talking to Sylvia Beach or James Joyce. I’d give anything to have had the perspicacity or to have been a child savant to remember everything that went on."

Memories are inexact. That his father remembers Bumby as an infant, while Jack remembers life in Paris from the kindergarten years is not surprising. Jack could not, in any event, remember life as an infant, and Ernest is more likely to remember the first years when his impressions of Paris, and the writers who lived there, were new and fresh. Later, when Hemingway had an affair with Pauline is, after all, the beginning of the end, when the grandeur of the Paris years was to fade.

If you would like to see photos of the years in Paris visit the John F. Kennedy Library.

Will

Luke 12:48 “To whom much is given much is expected”.

Okay, so Will, my son who is 15 years old, gets to go to Europe. There we will tour France, Spain, Italy and England. It is an ambitious itinerary and I am sure that we will at times be traveling at break-neck speed to see it all. Even then, like at the dinner table, you have to push yourself away from the feast with your arms and say,"Enough!"

I ask a lot from my son, but I also ask that he enjoy life for it passes by all too quickly.

Will, I would like it if you would blog daily on your trip, so that you can learn the discipline and joy of writing. Hey, this is probably how Anthony Bourdain started out.

hotel booking

In the past BC (short-hand for before computers and the internet), hotels were booked through the use of Fodor's, Frommer's, or by asking at the front desk for a recommendation in the next town. Now AC (after computers make it all so easy), I can go on-line and choose from a number of booking agencies that list all the hotels in the area, google map the destinations, and then list all the amenities and reviews.

The computer prints out the confirmation.

For instance, Will and I are travelling from Paris to Bordeaux, a distance of five hours. Booking.com lists hotels in the St.Emilion area, ranging in price from 40 euros to 400 euros. I was able to see pictures of the room, google map my destination, and check for parking and free internet connect. You can make the room reservation and incur no cancellation fee up to two days prior to the reservation. I got a room at Logis Hostellerie Du Château De Roques for 90 euros.


Let's see how it works.

Poiteau and Aquitaine

It is five hours from Paris to Bordeaux by car, three hours by train (TGV).

Thirty minutes east of Bordeaux is St.Emilion, an ancient village and appellation of a fine red wine and home to several villages. Famous chateaux in the region include Figeac, Cheval Blanc, Margaux, and Ausane. The travel route from Paris puts you on the A10, then a62, and, finally, A89. The official website for St.Emilion is helpful.

There are eight villages ranging in size from just 212 citizens, St. Hippolyte, to over 2000, St. Emilion.

There are quite a few restaurants listed by the official website.

Photo 2007 by Monk-san, as posted by Trip-Advisor.

itineray - after Paris traveling west

After three days in Paris, Will and I will be rested and ready to explore the rest of France. We are heading west towards Spain and we will have to make a choice.

Choice one is to head north to the city Rouen, then along the Normandy coast to Brittany. On the border of Normandy and Brittany is Mont-St-Michel. This route adds a day to our itinerary as the coast of Brittany is a two hundred mile circuit.

Choice two is to go directly west and then south to Orleans, Tours, and the Loire Valley. This route eliminates Normandy and Brittany and connects up with either Nantes or Poitiers. Eventually, we will reach the region of Bordeaux.

Parisian Foodies

Will loves to cook. So, a visit to the best open air food markets is a must.

The Marche Buci, rue de Buci, 6e, a traditional French food market, is in the Latin Quarter and close to our hotel. Anytime but Monday.

Next, march over to Christian Constant, 37 rue d'Assas, 6e, for delicious chocolates.

Cheese shops (fromageries) are everywhere. A list of the best in central Paris is at DiscoverFrance. Since it's close by the Latin Quarter where Will and I are staying, check out Androuet sur le Pouce, 134 Rue Mouffetard, 5e (Pantheon, just south of the Latin Quarter) for a cheese bar, where you can have a selection of cheeses, starting at five and a price of eleven euros. If your hungry, have a larger plate. Remember they are closed from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m., so plan accordingly.

For upscale gourmet products, visit Fauchon at 26 place de la Madeline, 8e. Then visit Hediard, at 21 place de la Madeline. They are close to the Champs d'Lycee so work it in with a visit to the department stores Au Printemps and Galeries Layfayette. A complete list of food markets can be found at DiscoverFrance.

The old Forum des Halles is not what it used to be, and not worth a visit.

Shopping in Paris

Shopping in Paris is one of the great free activities, that is unless you buy. Flea markets, fashion, books, artists, and more; a great outline of all the shopping you could possibly dream of, and more, can be found in the Frommer's Guide, either the Paris or France edition.

Another great website is Discover France, where you will find individual directories to booksellers (librairies), covered markets (march couvert), outdoor markets (marche en plein-air), and department stores (magasins), or specialty shops, including cheese shops (fromageries), chocolate (chocolatiers), and the famous Paris bakery (boulangeries).

Kaboodle shows Paris by District and Arrondiesment. It also gives some links to activities to do while in Paris.

The best way to figure out where to shop is to go to Frommer's Guide on Shopping. Then check out the map to find which arronidement the shopping is in.

Will and I are staying in the Latin Quarter, 6. On the Rue du Bac behind the wealthy residential area is shopping for the very rich. The Galerie Adrien Maeght with posters starting at 4.6 euros, is at 42 Rue du Bac. The left Bank is also famous for its booksellers. Choices include: Tea and Tattered Pages, 24 rue Mayer; The Village Voice, 6 rue Princesse; and, just over the line in arrondisement 5 is Shakespeare and Company, rue de l'Odeon (home to Sylvia Beach, "mother of the lost generation").

Much of the great shopping is located in and around the Avenue De Champs d'Lycee in arrondisement 8 (8e). Anna Lowe, 104 rue du Faubourg Ste Honore, for women's fashions. Slightly further away in 9e, along Boulevard Haussmann, Pigalle, are the large department stores of Au Printemps and Galeries Layfayette.

Antiques, check out Village St-Paul, 23-27 rue St-Paul in 4e. You are close to the Marche aux Fleurs, place Louis-Lepine on the Ile de la Cite.

The Paris Art Market is at the foot of the Montparnasse Tower in 14e.

The best flea market is Marche aux Puces de Clingancourt, avenue de la Porte de Cligancourt, in a suburb north of 18e. So, make it a day trip with a visit to the famous area of Montmarte where Toulouse Latrec wandered about.

There is so much more, but isn't this good enough for starters?

Letter to my daughter Hannah

Hannah,

This is my first blog post. Since Will and I are getting ready to travel to Europe for the summer, it seems like a great way to keep in touch.

We leave June 8, 2009 and arrive in Paris, France the following day. We will be staying for three days and nights at the Hotel Left Bank, barely two blocks from the Cathedral of Notre Dame. We will be close to the Boulevard St.Germain, Rue Mouffetard, and across the river Seine from the old city.

Dad