  | France |
In April I took a short trip to France, mainly to see the WWII beaches of Normandy. Also in the province of Normandy is the famous abbey of Mont-Saint Michel. It's a small island off the Atlantic coast that becomes an island twice a day when the tide comes in. Everyone has seen photos of it, on numerous calendars and in books. So, of course, I just had to see it myself. After Normandy I took a brief tour of the province of Brittany, then drove as far south as the city of Bordeaux before heading northeast to the city of Chartres.
I also wanted to see Paris again, as that city is one of my favorites in the world. It has so many iconic sites, with such an incredible history, both good and bad.
Paris
Following WWI, in 1919, Nora Bayes had a hit song, "How Ya Gonna Keep 'Em' Down on the Farm Once They've Seen Paree.?" The provincial and "socially backward" farmer Doughboys were supposedly impressed by the sights and lights of glamorous Paris. I can see why, as I was a bit of a "socially backward" farm kid from Newton--though the sights and lights of Manitowoc didn't wow me as Paris did when I first saw it in 1983, and again in April.
Remnants of a hunter-gather village from 8,000 B.C., has been found there. The Romans established the city of Lutetia there in 52 B.C. After they left, Paris became Christian. It really became an impressive city with the structures built during the reign of King Louis XIV beginning in 1661. Things generally went well until they all fell apart in 1789 when the French Revolution ended the monarchy, for a while at least, resulting in the cutting off of the heads of King Louis XVI and his wife, Marie Antionette. Napoleon Bonaparte, a military genius, became emperor in 1804. He was deposed in 1814, but he raised an army to regain power in 1815, only to lose his empire for good at the famous battle of Waterloo. Finally, for a while the Nazis did a little better, occupying Paris from 1940 until 1944, when Patton's 3rd Army booted them back to Germany.
The Eiffel Tower is 894 feet high and was built in 1889.
 Notre Dame Cathedral was completed in 1345. It is now being repaired after the fire in 2019. |  The Arc de Triomphe, 162 feet high, was completed in 1836 |
The Louve art gallery was completed in 1793.
National Academy of Music or The Paris Opera
 Palace de Concorde, site of most guillotine executions |  Versailles Palace, begun in 1671, with 2300 rooms |
The Versailles gardens cover three square miles
Normandy and Brittany
Normandy and Brittany are two provinces in the northwest of France, both being on the Atlantic coast. The former, of course, is famous for having the beaches that were the landing spots for the American, British, and Canadian forces on D-Day, June 6th, 1944. Normandy is also famous for the launching site of the conquest of England in 1066 by William the Conqueror. Its most iconic view is of Mont-de-Michel, the abbey that seems to float on the sea when the tide is in.
Brittany was the last bastion of the Celtic tribes, and until recently its residents spoke their own language, a Gaelic-based one. I did not hear anyone speaking it, though one man told me that he did.
 On the causeway to the abbey |  View of the causeway from the top of the abbey |
Begun in the 6th and 7th Centuries, it became a monastery in the 8th Century.
Looking up to the upper floors
The Cloisters
The dining hall
A memorial on Omaha Beach
Looking towards the route up the cliffs taken by Americans
A German bunker
Sword Beach, where the British landed
Bayeax Cathedral, near the Normandy beaches, built in 1077
A windmill and a field of rape, used to make canola oil
Over 3000 of these Carnac Stones at Menec were placed here from 4500-3000 B.C.
Cathedral of Our Lady of Chartres, 371 feet high
 Chartres Cathedral, built from 1194-1252 |  Chartres Cathedral |
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