Saint Saturnin

My cousin's daughter Lena and I on Market Square

This week, we are visiting family in Auvergne, my native region, located in central France. And today, we went to Saint Saturnin, a small town of about 1150 inhabitants, where my cousin and his family reside. St Saturnin was built on a lava flow high above the gorges of the river Monne and overlooking the Veyre valley, it is encircled on three sides by the hills of the regional nature park of the Volcanoes of Auvergne. Towering over the village, its church and castle with their volcanic stonework form a spectacular and remarkably homogeneous duo. The church, built in the 12th century, is the smallest of the five major Romanesque churches in Auvergne. Its pyramidal shape draws the eye heavenward and the arches, often in groups of three, probably symbolize the Trinity. Also, the Royal Castle built in the 13th century by the La Tour d’Auvergne family who established itself on this estate in 1281. A perfect example of a large medieval chateau carefully restored, it was continually enlarged and embellished up until the end of the 15th century.  While walking around Saint Saturnin, you’ll also discover dry stone walls and terraces, beautiful small squares and typical narrow streets, this is no surprise that it has been listed as one of the most quaint villages in France.

La Rochelle

The harbor towers

Yesterday, my parents and I drove down to the west coast to spend the weekend in La Rochelle. My younger brother, Florian, was born there in 1977 and we lived there for 4 years.
La Rochelle is a city in western France and a seaport on the Bay of Biscay, a part of the Atlantic Ocean. It is the capital of the Charente-Maritime department, with about 76,000 inhabitants.  La Rochelle was founded during the 10th century and became an important harbor in the 12th century.  The main activities of the city were in the areas of maritime commerce and trade, especially with England, the Netherlands and Spain. In 1196, a wealthy bourgeois named Alexandre Auffredi sent a fleet of seven ships to Africa to tap the riches of the continent. He went bankrupt and went into poverty as he waited for the return of his ships, but they finally returned seven years later filled with riches.  Until the 15th century, La Rochelle was to be the largest French harbor on the Atlantic coast, dealing mainly in wine, salt and cheese. Today, the city has beautifully maintained its past architecture, making it one of the most picturesque and historically rich cities on the Atlantic coast. This helped develop a strong tourism industry. La Rochelle's main feature is the "Vieux Port" ("Old Harbor"), which is at the heart of the city, picturesque and lined with seafood restaurants. The city walls are open to an evening promenade. The old town has been well-preserved. From the harbor, boating trips can be taken to the Île d'Aix and Fort Boyard (an old prison, like Alcatraz Island).  A fun fact; the 2 american sister cities of La Rochelle are New Rochelle, New York (since 1910) and Newport, Rhode Island.

Saint Nectaire

Thursday, May 17 and Friday, May 18 being off in France, I took the train Wednesday evening to my native region of Auvergne, located exactly in the center of the country to visit my uncle and aunt Patrick and Sylviane. Yesterday was a beautiful sunny day, so we drove to Saint Nectaire, a small commune (about 800 inhabitants) in the Puy de Dôme department. Cheese has been made in Auvergne since at least the 17th century. The Saint Nectaire cheese's name comes from the Marshal of Senneterre (a linguistic corruption of "Saint Nectaire"), who served it at the table of Louis XIV. The Marshal of Senneterre is also responsible for the introduction of other cheeses.

Saint-Nectaire is a pressed, uncooked cheese made from cow's milk, made from either pasteurized or unpasteurized milk. It is circular in shape, around 21 cm in diameter and 5 cm in height, and weighing around 1.7 kg. Around 15 litres of milk are required to make one cheese, and the final product is at least 45% fat as a percentage of dry matter. It is the first "farmer" AOC cheese (controlled designation of origin) in France with 6.000 tons produced each year.

France has a new President

Francois Hollande, 57 years old, is the 24th President of the French Republic. The first President was Louis Napoleon Bonaparte (the nephew of Napoleon III), in 1848. In 1958, Charles De Gaulle proclamed the 5th Republic being its first President. Since this date, French socialist Francois Hollande is the 7th one, defeating incumbent Nicolas Sarkozy after a hard fought campaign.
This evening, I went and helped the community I live in and voted, in the counting of the ballots. It was a close run with Francois Hollande being slightly ahead.

Camembert, France

The city entrance, one main road

Today Sunday, May 6th, my folks and I drove to the town of Camembert, France.  It is most famous as the place where the camembert cheese originated back in 1791 by Marie Harel. Camembert has been called "The largest small village in France." Not only does it only count 200 inhabitants, but this is because the area of the commune itself is out of proportion to the center of the village which consists of the Cheese Museum (in the shape of a Camembert cheese), the Town Hall, the Church of St Anne, the Ferme Président (a museum), Beamoncel (the house where Marie Harel, the creator of camembert cheese lived) and 3 other small houses. The rest of the commune is scattered over 2,500 acres. The entrance fee of the small museum also included a cheese tasting, 3 different camemberts.

Chateau du Champ de Bataille

Literally called the Castle of the Battle Field, Champs de Bataille is impressive in every way, with its classical French architecture and beautiful formal gardens. The name dates from the 10th Century, in 935 a large battle was fought in the vicinity of the present day chateau. Two local families contested the battle, one led by Guillaume Longue Epée (William Long Sword) the other by Robert le Danois (Robert the Dane). Guillaume won the day and gained Normandy its independence. Although there is not much archaeological evidence it is believed that there have been several castles built on the site. In 1651 Alexandre de Créqui rebelled against the young Louis XIV and was exiled from court by Mazarin who was Regent. Créqui decided to build a magnificent residence to remind him of the splendours of the Royal Court which he believed he would never see again. The castle remained unfinished at his death and passed to the Marquis de Mailloc who inherited both the property and its debts. It was not until the Duke of Beuvron, nephew to Mailloc and Governor of Normandy, inherited the property that it achieved its full splendor. The Duke made the Chateau his principle residence, but even he was unable to finish the work. The Revolution interrupted the mammoth task, with the castle being looted and quarried. In 1992 the castle was bought by its current owner Jacques Garcia who finally managed to complete the building and to restore the gardens to their planned splendor.

A day at the Chateau de Versailles

Today, I visited one of the most famous castles in Europe: the Chateau de Versailles. I had not been there in probably 20 some years. I’m not going to write its entire history, it would be too long and you can read about it on the internet. So I’ll just give you some tidbits.

The Palace of Versailles was the home of King Louis XIV and Marie Antoinette, who ruled France. King Louis XIV declared himself as the state and the Sun God (Roi Soleil). The entire Versailles site (the palace and the gardens) is set on 19,262 acres, which is larger than the island of Manhattan.

The Chapel took 28 years to complete (from 1682 to 1710) because Louis XIV demanded absolute perfection in design, construction and materials. Towering above the roofline of the palace, the Chapel is by far the most notable aspect of the palace architecturally. Louis viewed the Chapel as a statement of his devotion to the Catholic church, and a statement of the Church's supremacy in France. Thus, perfection was required. The entire complex was completed with the ultimate in opulence and luxury. The Queen's bedchamber was one of the largest rooms in the private apartments because protocol required her to give birth in public. During the birth of Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette's first child, the doctor panicked when 200 courtiers pushed into the room.

One of the most important modern day event that took place at Versailles was the signing of the treaty to end WWI. The Treaty of Versailles, ending World War I, was signed in the Hall of Mirrors. This famous Hall contains 17 large chandeliers and 26 smaller ones each made of solid silver and a total of 1000 candles.

Went dancing in Paris

Had fun last Wednesday with some of the managers from Dentsply. We went out to an old nice restaurant in Paris 8th district: the Barrio Latino is classified as a historical monument, its façade and metal structure are the work of the illustrious Gustave Eiffel. On the ground floor, a tapas bar and the “Red Bar” decorated with beer bottle caps are warm, friendly areas where you can enjoy tapas at any time of day. In the evening, a contagious frenzy takes over the room and temperature rises as the DJ takes over with his sensual bossa-novas and wild salsa rhythms. On the mezzanine, the restaurant, the patio winter garden and the table d’hôtes in the dining alcoves, offer a menu of South-American delicacies. At the Cuban stopover on the 3rd floor, the swirls of “Romeo y Julieta” overlook the superb bar adorned with cigar bands. A VIP Salon on the top floor provides a luxurious and more exclusive to discover new cocktails or enjoying a cosy dinner in the loggia or Moroccan room. After the succulent dinner accompanied with a bottle of wine, we danced until closure, 2am. And yes, we all showed up at work a few hours later.

Easter in Giverny

Easter, Paques, 2012

This Easter weekend, we had the pleasure of welcoming some of our family members from Germany; my dad's aunt, his cousin and his wife. My uncle and aunt (dad's sister) from Auvergne also came. After breakfast this Monday morning (Easter Monday is off in France and is a holiday), I surprised everybody with an Easter hunt. I had bought earlier in the week and secretly hidden before breakfast big chocolate bells and bunnies out in the yard. They were excited, like children, to search for them. After the hunt, we drove to Giverny which is known worldwide, and especially by Americans, as Claude Monet's house and beautiful gardens. Giverny is a small village with no more than 1000 inhabitants, about 50 miles west of Paris.

Claude Monet, the renowned painter, noticed this village while looking out of a train window. He made up his mind to move there and rented a house and the area surrounding it. In 1890 he had enough money to buy the house and land outright and set out to create the magnificent gardens he wanted to paint. Some of his most famous paintings were of his garden in Giverny, famous for its rectangular Clos normand, with archways of climbing plants entwined around colored shrubs, and the water garden, with the Japanese bridge, the pond with the water lily, the wistarias and the azaleas. Monet lived in the house with its famous pink crushed brick façade from 1883 until his death in 1926. He and many members of his family are interred in the village cemetery.

Claude Monet's property at Giverny (house and gardens), left by his son to the Académie des Beaux-Arts in 1966 became a Museum opened to public visit in 1980 after completion of large-scale restoration work: the huge Nymphea's studio was restored and the precious collection of Japanese engravings was displayed in several rooms, hung in the manner chosen by the master himself, the gardens were replanted as they once were. The house become a popular tourist attraction (the Fondation Claude Monet), particularly in the summer when the flowers are in bloom.

Flea market





Today in Gaillon was the annual flea market, in french called "la foire à tout". As the French government doesn't allow garage sales, every city is entitled to hold one flea market during the spring. So the individuals wanting to sell their marchandise buy a meter or two of space in the street to set a table or simply lay their stuffs on the ground. It was a beautiful day for it, our small city was full of visitors.

Le Havre

Today, my mom had a golf tournament in Le Havre with her team. So my folks and I drove to the coast Friday evening. Le Havre is a city in the Seine Maritime department of the Haute Normandie region. It is situated in north-western France, on the right bank of the mouth of the river Seine on the English Channel. It counts about 195,000 inhabitants and is the 12th largest city of the country. The name Le Havre simply means the harbour or the port. France's second largest port experienced the worst damage of any city in the country and suffered catastrophic damage during the Second World War. Like many French coastal towns, the port fell under German-occupation in the early 1940s. Over 90% of the city was left in rubble; all major public buildings in the administrative centre including the stock exchange, city hall, and post office were destroyed, as well churches, the two hospitals, schools, shops and housing. The port was rendered unusable due to the scattered wrecks blocking the channels and access docks. Major urban fires broke out in the city in the following days, destroying what little remnants left of historical significance. The city’s water mains had been obliterated by the RAF bombings, making the task of putting out the fires next to impossible. By the end of the war, a total of 5,000 civilians had been killed, 12,500 buildings destroyed and 80,000 people left homeless  Much of the earth was heavily mined and shelled; the original road grid erased from physical memory. The city was finally liberated in September 1944.
As a port city on an exposed marshy coast, Le Havre has long suffered from poor land links. New road connections have been built since; among the most notable is the famous bridge of Normandy, which connects the two banks of the Seine and reduces travelling time between Honfleur and Le Havre to less than 15 minutes. A fun fact: Le Havre's american sister city is Tampa, FL.

Evreux

Evreux is a commune in the department of Eure, of which it is the capital, in Upper Normandy. In 2011, it counted about 53,700 inhabitants. This is where I went to college just before moving to the US from 1994 to 1996. The cathedral Notre Dame, has been the seat of the bishops of Evreux since its traditional founder, Saint Taurin of Evreux, most probably working between 375 and 425; Bishop Maurusius was present at the Council of Orleans in 511. The earliest parts of the present building, which is mostly Gothic, date from the eleventh century. The west facade and its two towers are mostly from the late Renaissance; the octagonal central tower dates from the late fifteenth century. Of especial note are the Lady chapel and its stained glass, the rose windows in the transepts and the carved wooden screens of the side chapels.

The church of the former abbey of St-Taurin is in part Romanesque. It has a choir of the 14th century and other portions of later date, and contains the thirteenth century shrine of Saint Taurin.

First snow in Normandie

There it is, we woke up this morning under a beautiful white cover of fresh snow, we got between 2 and 3 inches. But this didn't discourage the Gaillonnais (inhabitants of the town of Gaillon, where my parents reside) to walk down to town, like my dad and I did, to get a fresh warm baguette.

Bowling with friends

Went out last night bowling with friends I work with. There were 13 of us and we had so much fun! Monday night, bowling at ParisWest (no not in Paris, rather in Maurepas) http://ak-bowling.com/. We started with cocktails and beers around 9pm and tried out strikes and spares till 2am. What an awesome way to start the work week!

Lisbon, Portugal

Praça de Comércio

I have spent the last week in the beautiful capital of Portugal: Lisbon. I was invited by Dentsply France to join them for their annual Sales seminar. We stayed in a four star hotel Sana Lisboa, situated in Avenida Fontes Pereira de Melo, a few steps from Praça do Marquês de Pombal. We attended conferences and meetings, but they had planned one afternoon of activities. We started by driving around in Go Car or small karting, one person driving and another one being the passenger. We had to follow a guide and couldn’t “escape” from the line. We stopped at the picturesque Tagus River which flows through the capital city of Lisbon, where we took a Zodiac boat and enjoyed the magnificent monuments along the river which bear testimony to centuries of glorious history of the Portuguese. Such as the Bethelem Tower, a jewel of Manueline art, built in the middle of the river between 1515 and 1521. Its original function was to control the access of shipping to the city. Near the tower is the 52 meter high Monument of the Discoveries, by which the city of Lisbon renders homage to all the Portuguese who took part in the great sea voyage of the 15th and 16th centuries. It was completed in 1960 and its design recalls the prow of a boat. The figure holding a small caravel represents Prince Enrique the Navigator. The 25 de Abril bridge, built in 1966 by the same company which built the world-famous Golden Gate and Bay bridges in San Francisco, is 2.5 kilometers long and rises to a maximum height of 60 meters over the Tagus. Then we did a rally in the city, we started by taking a tramway which dropped us at the famous Praça de Comércio (Plaza of Commerce). It’s an enormous square whose spaciousness is enhanced by its harmonious architecture. It is also known as Terreiro do Paço as the Palàcio Nacional, or National Palace, stood here before it was destroyed by the 1755 earthquake. In the centre is the monument to King José I (1775), which reminds everyone that the reconstruction of the city began under his reign. To the north, entering the Rua Augusta, is the Arch of Triumph, in Louis XIV style. We strolled some of the streets and came across some other monuments. The Santa Justa lift, built by Portuguese engineer Raul Mesnier du Ponsard, a follower of the famed Eiffel, travels a vertical distance of 32 meters, though it reaches a total height of 45 meters. The O Rossio Station, a fine example of what has become known as the neo-Manueline style, popular in the dying years of the 19th century. The Teatro Nacional Dona Maria II, neo-classical in style, this was once the headquarters of the Inquisition, or Holy Office.

Portugal

Praça do Marquês de Pombal

I am currently in the capital of Portugal : Lisbon. I'm attending a Sales Seminar with Dentsply France, my work. We're having a lot of fun and I am truly appreciated to the fact that I can visit this part of Europe where I probably would not have gone to. Lisbon has a lot of history, beautiful architecture, many statues, buildings with colors, a few palm trees, yes it is a bit warmer here than in Paris. I will post later with stories and more pictures.

Epiphany

Last night, we celebrated Epiphany at home with a couple of neighbors. My mom baked the traditional "Galette des Rois" (puff pastry with almond cream) for dessert, which was delicious accompanied with champagne! It is kind of a king cake with a trinket hidden inside. The person who gets the piece of cake with the trinket becomes the king or the queen for the day and is rewarded by wearing a paper crown hat. Bon Appetit and happy King Day!

Happy New Year 2012!!

Another year went by, the bad news is time flies, the good news is YOU are the pilot. Did you think about what your New Year's resolutions would be? Many years ago, I resolved never to bother with these, and I've stucked with it ever since. I wish all of you and your families the best.