Personal Experience – Page 2

September 2, 2024

Viking British Isles Explorer Cruise: Irish Baking at Ballyknocken Farmhouse in County Wicklow, Ireland

After two days at sea, we had no problems at Dublin on what was Day 5 of the tour. We dropped anchor just off the Dun Loaghaire Marina and tendered to the dock. The tenders looked rather tiny from the outside, but had loads of room inside. The pilot sat up above. There were plenty of people to help us on and off. But the sea was quite calm, so I didn’t have any issues. However, when a gentleman offers his arm, I take it.

I had visited Dublin before, including during a trip around all of Ireland, so a good share of the shore excursions were things I had already done. There were two that especially intrigued me, but they overlapped so I needed to choose. Ballyknocken Farmhouse Baking won out. TV chef and food writer, Catherine Fulvio, has a cookery school at her farm in County Wicklow.

I tend to watch many of the cooking shows on Saturday mornings on PBS here in the states. I figured it was a good chance to experience a live cooking lesson and spend some time on an Irish farm all in one excursion. I also have some Irish ancestry on my maternal side although I have not yet been able to find out from which part of Ireland they came. The census records and the ship records merely say “Ireland”. This was my maternal grandmother’s father’s mother (a great great grandmother).

In addition to the culture, people and history of a place, I also enjoy learning something new such as how to cook or bake something that epitomizes the location. We were scheduled to learn about baking scones. But, since we were a tad early and she had loads of time with us, she also chose to teach us how to make Irish Soda Bread. Afterwards, we ate both. We had some homemade Rhubarb and Ginger Jam with the scones and some tea. It was all delicious. The scones were much lighter than what I had on the ship. They were more like the recipe I use from my grandmother’s cookbook. I intend to make both of the new recipes myself.

After our lesson and tasting were over, we were invited to explore the farm. There were some sheep out in one area. They didn’t seem to have any interest in us. But they were probably quite used to constant visitors and thought to themselves, “Oh no. Not another bunch of city folks.” There were about 30 of us in the group, mostly from the US.

We had a lovely drive back to the port. Taking the tender back to the ship, I was on the side where I could get a photo of a docked three-masted schooner. I actually sailed on one when I was in Halifax, Nova Scotia, and have toured many others in various countries.

I shot some photos of our ship as the tender returned to it. Too bad the Guinness tour was at the same time as this one. It would have been nice to follow up with a pint there. I just needed to order one with my very light lunch (a small salad with some fruit on the side) on board the ship.

I met up with Sherry and Christine for the evening lecture on the Bayeux Tapestry, by Dr Caroline Malloy. She had some tidbits of information that I hadn’t ever heard or read before. The ship also had representations of the tapestry all over it.

I had visited the tapestry on my Grand France River Cruise in 2021. They didn’t allow photos, but they did allow me to film it. My video camera is a direct to DVD recorder. Whatever I film goes straight onto a little disc that I can just pop into a DVD player to watch. I filmed pretty much the whole thing, only pausing when someone decided to walk or stand in front of me.

At dinner, they were serving lobster tails. I had two with some grilled vegetables and a delicious Chenin Blanc. Sherry was a definite carnivore, usually getting a steak and a baked potato. Christine favored pizza although she did often peruse everything first and then make a decision. She frequently ended up with a pretty eclectic mixture of foods. I mostly went for any fish or seafood they were serving, although I did occasionally go for some meat. Then I usually got some veggies with whatever I got and maybe some fruit salad. The variety at the World Café worked the best for all of us.

Next time – A private tour of a Welsh castle being restored near Holyhead.

August 25, 2024

Viking British Isles Explorer Cruise: Hey, Weren’t We Supposed to Dock in Dover?

I was all set to have a great day when we docked at Dover. I had booked an excursion to the Shepherd Neame Brewery in the medieval market town of Faversham. This was touted as Britain’s oldest beer maker. Then, in the afternoon, I was to spend my time in Canterbury. The excursion included a short orientation walk of Canterbury’s main sites followed by plenty of free time to really explore the Cathedral.

I had already gotten up, dressed, and had my breakfast before finding out that, due to high winds and choppy seas, we would not be able to dock. Instead we would have an unexpected day out at sea. Since my stateroom was on the Starboard side of the ship, facing the coast, I thought that perhaps I would be able to see various parts of the English coast as we went by. But no such luck. We were far enough out to sea that it wasn’t possible to recognize any landmarks.

Unless I wanted to hang a “do not disturb” sign on my door, I needed to vacate the room for housekeeping to be able to do their jobs. I grabbed the book I had been reading on the plane and headed down to the Living Room. There I had a hot chocolate with Bailey’s, which I leisurely sipped on while reading a novelized version of life in southern England shortly after William the Conqueror conquered the country.

Soon we had newly printed schedules in hand and could plan our onboard activities for the day. I was interested in an 11am lecture by resident historian Dr Caroline Malloy on “The Vikings”. One of the reasons I had selected this trip was because I had discovered through both genealogical research and DNA testing that I had some Viking ancestry. Some of those ancestors had moved from Norway to Orkney in the 9^th century. Then, once Orkney became part of Scotland in the 15^th century (and after a lot of intermarriage), they moved down into mainland Scotland before some of them headed down even further to Northumbria and Yorkshire. On this trip, after roaming around the UK and Ireland, we would head on up to Norway.

On the way to the lecture, I ran into Christine and Sherry from the day before. They were also interested in the lecture, which turned out to be quite fascinating. We sat together and then went to lunch. Since I had eaten so much the night before and had a pretty decent breakfast, I had a light lunch. After lunch I had a swim and then rested for a bit before our next lecture at 4:30pm.

By the way, Viking helmets that have been excavated in archaeological digs have not sported horns. So, Minnesota Vikings – not accurate.

Since we were at sea, the shops were open. Out at sea, they were both tax free and duty free.

I love amber. I had first purchased some jewelry of that semiprecious stone while on a tour of the Baltic countries back in 2012. The amber in the shop onboard ship was all from Poland. It came in many different shades with many different styles of settings. All of it was gorgeous. Most of the amber I already had was in a honey color. I quickly found some earrings in a more reddish shade and then hunted for a ring to go with them. I slipped these finds into my purse after giving them my stateroom number (they would be charged to the credit card attached to the stateroom) and headed for the next lecture.

This one was on “Enjoying Jane Austen and Her Characters”. I got there a little early and ordered a Lemon Drop Martini to sip on while waiting for Sherry and Christine to join me and the lecture to begin. The guest lecturer was a fellow named Dennis Fitzsimonds. He was there setting up and so we ended up having a chat about Ms Austen between the two of us. He was knowledgeable on the subject and I learned a few things I didn’t already know.

The lecture by Russell Lee that evening was called “Baa, Baa, Black Sheep – How Wool Transformed the World”. His lectures were quite entertaining as well as informative. The California ladies and I got into the habit of attending them every evening. It also wasn’t long until the wait staff knew my drink of choice and stateroom number by heart. I had my usual cocktail (just one) every evening to sip during the lecture. They were refreshing and acted as the perfect appetizer for dinner (which we would have once the lecture ended).

The following day was a scheduled day at sea. So two days in a row of lectures, the pool, and shopping. Not a lot of shopping though. I did attend a lecture on amber by Gabriella from the Baltic Amber Shop. Afterwards I spent some time with her in the shop looking at some green amber pieces and a golden-colored bracelet and some earrings to go with it. Then I was done. I figured I now had enough amber for any occasion. I guess I’d better stay out of Poland, Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia for a while.

Each afternoon at 4pm tea was served in the Wintergarden. This was a full afternoon tea with a variety of sandwiches and desserts plus whatever tea met your fancy. My choice was Darjeeling. The only quibble I had was that they had only one type of scone – raisin. I don’t like raisins. But I was quite full anyway, so I only had half of it and picked out the raisins. No dinner needed.

That evening it seemed that everyone I encountered complimented me on my beautiful purple dress. Only it wasn’t a dress. It was a top that I used to wear with jeans. However, I had lost about three sizes in weight so, when I took a selfie (worn with some black jeans) and sent it out to friends, the consensus was that the top was now a dress. Time to switch out the black jeans for some black lace leggings.

Next time – Learning about Irish baking at Ballyknocken Farmhouse in County Wicklow (near Dublin).

August 19, 2024

Viking British Isles Explorer Cruise: London

My flight left the US on the 3^rd of July, arriving on the 4^th. It was the day of the UK General Election. The only other time I had been in Britain for a General Election was back in 1997 when the Labour party won by a landslide and Tony Blair began his first term as Prime Minister. I was very interested to see how this election would turn out.

Upon arrival at London’s Heathrow airport, after customs and luggage, I was met by a representative from Viking Cruises. This was my first time with Viking. I had done a couple of river cruises before: the Nile in Egypt with Movenpick, and a Grand France river cruise with Avalon Waterways. I had also gone on one other small ocean-going ship in the Aegean (to Greek Islands and Turkey) with a French line, Louis Cristal. With those ships, there were no children, no casinos, and an emphasis on learning the history, art and culture of the places we would visit. The same applied to Viking.

The ship, Viking Neptune, was supposed to be docked at Greenwich. But when docking the day before, the winds were too high for them to do so. We took the northern M25 loop to Tilbury. I had been to London many times before and had visited Greenwich several times in the past as well. I really like Greenwich and had planned to spend my day there, wandering around and exploring. Ended up spending the day mainly on the ship, exploring that and taking photos.

My stateroom was a Deluxe Veranda on Deck Five. I was just two decks directly above the tenders/lifeboats. The World Café, which served breakfast, lunch, and dinner buffet meals opened early for lunch. I love the idea of a buffet on such trips as I can choose what I want and how much. I tend to prefer smaller amounts of a variety of dishes — usually seafood or fish with a couple of vegetables, some fruit, and possibly a salad. If I have dessert, it is usually a sorbet or a mousse of some kind. They had some delicious salmon with grilled vegetables. I had some fruit salad and some seafood salad with that. I was also served a welcome drink involving bourbon and a premium Riesling. I had signed up for the Silver Spirits package so I could have better wines and an occasional cocktail.

I could get into my stateroom at 1pm. My cases were already there waiting for me. I unpacked and got organized for both dinner (the relatively casual dress code did involve something a bit nicer than a T-shirt and jeans) and the following day. The tickets for the shore excursions for which I had signed up were there, except for the excursion to Scone Palace in Edinburgh. Not enough people had signed up for that one. They provided me with an automatic refund. I could also sign up for a different excursion right there from my room. Had a nice early dinner too and, since I didn’t sleep on the plane from the States, turned in a bit early.

I had signed up for the walking tour of Greenwich for the following day. That was the only excursion they had available for that day and it was included (free of charge). Even though I had been to Greenwich many times on previous visits, I still wanted to go on the tour. You never know. I could learn something new or see something I hadn’t seen before. Since we hadn’t been able to dock at Greenwich, I was especially glad I had signed up. We were loaded onto a clipper that would take us up the Thames and deliver us at Greenwich’s dock.

I met a couple of very nice ladies from Long Beach, California (Sherry and Christine) and ended up hanging out with them for much of this excursion and quite often for presentations and dinner on the ship.

We started with the Cutty Sark. My mom and I had toured this ship on our very first trip to London in 1983 – long before the fire in 2007 that nearly destroyed her. I visited her again in 2016. The ship was named after a witch in the Robert Burns poem “Tam o’Shanter”. The figurehead of the ship is supposed to represent the witch. The Cutty Sark was built in 1791 as one of the last of the tea clippers. Although it was one of the last, it was one of the fastest. But, when steamships took over the tea trade, the Cutty Sark was then used for the wool trade from Australia. After that, she became a training ship and was finally put in permanent dry dock in Greenwich as a museum.

From there we went to the statue of Sir Walter Raleigh in front of the Visitor Centre and then to the Old Royal Naval College. This was the site of Greenwich Palace, which was the birthplace of Henry VIII, Mary I and Elizabeth I. Then we went past the National Maritime Museum to the Queen’s House. This was built in 1616 on the grounds of Greenwich Palace and is now part of the National Maritime Museum. From there we looked up the hill at the Royal Observatory. Then came the one new thing that I had not ever seen before. Nelson’s ship in a bottle.

Throughout all of this, the heavens would periodically open up and drop some fairly heavy rain on us. A few minutes later, the rain would stop only to come gushing down again a few minutes after that. I was wearing a rain jacket with a hood that was strapped down over a baseball cap, allowing me to take my photos either by camera or phone without having to deal with an umbrella. Although I was surprised to encounter such chilly weather in July, all of my prior trips to the UK had taught me to always be prepared for the potential of rain, snow, hail or all three.

Our last stop was to take a quick photo of St Alfege Church. The church was built on the supposed spot where St Alfege was martyred in 1012. The church was built around 1290. Henry VIII was baptized there in 1491. The present church was rebuilt in 1712-1714 after the medieval church collapsed due to the number of burials both inside and out.

By the time we returned to the clipper to head back to our ship in Tilbury, the rain was coming down in torrents again. I still managed to capture a few photos of the O2 Arena and the Intercontinental O2 Hotel plus the Thames Barrier between the raindrops.

When I got back to the ship about 2:30pm, I found that I had a fairly relaxing afternoon ahead of me as the ship set sail for Dover. I also found that Kohari (the fellow who was looking after me and my stateroom) had provided me with some cans of orange Fanta in my fridge. I don’t tolerate caffeine and so don’t drink the usual sodas provided. Very nice of him.

I decided to take a shower and really dress up for dinner that night. I had a black camisole with a lightly beaded sheer top over it, plus some slinky black slacks. For dinner, I had signed up for a five-course dinner at The Chef’s Table restaurant inspired by China’s Cantonese and Hualyang cuisines with special wine pairings. The courses were as follows:

Hot & Sour Soup (Cantonese style) with Martin Codax Mara Martin (Godello) from Monerrei, Spain
Fried Prawns (crispy garlic & chili) with Vinologist (Chenin Blanc) from Swartland, South Africa
Coconut (lemongrass & ginger infused)
Wok-Fried Beef (black pepper sauce, rice in lotus leaf with Altano Organic (Tinto Roriz) from Douro Valley, Portugal
Chilled Mango Cream (pomelo and sago) with Broadbent Madeira from Madeira Island, Portugal

Was feeling just a wee bit squiffy afterwards. I usually have one or two glasses of wine with dinner, but not four. The ship was sailing and I wasn’t sure if the ship’s movement was the problem or the four glasses of wine. I decided it was both.

Next time – Hey, weren’t we supposed to dock at Dover?

March 6, 2023

Thoughts While on the Avalon Waterways Grand France River Cruise: Learning new things while on vacation is fun

Past Trips

Navajo Reservation

One of my favorite parts of the trip I did to the Western National Parks in the US back in the spring of 2013 was to visit the four corners area and the Navajo Reservation. The place where we stayed (Goulding Lodge) and all of the restaurants where we ate and gift shops were owned and operated by the Navajo.

All of our excursions while there in and around Monuments Valley were also led and hosted by the Navajo who lived there. I was able to learn so much more about their culture and lives than I had known before. We also had one of the last living code talkers from World War II join us during a cookout to tell us about his experiences. I had watched a movie about that. But to hear actual stories from someone who had been there was very special.

Battlefields and Other Sites of War

I have also had a real interest in visiting battlefields, both in the US and other places. In the US, I have visited a couple of Civil War (Gettysburg, Fredericksburg) and Revolution (Yorktown) battlefields. But also several other locations having to do with either war (Appomattox Courthouse, Richmond, Harper’s Ferry, Valley Forge, Charlotte, Savannah, Beaufort, Williamsburg).

Overseas, it has been a lot of European World War II sites (battlefields, D-Day landing sites, and concentration camps), but also the Culloden Battlefield in Scotland (where Bonnie Prince Charlie and the Highlanders with him met their downfall), where David met Goliath in the Valley of Elah in Israel, and where the 300 Spartans met the Persians in Greece (at Thermopile), and Gallipoli in Turkey (World War I) where so many Australians lost their lives.

One of the reasons why I find battlefields and other sites connected with wars interesting is because of the heavy toll such actions take on human lives and the incredible stories that are associated with both the loss of life and some of the miraculous survivals that also took place. History is about peoples’ stories. I find learning those stories to be fascinating. Seeing where they took place (when the battlefield has been preserved) brings it into perspective. And yes, each time, I am left in tears.

NYC 9/11 Memorial

On my most recent trip to New York City in 2016, which was also my first trip back to NYC since 9/11, I visited the memorial. I recommend it to everybody. It is one thing to imagine a twisted firetruck or a collapsed staircase or a mangled piece of one of the World Trade Center buildings and quite another thing to see them for yourself.

I do have to say that I did not go into the room with the photos of the people and their voices from their last cellphone messages to loved ones. I just couldn’t. It was too much.

Kennedy Space Center

One of my cousins eventually worked at the Kennedy Space Center on the space shuttle crew, mainly for Endeavour. But he was also involved with all of the shuttle launches. Many years before that, Mom and I had visited the Kennedy Space Center and toured everything that a regular citizen on a tour could see. So, when he started working there, we already could picture a certain amount of it. I love it when something pops up in a TV show or movie or some other context and I been there and have seen whatever it is.

Hadrian’s Wall – Vindolanda

I have long been fascinated by Hadrian’s Wall. On one of my trips to Scotland (in 2016) I took several day trips to parts of the wall. One of those trips included the Roman fort of Vindolanda, which actually predates the wall. They had a wonderful museum containing items discovered at the site – shoes and other clothing, dishes and pottery, bridles, saddles, stirrups, etc from horses plus loads of other items. They also had much of foundations of the fort, despite the location having been robbed of much of its stone works over the centuries. A favorite of mine was the replica of the wall that gave a really good idea of the actual size and dimensions of it. I could also go up on top and walk along it.

This Trip

Van Gogh’s Art Techniques

Vincent Van Gogh is a favorite artist of mine. I have visited many sites associated with his life and death as well as viewing his art at the Musee d’Orsay during past trips to France. So, when I saw that I had the option to join a class on Van Gogh’s techniques while in Arles, I signed up for it immediately. I ended up painting a very quick version of a portion of his most famous “Starry Night”, which is now a treasured souvenir of the experience. Since returning home, I have also begun a couple of his other paintings that he did in Arles – “Starry Night over the Rhone” and “Café Terrace at Night”.

Truffles

On the Grand France River Cruise, I was able to visit a truffle farm and watch how the dogs searched for truffles. Then I was able to sample the truffles. It was fun to learn about truffle farming and to pet the dogs once they were off-duty.

Crepes

Although I have had dessert crepes before in restaurants, I had never had a savory crepe prior to this trip. On the day that we were setting sail for Les Andelys, we were offered savory crepes for lunch. I went with a buckwheat crepe filled with ham, cheese, mushrooms, and onions. There was some crème fraiche on top. Delicious. Since returning home, I have purchased a special crepe pan and spatula in order to make my own.

Chocolate Mousse

Chocolate Mousse is something I have made myself. But I have to say, the two that I had in France made mine seem more like a simple chocolate pudding. In Bayeux I had one at the restaurant where we had lunch. It was heavenly. On the ship, we had a mousse made with dark, light and white chocolate that was also amazing.

Calvados

An optional tour to Baveux and the Calvados region of Normandy included a visit to the Le Breuil-en-Auge Calvados Distillery. We learned all about how apples became Calvados and sampled some of the finished product. I felt that the amount in the glass was a tad stingy until I actually tried it. It is about 82 proof. It made my eyes water and my voice go raspy. I have since learned to mix it with cider and drink it with ice.

Hospices de Beaune

Touring and learning about the Hospices de Beaune, which were in service from 1443 to 1971, was really fascinating. We could see the wards, the pharmacy, the kitchens, etc. much as they had been.

Swimming Pool for Horses

At Bizy Castle, there was a lovely pool in the courtyard. Its purpose wasn’t just for looks. It had been created to allow the horses to cool themselves off. How thoughtful. Out of all of the castles I have seen all over Europe and the UK, I had never seen one with a swimming pool for horses before.

December 15, 2022

Thoughts While on the Avalon Waterways Grand France River Cruise: Knowledge of my own ancestry within an area makes me feel more connected to it

Probably as part of my love of history, I also trace my family roots. Some people just stick to one part of their family. I don’t. I trace both sides and all the little branches that stem off from them. It has been some of those branches where I have found some of the most interesting ancestors, including the occasional saint or not so much a saint.

Full disclosure, one of Richard III of England’s henchmen, William Catesby, who has been considered to have possibly been one of the men who murdered the two princes in the Tower of London, and who died at Bosworth along with his boss, is a 16^th great grandfather. But then I share that particular ancestor with the Game of Thrones actor, Kit Harington, so that’s alright. I’m descended from Catesby’s daughter, Elizabeth, while Kit is descended from his son, George.

Since I had some Viking (Norse) ancestors head down from Norway to settle on Orkney, I definitely loved being able to spend some time on Orkney, exploring some of the places they would have been. Then we get into Scotland where there were many, many ancestors running around. One was actually murdered in Holyrood Abbey in Edinburgh.

Loads of ancestors all over England and Wales too. A Scottish de Ros ancestor acquired the original version of Belvoir (pronounced “Beaver”) Castle through marriage in the 13^th century. When his male line died out, the Manners family (a de Ros nephew who became the 1^st Duke of Rutland) took over and still owns the place. When I visited the castle, I was on a tour. But my tour group was small and given a private tour of the castle by a member of the staff. We were also greeted by the Duchess at that time.

In the United States, I have a lot of ancestral ties to Massachusetts from the 1600s in places like Plymouth, Boston, Marblehead, and Salem. In Boston especially I know where my ancestors lived and where some of them are buried. It was so wonderful to be able to walk around in that area and try to imagine back to when they were there.

For the Grand France River Cruise, I had printed out the names, dates and birthplaces of my French ancestors. There were a few hundred of them. That way, as we traveled around, I could have some context of which ancestors were from where and when.

In Arles, all of my ancestors were from such an early period of time that it was possible that some of them might have lived in houses that were built in the Arena when that was no longer used for its original purpose. The time period that those houses existed was the same as the time period of my ancestors.

I had ancestors from all over Burgundy, but I don’t necessarily know the individual towns. So, when we got to that part of France, I just took loads of photos of anything really old. I also drank a fair amount of the wines from that region.

In Normandy, I had many, many ancestors. A couple of the main towns in which they lived were Bayeux and Rouen. There were parts of both places where I felt transported back in time and could easily imagine what it might have been like in their day.

I started on my genealogical quest back in the days when I had to physically go into a library and study the microfiche and other items they might have and then send away for birth, death and marriage certificates, etc. Having access to online data sure does help enormously. There are a lot of things that can be found out without ever paying any money to anyone.

Although I love traveling to every place to which I have traveled so far, I have to admit that I get a warm and fuzzy feeling when I am someplace where I know my ancestors have been and I can get an idea of what their lives might have been like.

November 21, 2022

Thoughts While on the Avalon Waterways Grand France River Cruise: Knowledge of the history of a place makes being there more interesting

I love history anyway, so I can easily get excited over seeing someplace like Hadrian’s Wall or Egyptian pyramids and temples or battlefields like Gettysburg, Fredericksburg, Yorktown, Culloden, the D-Day landing beaches, etc. Smaller historical events are also intriguing to me.

Whether you are fascinated by history or not, knowing just a little bit about a place can make it much more interesting, such as what is the significance of an old cemetery? Who is buried there?

In St Augustine, Florida, I was fascinated by the fort. It had been built by the Spanish prior to the English settlements at either Jamestown or Roanoke, Virginia or Plymouth, Massachusetts.

In Israel, Masada would have just been several piles of rocks up on a high, hot plateau without knowledge of its history. For those who hadn’t read up on it before the trip, there was a short film down at the base that everyone watched before taking the cable car up to see it.

At Thermopylae in Greece, without knowledge of what had taken place there a couple thousand years ago, just looking at a monument to Leonides and the 300 Spartans who fought and died there wouldn’t have been all that fascinating. Since I knew the story, I could use my imagination. And a good imagination was necessary. The topography has changed quite a bit since 480 BC.

On this trip, my knowledge of Joan of Arc came in handy while in Rouen. I knew that the museum dedicated to her was in the very building where her trial had taken place. I also knew about all of the other locations associated with her.

In Avignon, I was aware of the history of the town, the Pont de Avignon, and the Palais des Papes. Despite it being a very hot day, my back hurting, and lots of stairs to climb, I was very interested in seeing it all.

Sometimes when visiting a place where you already know the history, you can find that seeing the place itself can make your understanding of it much clearer. It was one thing to read about traboules (the secret passages that had been used by the French Resistance to escape detection), but quite another to actually walk through a few of them. They had been built in the old, Renaissance portion of Lyon back when that part of the city was new. People who lived there knew about them. But people who didn’t live there were at a loss. To this day, only a handful of them are open to the public.

Although most people are well aware of who Napoleon was and his role in history, I always find it to be fun to see personal objects used by such iconic public figures. In Napoleon’s case, it was his hat on display in the library of Malmaison – the home he shared with Josephine. It made him seem more human. Like when I saw one of Queen Victoria’s gowns and Admiral Horatio Nelson’s uniform.

October 2, 2022

Grand France River Cruise – Notre Dame de Paris

This trip was the first that I have taken to Paris without spending any time inside of Notre Dame de Paris. It and Westminster Abbey in London are my favorite cathedrals. They are both very old, very large, and very historic.

It is believed that there have been religious structures of various sorts and sizes on the site of Notre Dame almost since the Parissii first inhabited the Île de la Cité in the 3^rd century BC. In 1710, the Pillar of the Boatman, which was part of a Gallo-Roman temple to Jupiter, was discovered beneath the cathedral. The remains of an early Christian church, the Cathedral of Saint Etienne, built in the 4^th or 5th century AD has also been discovered.

In 1160, the buildings on the site of where Notre Dame is now were all demolished so a new, much larger cathedral could be built in the Gothic style. Construction began in 1163 and lasted until 1345, though there have always been additions and adjustments made throughout its existence. Analysis of the vault stones that fell during the 2019 fire indicated that they were quarried in Vexin, which is northwest of Paris.

The choir was completed in 1177 and the high altar was consecrated in 1182 as part of Phase One. Phase Two involved the four sections of the nave behind the choir. This lasted from 1182 to 1190. Building of the west façade began in 1190.

Although the flying buttresses were replaced by larger and stronger ones in the 14^th century, they were originally created in the 13^th century and are now considered (because of scans showing that the upper part of the building hasn’t moved at all for the past 800 years) to have been part of the original design. This was a new innovation at the time to allow the buttresses themselves to carry the weight of the walls. The walls could then be taller and thinner, with more windows.

During the French Revolution, the statues along the West façade of biblical kings were mistaken for French kings and beheaded. Many of the original heads are now inside of the Musee de Cluny. After the Napoleonic Wars, the cathedral was in such bad condition that its demolition was being considered. Author Victor Hugo (who also wrote Les Miserables) wrote The Hunchback of Notre Dame in order to save it.

During the Paris Commune of 1871, the cathedral was threatened again. The Communards had the furniture piled up to set on fire when they realized that burning Notre Dame would also destroy the hospital next door. Fortunately World War II only created some minor damage from stray bullets.

On April 15, 2019, a fire broke out in the attic of the cathedral which ended up destroying the spire and the forest of oak beams supporting the roof. The stone vaulting in the ceiling ended up with several holes, but did not collapse.

The stabilization of the building was completed at the time of my visit in September of 2021. So the photos of all of the scaffolding and bracing that I took was erected to prevent any further deterioration and keep things safe for the teams that would be involved in the reconstruction.

Prior to the completion of the Eiffel Tower in 1889, the two towers of Notre Dame at the western façade were the tallest structures in Paris. They currently contain the ten (originally fourteen) bells of the cathedral. Some smaller bells in a carillon in the spire and in the roof were destroyed in the fire. Although the fire threatened the towers, the firefighters were able to protect and save them from destruction.

The copper statues surrounding the spire had been removed a few days before the fire. The weathervane at the top of the spire, which contained a tiny piece of the Crown of Thorns plus relics of Saint Denis and Saint Genevieve fell when the spire fell. It was recovered with the relics intact in the rubble shortly after the fire.

The gargoyles are the rain spouts. The other creatures that decorate the building are called “grotesques”. Several of them are chimera, a mythical creature with the head of a goat and the body of a lion. They seem to mostly be in pretty good shape.

The three rose windows sustained damage, but are essentially intact. Just one needs to be dismantled and stabilized.

The first clocks in the cathedral were clepsydras, which were used to tell the hours, marked by striking bells. In 1766, these were replaced by a mechanical clock which was located at the north portal. In roughly 1812, the clock and its bells were moved to the north tower.

A new clock made in 1867 was located in the forest underneath the central spire. It was destroyed by the fire. A nearly identical movement has been located at another church that will be used as a model for creating a new clock for Notre Dame de Paris.

The paved area in front of the western façade is called the Place du Parvis Notre Dame. Originally Notre Dame would have been somewhat hemmed in by other buildings. So the parvis was created to provide more majestic sightlines to the main entrance of the cathedral.

Over the centuries, the square has been greatly enlarged. A statue of Charlemagne was installed on the south side of the square in 1882 and the point zéro medallion was installed in 1924. This marker was used as a starting point for measuring distance on the National Route system in France.

Since the 2019 fire, the eastern half of the square has been closed off to be used as working space by the restoration team. In addition to Charlemagne, a statue of the Virgin and Child was also located near the parvis at the time of my visit. It was one of thirty seven representations of Notre Dame that were part of the cathedral. I don’t remember ever seeing it before, so it could have just been temporarily outside of the cathedral.

In 1965, excavation work began to create an underground parking facility under the parvis. This was when many ancient foundations, some going back to Roman times, were discovered. So the Archaeological Crypt was created beneath the parvis. Normally this is open to the public, but was not while I was there.

Next time – Thoughts while on trip about experiences, learning new things, family history and a general knowledge of the history of a place.

September 14, 2022

Grand France River Cruise – Paris Louvre & Île de la Cité

Paris is one of my very favorite cities. I think it is for a lot of people. The history, the culture, the food, the art – so much to do and see. Or, just hang out at one of the sidewalk cafes and let Paris parade by.

I am separating a post on just Notre Dame Cathedral from this one on the rest of my visit to Paris partially because of all of the photos I took of the cathedral. That post follows this one.

The included morning excursion on our full day in the city was a choice between a coach trip of the entire city of Paris, or a walking tour of part of Paris. Since I had been to Paris a few times before, I chose the walking tour. It was to take place mainly on the Île de la Cité, which was the location of the origins of Paris.

A Celtic tribe called the Parissii inhabited what eventually became the Île de la Cité starting in the middle of the 3^rd century BC. In 52 BC, the Romans settled on Paris’ Left Bank and called their settlement Lutetia. Eventually Lutetia joined with the Île de la Cité becoming Parisius and then Paris.

During the 12^th century AD, the royal residence was located at the western end of the Île de la Cité and Notre Dame Cathedral was being constructed at its eastern end. As the marshland on the Right Bank began to fill in, the city expanded in that direction. At this time the medieval Louvre fortress was extended to defend the city on the far west of the Right Bank.

Our ship was docked by the Eiffel Tower, so we were piled onto a motorcoach and driven to the Louvre, from where we would begin our tour. On the way to the Louvre, we could see the Musee d’Orsay on the other side of the Seine.

Remnants of the original medieval building of the Louvre can still be seen in the crypt of the current building. We would not be going inside though. It can take an entire day just to explore the Louvre. My mom and I had done so on a couple of previous trips.

In the 14^th century, the Louvre was converted from a fortress to a royal residence and began to be rebuilt in the 16^th century in the French Renaissance style. But in the 17^th century, the court was moved to Versailles and building at the Louvre was stopped.

The Louvre had started to house works of art during the 16^th and 17^th centuries. By the middle of the 18^th century, a public gallery began to be planned. By 1776, the Grande Galerie of the Louvre was being converted, but remained incomplete until the French Revolution.

We entered the Cour Carree through the portion of the Louvre known as the Sully Wing. This is the oldest part of the building. When I had been in the museum in 2000, there was a wonderful Rembrandt exhibit up on the 1^st floor. The Venus de Milo usually hangs out on the ground floor.

We then passed through the Pavillon de l’Horloge into the Cour Napoleon where we could see the glass Pyramid that was used as the main entrance. In the Cour Napoleon (named after Napoleon III who greatly enlarged the museum), we not only checked out the Pei Pyramid, but also the Carrousel de Louvre and an equestrienne statue of Louis XIV.

The Carrousel was a much smaller version of the Arc de Triomphe and once had the horses from Saint Mark’s Basilica in Venice at the top. Napoleon Bonaparte stole them from there. But they had been stolen from the Hippodrome in Istanbul (then Constantinople) many centuries earlier.

In addition to the Sully Wing, the other two main wings are the Denon Wing (home of both the Winged Victory and the Mona Lisa) and the Richellieu Wing (chock full of loads of cool stuff, including the rooms used by Napoleon III).

When leaving out through the Cour Carree again, we encountered a heavily-scaffolded Church of Saint-Germain-l’Auxerrois. It also had the sun behind it. So a decent photo wasn’t possible. It had been originally built in the 5th century to commemorate a meeting of Saint-Germain-l’Auxerrois with Saint Genevieve (the future patron saint of Paris) on the spot where it is said the meeting took place. Over the centuries it has been enlarged and rebuilt several times. Since the fire at Notre Dame Cathedral, it temporarily held the services that had been conducted at Notre Dame.

We headed over to the Île de la Cité where we would have visited the Conciergerie and Sainte-Chapelle Cathedral. But there was a very big trial going on which meant that both of those buildings and much of the island were off limits. The trial of 20 men accused in the coordinated attacks on Paris (on a stadium, bars, restaurants and the Bataclan concert hall) in 2015 was underway. The lone surviving actual attacker from that night, Salah Abdeslam, was the key defendant. He was also the only one charged with murder.

The Palais de Justice de Paris includes both the Conciergerie and Sainte-Chapelle in addition to the Prefecture de Police. A special courtroom had been constructed somewhere within the vast expanse of court buildings covering the west end of the island. What was needed was very high security (bomb-proof and bullet-proof) as well as an attempt to create a calming atmosphere.

Normally we would have been able to cross over the Pont Neuf to reach the Île de la Cité, but we weren’t allowed to cross there. We went down some stairs to the Quai de la Megisserie, which didn’t allow any motorized vehicles so we could walk along in relative peace and quiet while looking across the river at the island. Normally there would have been sightseeing boats along the river, but we didn’t see any other than those docked by the Pont Neuf.

In the included photo of the Île de la Cité with the Pont Neuf, can be seen an equestrian statue of Henry IV. He was the king who inaugurated the Pont Neuf in 1607.

At the Pont au Change, we went back up some stairs to see if we could cross there. We couldn’t, so we just stayed up on the street level until we got to the Pont Notre-Dame. I was so glad that it wasn’t my first (or only) time in Paris. The Conciergerie and Sainte-Chapelle are both very much worth a visit. I had been looking forward to spending some time in both.

The Conciergerie was originally part of the former royal palace. During the French Revolution, 2,780 prisoners, including Marie Antoinette, were imprisoned, tried and sentenced there. Most were executed elsewhere by use of the guillotines which were set up all across Paris. But there were still hundreds who died in what is known as the Women’s Courtyard when they were simply shot to death there.

Parts of the 10^th century building constructed under Hugh Capet still survive. The cell where Marie Antoinette was imprisoned can be visited, as well as a later chapel built in her honor. Many other historic areas of the very large building were also normally open to the public.

The original version of Sainte-Chapelle was built in 800. In 1238, Louis IX had it redesigned and enlarged. The two levels of the new chapel, equal in size, had entirely different purposes. The upper level, where the sacred relics were kept was reserved exclusively for the royal family and their guests. The lower level was used by the courtiers, servants, and soldiers of the palace.

Sainte-Chapelle is breathtaking. It appears to be all stain-glassed windows with no real structure other than the windows. It glitters and shines like thousands of jewels.

Everywhere on the Île de la Cité we could see barricades and lots and lots of police. They were watching everyone. Not wanting to attract any attention, we kept quiet and kept moving across the island towards Notre Dame. I did manage to take a quick photo of the spire of Sainte-Chapelle as we passed from a couple of blocks away.

After a fairly long time sitting in front of Notre Dame while listening to our local guide talk about its history, we crossed the Petit-Pont and had some free time on the Left Bank. I took tons of photos of Notre Dame, then a short break at the café on the corner of the road there. After that, I explored the Square Rene Viviani and the adjacent Church of Saint-Julien-le-Pauvre, which was built at the same time as Notre Dame.

When we regathered by the entrance of the square to continue our tour, we heard a lot of sirens heading our way. It turned out to be the main terrorist going right by us on his way to his trial.

Moving further into the Latin Quarter, we could see the remains of a Roman bath house upon which was built part of the Musee de Cluny (aka Musee National du Moyen Age Paris). This museum is loaded with tapestries statues and other artifacts from the Middle Ages in Paris. They also have quite a few pieces of Roman antiquity in addition to the bath house.

Once we hopped back onto the coach to head back to the ship, we drove by the Sorbonne, Pantheon, the Luxembourg Gardens, a cute little church called Notre Dame des Champs, the Hotel des Invalides (containing Napoleon’s tomb) and the Eiffel Tower again.

Next time – Notre Dame de Paris Cathedral (with loads of photos of the building in scaffolding)

August 29, 2022

Grand France River Cruise – Versailles

I had been to Versailles before (back in 2000). But it is huge, overwhelming, and usually terribly crowded. Also, on this trip in 2021, we would be able to see the private apartments as well as the Opera. Those areas had not been available to Mom and me before. I felt it was worth going a second time.

I had read that, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the number of visitors had dropped from eight million in 2019 to two million in 2020. It seemed to me that either visitorship was up in 2021 or everybody decided to show up the same day we were there. Versailles had the most visitors of any of the places we had been to on our entire Grand France River Cruise.

Since I had been having difficulty with my back (having had surgery just two months earlier for cancer next to my spine), I was using my cane and trying to sit down whenever we needed to stand for any length of time. It wasn’t the walking that was a problem, but the standing still.

At most places we had visited, either there were empty spots to sit or people would rise and make room for me. Not at Versailles. All benches and other seating were full of mostly younger people with no visible signs of a disability. Not a soul was going to get up and allow me to sit. Most looked away and pointedly ignored me. Interesting. This was in the State Rooms. In the Private Apartments, there were much fewer people, but no spaces provided to sit down.

We began our tour with the Private Apartments, entering through the private entrance. The Private Apartments were in the original red brick chateau that Louis XIII built to replace the 1623 hunting lodge in 1631-34. Louis XIV expanded the chateau into a palace and moved the seat of his court and government there in 1682.

The oldest part of the building, with the Private Apartments, had what they called an Enveloppe built around the outside of it starting in the 1660s. This mainly contained the State Apartments and the Hall of Mirrors. Both the South and North wings were also added. All of this was mostly completed by the time of Louis XIV’s death in 1715.

From the Private Entrance, we passed through the Room of the King’s Guard before climbing the King’s Staircase. Once we were upstairs in the Private Apartments, the first room we entered was the Antichambre des Chiens. This was where the King’s dogs would sleep at night. The first interior photo with this post shows the entrance to the Clock Room as seen from the Dog’s Room.

The Clock Room has an amazing astronomical clock. The small equestrian statue in the middle of the room is of Louis XV.

The next room we entered was the King’s Private Chamber. This room had a very beautiful and ornate desk (quite different from the one at which I am currently seated). It was the first desk of its type, allowing the King to leave his papers on his desk but keep them away from prying eyes. It was from the balcony of this room where Louis XV (with tears in his eyes) watched Madame de Pompadour’s funeral procession depart from Versailles in 1764.

We passed through a few more rooms and took a look inside of the Bathchamber before entering Louis XVI’s private library. Although these rooms are considered to be small and intimate compared to the State Rooms, this library is still much larger and more ornate than the libraries of most people other than the very wealthy.

The last rooms we visited before heading back downstairs were the Porcelain Dining Room and the Buffet Room. These rooms were for more intimate suppers than the formal dining room. If there were more people than the Porcelain Dining Room could comfortably hold, the men would retreat to the Buffet Room.

Once back downstairs (down the Ambassador’s Staircase), we crossed over to where the Opera was located in the North Wing, passing through the Vestibule of the Chapel (closed for restoration) and the Stone Gallery. Built for the celebration of the 1770 marriage of the future Louis XVI to Marie Antoinette, the Opera had been built almost entirely out of wood (which has better acoustics than other materials) and painted to look like marble. This was the first time I had been able to see it. I thought it was quite beautiful. We were able to sit in the seats while we looked around and listened to our guide.

After our nice leisurely visit to the Opera, we climbed the stairs to the State Apartments. The first one we entered was the Salon of Hercules, followed by the Salon of Abundance, the Salons of Venus, Diana, Mars, Mercury, and Apollo.

At the time, I figured that they just liked naming very large, ornate rooms after Roman gods as I didn’t notice anything in particular in most of these rooms to connect with the particular deity after it was named. But I was also beginning to realize that I wasn’t going to be able to sit down again until I reached the gardens and I was getting a little testy.

The Salon of Hercules had originally been a chapel. It did have a painting involving Hercules on the ceiling, so it was appropriately named. So too was the Salon of Abundance. It had a painting with the title Abundance and Liberality. This room had once been the antechamber for the Cabinet of Curios next door. That room later became a Games Room for Louis XVI.

Actually it turned out that they all had something that did showcase the name of the room. I had to look at the photos later, when I wasn’t so cranky, to see them. The Salon of Venus, which was used for light meals during evening receptions, had a painting with Venus in it.

The main thing that I had noticed in the Salon of Diana, was a bust of Louis XIV by the great Italian sculptor Bernini. I guess I had been blind to the paintings as there were several on the walls and ceiling from the life of the Roman goddess Diana. This room had been used as a billiards room.

The Salon of Mars had a military theme and had been used mainly by the Royal Guards until it was turned into a concert room with platforms on either side of the fireplace for the musicians. The platforms are no longer there.

The Salon of Mercury was the original State Bedchamber of Louis XIV and has a replica of the original bed in it now. The ceiling paintings depict the god Mercury. The original throne room under Louis XIV was the Salon of Apollo with a painting of the Sun Chariot of Apollo in the center of the ceiling.

It is interesting to note that the apartments of Madame de Pompadour (in her days as Louis XV’s mistress) were directly above this line of salons. The King had a private staircase from his private apartments that he could take to reach her rooms. Later in life, when she was no longer the official Chief Royal Mistress, she was still a court favorite and occupied rooms on the ground floor that I believe were in the south wing.

The Salon of War is the last room before the Hall of Mirrors. It celebrates the French victories in the Franco-Dutch War during the time of Louis XIV.

The previous time I had been to Versailles, the Hall of Mirrors had been wall-to-wall people. This time it was possible to see the actual room. It was great to be able to take it all in slowly. On the right were the windows to the gardens, to the left were hidden doors to the King’s Apartments.

Built between 1678 and 1681 on the site of a terrace between the King and Queen’s apartments, the Hall of Mirrors was built to impress. Weddings, balls and diplomatic receptions took place here. This was the room where, during a masked ball, Louis XV met Jeanne-Antoinette Poisson d’Étiolles (who later became Madame de Pompadour). Both the Treaty of Paris, ending the American Revolution, and the Treaty of Versailles, ending World War I, were signed in the Hall of Mirrors.

At the other end of the Hall of Mirrors is the Salon of Peace. After zipping through that room as quickly as one could zip while navigating their way around other tourists, we entered Marie Antoinette’s State Bedchamber. This was followed by the Salon des Nobles, the Antechamber of the Grand Couvert (which had a lovely portrait of the Queen and her children), and the Guard Room.

From there we took the Queen’s Staircase down to the ground floor and exited the chateau to visit the gardens. On our previous visit, Mom and I had a fair amount of free time to spend exploring. Instead of the gardens, we walked down to the Grand Trianon, the Petite Trianon, and the Hamlet, spending our time touring all of them. This time with a much shorter period of free time and an included ticket to the gardens, I did that.

Looking at the ground and first floor plans of Versailles, I realize that there is still so much that I haven’t seen. There are the Dauphin (Crown Prince) and Dauphine (Crown Princess) apartments as well as the Queen’s Private Apartments, the Hall of Battles, the 1792 Room, the Old Wing, the Gilded Cabinet, apartments of various courtiers and the Captain of the Guard, plus numerous other chambers and salons. I wonder how much of that could be seen with the right tour or pass.

Next time — Paris

August 14, 2022

Grand France River Cruise – Josephine’s Malmaison

Our morning excursion choices were to visit either Auvers-sur-Oise or Malmaison. I had been to Auvers-sur-Oise on an earlier trip to France. This was where Vincent van Gogh had lived out the last couple of months of his life. He painted several paintings while there. Placards showing the paintings stand near the locations where van Gogh painted them.

It is believed that van Gogh died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the chest nearly 30 hours after the shot was fired. He walked back to his room at the Auberge Ravoux where he died. When we were there, Mom and I walked from the field where he had supposedly shot himself to the Auberge Ravoux and climbed the stairs to his room. It seemed a long walk to us, especially for someone who was dying.

The Auberge Ravoux is now a restaurant. Although no furniture remains in van Gogh’s room, it has been preserved as it was when he died and is worth a visit. The church that Vincent painted is also where he and his brother Theo are buried. Theo died only six months after his brother. Vincent was only 37 when he died.

Malmaison was purchased by Napoleon Bonaparte’s wife, Josephine, in 1799. At the time, it was rather run down, needing extensive renovations. It is said that Napoleon was not happy at the large amount of money spent on buying and fixing up the place. But they lived there together until their separation in 1803 and Josephine remained for the rest of her life.

The chateau was famed for its gardens. Josephine’s real name was Rose. So she had numerous types of roses – roughly 250 varieties. The Dahlia flower was actually developed there.

Josephine also had kangaroos, emus, black swans, zebras, sheep, gazelles, ostriches, antelopes, lllamas, and a seal roaming the grounds. Josephine loved her home. I felt that it was fairly cozy and could see why she felt the way she did about it.

After Josephine’s death in 1814, Napoleon did return in 1815 after his defeat at Waterloo and stayed until his exile to Saint Helena.

At the end of a long, garden-lined drive we entered the home and began to explore. The entrance had a exhibition in it, which made it difficult to see the room. But it was easy to tell right away that this was a smaller, more intimate chateau than most I had already seen.

Off to the right was the billiard room, followed by a little antechamber and then the Salon Dore, which was a small state room. The music room, with midnight blue walls and red furniture was next.

To reach the rest of the rooms on this floor, it was necessary to retrace our steps back through the rooms and the entrance hall. The first room we came to on the other side of the entrance hall was the dining room. I loved the salmon-colored walls.

My only photo of the Council Chamber is a bit fuzzy so I didn’t include it here. The room was made to look like a tent. Beyond this room is the library. It is the room that needed the least amount of restoration and is closest to what it originally looked like when Napoleon and Josephine lived there. One of Napoleon’s hats could even be seen in a glass case.

We viewed a bust of Napoleon inside of a side entrance, which was for family and friends. Then we saw Napoleon’s formal bedroom and salon plus a room with the famous “Napoleon Crossing the Alps” painting. Although he really used a donkey, the painting depicted a beautiful horse. Image was all. His formal bedroom also resembled a tent. I managed a good photo of that room.

Josephine’s formal bedroom also looked like a tent and was very grand. We also saw her informal bedroom, her dressing room, and her salon. After this, we went outside to view the beautiful gardens with their Dahlias, roses and other flowers.

There were not a lot of other people at Malmaison with us. That was nice. We were able to have an intimate visit in what had been an intimate home.

Our afternoon visit was where we found the huge crowds, even during the pandemic – Versailles.