The First Days - Portbail France

Church where Marie-Elisabeth was baptized - now used as a Museum

We will be home in less than a week.  Surprising how a trip can seem like it is both very short and very long at the same time.  It seems like we have been in France for ages, but it also seems like it was just yesterday that we arrived.  Since I started entries to the blog backwards in time, it is time to start at the beginning - our stay in Portbail, the village where Marie-Elisabeth was born.

The real reason for this trip was to celebrate Marie-Elisabeth’s 70th birthday in the village where she was born in Normandy. Normally we would not visit France this early in the year but this was such a special event that we decided to brave the weather.  Glad we did.  Despite some cold, windy, and rainy days in Portbail it was a wonderful visit. 

The Thirteen Arch Bridge Over the Estuary in Portbail

We have stayed in Portbail many times.  It is a small village on the west coast of the Cotentin Peninsula with views of the Isle of Jersey on clear days.  The village is set inland from the coast on an estuary with salt marshes.  A thirteen arch bridge crosses the estuary with a road leading to the beach and a small port.  The estuary is known for its extreme tides.  You can stand on the bridge and watch the tide come in – suddenly stop – and then reverse.  On days with the highest tides it is not unusual to find the bridge lined with people watching the tide come and go. We rented a different place this time – just across from the City Hall and a short walk to the village center.  Despite the close location we found ourselves driving into the village due to the weather.  The rental was spacious with a view of the estuary. One of the reasons we picked it was the large living area for the Birthday Party!

Marie-Elisabeth in front of her Grandparents' home where she was born. 

Marie-Elisabeth was born in her grandparents’ home on one of the two squares of the village – not many months after the village was liberated during the Normandy invasion.  Several years ago I added a blog entry that was a translation of M.E.’s grandmother’s description of the days before and after the invasion.  The “diary” gives a first-hand account of what civilians go through in war.  Just before leaving for this trip we noticed that someone had commented on the blog entry about the “diary.”  It was from a man who is involved in recognizing the events of the invasion in Portbail.  He wanted to meet with us to discuss this in more detail. We hastily emailed him that we would be in Portbail on this trip.  Unfortunately, we never found a time to meet but plan to get together in October when we are returning to the village.

Having arrived in Portbail after a long flight and a 5 hour drive from Paris, we spent several days getting over the jetlag.  Most of the time in Portbail was family related.  We had a wonderful birthday party on March 21 with 11 of us.  Cousins from both sides of the family – the Lecouté and Duchemin cousins, M.E.’s last living aunt (90), and her sister and brother-in-law from Barcelona.  A great family gathering!  

The PARTY!

Later in the week we visited another cousin in Cherbourg who could not make it to the party.  We visited two other cousins in Les Pieux (M.E.’s father’s village) who could not attend either.  Lots of talk and genealogy research sharing! We had a wonderful lunch with two cousins in a seaside restaurant in Sciotot, the beach “suburb” of Les Pieux. On another day we made our usual trip to Coutances to visit the Cathedral and a favorite pastry shop….of course.  We attended Palm Sunday Mass in the church that was just rubble in Marie-Elisabeth’s time – it was bombed during the invasion and reconstructed in the 1950’s.  Our time in Portbail flew by and then it was time for the drive south for our two weeks in the Dordogne region.  I plan a blog entry on that part of the trip – if not before we leave Paris then when we get home to San Diego!   

Lunch with Cousins in Sciotot

Pastry in Coutances

Paris Is Still Paris!

Our Neighborhood in the 14th

I guess it’s time to write something in the travel blog!  We left San Diego four weeks ago today and I have not written one line of our adventures.  I cannot argue that I have not had time so I’m not sure why the delay?  Maybe I am just enjoying the down time, no obligations, savoring simple pleasures…who knows? 

We are now in Paris – just beginning our fourth day here.  It is nice being back in our familiar apartment rental – almost like being at home. The apartment is in the 14th Arrondissement near the Alesia Metro stop.  We love this location because of the easy access to buses, shopping, and other services. Although we are almost at the southern border of Paris, we can be in central Paris by bus within 10-15 minutes.

 

Rue Daguerre Shopping Street - Cheese Glorious Cheese!

This is not a tourist area but a real Parisian neighborhood. Within a short distance is a wonderful cheese shop, butcher, bakery, and a large Monoprix (grocery) as well as all kinds of retail businesses.  Within a short walk is the Rue Daguerre shopping street.  It is one of the pedestrian only streets in Paris with many food shops mixed with restaurants and other stores for the neighborhood.  We often stop at the fresh pasta shop or the Greek store for easy dinner items that just require heating. Last night it was Moussaka and Tabbouleh salad.  This neighborhood is also known for the Discount Clothing shops of “big name” brands – dangerous!  “Our” shoe shop is near – one of the largest Mephisto Stores in France. What’s not to love about this neighborhood!

Of course, there is also an American invasion of the area – a Burger King has been added to the mix of McD’s, Office Depot, and Starbucks. Some will be shocked that I do not go to Starbucks.  I can do that at home – although I guess I should confess to buying ground coffee there on a few occasions.  France is only now getting into the quality coffee craze with a few roasters popping up in various areas of Paris.  Most acknowledge that coffee is not the best in the traditional cafes of France. Their appeal for me is the “people-watching” and the fact you can order one coffee and sit for as long as you want – with no one bothering you to move on! 

One of the things we love about coming to Paris is that we “just enjoy being here.”  We are in no rush to go everywhere and see everything.  I am blessed to have been here so often that it does not seem like a “foreign” city to me – it feels like a second home.  Of course, having my translator and guide with me helps a lot!  Actually, I’ve become the bus expert – especially with my handy RATP (Paris Transport) app on my phone. With this app, I can tell when the next bus is arriving, the fastest way to get from point A to point B, earlier and later options, bus and/or Metro options, etc. (Note – having TMobile as our provider helps a lot because we have free roaming in most parts of the world for data and texting.) With our Smart Card (weekly or monthly pass), it is a breeze to get around Paris. Nearly every bus stop has an electronic board that tells you when the next bus will arrive and the next arrival.  We can learn a lot from Europe about making public transport a viable option!

This is the type of notification board you find on most bus stops! Are you listening San Diego?

Our time in Portbail for the birthday celebration and the two weeks in the Dordogne were busy so our two weeks in Paris will be a time to catch our breath.  (More on Portbail and the Dordogne in a future blog post.)

We arrived here late on Saturday and only had time to get settled in the apartment and to shop for dinner and breakfast.  On Sunday we stayed near the apartment taking the time to rest.  Mass was across the street at the large parish church of the neighborhood – Saint Pierre de Montrouge. The church was packed and I was struck by the mix of congregants – men, women, old, young, families, and all races.  When the celebrant announced it was time for children to go to “their” program, a sea of kids marched out!  We learned that there was a concert in the afternoon of a Bach Cantata that would include a congregation “sing-along” with the concluding Choral portion of the work.  There was a rehearsal before the concert that we could attend to “learn our parts!” 

Of course, we attended, and it was wonderful! I recently attended a lecture at USD by Dr. Pfau on a Bach Cantata being performed on the campus. I always learn new things at USD lectures and their University of the Third Age program.  In Bach’s time, the congregation sang the final Choral segment of the Cantata because most were based on familiar Lutheran hymns. There is some debate about this but Dr. Pfau has spent extensive time in her native Germany researching Bach and his cantatas – so – I’ll take her word for it!  The Director took us through the parts and gave a short lesson in German pronunciation….an American in a French Church singing in German!

Rehearsal at Saint Pierre de Montrouge before singing in "our" Bach Cantata

We had a fun day on Tuesday running around Paris – finding places we wanted to visit either closed for renovations or totally gone!  The store we go to for Pashminas was closed but there was a sign for the new location – so – back on the bus.  For afternoon “snack” we wanted to go to a new place for hot chocolate in the Galerie Vivienne – A Priori Thé – but it was closed for renovations.  To get there we walked through the gardens of the Palais-Royal so the trip was not wasted as Spring had sprung in the beautiful setting of the gardens.  To compensate, we went to Ladurée for hot chocolate and “snack” – the one near the Madeleine. We prefer this location to the one on the Champs-Elysées.  As usual – excellent if not outrageously expensive!  Oh well – once every few years!

Chocolate with our Chocolate

During the day, we must have been on 5 or 6 buses.  I was curious to see how much Paris had changed since the terrorist attacks in November and the recent ones in Brussels.  So far, I cannot detect very much?  People seemed the same – I saw no overt presence of police or military.  However, Marie-Elisabeth noted military near the Printemps Department Store. One bus drove through the Courtyard of the Louvre near the I.M. Pei glass pyramid.  I thought I’d see more barriers and police but no changes I could detect.  Maybe I’ll see more during our stay.  There IS one thing that is different than home.  The media does not constantly hype and promote fear.  The reports during the Brussels attacks were factual with no constant drumming of dramatic music and screaming graphics (e.g. CNN, etc.).  There is also no 24 hours of ridiculous speculation from the pundit class. The attacks were horrendous but put in perspective you are in more danger in the U.S. from a car accident on the Interstate or from white young males with guns who have anger issues.  For us, Paris is still Paris.  Does France and Europe have problems?  Of course, but the French and Parisians are going about their business still enjoying their beautiful country and capital.  VIVE LA FRANCE! Am I a Francophile or what!  J