Paris Archives - Ramblin' with Roger

Paris to Auray to Erdeven

Watson

May 17: After breakfast, we pack and taxi to the PARIS MONTPARNASSE station to take the 9:55 train from Paris to Auray in the country’s Brittany (western) section. We could have walked to the subway and then traveled that way, but my wife chose to spend the money on the easier path.

It was actually two different trains. From Paris to Rennes was lovely, with assigned seats on the TGV TRAIN, Internet connectivity, and room to store our items.

But we had just ten minutes to catch our connection to Auray on a different platform. The TER TRAIN was overly full, and while I had gotten on, my wife, ever polite, was waiting for someone to move in so she could get on board and was almost left behind.

We were standing with our luggage for a time before a couple of people let the old couple sit down. This was appreciated, but my seat was right across from the bathroom, which extended into the train car. So my 35-pound suitcase sat on my lap.

We arrive at the Auray train station at about 1 pm. Deborah met my wife, although they had spoken on Facebook. We meet Cyrille; he seems like a very nice guy.

Peugeot

We have a brief conversation about the rental car. I had written to Deborah the week before about the rental car she secured with my wife’s driver’s license and my credit card. She had briefly forgotten this detail since she’d done it around February 1. Then they had to meet other travelers.

We get something to eat at a local cafe and then go to the nearby Europcar place only a half block away. The car is a Peugeot; it has automatic transmission, but it takes my wife about ten minutes to suss out its operation.

Then we needed to figure out where our next hotel was. Initially, we can’t figure out the GPS and try a paper map. Ultimately, we get the GPS to work, though we don’t know how. The hotel is only a short distance away, but the GPS directs us to a path we can’t use because of road construction. The paper map then did the trick.

We relax and have dinner there.

May 18: My wife drove the 20 minutes/16 km to Erdeven. We were there to participate in the rehearsal for Deborah and Cyrille’s wedding. On April 25, she asked me to read scripture, Song of Songs, a/k/a Song of Solomon 2:10-13; 8:6-7. The book is so sexy that it only shows up in the church liturgy once every three years. “Set me as a seal upon thine heart” and “Many waters cannot quench love” are anthems our choir has sung. I agreed to this.

Plan B

Then on April 29, she wrote: “Yesterday I met with the Catholic priest…about placement at the wedding, and he told me that, in fact, we need FOUR people to bring the offerings to the altar: bread, wine, water AND two candle holders with candles.” So I instead switched to doing this with my wife. It’s like jazz; it’s all good.

But there wasn’t anything we needed to DO at the rehearsal except watch. Watson, the dog, accompanied by Deborah’s kids, will be the ring bearer.

Still, we got to attend the rehearsal luncheon and meet some new folks, a couple from Tennessee who are summering in Cyprus.

We return to our hotel for two hours before Deborah picks us up. She has planned an elaborate dinner on boats. Still, the meal prep is far behind schedule because of the significant festival that makes her getting to her apartment difficult.

Ultimately, we haul two bags each for four boats. One bag had chicken, beans, and potatoes; the other had plates, napkins, silverware, wine, and water.

Four people volunteered to operate the boats; they even had captain’s hats. I was NOT one of them. Deborah was trying to replicate a previous event she had experienced. Unfortunately, it was far cooler and the water rougher.

Moreover, the tide was such that one boat got stuck in the mud. Ours almost did the same. Fortunately, Father Thomas was an experienced boatman in his youth and got us out. Igor, Ruth, my wife, and I were very grateful.

Deborah drove us back to our hotel after 11 pm/23:00. She’s getting married in the morning…

Added in response to a question about the Church of St Peter St Paul via Google Translate: “Dating from 1755, the bell tower, all in granite, consists of a square tower surmounted by an octagonal part ending in a lantern. The aisles came to widen the nave from 1832, giving it its current appearance. On the gable of the south is leaned a cross whose granite base bears the date of 1851.” Thanks, Deborah!

An American in Paris

big sax

May 15: An American in Paris. Actually, two Americans celebrating their 24th wedding anniversary. After resting following our 24-hour, sleepless journey, we recognized that we had little time to experience the French capital. We went out to eat at a nearby restaurant in the Latin Quarter, so named because the language was taught at many schools in the area in the Middle Ages.

One of the first things one notices is giant teddy beans seated throughout the establishment. When I asked why, I was told they were a sign of happiness during COVID. They’re not limited to that restaurant but also appear at various shops.

As we were leaving, I took particular joy in seeing three adults my age or older sitting with this specific bear, even though there were other tables available.

We wandered down to Notre Dame. It’s a mighty impressive edifice, even during its renovation following the 15 April 2019 fire that toppled its iconic spire.

I love this hidden garden.

This piece of art was a block from our hotel.

May 16: After breakfast, we walked around the immediate area. The Panthéon is “a monument in the 5th arrondissement… built between 1758 and 1790.”

Ultimately, we realized we needed to take a tour bus around the city to see the sights at least. There were at least two Hop-on Hop-off bus tours of the city we saw, Big Bus and TootBus, which we took. It cost about 40 Euros, more if we wanted to ride the Seine, which we could have, but time was more a factor. We did stop at the Louvre, though we didn’t have tickets, so we didn’t go in.

We did see the noted locales, albeit briefly. C’est la tour Eiffel, taken on the tour bus.

TJ

We returned to the MUSEE D’ORSAY area because we had homework. Our daughter wanted us to make a video of us singing to the beginning of The Election of 1800 from Hamilton with something definitively French in the background. Specifically, she wanted us to emphasize the lyrics: “And they say I’m a Francophile: at least they know I know where France is!”

My wife had spotted a statue of Thomas Jefferson. We made a couple of attempts, but I don’t think they’re satisfactory, in part because of the lack of skills of the actors and film crew.

We ate at a nearby restaurant. While we were sitting, a dozen police vehicles, all with sirens, passed by; we never did figure out what that was about.

We decided to walk back to our hotel. It was farther than I anticipated, and we stopped twice. But what was great was that we got to see random images we photographed. We also purchased a couple of souvenirs for our daughter, including a pink beret and a wedding card for Deborah and Cyrille.

After a brief stop at our hotel room, we went to a restaurant only two blocks away. We stayed inside partly because it was cool and the cigarette smokers were out there. Even indoors, we could catch a hint of tobacco stench from the guy outside our window.

I was captivated by a table of eight people sitting outside, six women and two men. At least three people walked or rode their bicycles by and stopped to chat with the octet. It seemed very…French.

Deborah and Cyrille are engaged!

Gulf of Morbihan

My friend Deborah wrote to me in October 2022 that she and her beau Cyrille are engaged! I was happy for her and also a bit surprised for reasons.

Did I want to come to the wedding? Well, sure, of course. The slightly complicating factor is that they live in the Brittany section of France.

I’ve never been to France, or, for that matter, anywhere that’s not in North America. I always wanted to, and now’s an excellent opportunity.

Still, after they sent out the electronic, animated invitations on December 4, I did not respond despite indicating my desire to attend in an email. The wedding is a very elaborate series of events, which will be described in due course. On December 11, Deborah asked about my wife and me attending since I had not RSVPed yet.

This involved the next issue. After six months off, my wife would start a new job on January 2, 2023. It involves an afterschool program, and the school year is still going on May 19, when the wedding occurs.

(I should note that the six months “off” included her falling on her face, getting COVID, and having a leg infection that sent her to the hospital for four days plus more treatments for a month and a half afterward.)

I wrote, “I am going. [My wife] says she wants to go too but has to negotiate. She also needs to apply for her passport. I will let you know by the end of the month.”

Oui

We said yes on December 19, the same day we went to the local AAA office to discuss the trip with a travel consultant. They wrote back two days later: “Attached is a quote for your trip to France. Unfortunately, Avanti did not have any hotels in Erdeven. I checked, and none of the suppliers that we work with have hotels there. The closest town would be Auray (where the train goes) or Carnac.”

The trip involved flying from JFK Airport at 1830 on May 14, arriving at Charles De Gaulle Airport on May 15, staying at a hotel in Paris for three nights, then taking a train to Auray.

On January 4, we received another message from the couple, marked URGENT. “We are happy that you are coming.

“But we have learned that our wedding is during a major Brittany event, La Semaine du Golfe… It is urgent to make your hotel and transport reservations as soon as possible.”

Re: that event, taking place from Monday, May 15th to Sunday, May 21st, 2023.: “The Gulf of Morbihan regularly welcomes over 1000 classic and traditional vessels for La Semaine du Golfe, a quite unique maritime festival sees the fleet split into flotillas by class, with around 18 harbours welcoming a new flotilla on each day on the event.”

Deborah and Cyrille wrote: “We also want to invite you to a post-wedding brunch at our home on Saturday, 20th of May, at 12:30 pm at our home. Please RSVP by 15 January.” This we did.

Ascension Day

Next complication. We need to rent a car to get around to the various wedding locales. Avis in Auray, both at the train station and downtown, close at noon on the 17th, and they are closed all day on Thursday the 18th for Ascension Day.

What the heck is Ascension Day? “We commemorate Jesus Christ’s ascension into heaven (as per Christian belief) by celebrating Ascension Day, which occurs on the Thursday, which is 40 (or 39) days after Easter. This year, it will take place on May 18. Known by multiple names — The Feast of the Ascension, The Ascension of Jesus, Ascension Thursday, Holy Thursday, or Solemnity of the Ascension of the Lord — this is a Christian holiday that doubles as a public holiday in many countries like Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Germany, France, and more.”

This took me by surprise. The Wikipedia list of countries puts France as the 17th least devout among 144 counties, with only three in ten people saying that religion is important. (In the US, two in three say religion is important.)

So we returned to AAA on the phone and changed the train from the 18th to the 17th. Also, we booked a place to stay in Auray on the 17th and the 18th. But we did not yet undo our three days in Paris because AAA couldn’t get Avanti to lock in the train tickets.

But that’s for the next installment.

Be more Jonathan Swiftian, or not

I was surprised that some folks did not know what covfefe was.

When my bud Amy Biancolli called out Kathy Griffin for the severed head thing, she noted:

“I know my Jonathan Swift well enough to understand the creative and moral imperatives of political satire: To call out the horrors of a failed system with blackened, ridiculous overstatement. Swift challenged heartless British policies toward the starving with a ‘modest proposal’ to sell and cook Irish babies ‘in a fricassee, or a ragout’ — a ghastly piece of irony that he knew enough to publish anonymously.

“But the ghastliness was born of compassion. It didn’t target ACTUAL BABIES; it took aim instead at the ruthlessness of the system. Had Griffin taken a more Swiftian tack on Trump, his head would have stuck to his body and polished off a large plate of authentic-Mexican food.”

Interestingly, when David Larson, like Amy, working for a Hearst newspaper, proposed, with a nod to the great 18th century Irish satirist, “that San Francisco’s housing crisis be solved by dumping the elderly on the streets and letting nature take its course,” it received more than its fair share of backlash.

For the record, I found Griffin’s artistic statement, among other things, too unsubtle and strategically problematic. “See what kind of people you have on the left?!” Though it’s true that I’ve long ceased to think of Orangeism as a left-right, or even Republican-Democratic schism. It’s a whole different animal.

Swiftian satire is often difficult to pull off. Still, we do NEED some sort of humor. If someone “discovers” the meaning of the word ‘Covfefe’ in the Samoan language, this is not a “distraction” from the US withdrawal from the Paris climate agreement -my, that address was incredibly deceptive – or the bogus health care bill or the Russian involvement in our government. It is, rather, a coping mechanism.

(I was surprised that some folks did not know what covfefe was; Chuck Miller explains it.)

These continue to be a difficult time for some of us. I find joking with the folks at the CVS or to a nodding acquaintance on the street makes all of it just a little mote tolerable.

Maybe I should go to Paris

I had a pencil sharpener in the shape of the Eiffel Tower.

For a long time, well before I took high school French, I thought the first European city I’d like to visit would be Paris. Two of my cousins were born there; one had been living there again until recently, and the other is working there presently.

I pictured sitting in some cafe watching the people and absorbing the culture, the art, the music. I love this description: “Paris’ grandeur is inspiring but what I love most about the city is its intimacy. Its quartiers are like a patchwork of villages, and while it’s one of the world’s major metropolises – with all of the culture and facilities that go with it – there’s a real sense of community at the local shops, markets and cafes that hasn’t changed since my childhood. Yet because every little ‘village’ has its own evolving character, I’m constantly discovering and rediscovering hidden corners of the city.”

In the past couple years, the director of our library went there with his family; one of my sisters was taken there by her daughter on the way to the south of France; and there have been several others I know who have made the trip.

Maybe it’s that France saved the bacon the of the American colonists during our Revolutionary War.

When I think of the city, it’s the Eiffel Tower, of course. I had a pencil sharpener in the shape of the structure when I was a child. La tour Eiffel shows up in no fewer than five dozen films, including Midnight in Paris, which I saw.

Paris is also the Moulin Rouge, and of course, I saw that film as well. One of the best lines in one of the best films EVER is “We’ll always have Paris.” That comes from the 1942 classic Casablanca, spoken by Rick to his former lover Ilsa.

Oddly, the various attacks against Paris, including the Jewish cemeteries being defaced, Charlie Hebdo, and, most notably, the events of November 13, 2015 makes me MORE likely to want to visit.

LISTEN to some of my favorite music about Paris:

Sous le ciel de Paris – Edith Piaf
My Father – Judy Collins
April In Paris – Count Basie (the “pop goes the weasel” version)

Free Man In Paris – Joni Mitchell
George Gershwin’s An American in Paris – André Previn/London Symphony Orchestra
Audition (The Fools Who Dream) – Emma Stone from the movie La La Land
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ABC Wednesday – Round 20