Wednesday, January 25, 2012

~From Woody's Point of View~

Woody and I are perfect travel partners, I think. He sees things in a different way than I do...even when it is the same thing.  And he always sees the thing I never would have noticed in the first place.

When we visited the French sculpture garden at the Louvre, I noticed the wonderfully detailed woman.

Woody noticed that it was created by Pigalle.  (I totally missed the signature.)



When we are walking Woody is always looking up and down.  On this day we were noticing all the intricate ironwork balconies.  He pointed out the one where the apartment dweller obviously wanted a little "privacy". (eeeew, seems so un-Parisian to me)


These "deterrents" are all over Paris.  (see Architecture post)

I saw the sign that said "Ecole Polytechnique";  Woody saw this bas relief right next to it.


One day Woody posed the question "I wonder why don't we ever see any rusty ironwork?"
Here's the answer.

This one-stop BIKE SHOP includes on one side~bicycles; on the other~motorbikes.

The day we were walking along the Promenade Plantee, which is the walking path on the old raised railway bed; I was constantly looking down towards the street level and Woody was studying the number and variety of chimney stacks.



Complaining about my aching feet, which was constantly; Woody found the 'solution'.
How I would have loved a massage des pieds!!!


I would have missed this.  
Woody said, "Look at the bats and spiders!"
"Yikes! Where??"


This next scene is a little difficult to decipher.  The yellow truck is lifting a large container of building material (concrete etc)from the Chanel renovation site, onto it's bed....it was an interesting 'balancing act'. Nothing like we have ever seen stateside.  We stood and watched this for quite awhile.  I should have taken a video.


He pointed this out...I took the photo....I don't know why.


Again, "Look at the snake!"     "Where!!"


One of my favorite photos....a little lone dandelion in a corner on the large ornate
 Pont Alexander III bridge.

Sunday, January 22, 2012

~Normandy D-day Beach Tour~

The excursion to Normandy on the northwest coast of France to see the D-Day  Landing Beaches and American Cemetery was extraordinary.  We've wanted to do this but were unsure if I could manage the long drive.  As it turned out, the drive wasn't bad and the scenery along the way made the time fly.

Our first stop was Caen to visit the Memorial. This museum was the most extensive and detailed account of the time leading up to World War II, beginning with the end of World War I, to the rise of Hitler, the persecution of the Jewish people and progression of the war leading to the Battle of Normandy.  There were very graphic photos, film clips of the bombing of London and the allied invasion on June 6th.

I had read a really good book before our trip by Erik Larson titled "In the Garden of Beasts".  The true story tells about the rise of Hitler in Germany from the viewpoint of the American ambassador in Berlin.  The museum confirmed Larson's account, in a very dramatic way.

 The end of the "Great War".  Europe was devasted. The militaries were depleted, cities and countries destroyed and  there were an incredible number of casualities.

Because of the terrible toll that the war had on the allies and the humiliation that Germany experienced in losing, it was the perfect climate for Hitler to begin his rise and take over of the government.  It wasn't that it wasn't noticed; it was never acted upon.  The French and British were war weary, their military was depleted and the world wide economic depression added to the increasing power that Hitler's ideas had over the German people.

Accounts of the systematic persecution and extermination of the Jews were harrowing. 

As much as we've heard and read of the Holocaust, it did not prepare me for these exhibits.  I saw and read about more than I ever knew; it was so appalling and gruesome that I had to pass by much of that part of the exhibit.

Most dramatic for me was actual film footage of the bombing of London.  There was a small viewing room, darkened with only the projection screen.  You saw and heard the bombing...it was incredibly "real".

The D-Day offensive was awesome.  I had no recollection from history classes the magnitude of the Allied invasion forces.  The actual war film footage was incredible.  The naval fleet was over 6000 vessels.  Airborne troops numbered 25,000.  The invasion was co-ordinated with the French resistance in France. There were more than 195,000 land, air and sea troops in the operations headed by Generals Eisenhower & Montgomery.  The landings took place along a 50 mile stretch of  the Normandy coast that was divided into 5 sectors; Utah, Omaha, Juno, Gold and Sword.

After a superb sit-down lunch with wine, we boarded the bus to view the beaches.

Utah Beach

I was not prepared for what I was seeing.  The landscaped littered with huge bomb craters.  Even though they were covered with grass, the enormity was quite evident.

 Also the number of bunkers remaining was surprising. Simply staggering.

Then there were the cliffs.  The landing footage at the Memorial showed the troops maneuvering these cliffs.  Seeing it was mind boggling.  You can only imagine what the troops were going through trying to scale these cliffs.  Because the actual landing site was missed to the southeast and due to the paratroopers that landed as well, this operation had the least number of casualites.

On the way to Omaha beach, we stopped at Arromanches.  The site of Mulberry Harbor, an artificial harbor built of huge concrete slabs that were shipped across the English Channel.  Since there were no natural harbors in the area, an artificial harbor had to built for unloading cargo.


Part of the Mulberry Harbor remaining.

One of the concrete slabs used to build the artificial harbor.

Omaha Beach


The primary objective of the landing was to secure the area of the beach linking the British landings at Gold Beach to the east and Utah Beach to the west. Very little went as planned during the landing at Omaha.  Omaha was the most heavily fortified beach.  Difficulties in navigation resulted in most of the landings to drift eastward, missing the targeted area.  American casualites numbered 5000.  It took 3 days to secure the beach.





Omaha Beach Memorial


On the way to the Amercian Cemetery at Colleville, we drove through the beautiful Normandy countryside.  The roads were very narrow for our oversized tour bus.





American Cemetery~Colleville
The cemetery sits up on a bluff overlooking Omaha Beach.  It is an awesome site; somber, reverent and poignant.

While we were walking passed the pool, the chimes began to play the "Star Spangled Banner".  Everyone stopped where they were and focused on the two flag poles.  When the anthem was done, "Taps" was played.  We weren't sure what the occasion was but the response was quite emotional.




 Overlooking Omaha beach

"Here rest in honored glory A COMRADE IN ARMS known but to God"
There were so many graves marked like this.




From the cemetery we drove further east to Juno Beach.  This beach was taken by the Canadian forces and it is also the site of the French Resistance Memorial.

Juno Beach
 The thought provoking wall leading passed the large bunker on the way to the beach.


The French Resistance Memorial
The French Resistance was key in the success of the D-day mission.

This day (and tour) was the best history lesson.  We, as Americans, have no concept of what it means to be "occupied" by a hostile force.  The respect and honor given to the Allied Forces is evident everywhere.  

Emotions ran high today~ extreme pride and sadness.  This day will be a long held memory.

Friday, January 6, 2012

~Haute Couture on Avenue Montaigne~

Avenue Montaigne, in the 8th arr., is home to the famous haute couture designers.

The broad boulevard is lined on both sides by elegant buildings accented with classic wrought iron and sculptured entrances.
Dior

The color of the Dior "line" seems to be gray.

The beauty is in the detail.
I don't wear heels and would never, ever consider wearing 4 inch heels~but these were elegant~very tempting.


This is the entrance to Gucci.  Even the hedges are so.....GUCCI.

More shoes...very similar to the gray Diors.

 I have never heard of Loewe. (should I admit that?)

But I fell in love with the "Flamenco Sac"~the price tag said 1400 euros.

This particular handbag was touted as being made with 65 pieces.

Halfway down the avenue, the 5 star Hotel Plaza Athenee was striking with it's red awnings and flower boxes.

Woody's just looking.

More shoes....Giorgio Armani.  There was a matching handbag.

I must mention that these shops were not lacking for customers; some of whom came out with multiple bags.

My favorite designer was Chanel.  The windows were filled with the most beautiful jewelry...something I don't think of when Chanel is mentioned.

I don't think I could pull off the brooch, on leg warmers with stiletto heels.

I wanted Woody to go in and buy me these earrings. I voted this the most desirable item on Avenue Montaigne.
More elegant jewelry....

Moving down the street~Prada.  More shoes/boots.


Avenue Montaigne ends at Place d'Alma and a small park with this beautiful sculpture.




In the opposite direction it is framed by the Eiffel Tower.

The "Flame of Liberty", the counterpart to the flame of the Statue of Liberty, was placed in the Place in 1987 as a gift celebrating the centenary of the Statue.
The tunnel under Place d'Alma was the sight of the auto crash in which Princess Diana was killed.   Flowers continue to be placed near the flame in her memory.

Avenue Georges V also ends at the Place d'Alma.  We continued our walk up Georges V, seeing more designer shops, elegant cafes and the American Cathedral (the topic of a future post).