Travelling Around

Since returning to France in early April, we went into Paris for a weekend, spent 3 days in Brugge, and travelled through southern Portugal and Spain for 10 days.








Luxembourg gardens the day before Easter. We had dinner with our friend, Catherine, that evening, then went to a Gregorian Mass on Easter Sunday.


Brugge




In Brugge, a very pretty small town with canals and winding streets in northern Belgium


Portugal





Overlooking Sintra, a very historic town with Moorish influences, perched on the side of a mountain to the west of Lisbon

At a cafe in Sintra Sintra



As we left Sintra, we headed west to Cabo de Roca, the western-most point in Portugal and in Europe

Next, we headed south toward the Algarve coast. This is a great restaurant in southern Portugal, nestled on a cove on the beach. You picked your own fresh fish from their catch of the day, and it was then prepared for you. Great Sangria made with sparkling white wine, too.


A beach on the Algarve coast near our hotel in southern Portugal. The beaches were very pretty, but the area was quite overdeveloped generally, with no discernible planning or control.


Spain

Our favorite beach near our hotel in southern Spain on the Atlantic coast, near Conil de la Frontera

On the deck of our hotel room in Spain

We took a drive east to the Mediterranean Sea and the Rock of Gibraltar (in the background)

We had lunch in this lovely hillside town, Vejer de la Frontera, in southern Spain



Back to Portugal

On our way back to the Lisbon airport, we spent two nights in Evora, Portugal. Very beautiful city full of things to see. We had a great dinner of local wine, a tomato soup with bread and sausage, wild pig with potatoes, vegetables, and salad, dessert, and port wine, for $30 euros. We thought is must have been a mistake.

After dinner in Evora.

Back in France April 2009

We arrived back in Soucy on April 6. I was still rehabbing from my torn ACL (skiing in late March), so we started bike riding slowly and I wore a knee brace. But we quickly got back in gear and were doing 25 to 40 mile rides by April 20. By mid to late April the spring colors in the countryside were lush and vibrant, especially the mustard and the winter wheat crop. Milton's garden was full of blooming tulips, daffodils, and hyacinths when we arrived.

Winter in Tahoe

Granddaughter Presley's first ski lesson -

Winter view from our deck

Sledding across the street from our house with my sister Mary and brother Paul in mid-February

With Jamari in front of our house, after a February storm

New Year's Eve at Northstar - we were joined by Susie and Bob and family, and Paul and Susie and family. A day of skiing and snow fun, then appetizers and games, Northstar fireworks, and finally a late New Year's Eve dinner followed by a couple of rounds of Murder in the Dark made it easier to stay up until midnight.

World's cutest grandchildren, at Northstar

After the gifts -

Back in the US

We arrived back in the US just in time for Thanksgiving. After spending a few days at Jake and Anne’s and dinner with family, we headed to Yuba City for a traditional Thanksgiving there. Next, it was on to Tahoe and settling in to our home base for the four months to come.

We had our family Christmas at Northstar, with all the kids in attendance except Joel (he was sick).

Sites Around Soucy

The area around Soucy is rich in history and things to see. We have barely scratched the surface. The churches date back to the 11th century. There are many remains of medieval chateaux and dungeons. The area was also in the center of WWI fighting.

Below are just a few highlights.

Pierrefonds is just a 15 minute drive (45 minutes by bike) from Soucy, and is said to be one of the most visited monuments in France. It was built in the 14th century for Louis D'Orléans, brother of King Charles VI, and was demolished two-hundred years later by Louis XIII. Napoleon III bought the ruined castle in 1813 for under 3,000 Francs, and entrusted Viollet-le-Duc with its restoration, who rebuilt it along the lines of a medieval fortress. The surrounding forest and a small lake add to the area's charms. In WWI the area served as one of 3 hospitals for wounded French soldiers. The castle was also the inspiration for the castle at Disneyland.

Outside Pierrefonds

Water spout (on the left) inside the courtyard of Pierrefond

Laon: a city, high on a hill and in the north-east corner of France. The hilly district of Laon has always had some strategic importance. In the time of Caesar there was a Gallic village where the inhabitants had to meet the onset of the confederated Belgae. Whatever may have been the precise locality of that battlefield, Laon was fortified by the Romans, and successively checked the invasions of the Franks, Burgndians, Huns, and others. It contains many medieval buildings. The most important of these is the cathedral Notre-Dame de Laon, dating mostly from the 12th and 13th centuries. The picture above is of the chapel of the Templars belonging to the 12th century. The area was occupied by the Germans for most of WWI.

Along the Chemin des Dames (Ladies' Road) - A road some thirty kilometres long and runs along a ridge between the valleys of the rivers Aisne and Ailette. It acquired the name in the 18th century, as it was the route taken by the two daughters of Louis XV, who were known as Ladies of France. At the time it was scarcely a carriage road but it was the most direct route between Paris and the château of the former mistress of Louis XV and former lady in waiting to one of the daughters, and whom the daughters visited frequently. To make the way easier, the count had the road surfaced and it gained its new name.

During WWI, the Chemin Des Dames was the scene of several bloody battles between 1914 and 1918. It was held predominantly by the German army from November 1914. The most noted battle took place over 9 days in April 1917. The French, advocating the use of overwhelming force, attacked the German line along a front on the Chemin's ridge. The German defenders had found shelter in caves below the ridge from which they were able to dominate the ground over which the attack was made. On the first day, the French army, with support by battalions of Senegalese soldiers, lost over 40,000 men. During the entire 9 day battle, French forces lost approximately 97,000 men. The overwhelming loss of lives with insignificant strategic gain was a disaster for Nivelle, the French general, and many mutinies followed. Petain (of later Vichy fame), soon replaced Nivelle.