Bonnes Fetes!

December in Paris is the time of holidays and short days --and as the sun never gets very high in the sky, there is dramatic lighting and long
shadows... even at noon!


We spent our Noel with our family --Andrew and Jenn and Timothy and our French family, Jacqueline and Philippe from Lyon. And it was joyeux!
And we did not have any of the pre-Christmas snow, ice, rain that battered the East Coast the week before! (I'll pass on these white Christmas dreams...)
Christmas morning, we went to Notre Dame for the Gregorian Mass which was said by the Archbishop and Cardinal Vingt-Trois (it is really his name). We got there early enough to hear the end of the 8:30 am mass and the choir perform at 9:30, and actually had good seats for the 10am high mass. It was in Latin and French and was the same mass I heard as a child --I was amazed that I recalled the songs and even some of the Latin. We got to go out through the main doors of Notre Dame which are always closed, so even that was a treat (as was the line for the international mass at 11:30, which was heading for Saint Chapelle if you know Paris).



As we had planned to have a Christmas dinner chez nous, we stopped for a cafe and then walked over to the Marias, which is the traditionally Jewish area for a falafel lunch! (As my sadly departed friend Mel always said when arriving for Christmas Eve, we are celebrating the birth of a nice Jewish boy!) It was lively in the Marias with tourists, families enjoying the nice weather and enterprising young people (note the menorah on top of the van).


Paris is busy Christmas week --there were lots of tourists. It was a bit surprising to me as we are always at family gatherings at Christmas (although, gives one food for thought...) There are several Christmas markets (although the place to go is Strasbourg and the other towns in Alsace for the spectacular German style markets).


Christmas creches are not in every church like they are in Italy. We were lucky as Saint Sulpice (yes, the Da Vinci Code church!) had a creche from Caltagirone, Sicily, which is well known for their decorative ceramics.




The most wonderful part of Christmas is that we were all together!

Quatre semaines.....

We arrived last year just days after Christmas and were greeted by the holiday lights making the rather short days festive. And now, as we head towards Christmas, we are greeted by these lights once again... and we will have come full circle. Our amazing year living in the City of Light will end as we board the plane on January 12, 2009 to come home --just four weeks from today. And we are looking forward to coming home (we were not so sure until the election was over and we elected Obama!), although there is much that we will miss. But, we have been extraordinarily fortunate to have had this experience. And we still marvel that we are here as we walk by the Louvre or Notre Dame or cross the Seine while the Tour d'Eiffel is sparkling...

Since my last posting, we have had visitors and returned to Normandy. It has struck me as fascinating that young men in their 20's want to see the D-Day beaches and landing site --our sons included! (Okay, Timothy did, and Andrew is arriving Thursday --I hope he is content to stay in Paris!) I found those places interesting-- and sobering, but honestly it was not first on my list (but, I did not play with GI Joes when I was a kid --and all of these boys did! Those hours of looking for Storm Shadow, Snake Eyes, Shipwreck... we -the moms- did it!) But, as I have said before, being here for a year gives you the opportunity to see things more that once.




We added a trip to Chartres this time --we had not been there since 1981-- and I had forgotten the magnificent vitrines, stained glass windows. (And, during WW II (and WW I) since we were on the subject, the windows were removed by the towns people and hidden; the Germans used the Cathedral for a club.) It escaped the wrath of the Revolution as forward thinking citizens prevented it from being blown up with the argument that the mound of rubble would fill the streets of the town and take years to remove. Started in 1020, the Romanesque cathedral was mostly destroyed by fire in 1194. The existing Gothic cathedral was completed in 1250 and has not been substantially changed. The collection of 13th century medieval stained glass is one of the most complete in the world --and glorious. (I was so enraptured looking up, that I missed the labyrinth in the floor of the nave, which is a rare 13th century labyrinth!)



But we did get a chance to re-visit Bayeux and we stayed in the town this time at another chambres d'hote with our friends and their soon to be married son. As Bob and Gavin toured the beaches, we spent time with Norah at the marche, which I knew since we had been there in October, and in the cathedral of Bayeux, which is another example of a Romanesque cathedral becoming into a Gothic one (this one was destroyed by fighting --and burned on purpose). The Romanesque cathedral, dedicated to Notre Dame, was consecrated on July 14, 1077, by Odo, the brother of William the Conqueror, in the presence of William and Mathilde. You may recall that the Bayeux Tapestry was probably commissioned for hanging in the cathedral.




And as our visitors have British, well, Scottish, roots, we did visit Pegasus bridge where the British landed men in gliders to take the position just before D-Day... and they did it!
We are back in Paris and it's Christmas!

Entre deux vues....

(Yes, we are still here! I have been late at posting this as we have had visitors, been traveling, and thinking about our rentree to the US (like looking for a job--).
A little short and late --but beautiful pictures!

The land of the Alpes-Maritimes is where the Alps descend to the Mediterranean and the culture along the coast has a definite Italian flavor (well, it was part of Italy until the citizens of Nice voted to join France rather than Italy during the Risorgimento (in the late 19th century and to some never finished!), and broke Garibaldi's heart --he was born in Nice... but, this is the French version...the Italian version blames Cavour for ceding the area of Nizzo in exchange for military support.

This is a corner of France and through into Italy that we have never visited--and why did we wait so long? It is the land of dramatic vistas, sparkling sun on the Mediterranean, small towns perched on steep cliffs, the ambiance of Provence and the food inspired by its Italian roots --heaven, in the off season!

We arrived in Antibes --and il pleut des cordes-- raining cats and dogs en francaise --raining ropes/cords.... Antibes is a quaint and charming old port city founded by the Greeks and occupied by the Romans. It is also home to some of the biggest yachts that I have ever seen. (While walking among similar bateaux in Monaco, Philippe asked if we smelled it... smelled the money!) There is plenty of it along the Cote d'Azur!




Many artists have come to the Cote d'Azur and there are many museums dedicated to them... Antibes has a Picasso museum, Biot--Fernand Leger, Nice-Matisse, Menton --Jean Cocteau (he designed the museum from a 17th century fortified building). Our favorite was the Fernand Leger...



Picasso is not unlike the US auto makers --he produces a great quantity and some of it is great, but lots is not... and he leaves owing vast amounts and leaves what he has not sold in lieu of taxes --perhaps there are artistic possibilities in those acres of unsold pick-up trucks and SUV's... there's a bailout plan!

After the rain, the sun dazzled us for the weekend and we visited some of our favorite --and most amazing style-- French hilltop towns that cling to the sides of the hills with steep and narrow streets and a view around every corner... the town of Gourdon....



It is more difficult to see in the vista photo, but that is the Mediterranean in the distance (we were told that on cold clear winter days you can see Corsica).

Our excursion took us to Nice, Monaco, Menton, Cannes, St.Paul en Vence, St. Tropez, and my favorite town, Ezes...





Visiting the Cote d'Azur in the fall is a good choice. We enjoyed mostly pleasant weather and we could not imagine how much traffic there could be during July and August on those narrow, winding roads... at least there was a great view while you sat in traffic!

Acqua Alta

Our trip to Venice and the surrounding area was not only a great way to celebrate my birthday, but David had a meeting to attend concerning the project to protect Venice from flooding. And... we got a taste of acqua alta as there were weather conditions and tides cooperating to flood San Marco. We witnessed a minor flooding event as the water did not extend much further beyond Piazza San Marco and along the canal. Walking around, I could not help but notice that the tourists enjoyed the walking on the raised sidewalks, seeing the water spilling over the quays... personnally, I found it a bit annoying after the first high tide (of course, having managed buildings all these years, I kept thinking of the clean up, the damage, the liability...).

But even on gray days, Venice sparkles!






And... I did get a Venetian birthday gift in addition to the wonderful trip (thank you, D!).



There are serious glass artists remaining in Venice and they now have a DOC-type (like the French AOC --remember the terrior??) certification for pieces made in Murano --and not shipped to Murano from China and thus labelled Murano! This piece is by Afro Celotto... there is a great YouTube video of him at work in his studio... so next year...

December 1, 2008--the highest floods is over 20 years inundated Venice on Monday... the water was over a meter higher than shown in my pictures... now even the mayor of Venice wants the project built (he had opposed it!).

I mosaici

All of us have that list of places that we must see, and sometimes we get tantalizingly close, but just not there. Ravenna was on my list for many years and although I have been in Italy a number of times, and even close by, I did not get to see the mosaics for which Ravenna is famous until 2005 --and last week!

But before we go to Ravenna, I cannot let our American mosaics escape a note. We just elected Barack Obama with an electoral map of the country and each state as dazzling as the mosaics in Ravenna for the message they carry --every small speck of color makes the picture sparkle. And a mosaic of a single color has no impact. While I am squarely in the blue, I can appreciate what a little red can add... the whole world can appreciate this as well... and take a deep breath. The whole world will have a different view of America since this election... let us have a different view of ourselves --and realize that we are a vibrant mosaic of colors-- and not a muddy pot of sameness. Yes We Can. ...and thank you Tina Fey.



The history of Ravenna is the history of the end of the Roman Empire (and this election could have been the beginning of the end of our country as well for many of us...). These great mosaics are from the 6th century, and the churches where they are found are Byzantine in style. A little history here... the Roman Empire as we are familiar with fell in 476 AD when Odoacer, from one of the Germanic tribes (the Visigoths had sacked Rome in 410 AD), deposed the last Roman Emperor, Romulus Augustulus (okay, I did not just recall this history, although like 1066, 476 AD is forever etched in our brains since high school... and thank you, Wikipedia, et al!) Theodoric became the person in power of the Western Roman Empire --the empire was seated at Byzantium (Constantinople), and the emperor was at this time of the late 400's, Zeno. Theodoric had spent time in Byzantium with Zeno and interestingly, this area had been "romanized" in terms of its military and government, and treatment of citizens. Zeno was disturbed by Odoacer, who was not acting Roman but rather like a barbarian, and he sent Theodoric to resolve the problem. After several defeats of Odoacer on the Italian peninsula in the north, Theodoric proposed to make peace with Odoacer. Over a celebratory dinner in Ravenna, Theodoric solved his problem permanently, allegedly with his bare hands (sounds like a Dick Cheney maneuver...).
He then became the de facto ruler of the Western Roman Empire.

Theodoric was a follower of the Arian sect of Christianity (Arianism was started in Alexandria by Arius in the 2nd and 3rd centuries. Arians did not believe that Jesus was one and the same with God the Father --they believed that Jesus was created by God the Father (unbegotten) as a "creature" as in human being --only begotten-- son, and that together they created the Holy Spirit, who was subservient to them. In short, they did not believe in the Trinity. This dispute was discussed at the Council of Nicaea in 325 AD, called by Constantine I. The Arians were condemned, and the council adopted the Nicene Creed (which all Catholics and most Christians recite from heart at mass with no idea of why it is so important --and interesting!-- in the history of the Christianity). Those words, "eternally begotten by the Father, God from God, Light from Light, True God from True God, begotten, not made, one in being with the Father ...We believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the Giver of Life, who proceeds from the Father and the Son, With the Father and the Son , he is worshipped and glorified...", confirm the divinity of Jesus and the Holy Spirit, and the Holy Trinity as the cornerstone of belief in most of Christianity.

Theodoric had been rather tolerant of both beliefs until the true believers started persecuting the Arians in Constantinople, and he started retaliating against the Catholics in Ravenna (he died before all the churches were destroyed and there was no equivalent of the French Revolution that battered lots of historic art in French churches). Thus, the mosaics in Ravenna that were completed in churches of Arian beliefs, portray Jesus as more human than divine. And some of these Arian churches were later corrected! There is one baptistery that was "ortodossi" (Catholic) --and not Arian-- surviving.
These pictures showing Jesus being baptized by John the Baptist are from two baptisteries --the top photo is from the Battistero degli Ortodossi and the lower one from the Battistero degli Ariani-- note that Jesus has a halo around his head in the upper photo, demonstrating his divinity... in the Arian bapistry, Jesus is shown without this symbol. The figure in both holding the trident represents the River Jordan.



There are several churches, San Vitale, San Apollinare Nouvo, and San Apollinare in Classe (the name of the city outside of Ravenna is Classe, and it was the old Roman port --now surrounded by land), that we visited.
San Vitale was consecrated in 548 and is built as an octagon --the mosaics below: Jesus, Abraham ready to sacrifice Isaac, the Emperor Justinian, and the exterior of the basilica.


















San Apollinare in Classe was consecrated the year after, in 549.












In San Apollinare Nuovo, the restoration of the mosaics shows where Arianism has been corrected!


















And there are tombs... the oldest is the tomb of Galla Placida --built in the middle of the 5th century for the Empress Galla Placida, who is actually buried in Rome where she died... and it was quite dark! It is hard to see, but the ceiling is covered with deep blue and gold...





I have included pictures of the outside of all of these structures --they are all made of brick and without ornamentation. Of course, entering one of these buildings, you are dazzled... you simply have to raise your eyes to their heights and absorb their splendor --definitely worth the wait to see them-- and even better the second time.