We had a friend visiting this week and since it was her first trip to Paris we did a few touristy things like a boat ride down the Seine, see Notre Dame, and a visit to the Eiffel Tower on the coldest, windiest, rainiest, hail and sleety day we have experienced here! (but the lines were SHORT! Think Mt. Washington) As she had never been to France, she wanted to see the countryside. We decided to rent a car and take a day trip to a few smaller towns and the area just west and north of Paris. It still amazes me that you can drive about 10 miles from Paris and be in the middle of farm land!
I must admit that I had never seen much north of Paris, and my only trips west were to Versailles and to Chartres --many years ago!
I wanted us to see places that give a flavor of France--and that complimented Paris in a way that makes Paris not any big city, but the heart of France.
Our first stop was the small town of Auvers-sur-Oise. I chose this town as it had once been the home of Vincent Van Gogh (he ended his life here and is buried here along with his brother, Theo) as well as other Impressionists like Pissaro and Cezanne. It was the home of Dr. Paul Gachet, a collector and friend to some of the Impressionists, and it has remained small and rural. (Dr. Gachet did treat Van Gogh and there is speculation about how effective he may have been --but, Van Gogh was a sick man and had been described as a difficult patient.) The church, the streets, and the houses in the old part of the town look much like they did when they were painted in the late 1800's. Auvers has installed copies of some of the paintings at the sites where they were painted so that you can get to see the subject and the work of art side by side. At a visit to the Musee d'Orsay earlier in the week, we saw some of these original paintings.
A visit to the Abbaye du Royaumont was the next stop. Ruins of abbeys are part of the landscape in Europe and there are several in France (most were made ruins during the French Revolution). The Abbeye du Royaumont has the ruins of the large church, but the cloister and its spaces like the kitchen, refectory, and library are still intact and have been restored. The abbey was founded by King Louis IX (the future St. Louis and for whom the city of St. Louis, Missouri, was named) and deeded to the Cistercians in 1228. Founded in France in the 12th century, the Cistercian order was on based on the principles of primitive monasticism --simple lives and a return to manual labor. Ironically, this return to manual labor, e.g. farming, made the order wealthy as they were quite successful and innovative in their farming and development of technology.
The Abbeye du Royaumont is built on the banks of the two small rivers, and the monks used the water not only for agricultural purposes but for "plumbing" and waste disposal. And as is the story with many religious sites in France, the Revolution confiscated the property in 1790. It was sold in 1791 to the enterprising Marquis Travanet who saw commercial value in the extensive waterworks and hydro-power possibilities. He used the abbey for a cotton mill. The large church was dismantled and its stone sold off as building material. The workers were housed in the monks' living quarters. All that remains of the church is one tower, the footings of the columns of the apse, and the "party" wall shared with the cloister.
The property went through several transfers after 1860 when it was no longer profitable with a manufacturing use, and was purchased by Jules Gouin who wanted to restore it as a country home for his family. It was used as a hospital during WWI. Gouin's grandson Henri purchased the entire abbey and began what has become its current use, a cultural foundation for music, poetry and heritage, particularly of the Middle Ages. The magnificent refectory is used for concerts.
The day ended with a walk through Senlis, a small town north of Paris with winding stone streets and old buildings and churches--and in commuting distance to Paris.
Although I think it was in commuting distance, some weary men need a rest stop on the way home. While driving inbound to Paris during commuting hours along a road which shall remain unidentified (I would not like to find this blog listed as one of the most frequently visited, after all, I did spend 24 years working for the YWCA), I noticed small "camping cars" pulled off on the side of the road. At first, I just noticed --and thought maybe people were walking in the woods. Then I realized that they were parked at every little pullover --and there were women in the driver's seat, and they were not dressed for camping or driving! Just outside of Rome is another famous spot for this activity. However, the Italians may have the French beat on this one. Spaghetti alla Puttanesca is a favorite Italian spaghetti and can be found in fancy Italian restaurants (I would guess that even Mario Batali has made it!) --is there a French equivalent? It's always about the food, c'est la France!
But the center of life is Paris.....
The day the Olympic torch came to Paris, Parisiens made their sentiments known.....note the Liberte, Egalite, Fraternite carved into the facade.
And in today's Le Monde:
La Chine a condamné la décision de la municipalité parisienne de faire du dalaï-lama un citoyen d'honneur, assurant que les liens entre les deux pays en avaient souffert.
And making the Dalai-Lama an honorary citizen of Paris while Le President Sarkozy is sending letters of apology to Chinese athletes and envoys to Beijing...he might want to remind himself every morning when he looks out across Place de la Concorde that the guillotine was set up there!
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