Road Home
May - 27 - 2013It has been a few days since I have been able to post due to faulty internet connections or lack of time. So, you will get several day's worth today. Make sure to check some of the dates below.
Regensburg was not bombed during WWII so much of its antiquities (at least those dating from the Middle Ages) are still in tact. I mentioned that the building our hotel was in dated from 1050 AD. We had a view from our rooms of 179 AD stone building and the Cathedral.
We wandered the town after breakfast since we did not have to check out until noon. The town is full of shops and everything is well maintained. Dad even with the rain we lost track of time and had to rush back to our hotel to check out.
We left for Frankfurt and it began to clear along the way. With clear dry weather and roads we were mading good time so we decided to stop in Wurtzburg for lunch and walk around. We found a stand selling sausages on rolls and saw Germany's second oldest bridge.
We arrived at our hotel near the airport early. So this is it. More thought later. Off to dinner with Dad.
Bavarian Charm
May - 26 - 2013Rain, lots of it, but not enough to dampen fun of a scenic drive to Regensburg. Bavarian towns are friendly places. People are warm and always have a smile. They also have quaint customs such as May poles. The first of May every town erects their May pole--a telephone pole sized pole with decorations of local trades, colorful ribbons and pine boughs. Each town's is different. and neighboring towns try to steal each other's May pole and hold it ransom for beer.
We also drove through a little town where they were having a fest. Everyone was in local costume complete with laderhosen. It looked as though the entire town was walking to the fest site. Everyone looked happy even with it raining.
We arrived at Regensburg early-ish and checked into our very modern hotel in a 1050 AD building. We crossed an old stone bridge (the oldest in Germany) to go to another beer garden for lunch where I finally got my white asparagus. (None for Dad, thanks.) We had dinner at the hotel.
Robert's House
May - 25 - 2013After breakfast we took a cross-country drive to my friend Robert's house in Bouxwille. Robert wasn't there. I didn't expect him to be. Robert lives in California most of the year. But, we were in the neighborhood. Dad took some silly pictures of me at Robert's then on to Germany.
First stop in Germany--Stuttgart at the Mercedes Museum. Incroyable! Daimler Benz has so many firsts. First automobile. First mass-production assembly line of automobiles (not Ford as we like to think). And on and on. So many great old classic cars too.
We stayed the night in a nice hotel by castle on a hill overlooking the town of Heidenheim. Dinner was in a beer garden while watching soccer playoffs. Good beer. Better spatzle!
Where the Emery's Were From?
May - 24 - 2013Today I woke up to find out that I had lost my phone cable. Luckily, there are Apple stores in every major city in Europe. Lyon actually has two because of its size.
Lyon is not someplace we had intended to stop. I am glad we did. Lyon is the second largest metropolitan area in France. It is clean, friendly and a the entire city is UNESCO World Heritage sit. We did not have much time in Lyon due to Dad's blitzkrieg approach to the second half of the trip. "We must get to Regensburg." We saw the Cathedral, a masterpiece of early 20th century art and architecture that did a good job of competing with the grandeur of the older Cathedrals we have seen on this trip.
We also stopped by the two Roman amphitheaters a short walk from the Cathedral. These amphitheaters are still in use today and they were in the process of setting up the stage for a concert. It was odd to see modern scaffolding set up next to ancient column remnants. Even so, it somehow felt ok that this outdoor space created for the arts was still being used as intended.
Last night, I was sitting in my room doing research on the name "Emery". I had remembered from a book I read in the early 80's that our first Emery ancestor in England was a knight who fought at Hasting with William the Conqueror in 1066. I had remembered that he was "d' Amerey". My research found that the Emery's first ancestor in England was Gilbert D'Amerey.
With information in hand I found the tiny village just outside of Xertigney. We did not spend much time there and there was little to see but it still fun to visit a place where your family may have been some 1000 years ago.
That night we stayed at an Ibis Hotel by the river in Velzey. It is a pretty town. We walked across the old bridge into the old town and had a nice dinner (beef tung for me) in an upstairs restaurant in an old building with a rude waitress. Didn't matter. Another great day.
South of France in a Day
May - 23 - 2013Dad wanted to mention a couple of iPhone apps that have really helped with our travels. The first is Lonely Planet's Off-line Translator and the second is Word Lens, another off-line translator that translates (sometimes humorously) printed text on the fly.
He also wanted everyone to know he is having a great time!
I told Dad that I was running out of superlatives for some of the things we have seen. He suggested that I use French or German words instead. We will see how it goes.
We has a scenic drive to Carcassonne and toured the castle. Carcassonne is a Medieval citadel that is still largely intact. Although very touristy, it is still a lot of fun and a UNESCO World Heritage site. Along with the parapets and moat, most of the old town still exists (along with some nasty, old-fashioned toilets from the 1940's--the kind with just a hole in the floor.) We had a quick walk around the citadel then back on the road.
Back in the car on the way to Pont-du-Gard with a quick wave to the Mediterranean on the way by. The Pont-du-Gard is a portion of a 2000-year old aqueduct that bridged the Gardon Valley 50 meters high. Mervilleux! Had a nice walk up to the top and got to see the structure up close.
Next, drove around (and got lost in the middle of for a while) the wall city of Avignon. Avignon was the home the Popes for about 100 years. It is where one Pope lived the last time we had two Popes in the 1300s.
Finally, Dad humored me by allowing for a quick drive-through of Chateaunuef-du-Pape. It was just after six and all of the wineries were closed but it gave me much joy just to be in the town where some of my favorite wines are made.
Finish the night by finding a place to stay in Valence. Tomorrow we are off towards Alsace and the Rhine.
Unbelievably Old (No, Not Dad)
May - 22 - 2013We got an early start today. So early that the lobby was dark and there was no one at the front desk. We figured out how to unlock the hotel front door and set off on foot to get a bite to eat before moving on.
The town (more like village) of Les Eyzies de Tayac is like many in the area--old and quaint with many of the structures built into the cliffs. People have been living in these valleys for millennia. Many millennia. Not thousands but tens of thousands millennia. And not cavemen like Neanderthal but our people--Homo Sapiens. People who would look very, very much like us.
To bring the point home, we had the privilege of going to the last cave with well-preserved, ancient cave art that the general public is allowed to visit. Most of the others are either closed or reproductions of originals. We waited in line for an hour to be one of 80 people for the day (in groups of 10 or 12) to tour the caves.
It takes a while for your eyes to adjust to the dark and, if you didn't know what you where looking at, you would miss it entirely. But there it was. A bison, delicately painted into the contours of the cave wall so that the legs matched reliefs in narrow, vertical places in the stone. Same with the rest of the animal. Head and belly skillfully painted into contours or protrusions. As your eye begin to understand what you are seeing your notice there are more of them stampeding in either direction for 30 feet. You quickly realize that these are not paintings by children but sophisticated works of art delicately painted by skilled hands in on sections of wall in bas-relief. The guide explained that in the light of a torch or other flame the animals appear to move in 3D. Clearly not the art of a child or less intelligent primate but the work of Man. Our people. Somewhere around 35,000 BC. Nope, that's not a misplaced coma and and extra zero. We were looking at modern, sophisticated art over 37,000 years old. Stunning.
The rest of the cave had more animals such as dear and horses. All as intriguing as the rest. The hour went by in what felt like seconds. We were outside again left to reflect that this cave too might soon be closed to the public and we were some of the privileged that were able to visit.
It has been an emotional experience for me. Not in a break-down-and-cry sort of a way. It did not make me feel small or insignificant. The feeling is, oddly, both subtle and profound. It is also mildly "religious." This experience and trying to wrap my mind around the whole thing has had real impact.
We got back in the car and headed south. No rain today and no freeways. Only country roads with small towns and spring vista all the way to Castres with a stop in Sarlat for lunch and laundry.
The Best Rest Area Ever
May - 21 - 2013We had breakfast at 6:30 and hit the road. We were up against at least 6 1/2 hour drive to the Dordogne Valley to see millenia-old cave paintings. And, for some reason I was tired despite a good night's sleep.
About half way through the trip I needed to stop to stretch my legs and take a break. We pulled off into a rest area. No one else was there. For some reason I decided to pull around to the back parking lot. In front of us was a facade of an old church. Not the entire church. Just the front wall.
Dad and I grabbed our cameras and decided to expore.
It turns out we had stumbled into a major Romanesque exhibit and we had the entire thing to ourselves. It was more than just the one church front. In included to other church walls and many, many other peices spread over about 2 acres.
Weird and wonderful!
We arrived Les Eyzies de Tayac and scoped out the point of entry for the cave paintings. We checked out several hotels and decided on the Hostellerie du Passeur--a small, quaint hotel in an old house.
The area is beautiful. The little villages are surounded by sandstone cliffs and lazy rivers nestled in green forests. I am looking forward to exploring tomorrow.
We walked the little town, scouted a place for breakfast and had dinner in the hotel.
This area is noted for foie gras. Since we can't get it in California anymore, I will get my fill while I am here. I also tried walnut wine. It was not bad but not a good substitute for regular wine.
In Others' Footsteps
May - 20 - 2013Another drizzly day in Normandy. We had a nice breakfast then we went to the US Airborne Museum. This museum does not get high marks by most of the guide books but we really enjoyed it. They have several vehicles and aircraft including a glider that the troops were carried to D-Day on behind enemy lines. The museum is well laid out and tells the story from this perspective very well. The remarkable thing for Dad and me both is the images (both video and photographs) that we have never seen before. I seems like the documentaries we get at home use the same footage over and over again yet there is so much that we never see. The other interesting item is how American-centric what we get at home about WWII has become. Not surprising, just disappointing. The story is so much richer when and American AND pan-European view is taken.
We left the museum and journeyed to Mont-St-Michel. Mont-St.-Michel is awesome in the literal sense of the word--it is awe inspiring. Like Chartres, our first sighting was from the distance (18 km). We parked in the brand new parking lot (not even on the GPS or maps yet). The rain was coming down lightly and so we decided to make the pilgrimage as so many have done over the centuries.
By the time we reached the small town before the causeway to the Mont it started to rain much harder. The wind was blowing the rain sideways and it was cold. We decided to have lunch and wait it out. After lunch--no change,still raining. So we did what any good pilgrim would do and decided to go for it.
The bus ride across the causeway took about 10 minutes to go the 2 or so kms. The causeway is in the process of being replaced by a series of bridges that will allow the bay to reclaim the area around the Mont. Construction is well under way.
We got off the bus and it was raining even harder. I turned to Dad and said, "We've made it this far. Why not at least go up to the city walls."
He said, "I was thinking the same thing. We can come back tomorrow if we want but since we made it this far..." The wall became the gate then we were inside.
Dad-"Since we are here I want to see some shops." OK! We walked up the hill and by the shops.
Me-"Well, since we are the top of the shops let's go to the Abbey. It's just right there." OK!
By the way, there are about 900 steps apse of the abbey and there were many more after.
Touring the abbey gave us shelter from the rain. It also gave us insight into an engineering marvel. Remember that when this was built there was no causeway. It must have taken quite a lot of effort to get the stones across the salt flats and up that mountain.
When we finished the rain had stopped giving Dad plenty of time to wander through a few of the shops. On the way back on the bus all I could do is reflect on how magical and marvelous this place is. Pictures do not do it justice.
We left the parking lot and parked next to an old French windmill to decide next steps. The decision was to head south. Rennes for the night at another Ibis Hotel. It was a bank holiday so we had to settle for a French chain of Western restaurants called Buffalo Grill. Quite an experience.
Even More Big Things
May - 19 - 2013Woke up to a drizzly day in St-Lo. Much better than the heavy rains of last night. Although driving in the rain when you are tired is never fun, I must say that driving in a country where people really know how to drive makes it much easier. People actually pay attention while driving here AND they respect the rights-of-way rules. Very cool. And I absolutely love roundabouts.
Had a nice breakfast at the hotel and headed towards Bayeux and the Normandy WWII sites.
I have wanted to see the Bayeux Tapestry the last few times I was in the area but either time or lack of interest by travel mates has thwarted that plan. Luckily, Dad was interested as well so I finally got to go to the museum. Calling it a museum is probably not accurate since the tapestry is the only thing in it. But somehow that was enough. The tapestry is very, very long (70 meters.) It tells the story of the William the Conquerer and the Battle of Hasting.
After the tapestry we travelled to Arromanches-les-Bains to the Musée du Débarquement--a museum that explains how the Allies set up a huge artificial harbor in a matter of days.
Lunch on the go. Sausage on a baguette. Very good.
On to Omaha Beach. Every time I see this stretch of sand I marvel that anyone made it. Sadly, the vast expanse of grave markers at the American Military Cemetery tells that many did not.
Next to Pointe du Hoc, the sight where 225 American solders tried (and 90 succeeded) to scale the 100 foot cliff and take the gun placements at the top. I was surprised to see the area is still pockmarked with enormous craters where the Allies shelled the Germans before the assault.
Last stop of the day was at Sainte-Mere-Eglise to see the mannequin of the paratrooper hanging from the spire of the church. Then off to the Hotel Ste-Mere-Eglise where we also had dinner.
Two more big things--Dad ate three spears of white asparagus just so he could say he did.(He hates green asparagus.) Also, Dad did not go to Mass. He felt time in Chartres Cathedral and time at the battle sites and cemetery was spiritual enough for this week.
Big Things
May - 18 - 2013Versailles! Even after several visits the scale is completely imposible for my mind to comprehend
We woke and arrived an hour before the palace opened. It gave us a chance to see the gardens briefly before getting locked in. Yes, we got locked in the gardens. Apparently they charge on weekends and we just happened to get there before they were done setting up.
After finding our way out we had light breakfast at a cafe near where Tori and I stayed last summer and then proceeded to the palace. Crowds were relatively light!
Like the gardens, the palace goes on and on. Room after garish room it just goes on and on. At one point Dad said to me, "Weren't we just in this hall?" No, just another 100-yard hallway lined with life-size statues and busts.
After the palace we decided that the gardens and the potential for rain were out of the question. Off to Chartres.
On the way to Chartres we stopped at a European fast food chain called Quick that I have been wanting to try for years. Same formula as most of the fast food chains in the U.S. only slightly better food.
True to the topic, Chartres did not disappoint. We came around a bend in the road and there is was on the horizon. We were still 18 miles away.
I am one of the few people who does not get tired of big old churches. The details and differences of each keep my attention. That being said, this one is special. I have been three times now and I still find it hard to leave. There is just so many little things to see. There are over 10,000 scenes in the stained glass--scenes NOT pieces of glass. An amazing marble alter piece in marble and incredibly detailed stone carvings round things out including one carving of Jesus ascending to heaven which I had missed in previous trips. I find it absolutely hysterical. People watch as Jesus' disembodied legs and feet disappear upward.
Back in the car and round out the day with a 3 1/2 hour drive to Normandy. We stopped at a grocery store for dinner items. A much better choice than fast food.
Staying in a Brit Hotel in St-Lo for the evening and finally found time for a glass of wine. It is amazing to me how good French house wine is. Rarely great but always good.
Arrived
May - 17 - 2013Yesterday we arrived in Frankfurt, picked up the car and took the scenic route to Trier. (Ok, we got lost a couple of times.) The USB adapter for the car wasn't working and the GPS wasn't holding a charge. We still managed to find our way to the very nice Hotel Villa Hugil close to the city center. It was a bit over budget but we made up for it by walking to the City Center and getting a Bratwurst at one of the food stands. We went back to the hotel, had a beer and went to bed.
Trier is the oldest city in Germany. It was a major Roman city established over 2000 years ago. It was also the capitol for the Emperor Constantine in the year 300 A.D.
It had been raining since we arrived so the next morning we put on our rain gear and toured Trier. We managed to see town, see the Porto Negro (a Roman gate to the walled city), visit Constantine's throne room (still standing and now a church), stroll by the Roman Royal Bath ruins and see the best Roman museum north of the Alps (Rheinisches Landesmuseum). The museum is overwhelming with the number of artifacts.
With a new USB adapter and a working GPS we left early in the afternoon for Versailles in France. We still managed to get lost! We ended up heading a little further north than expected. We left Germany through Luxembourg cutting through the bottom of Belgium on the way to France. That's right--four countries; one day. The rain cleared about halfway through the trip and got we to see some beautiful countryside as well as an amazing cathedral in Reim.
We arrived late this evening in Versailles after fighting Friday night traffic in the outskirts of Paris. Staying at an Ibis hotel. Not nearly as fancy as last night but plenty comfortable. The only restaurant open in the area was a McDonald's. Managed to order Cheese Royals (Quarter Pounder) four minutes before they closed at 10:00 PM. Tomorrow off to the Palace and gardens.
The trip begins!
May - 14 - 2013I am packed and Dad has arrived. A few months ago, my dad and I decided to take a trip to Europe (France and Germany). We will pick up the car in Frankfurt and point it in whatever direction suits our whim. No reservations. We will go where we want when we want to.
Mom dropped Dad off and wished us well. She gave me three rules she wants me to follow:
1) "Don't drive like a maniac! I want him back in one piece." I assured here I learned my lesson after getting the ticket in France many years ago.
2) "Get him to Church on Sundays." I told her that I thought we might be able to find a Catholic church or two in France.
3) "Make sure you watch the pace. Your father is not as young as he used to be." Like that is going to be an issue. At nearly 82, Dad is in far better shape then I am.
As much as most people feel the trip begins when you crosss the threashold of your home--I feel it starts with the packing. I have gotten quite good at it over the years. Unfortunately, it has been a while and I no longer have everything in one place ready to go. Also, age and new equipment have alterned the gear and the way I pack. All part of the adventure.
Time to renew the website
May - 2 - 2013 in NewsA long time ago (2003), I created a website for the family. I created it in FrontPage. It was not good. No one really knew about it.
Life got busy and I never touched it again. This is my first attempt at revising the site.