FAMILLE FLATOT-LE BOHEC

When we arrived in Eybens, a suburb of Grenoble, we were warmly welcomed by our friends of many years, Jose and Marielle Flatot-LeBohec, and their two sons, Victor and Charles.  It was so good to see them again. 

Jose and Marielle look and seem just the same as they were 23 years ago, and the boys, who were only a twinkle in mom and dad’s eye when we met, have grown into handsome, personable young men and are going to university.  Both guys are business majors, Charles in Lille and Victor in Marseilles.  Next year, as part of their instructional course, they each must find a job in a foreign country where French is not the primary language, and work for 6 months.  So I told them to send me their resumes and I would ask around Silicon Valley to see if there might be an opportunity for them.

Marielle gave us a delicious dinner while we talked and talked and caught up on the last several years.  We talked about the boy’s school courses, the regions of France they like, the American Presidential Campaign, Barack Obama’s performance, politics in general, the European Union, cars and bicycles.  By ten o’clock I was dragging, and so we decided to call it a night and went up the stairs to our room for the stay.  Thank you to Victor, who gave up his room for us.

The next morning we got up and had our French breakfast while we resumed our conversations.  Later we went into Grenoble to visit the art museum, which offers free entry the first Sunday of every month.  The selection of art at the museum is very nice, with the selections arranged chronologically, finishing with the modern art.

That night we had salmon for dinner and yummy, dark, dense chocolate cake with rich cream for dessert.  More talking, and off to bed.

Monday morning we packed up and headed down the road for Italy.

Goodby new friends, hello old friends

August 31, 2012

Our last day in St Point was rainy and cold.  We decided to go out to lunch.  We first went to the Pierre Sauvage near Bourgvilain, a restaurant our hosts recommended, but they had a busload coming and could not accept other customers, so we headed into Macon to look for the other suggested restaurant.  We thought we could go right to it, but no luck, so we went into a busy cafe and had a huge lunch of steak, fries and salad.  The enormous platter was overflowing with food, so we were stuffed when we paid up and left.

That afternoon we spent our time doing the laundry, cleaning the house and packing for our trip to Geneva and on to Grenoble.  The house cleaner came late in the day and spent a lot of time on the floors, but I don't think she cleaned the bathrooms or dusted any surfaces, window sills, or tables, so we cleaned everything up after she left, watered the indoor plants and ate our dinner of leftovers before we hit the sack for the final time in St. Point.  At midnight there were fireworks, but Geralynn slept right through them and Don woke up, watched out the window for a bit and then went back to bed.

Saturday morning we got up bright and early, packed up the remaining food and put the bikes, cases and bags in the car and said goodby to our beautiful view.  The drive to Geneva was about 2 hours, but it is very pretty, so it was a pleasant drive.  We got off the peage before we got to Switzerland because Geralynn still is resentful of Switzerland for that 30euro highway sticker she had to buy a few years ago, and we drove the circuitous route through small villages to get to the French side of the airport.  They do not make it easy.

So, we arrived at the airport in plenty of time, parked the Commelin's car in the Eurocar parking and went into the airport to pick up our rental car.  After transferring our bikes and bags into our little Clio (it was a challenge to fit everything) we went back up to the place we were to meet the Commelins.  Soon we saw them coming into the lobby and we all hugged and air-kissed and we took them to their car.  It was hard to stop talking and let them go home, but we finally did

We then took off, again avoiding Switzerland, and headed southwest to go to Grenoble to visit our longtime friends, Jose and Marielle Flatot-LeBohec, and their two sons, Victor and Charles.

We were so happy to easily find their house and say hello to our friends again.  We have along history.  Don met Jose in Grenoble many years ago and Jose and Marielle visited us 23 years ago in Sunnyvale.  Over the years we have crashed at their house a few times, but we never can get them to come back to California.

Chateau de Dree and bike rides

August 26-30, 2012

Weather has been mixed over the last several days, but we still were able to get in some good rides.

At the urging of our host we packed up the bikes on Sunday and drove into Lyon.  Lyon is the place where the Saone and the Rhone rivers converge.  There is a little island in between the two rivers just before they meet.  While in town we walked around the old city, looking at the statues, the opera, the Hotel Dieu, the rivers and parks.  Then we got our bikes from the car and rode the bicycle path along the river, crossing the bridge onto the island.  We rode to the big park at the tip of the island where we set out our tablecloth, wine goblets, bread and cheese and had our lunch as we watched the big, white swans float by.  There was lots of traffic heading north, mostly Dutch and Belgian license plates, heading home at the end of their summer holidays.

We enjoyed our earlier ride on the back side of our hill, through cow country so much that we did it again on Monday.  But this time, instead of riding up the steep side of the hill we rode around the end of the range, from St. Point down to Bourgvilain, north to St. Cecile and again traversed up the hillside to Tramayes.  This was a better route and more fun to ride.

A bit about the terrain near our house--this region has about 5 parallel rows of hills, each between 800 and 1000 feet high, with nice river valleys in between.  The spread between the rows of hills is about 2 or 3 miles as the crow flies and the rows seem to be about 8 miles long.  Our house sits on the east side of one of the rows of hills.  Cows seem to be the main crop on our hill, but just a row or two to the west is the very famous area of Pouilly Fuisse, where the grapes for the famous white wines are grown.  It is beautiful scenery to just drive around the vineyards.

The next day we drove into Macon and rode along the river on the Voie Verte from Macon to St. Albain.  Even though rain was predicted we did not get wet.  We met a couple from the Netherlands.  The woman had a bike with an battery-operated motor, so we talked to them a bit and Don took some photos.  We might consider something like this if my arthritis gets worse, but they are very heavy to pack, and also, we are not sure how the TSA will treat the battery pack, so right now it is just a discussion.

We made a visit to the archeological site at Solutre.  This is a famous rock formation in the Pouilly Fuisse region, surrounded by vineyards.  There is an active archeological dig here and many remains of horses and humanoids have been found here.  The lore is that early man would herd the wild horses over the edge of the cliff and then use the hides, hooves and meat, but that story has been debunked by the archeologists now.  However, this was an area where herds of horses were hunted and slaughtered by early man.

During the rest of the week we did a few more bike rides and then we went to visit another chateau.  I loved the Chateau de Dree and highly recommend it for a visit.  The chateau, built in 1620, has had several owners.  Now it is privately owned and has been refurbished with authentic wall coverings and flooring, and furnished in antiques from the 18th century.  The furniture, dishware, silverware, carpets, chandeliers and decor are all authentic and the chateau is lovely and furnished beautifully.  I especially enjoyed the Dresden china collection and the beautiful table in the formal entry made of inlaid woods.

On the first floor we visited the servants quarters and kitchen.  The head chef had a bedroom right above the kitchen, with a little window looking down on the kitchen and also the servants hall, so he could check and see that his staff were working and not goofing off.    Then we walked around to the dining room, the formal entry hall, and the king's room.  Every chateau had to have a special room set aside for the king, richly furnished and nicely appointed, just in case he decided to stop by.  The south wing of the house was for the owners and their guests and we visited studies, sitting rooms, several bedrooms and the chapel.  The tour was very informative and we were able to visit all but the 4 private bedrooms of the owners, who were there.

Outside we visited the folly, the ice house, the butcher's kitchen, the bath house, and the stables.  In addition, the gardens are very lovely, with a large rose garden, a topiary garden and a boxwood garden trimmed into beautiful lacy designs.  The topiaries were clipped with precision and Don marveled over the yew "balls"  that were as smooth as a putting green.  There were two large, graceful fountains in the gardens with naiads by Jean de Bologne, the artist who did the figures for the famous Neptune fountain in Florence.

I highly recommend a visit here.

Sunny Days, Rainy Days

August 21-August 26

Over the past week we have had some weather.  The first few days we  had very warm weather, and as the week moved along we began to get afternoon thunderstorms, culminating in a very dramatic thunder and lightening storm on Thursday and finishing up with a couple of rainy days.

Our bike rides during the hot spell were always early in the morning.  One day we  rode over the crest of the hill in back of our house.  We actually went down the road D22 several miles to Bourgvilain and then crossed over the steep hill and down the other side to Clermain.  From Clermain we traversed up the west side of the hill to Tramayes and then back down to St.Point.  We were good and sweaty when we got  home.

The next day we drove over to Cluny and took the Voie Verte (Green Route), which is a dedicated cycling-walking-skating path along the old railroad right-of-way.  We went south, through the long, cool tunnel, Tunnel du Bois Clair (longest bicycle tunnel in Europe 1.6km), and on to Charnay les Macon.  Along the way we met the very nice Sylvie Tarallo and her friend.  We had a talk about les epines (thorns) on the route, from the ourage (storm) while Don changed his tire.  Sylvie was so charming and friendly and she even offered us a place to stay if we came her way.  The Voie Verte is very nice cycling.  Just a few small hills, good signs and pretty scenery.  We did about 24 miles.

 That evening we went next door to Pierre's house for an aperitif.  There we met his wife, his daughter, Jeanne, his grand daughter, Fanny, and his baby grandson.  They are a charming family.  The daughter and grands are visiting for some time during the summer,  We enjoyed a nice bottle of wine and good conversation.  Pierre showed Don his hideout in the pigeon cote.  He has made a nice little man-cave where he can escape when he wants to.  His wife lives in Paris 7 or 8 months a year and then comes into the countryside for the hot summer.  Pierre spends most of his time in St. Point with an occasional visit to Paris.

 Another hot day was predicted, so we went early back to the Voie Verte and this time rode north.  We went as far as Saint Gengoux and then we turned around.  Along the way we stopped in Cormatin and checked the times for the Chateau, which we could see from the bike route.  We had a nice picnic lunch and headed home before the rain.

That night we had quite a dramatic thunderstorm, with crashing lightening, flaring up the sky with bright jags of brilliant light, and booming thunder.  We ate our dinner and watched the show out the living room window before going to bed.  The booms and flashes were still in full swing when we hit the sack.

When we got up it was still raining and gray.  We declared it a day for museums and galleries, and headed off to the Chateau de LaMartine.   As I mentioned in an earlier report, Alphonse de LaMartine was a poet, author and statesman.  At the designated hour a fellow drove up and opened the big, white, iron gate and a group of us were allowed to enter the grounds of the estate.

An elderly lady, (well I guess I am elderly too, but I keep forgetting that, and she did seem so much older than I feel), with a creaky voice led us on the tour of the receiving room, the library, the bedroom and the dining room.  Her voice was so creaky and she spoke so fast that I could only make out 50% of the story.  Since the chateau is so big, Don and I felt a bit shortchanged and that a 4 room tour was a bit scanty to justify the price, 9euro.

Next we moved on down the road and visited the famous Abbey of Cluny, started in 910 by William I, the Pious, Duke of Aquitane.  Man, this thing was huge in it's heyday.  It was the biggest cathedral in the world until st. Peters was built in Rome.  The monks were of the Benedictine order, a very strict group.  The monastery of Cluny became very wealthy and was an important pilgrimage stop.  The monks spent their time in prayer and copying manuscripts, just like the stereotype we have of medieval monks.  The huge monastery was destroyed during the French Revolution and only a small part remains, however, the part that does remain is huge, so the entire complex was the size of a medium town.   We also visited the Museum to view some of the original lintels and capitals that have been recovered during the excavation and restoration projects.

Time for home, beer or wine and peanuts.  Enough museum walking for that day.

It was still looking very dark and cloudy, with rain predicted for Saturday, so we kept the bikes in the car, packed up our cycling clothes and drove over to Cormatin.  There we visited the very nice Chateau.  This chateau has some amazing wall murals, that we are assured are original, from the 16th century.  They are in such good condition it is hard to imagine.

The tour was extensive, with visits to the innovative open staircase, the Receiving room, the Marquise's bedroom, the privacy room, and the garde-robe.  In these times the bedroom was very public and many people could be in the Marquise's bedroom.  If she wanted some peace and quiet or a private conversation, she would go into her privacy room.  All of the rooms were fully furnished and nicely decorated with traditional furnishings.  I got an English guide for Don and was quite impressed with the quality of the translation and the effort put into making the visit high caliber.  This is a Chateau visit I recommend very highly.

After the Chateau tour we had a bit of lunch and then drove on to visit the medieval town of Brancion.  Set high on a hill, overlooking lush, green valleys, this town is still as it was in 1000AD (or CE if you are politically correct.)

The ancient church offers wall murals which are in the process of being restored.  Our visit was enhanced by the lovely harp music which resounded throughout the church while we admired the murals and explored.

Apparently a wedding had recently concluded because the beautiful, slender bride and her svelte groom were posing around the ancient buildings for the photographer.

More information on Brancion:

http://www.brancion.fr/histoire.php

We thought about doing a bike ride further north on the Voie Verte, but it looked like rain and it was windy and cold and we wanted our naps, so home we went.

For more information on the Cormatin:

Château de Cormatin

 

DISCOVERING CLUNY

August 19, 2012

The weather is becoming very warm and the forecast is for 96 degrees and higher for the next several days.  So we decided to make our bike ride early today.

At 8:30 am the air was still fresh and cool as we headed down our hill to the D22.  There was very little traffic so early on Sunday morning, so the ride through town and on to Cluny was very enjoyable.  The meadows and hillsides are green and vibrant, the villages are cute and quaint, the traffic is light, the road is easy to ride.

First we turned into the road that takes us up to the Chateau.  The owner was Alphonse de Lamartine, an author, a poet and a politician.  He is most known for this collection of poems entitled Meditations, which were inspired by a young woman he met in Aix-les-Bains. Their passionate love affair was tragically ended when the lovely Julie died unexpectedly.  He later married an English woman and became the ambassador to Italy.


The chateau might be interesting to visit.  There is a daily guided tour at 11am, so maybe we will get a chance to go into the estate later in the week.  Since it was too early when we visited, we headed back down the hill and on into Cluny.

When we got to Cluny we rode up into the town where we took a look at the famous Benedictine
Abbey, built in the tenth century.  While a large part of the abbey stands, it appears that it used to be much larger as we can see foundations for the support pillars that extend for two blocks.  Next trip to Cluny we will go into the abbey to learn more.  It is an imposing structure.

Continuing through the town, we enjoyed the old town area full of narrow, cobbled streets, cafes and shops.  By this time of day people were out and about, picking up baguettes at the boulanger, selecting
croissants and pain au chocolat at the numerous patisseries, and sipping cafe noir at the sidewalk tables.

We headed back out of town and made it home by 11 am as the sun was heating up.  Into our nice, cool house, we took our showers, had a bite to eat and took a rest.  Later we Skyped Pauline and Jerry to get an update.

Don has given up on getting me to join him at the kitchen table, and he has assembled a jury-rigged table out of a couple of saw horses and a sheet of particle board and put it in the back yard so I can eat out there and enjoy my view.  I covered the board up with a nice tablecloth and we had a late dinner of salmon and salad with dark chocolate ice cream in honor of Jerry, who often reminisces about the delicious dark chocolate ice cream he enjoys in France.  The weather cooled off and it was quite pleasant in the evening.