Tracy’s Letters from France: Paris, Versailles & Normandy
Dear Ma Mere,
Every day of this vacation has been an adventure, a gift and so different from the day before!
After the full day and fun tour of Versailles on Friday, Margaret, Henry and I had a low key day on Saturday. We began with a tour of a surprise gem, The Museum of Paris. (It tells the spectacular history of the city and its FREE!) Margaret discovered it from a gal she follows on Instagram who lives in the city and writes about her key travels, treasures and and finds!
The museum is housed in two side-by-side mansions in The Marais District. It begins with adorable, colorful and cleverly placed signs that were hung outside of shops of all kinds in the 1600’s. Most people could not read, so the signs were a vital marketing tactic. Also the streets were poorly marked back then and there we no address numbers for businesses, so the signs drew customers inside. I’ll share photos later of an eye glasses shops, a butcher, a restaurant etc. delightful. Life was much simpler then.
Afterwards, we decided to walk to Saint Chapelle rather than take the subway. (Henry & Margaret are master subway navigators!)
We meandered along the streets marveling at the designs of the shop windows. Simple, elegant, creative design. As I pointed out an especially beautiful window dressing of a jewelry shop, I spotted a unique bracelet! Of course, we stepped inside and I asked to see the bracelet in the window! It was designed by a Japanese artist and it looked so cool on me! Henry inspected it, Margaret approved and we bought it!
Henry said, “It would have been a lot cheaper, if we had taken the subway to Saint Chapelle!”
It was a long line to enter Saint Chapelle but I’ll always remember Margaret’s awe when she walked up the winding stairs to the upper chapel, “Oh, wow!”
Afterwards, we walked across the street for a long, relaxed lunch. The French dine and I love it!
On Sunday, we packed up very early from our AirBNB (with a beautiful view of Paris and the Eiffel Tower, but limited amenities.) We picked up Dominique Geulin’s niece, Lucy, and drove to Etretat, Dominique’s home town in Normandy. It’s two hours from Paris on the coast of Normandy. You may remember Dominique of St. Honorére in Portland. He kindly arranged for us to meet his parents and extended family and enjoy an afternoon with them.
To our great surprise, Etretat is an absolutely darling coastal town that literally took our breath away. We had planned just a few hours there. However, with its spectacular white cliffs that jut out over the Atlantic, we swore to ourselves we would return to spend more time there! Its narrow streets are lined with the kinds of small shops and businesses you and Bro know and love: patisserie, fromage, charcuterie, vin, antiques, les fleurs, jewelry and dress shops … and of course, cafes and restaurants! There are about a thousand year-round residents, and Etretat swells in the summer with people returning to their summer homes. And of course, tourists!
At our request, Lucy kindly whisked all of us around town to shop for pastries, pâté, baguettes and a few other assorted goodies to take for dinner with our Yale friends later that evening. When we saw the town, we wish we’d planned a full day+ there! One thrill was seeing and purchasing beautiful breads, quiche and pastries from the Geulin’s bakery that Herbert & Genevieve, Dominique’s parents, owned for 25 years. Dominique has told us that he “grew up crawling on the floor of the bakery with flour on his hands and knees” and learned the art of baking from his dad. He then went on to study in Paris and became a master baker. Lucy told us he won many awards and competitions for his craft and artistry.
After shopping and seeing the gorgeous cliffs, Herbert, Dominique’s father picked us up and drove us to their modest home about six miles from town. The house is on an acre or so with a large lawn. Herbert has a small veggie garden, beautiful roses and other flower gardens he tends to and maintains. He and Genevieve love to cook and they made a beautiful lunch for us. They gathered 6 of their 11 darling grandchildren, between college and post college working life. The kids speak very good English; the grandparents, not at all, but spoke to us like we knew exactly what they were talking about! It was adorable!
You can imagine the meal. Hors d’oevres, Coquilles St Jacques, fromage course, gorgeous petite tartelette de citron and black coffee! By then, it was 3pm. No matter!
We left with full tummies and lots of love. Onward to meet Mary and Greg Bayles, Theresa and Dave Langer at the remains of a chateau!
More soon and love, love, love,
Tra
Henry E. Hooper 