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Newsletter #23 - November 21-27, 1959 |
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Newsletter #23
November 20-27, 1959 Mailed Lisbon-Portugal 12/2/59 Recd. Philadelphia 12/5/59 Comment allez vous? (How are You?) -- [November 21] Tonight we are going to sleep at Chateau Porte Royale at Chambord in the French Chateau Country. We left Paris this morning as soon as we had our le petit dejeuner (breakfast) and drove to Orly /Airport for a little Red Tape in Customs, which took quite a long time, and then drove on to Orleans. This city was made famous by Joan of Arc, who saved Orleans in 1429, but since Orleans was heavily bombed during World War II nothing remains of the structure once associated with Joan of Arc. The city has been vigorously reconstructed and we could see no traces of destruction as the city has been so completely renovated. [November 22] From Orleans we drove on toward Tours, but first visited one of the famous Chateaus, called Chambord. It is an enormous castle with 365 rooms. There are innumerable turrets and spires with a wall surrounding the gardens and the entire estate which is the largest in France. There is a pool of water at the entrance which is most effective when there are reflections. Here they happened to have guest rooms, so we decided to stay all night. We have a comfortable room and had a very good dinner and now it is almost time to retire and find out if the bed is comfortable. (We do not care for the type of pillows they use in France, so far.) Really believe a book could be written on the kinds of toilet tissues which are used internationally. We can tell you U.S. has the best., France the thinnest and India the most coarse, with all other countries falling between thin (not soft) and coarse (really scratchy). The Chateau at Chambord was beautiful this morning and we were glad we stayed here last night, as this way we got another good look at its attractive surrounding. We drove on to an equally lovely chateau called Cheverny, which is a three-story structure and has interesting outbuildings and gardens. Cheverny is considered one of the loveliest castles in France because it is still a castle and not a museum, as it has not been restored, and because its furniture and interior decorations have been preserved. While Chambord had slightly dazzling ornateness, Cheverny has only serene calm emanating from its luxurious dwelling. From Cheverny we drove on to Blois Chateau in the city of Blois. This is a restored chateau and the buildings of the city are built right onto the old chateau and its walls, which detracts from the beauty, although the castle has been the scene of much history and was the place where Catherine de Medici died and had her own private chapel built. Our last chateau for today was Amboise, which was built very much like a fortress. The towers enclose a circular ramp for horses to get the gunpowder and ammunition to the top, which is to be unique to only this particular castle in France. This castle was the scene of many tortures and hangings during the reign of Francis II. |
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Newsletter #23
The chapel, a separate building on the lovely grounds of Amboise, was most unusual with a beautifully carved door. The remains of Leonardo da Vinci are in this chapel, as he died while working on this castle's interior. Prom Chateau Amboise we drove along the historical Loire River and valley, which certainly is a delightful region. Here you see hills, forests, vineyards, waterfalls and alluring landscapes at every turn in the road, and before we realized it we were in the city of Tours, which is considered the center of the French Chateau Country. We found a charming small hotel and walked the streets looking at the shops and attractions until 7:30, as in France they will serve no dinners until that late hour. We're rather starved by that time, as for lunch we usually have French bread, cheese and wine, which we eat in the car. (Wish you could see us with our 24-inch loaf of bread and our cheese and bottle of wine, as we certainly must look like real natives.) I cannot acquire a taste for wines, but at least it's something to drink with a dry meal. We discovered rain when we got up this blue Monday [November 23] , so we decided to stay in Tours until tomorrow and hope for sunshine for the rest of our chateau visits. We spent a wet morning walking but by noon the streets were dry, so we visited all the historical places in Tours and the day was ended before we realized it. (We would advise this section of France for any tourist, as it certainly is most interesting and quite scenic). They tell us it is quite crowded during the summer season. Here it is Tuesday [November 24] and rain again, so we will have to leave in the rain and hope for sunshine another day. We went to Villandry today and discovered it is closed until spring, but we could see the fortress, the thick square tower and the lovely boxwood garden wherein two graceful pavilions have been built on each end of an & venue of linden trees. About 15 miles from Villandry we visited the Chateau Langeais, which has a formidable fortress rising up from the center of the town. It has high ramparts flanked by thick turrets which are encircled with a solid parapet-walk. This was our favorite castle, as every room was completely furnished and had that lived-in feeling. There were planters of greens used in containers native to the ora and flowers were artistically and well placed in the proper rooms. This castle was used most extensively by Charles VIII who married Anna of Brittany at Langeais in 1491. We saw the elegant garden behind the castle, which is illuminated from June to October, when I am sure it must be even more attractive. Our next chateau was Azay-le-Rideau, which is quite large and has a beautiful setting on Island surrounded on all sides by the waters of the Indre. It is purely French Renaissance style and we were permitted to see only a few rooms of tills well-constructed chateau, as the building was full of workmen doing renovations on the interior. From Azay-le-Rideau we had quite a drive to Chateau Chenonceau, which you enter by driving along an avenue of plane-trees, planted by its one-time owner Diane de Poiters. This is a very famous chateau which was given to Diane by King Henry II. The gardens were very formal ones of boxwood and contain the first fountain to play a role in the history of gardening. It also contained a very beautiful Italian -style flower bed which was almost depleted of flowers when we arrived. The chateau is very beautiful and surrounded by a moat which has lovely ducks and swans swimming gracefully about with a background on three sides of gorgeous trees dressed in their colorful autumn foliage, while the fourth side has the unusual - 2 -
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Newsletter #23
gardens mentioned earlier. This delicate, feminine castle with heaps of charm was lived in by many famous women of history. After a long drive we arrived at the Chinon Chateau, which is pretty much a fortress type of castle and is now mostly imposing ruins, but it was once the chateau which housed famous happenings. Here Richard the Lion Hearted and Henry II both died and Joan of Arc recognized Charles VII. This was the last chateau of the Loire River Valley area and we now are leaving the beautiful chateau country of France and starting into the Basque Country, which is in South west France where the Pyrenees Mountains stretch from the Atlantic to the Mediterranean in a natural boundary line between France and Spain. We are staying at Limoges tonight, which is famous for its porcelain and china and we were very fortunate to have the opportunity to go through the Haviland China Plant. We saw each process of the making of this fine china and we now appreciate the expensiveness of it because of the many processes each piece must go through before it is shipped for export. We could have ordered a set and saved at least $l60 by buying it here, but we had already made our purchases in Japan. (We still think we will like our Japanese porcelain better, as we chose an antique pattern which Haviland makes only for special orders which runs into thousands of dollars for a 95-piece set.) At night we walked about the city and did our cheese and wine buying for our lunches for the next few days. The city of Limoges has many shops selling other fine china besides Haviland, as there are 35 porcelain factories, and we saw many aspects of the city's long history of art in its chinaware as well as its abbeys, its lovely towers, and its cathedrals which are fine Renaissance as well as Gothic in structure. It is an industrial center and has many shoemaking factories, paper-making and printing works, textile mills and furniture-making manufacturers. We enjoyed our visit in this very old city (2000 years old). Today [November 25] we drove through more lovely country and many times could picture ourselves in York and Lancaster County, as we saw many stretches of hills and dales with peaceful farms and little villages just as neat and glistening as at home. We arrived early in the afternoon at Lourdes which is the home of the famous vision of Bernadette. We went to the grotto, which is a national shrine., and then visited the Basilica, which is composed of three churches, built one above the other with hundreds of memorial chapels donated by pilgrims who have visited this shrine. The baths are nearby where they say thousands of afflicted people come to bathe in the holy waters. We did a great deal of walking as we wanted to visit all of the stations of the cross, which is a steep, rocky climb but very rewarding as these stations of the cross are far superior to those we have seen at Quebec and in Portland. They are tremendous in size and at the very knoll of the hill they represent the Hill of Golgotha with Christ and the thieves on the cross, which is most impressive. Meredith used flash to take these pictures as the light was very poor, and I surely hope they turn out, as it is a most unusual sight. We went back at night when everything was illuminated and the Cathedral and statuary were really more outstanding with lights. (In case you do not recall, it was Bernadette Soubirous whose vision of the Virgin in the year 1858 started this Pyrenean village of Lourdes on its read to pilgrim fame.) We drove out of our way - 3 -
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Newsletter #83
to visit this beautiful shrine and we were only two of hundreds of people who were there on a winter day, and it was quite cold. Our Little Princess had her 600 mile checkup today [November 25] and they have now taken off the governor, which permitted us to drive no faster than 45 miles per hour. Today I drove her for the first time and it sorely seems funny to use a floor gear shift and clutch. I really do not plan to drive very much, as I'd rather sit on the right side, criticize the driver, and give him all kinds of suggestions as to how to drive, and push the floor board in as the Princess has only one brake and it is on the driver's side, but I am sure I brake many more times than he does. Another day [November 26] and more driving through the gorgeous Pyrenees Mountains, which are snow-capped and most beautiful, and the lovely green carpet which covers the rest of the mountains with the colorful russet ferns and the red roofs of the Basques white houses stand out against the greenish blue of the Bay of Biscay, surely make an impressive countryside. We went through Pau, which is a most interesting city with an unusual bridge, public squares, a famous castle in which Henry IV was born, and a renowned boulevard with a gorgeous view facing the Pyrenees. Since Biarritz a very famous beach resort which was made famous by the Empress Eugenie was not too far from our main route, I asked Meredith to drive there and we decided to stay for the night. We had a terrible time to find a hotel with prices in our price range as Biarritz is an exclusive place and they have exclusive prices for rooms as well as meals, We are staying at a very nice hotel even tho it surely took us a lot of time to find it. The coast is very beautiful and there are many luxurious hotels, casinos, beautiful restaurants, and a fine beach. We certainly are happy we decided to drive out of our way to see this lovely resort. Tomorrow [November 27] we will be crossing the French border into Spain, the country of the colorful bull fights and castles. (We will be out of France for a few months.) Thus far we really have been delighted with France and we have seen some beautiful places and enjoyed its countryside. I'm sure when we get back to France later to see the French Alps country, the Riviera sections and Normandy and Brittany we'll be equally inspired. Forgot to tell you we had our thanksgiving Dinner in the evening and certainly thought of everyone at harm having turkey. We had fish course and then York Ham and it was quite good. We also had chocolate (pale) ice cream as dessert. They do not celebrate Thanksgiving here, so it was just another day to everyone else in France, although we will hit a national holiday in Portugal, as the first of December they celebrate Independence Day. We're both fine and busy as ever and hope everyone at home is feeling as good as we are. Au revoir until next week, Meredith & Charlotte |