Today was our excursion into the French countryside. We got up and packed our suitcases, checked out of our hotel, and had the bellhop call us a taxi (not an easy task...it required him to nearly walk out into the oncoming traffic and flag down an oncoming empty taxi. I generally don't like tipping because it makes me feel uncomfortable (because I never know what is an acceptable tip) so I usually just try and avoid help that requires tipping and just do it myself. But this bellhop earned his couple of euro!
We had a nice conversation with the taxi driver on the way to Gare de Lyon, where we had reserved a rental car. The taxi driver had taught himself English and spoke very well. He and Becky had a good conversation about how to learn languages. He dropped us off across from the train station and we went to the Hertz counter in the indoor mall. They upgraded us to a higher category rental, which put us up to a Mercedes! The rental cars were a couple of levels down in the underground parking structure and once we found the car, it took us a few minutes to figure out how to make everything work! (Those fancy schmancy cars!) We made our way out of the garage and onto the streets of Paris. It took a few minutes for the GPS to self-locate and get us on our way. The route to the freeway out of town was fairly simple, and fortunately, the heavy traffic was going IN to Paris, and our traffic was fairly light.
We got onto the open highway and found driving on the right side of the road to be much more agreeable! We found a nice French station on the radio and settled back for the hour+ drive to Reims, France. I hadn't planned on all of the toll booths, so I was pleasantly surprised that my new Chip & Pin credit card from Chase worked in the European automatic toll lanes. (American cards with the magnetic strip don't work in any automated machines since European banks have switched to the more secure chipped cards.) With my chipped card, I was able to sail through and not have to worry about cash and coin (bringing back memories of trips down the Garden State Parkway in Hew Jersey).
When we arrived at Reims, we ended up taking a very scenic tour around and around the city as we kept missing our turnoff to get to the parking structure near the Reims Cathedral. It was not terrible traffic, but a matter of getting into the right lane at the right time to make the turn (and learning that the GPS was announcing the turn about a street too late).
We finally made it to the parking structure (yes, I planned that too and had the GPS coordinates) and walked the two blocks up to the Reims Cathedral. Reims, at one time, was the political and spiritual center of France. It was the location of the coronation of kings like Charlemagne, the baptism of Clovis, and where Joan of Arc brought Charles VII to be crowned King of France.
The Reims Cathedral from the esplanade
Inside the Reims Cathedral built in 1218 AD
Restored stained-glass windows
Rose Window on the West Facade
Restored windows by Marc Chagall
Gargoyles on the North wall
Looking down one of the main roads in Reims
Buying a kebab (a roasted pork sandwich. We thought it was a local vendor, but it turns out it was a chain and we saw them all over Italy too.
Our streetside table
Our delicious pork sandwich that we shared
Gargoyles and carvings on the front of the Cathedral.
We didn't realize it at first, but the "Smiling Angel" of Reims Cathedral is a bit of a cultural icon. After we went through the museum in the adjacent Palais du Tau, we learned more about it. I wish that we had bought a Christmas ornament. At the very least, it one of the chocolate heads would have been nice.
Carvings that once stood on the exterior of the Cathedral
A tapestry from the 12th Century in the Palais du Tau museum
The holy chalice used in coronations
The talisman of Charlemagne
In World War I, the Germans wanted to demoralize the people and dropped multiple bombs on the Cathedral. After shelling for several days, the Cathedral was engulfed in flames and the entire roof was destroyed.
An unexploded bomb recovered from the Cathedral
I snapped a photo in the museum of a photo taken during the bombings
When the building burned, it melted the lead roof, which dripped down the rain spouts and the gargoyles.
After walking through the museum and learning about the Smiling Angel, we walked back around the Cathedral and took photos. Many of the pop art images in the museum show the angel holding various objects.
After taking a few more detours around the city of Reims (by missing turns), we eventually made our way back onto the highway and drove to Vitry-le-François where Becky lived when she was a little girl. Her dad was in the military and was stationed near Vitry.
Vitry-le-François Cathedral and village square
Village square
Main street through the center of Vitry-le-François
More main street with the flower shop, bakery, grocery, etc.
The famed street Becky on which lived
Becky's dad in front of the house in 1965
The house where Becky lived
These pictures where taken in 1965:
Becky on the front step
Becky and her mom in front of the house
Recreating the picture sitting on the step
After we took a number of pictures and were walking back and forth, a man opened the door and asked us if we needed anything. Becky explained in her French (she claims it was broken French, but it clearly got the message through) that she had lived there. He invited us in and showed us the main floor of the house. He lived there with his Mother.
Our meringue cookie. It was huge.
As we sat on the village square, we asked a man to take a picture of us.
We walked back to the car and as we drove out of town, we were looking for the canals, but didn't find them. Instead we took some photos of the river that Becky' sister Marnie was named after.
Our ride.
We drove back to Paris Orly airport and hit a bit of traffic because of an accident on the freeway, so it took longer than we expected. We had to fill up with gas before the airport to avoid some major charges. Even so, at E$1.54/litre, gas worked out to be about $8 a gallon in France and Scotland. Not a cheap day trip!
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