It may be the Cinderella influence (which I swear imprints all American little girls from birth), but I've always felt most at home in "once upon a time." Maybe it was those long dresses that are the perfect solution to women with legs like mine. Maybe it was the touch of magic that smoothed all obstacles and guaranteed a happy ending -- (happy endings are a must in my world). Maybe it was the soothing effect of long-dead centuries that obscured the harsh edges of day-to-day reality. Maybe it was my fascination with sci-fi time travel stories or the fact that I live more in my imagination than I do in real life -- whatever the reason, the high Middle Ages has been more "home" to me than the 20th and 21st centuries of California. Factor in my status of pre-Vatican II cradle Catholic, and you'll see why I'm spending my children's inheritance this spring.
Last year, while daydreaming online, I found a book that offers the perfect time machine back to the medieval era, Stan Parry's "Great Gothic Cathedrals of France", published by Viking Studio in 2001. This excellent book provides a brief history, architectural details and many photos of several of the world's greatest Gothic Cathedrals in France, and Mr. Parry extends an invitation to visit them. In the end, I couldn't resist that invitation.
I've already seen Westminster Abbey in London, Peterborough and Yorkminster cathedrals in England, the Notre Dame cathedrals of Chartres and Paris, Fontevraud and St. Benoit sur Loire abbeys in the Loire Valley, and The Sainte-Chapelle in Paris, but I had no idea that other thousand-year-old treasures stood patiently waiting for me in the French countryside: Amiens, Beauvais, Rouen, Bourges, Laon, Noyon, the Royal Abbey of Saint-Denis in Paris, Reims, Sens, Soissons and Troyes.
Visiting Westminster Abbey for the first time literally took my breath away. To realize that I was standing in a structure where nearly all the kings and queens of England had been crowned, where many of the great of England are buried, and where the lines of British history itself have been written, was a profound experience that can only be understood by those who have shared that experience -- words just can't convey the impact (at least any words that come to my feeble mind).
I've written about previous trips to Europe Here, Here, and Here. One of my frustrations on my first journey to France was the packed schedule of must-see sites that left me exhausted halfway through the trip. Age has attacked more than my lily-white skin -- I've lost the ability to multi-task, and my daily store of energy is about half of what it used to be. (Aging is an insidious process that you don't really notice until it's run over you like a herd of rhinos and left you lying in the dirt, gasping, bruised and too weak to move.) As an official member of Introverts Anonymous, I also need time to anticipate the day's offerings and then to ponder what I've experienced, to reflect and assimilate my impressions and insights -- and also to sit and rub my poor, aching feet. All of which just means -- what a youthful, energetic person could do in ten days will take me a month, and so I'm committed to that month in France. Poor me.
So -- I've rented an apartment in Paris, (in the 5th arrondissement, not far from The Seine and close to Boulevard Saint Germain), I've purchased my railpass that will give me seven days of travel to most of the cathedrals in Mr. Parry's book, I've converted many dollars to Euros at a disastrous exchange rate, I'm brushing up on my very inadequate French, I've booked my flights (making it a two-day flight on the way home, a lesson learned last time), and most important of all, I have the world's largest list of "Stuff To Do."
(I secretly think it was the pleasure of devising and maintaining such a voluminous list that was the impetus for the trip, but don't tell anyone, okay?)
I bought a Lenovo Notebook (a baby laptop) so I can stay in email contact with friends and family, and also write this blog as a travel diary and photo album to share with anyone interested. Note: The two keyboards I use for work and for writing, including blogs, are the Microsoft Ergonomic -- which means my hands can splay out like lounging alligators across the keys. The Lenovo is teeny, tiny, so you'll probably see many typos -- bur ol wekk. (like that). Good luck reading.
Patti, my traveling partner from days of yore (Denver still has WANTED posters up for us) plans to join me for my birthday week, so if there's an international crisis around April 16th, you'll know the story behind the story that CNN reports.
I already know how to say, "No, monsieur. Je ne veux pas des escargots," so I'm basically ready to go, and so, the countdown begins. I'm excited and I'm terrified (ALONE! IN FRANCE! ALONE!) but it will give me an experience to remember while I'm rocking on the porch of the
If you care to follow along with my adventure in France, bookmark this blog, or click the link from Cynwrites, A Blog For Grownups.. I'm flying out on March 31, but I'll be posting here from time to time as the big day approaches, and then as often as I have time and energy for once I reach the Promised Land of amazing coffee, real butter and croissants. I'll welcome your comments on this blog or on Cynwrites, and would love to hear from you via email.
Vive la France!
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