Salisbury

Judy. As careful as Ted is in planning our travel, every now and then a monkey wrench gets into the works. We were having a quiet morning coffee in our room when he suddenly said, “Uh, oh. Uh oh, JUDY! Our Eurostar train was cancelled!” It looked like there were no options at our price range for the next two days—and we had a cruise to catch. We quickly decided that we’d have to upgrade to a ridiculous charge, threw our bags in an Uber and headed to Gare de Nord, where he attempted to talk to the Eurostar representatives, who told us there WERE more trains that afternoon, so we couldn’t get a refund. Ah, well. And, of course, the one we got tickets for was late. 

BUT, we arrived safely at St. Pancras in London and a dear Uber driver named Joseph drove us to Waterloo station to catch the train for Salisbury. When Joseph heard we were taking a 13-day transatlantic cruise, he got so excited. For his 55th birthday, his wife and daughters took him on a Caribbean cruise. He went on and on about how much he loved it and how pampered he felt. His joy just filled his car! 

Our cozy B & B--not many of those now

Our B&B host, Matt, picked us up at the train station in Salisbury and drove us to their charming guest house, Websters. After a cuppa and a chat with the other couple who’d just arrived, we got ready for dinner with my theatre friend Joanna, who moved back to England a few years ago. 

The delightful Joanna

Jo took us to the Haunch of Venison, a great old British pub of a building, with wonderful ghost stories. She told us the whole town of Salisbury is supposed to be filled with ghosts. I had my first ever venison (quite good), and it was great talking with Jo—we never really spent much time together in the States, yet it felt comfortable being with her. She is a delight! 

What a great place to eat and have a beer or glass of wine!

One of the ghost stories--this guy's hand was cut off for cheating--at whist.

Another ghostly house

And why this fella's ghost walks the town

Met Sandra at the market. She's a medium

Sweet walk along the river

Saturday is market day

Gate to the Cathedral

The mighty Salisbury Cathedral

Our friend from Snellville days, Bill, moved to Devon several years ago, and we try to see him when we’re in the south of England. While I browsed the market and Ted did the laundry at Websters, Bill drove over to meet us. Matt kindly offered to put our clothes in the dryer so we could spend time with our friend, so Bill and Ted met me at Salisbury Cathedral and we walked the town and caught up. We were so impressed with the Haunch of Venison that we went back for lunch, which made all three of us happy. 

Went to St. Thomas's church with Bill. This is the famous Doomsday Painting

That evening we had tickets to see a local production of The Inspector General, an adaptation of Gogol’s script, now moved to England. Joanna was involved with the show, so she met us and sat with us. The cast was flexible (several played different roles) and funny, and the lead, an absolute delight. There’s a professional theatre in town that’s quite well-known, but the Studio Theatre seems to have a large, loyal following. Glad we went! 

Matt was a thoughtful host, and the next morning had a lovely employee, Jennifer, drive us back to the train station to catch our train to Southampton. This turned out to be a bus (evidently common on Sundays). But the bus never showed up. Seven of us waited, and finally, the conscientious station managers hired two taxis to drive us to Southampton. Boy! Much more pleasant than a train or a bus! Our driver offered to take us to the port, but it was too early, so we had coffee at a shop till it was time to get on the ship. And it was pouring rain. I asked Ted if perhaps Europe was ready for us to leave, with cancelled trains and busses and rain… 

But getting to the port was easy, and getting on the ship a breeze. The room is different, with an “infinity veranda” instead of a balcony, which is quite nice, as it makes the room bigger. Two weeks of sailing and ports, and it’s on to Georgia.

Ted at the "infinity window" searching for whales and dolphins.

A Soupçon of Paris

Judy. For our last few days in Europe, we decided to revisit Paris—how could we not? We’d also stay a couple of nights in Salisbury, England. We could meet up with friends, and it’s an easy train ride to Southampton, where we did NOT love our very expensive, very basic hotel. 

It seems we manage to get to Paris every time we return to Europe, even if it’s for a day or two, and every time, we try to do something new. This time, however, we revisited some old haunts. 

Of course we HAD to see the new Notre Dame! Ted went online to get free timed entrance tickets, but they were sold out, so after leaving our suitcases at our hotel, we took the Metro and dashed into what seemed like a 20-minute line to get into the Cathedral. Five minutes later (!) we were ushered in. I have to tell you, I’ve not loved Notre Dame de Paris. It was dark, noisy, and full of pushy, loud tourists. But this Notre Dame de Paris—almost impossible to either describe or photograph. There was a Mass, and we were asked to be quiet, and, much to my surprise, people were! The light, the color, the solemnity seemed to put us all into a meditative state. I took what photos I could, but the internet can give you a better idea. 

Mass

The rose window

Ted found a cozy, highly rated bistro hidden in a street near our hotel, where we had a marvelous meal. We were early so there weren’t many diners, and we got terrific lamb and great service. 

And, of course, in Paris

The next day we went to Musée d’Orsay, the most popular art museum after the Louvre. This time, it was packed and somewhat noisy till you got into a quiet side room. There was a John Singer Sargent show that was stunning, but it was hard to see with all the tour groups. (Gotta love tour guides who stand RIGHT IN FRONT of a painting to describe it.) But there were so many beautiful Impressionist paintings, that we were glad we went. 

Main gallery of the Musee D'Orsay, formerly a train station

I've always loved this little dancer

And I love that they kept the clock

Sargent's children

And, of course, Van Gogh. And Gauguin and Monet, etc.

Walking back, Ted found another hidden gem of a bistro with delicious food and lots of French folks. The plat de jour  featured Flemish stew, a favorite of ours since our dear friend Felix made it for us the night Ted proposed (He then changed the name to "Engagement Stew"). Despite the fact that it was packed, we got great service there, too. 

Cheers to 48 years later. Thanks, Felix!

We decided on a return to Montmartre and Sacré Coeur (another church I don’t care for), mostly for the view. We walked past the church and down into the little Montmartre neighborhood to see the Lapin Agile and the last remaining Paris vineyard. Of course someone was playing the theme from “Amelie”! 

Lapin Agile

Paris's last vineyard

Heading back to the hotel, we spotted a little Niçoise cafe, and asked for a bowl of ratatouille. It was one of the best meals we had there! I make a mean ratatouille, but the chef may have bettered me! We chatted afterwards and he gave me his secrets, so we’ll see how it goes next time I make it. 

Off to bed with our “Paris fix”. A good sleep, and in the morning, a last-minute message that our Eurostar train was cancelled. But that’s a story for another blog.

At that news, we could relate to Corbet's self-portrait

French bistro chairs

Ted. After a week in Bordeaux, it was time to move on so we took a train to Paris for a two day visit. Before we talk about our adventures there, I have a silly topic that I want to bring up.

If you have ever been to France, you have probably enjoyed sitting at a sidewalk café enjoying a coffee or glass of wine while you watch the world go by. If you have not been there yet, you know what I am talking about from all the films or TV shows that you have seen. 

I’ll also bet that you know what all cafés, bistros and brasseries have in common; the French bistro chair!

It is nearly always rattan, although some cheap owners have switched to metal and wood. 

Or even plastic. 

In Paris, Bordeaux and all French towns and cities you can find these chairs by the thousands. What amazes me is that they are like snowflakes. No two establishments seem to have the same ones. Is that to encourage creativity? Or to discourage theft? While strolling the streets recently, I took it upon myself to photograph a number of them. I won’t bore you with all of the shots I took but will share just a few examples so you can get an idea of the range of styles, patterns and colors. 

Since 1885, the iconic manufacturer of these chairs has been Maison Louis Drucker. So, if you crave a little bit of Paris on your own terrace, you can check out their website at maisonlouisdrucker.com/en. As the world continues to homogenize and we see McDonald’s and Starbucks wherever we roam, it is nice to be able to look at a simple chair and be reminded; ah yes, this is France!

Guignol Guerin

Judy. On our first day in Bordeaux, we discovered the Jardin Public—a huge park with a cafe, a botanical garden, a pond with a bridge to an island and a traditional outdoor puppet show: Guignol Guerin! 

This last is what grabbed us. Guignol is the character, and Guerin the name of the family of puppeteers who have performed his story here in Bordeaux for six generations! We noted the time of the next performance, and showed up well in advance on Saturday for the 4 PM sèance. 

The stage is set

A little background is in order. Laurent Mourguet was an 18th century silk weaver in the French city of Lyon who fell on hard times during the French Revolution. So, logically, he began practicing dentistry. And to attract patients, he set up a puppet show in front of his dentist’s chair. He soon found puppetry to be more lucrative. After several starts, with various characters, in 1808 he created the clever silk weaver Guignol, who like Punch in Punch and Judy, constantly outwits the Count, Flageolet (the gendarme), his wife Madelon, and any others who might cause a problem in his happy life. He loves spending time with his wine-drinking buddy Gnafron. Guignol is clever, witty, kind, poor, and tricky. And an absolute delight. 

Guignol and his copain Gnafron

Some years later, in 1853, the Guerin family began Guignol performances in Bordeaux. While many of the performances are the traditional park shows, the present M. André Guerin often takes the show to the beach or to theatres, wherever an audience might be. What could be better, though, than an outdoor puppet show, surrounded by children screaming “Allez, Guignol!” so he’d get away from the Gendarme. Or laughing uproariously when Guignol smacked the Count with a slapstick, when the Count had just tried to stab him in a sword duel. Or shouting, “Au secours!” when the Crocodile started chasing him. So we gladly forked over our 7 euros and sat in plastic chairs in front of the stage. 

The Count tries to stab Guignol!

The children were really engaged

M. Guerin knows just how to warm up his audience, making fart sounds, asking kids their names, saying “pi-pi” and “caca” then stumbling backwards in embarrassment while both parents and children roared with laughter. He asked who they’d come to see. “GUIGNOL!!!!!” 

The story was simple, silly, and pulled them all right into it. Us, too. We all loved Guignol. 

For some reason, maybe because I told him when we bought our tickets that grandparents love puppet shows, too, he invited us to take a photo with him and Guignol after the show. I couldn’t have been more excited if I’d been five years old. 

I'm absolutely in awe of M. Andre Guerin and Guignol!

M. Guerin must be in his 60’s and the hour show had to be exhausting. Fortunately, his brother is also a puppeteer and has a son and grandchildren who are already learning to build the puppets. If you ever get to Bordeaux, please do yourself the favor of catching Guignol. Meanwhile, check out the videos on www.guignolguerin.fr.

Bordeaux, the city

Ted. Bordeaux is the name of a city as well as a wine region. With a metro population of just under a million, this is the ninth largest city in France. 

After exploring Périgord and the Bordeaux wine country, Judy and I spent a week getting to know this old port city. One thing that helped was the weather. Ever day it was around 70 Fahrenheit and sunny. 

Our base was an “aparthotel” ( a suites only hotel) at the northern end of the crescent shaped part of town at a bend in the Gironne River, known since the Middle Ages as “the Port of the Moon.” 

As a UNESCO World Heritage Site, there are lots of historic buildings and beautiful parks. 

St Andrew Cathedral

The "Big Bell"

The main city gate

Naturally we checked out the Marché des Capuchins, the city market where we found a couple of restaurants specializing in local oysters and mussels. 

We made good use of the excellent public transportation system riding the trams on land and the water taxis on the river. 

Place de la Bourse from the river

The Aquitaine Museum had lots of information about the region including prehistoric art, medieval artifacts and information about the early 20th century. 

The Venus of Laussel, 25,000 years old

A strange remnant of WWII is a submarine base built by the Germans in the early 1940’s. 5,500 forced laborers poured over 780,000 cubic yards of concrete to create an indestructible facility. That’s why it is still in place today! The clever French use it now for immersive art exhibits. 

We really enjoyed Bordeaux and found the people to be warm and fun loving. For instance, the only submarine we could find was in a children's park.

And here's the only serious sign I could find.