Epilogue: Retrospective

 EPILOGUE: RETROSPECTIVE

Palais de la Legion d'Honneur, Paris

It has taken me lots longer to get back to this than I had intended, but since I've spent quite a bit of time going through the photos of the trip to make Christmas gifts (photo books and calendars), I think those active memories have sunk even more deeply into my memory bank. The bottom line: There was a very good reason these places in  France were at the top of our respective bucket lists. They were indeed all that we expected them to be ... and more. Susan and I both feel very blessed to have been able to visit France.

I've struggled some with how to organize my thoughts and experiences, and this made the most sense to me:

Travel - Planes, Trains, and Automobiles ... and Hotels

I should begin by saying that although I'm an eternal optimist, I was a little skeptical of how the trip would work out. I wasn't sure if Susan was being realistic about whether her back issues would make her miserable much/most of the time. And selfishly, I was familiar with the axiom that "when Mama ain't happy, ain't nobody happy." But she -- and therefore we -- were lucky; minimal pain and discomfort, and I don't think either of us was limited during the entire trip. Because I visited the landing beaches in Normandy with an experienced guide, that would've been positive whether Susan had been on the trip or not. But having her there at the end of the day to relax, wander about Bayeux and Caen, enjoy dinner, and talk about the experiences of the day definitely enhanced the experience. And Paris would've been a far shorter and lesser experience for me if we hadn't shared that part of the trip.

One of my decisions was whether to plan the trip solo or to use a trusted travel agent who had helped us plan our trip to Italy about 18 months earlier. I'm really glad that I worked up and followed my general outline but that we used Maria to work out the actual travel details. She's an experienced agent, and her advice was enhanced in that she had recently traveled to Normandy and Paris with her family. Having the air and land travel, hotels, and some of the tours in Paris arranged by a professional was a huge plus for us. 

Air - We chose Air France (AF) because we had flown that airline from the US on our to Italy and had been impressed with the quality of service. To pamper her back Susan felt that she had to fly business class so she could recline rather than sit up for the long trans-Atlantic flights. I chose to experiment with the intermediate level Premium Economy (now called simply Premium by AF), which promised larger and roomier seats, more leg room, and better food service. Our plane going over was an AirBus, and the one returning was a Boeing. Susan couldn't tell the difference, but to my surprise the Boeing plane seemed roomier and more comfortable. At any rate, both of our flights were as comfortable as an approximately 8 hour flight can be.

Drivers - Booking through Delta Vacations and Avanti, Maria had arranged drivers to pick us up at Charles de Gaulle and drive us to the train station, from the Gare St. Lazare train station to our hotels, and from the hotel back to CDG on the day of our return. Those were most helpful; arranging those (and with my French classes having been 60 years ago, trusting my arrangements) would've been a bit intimidating. (In fact, because I had to make our taxi arrangements from the hotel in Caen first to the car rental place and then to the train station, I was a little nervous. The helpful staff at the Caen Best Western Plus, however, had a cab waiting on us both times.)

Trains - Quite honestly, the train travel was a bit intimidating (for reasons I'll explain), but the trains were on time and the seats roomy and quite comfortable. The intimidation came because unlike most airports, a) English isn't used along with French nearly as much, and b) you handle your own luggage. The main takeaway for train travel is that you should pack as lightly as possible! And give yourself plenty of time to get there and figure out what the heck you're doing. [Hint: Don't be shy about asking anyone, "Parlez-vous Anglais?" Don't get sidetracked by a "failure to communicate."] Get reserved seats. Then get in the flow of travelers when boarding your car with your luggage and do what everyone else is doing, i.e., put your bags in the baggage rack area as near your seats as possible. Unless you're fluent in French, find an English-speaking fellow traveler who can translate what is being said on the speakers, which typically are as raspy and incomprehensible as the announcements on most flights and subway trains.

Hotels - It was quite helpful that all of our hotels were conveniently located in areas near restaurants and shopping. Be prepared particularly in smaller towns for the rooms and bathrooms to be smaller than one typically finds in the U.S. Many bathrooms have a shower/tub combo with only half an enclosure, so it's easy to flood the floor when you shower. (Use the handheld when possible to minimize the splash and mopping.) The staff at the hotels where we stayed (Caen, Bayeux, and Paris) were universally friendly and helpful ... and spoke English. Oh, and in the smaller hotels there's often a continental breakfast, as in chain hotels in the U.S. That's a quick and convenient way to start the day, even if you have to pay a little for it.

Car rental - While we would've been no more likely to have rented a car to drive in Paris than in New York, LA, or Chicago, we did choose to do so in Normandy. There are some "Mere et Pere" rental companies and some French ones in small cities, but many near airports and train stations are also companies any American would recognize, e.g., Hertz, Avis, Enterprise, and Thrifty. They aren't expensive, and most of their stock consists of French vehicles about the size of a Camry or Accord. A driver does need to plan ahead at home and obtain an International Driving License, which they'll ask for before renting you a vehicle.

Driving in Normandy is much like driving in the rural Southern U.S. with a combination of an occasional 4-lane "Interstate"-type highway and narrow, winding 2-lane "country roads." The one cause for extra caution is that in some rural towns a driver proceeding straight ahead is for some puzzling reason required to stop and yield to vehicles approaching from a road intersecting their road from the right. (This is called priority or the right of way rule.) It necessitates being on full alert because some of these intersecting roads which require you to stop and yield appear seemingly out of nowhere behind a clump of bushes or buildings. To add to the confusion, there are signs warning you of areas where this custom is in effect, but they seem to randomly come and go. If you're going to drive, I encourage you to watch some of the YouTube videos which describe unique French rules and signs of the road, including this one by Les Frenchies, who have a delightful series of videos (and the occasional printable handout) for tourists planning to visit France https://youtu.be/pBlLwB4S8WY?si=TRZOi7AZB0uVhtpc .

France in General - Myths and Realities

To be candid, we had guarded expectations of how we as Americans would generally be received by the French. In our experiences, however, the French people were friendly and welcoming. Most people in the hospitality industry speak at least enough English to fundamentally communicate. It is certainly helpful (and a sign of respect) if one learns a little French: bonjour, merci, s'il vous plait, bon soir or bon nuit, oui, non, and of course, parlez-vous Anglais. A smile and humble, friendly approach with a bonjour when greeting someone goes a long way. But we found that the myth that most French demand that you communicate with them in French and that they brusquely brush off an American's attempt to stick to English when communicating was just that -- a myth. We found the opposite to be true; they met us much more than half way. People in both Normandy and Paris understand the value of international tourists and do all they can to be hospitable to their guests. Perhaps that attitude and the accompanying behaviors were to some extent a function of the tsunami of visitors in both cities last summer for the 80th anniversary of D-Day and the Paris Olympics. If so, they remained in place in late October 2024.

Chief among Frenchmen who have a reputation for disdain for Americans are waiters. If you don't speak their language and walk in a restaurant with a haughty "ugly American" attitude, you may (and I'd argue should) get a frosty reception from the waitstaff. When we approached the waiters with an "I'm just a visitor here who needs your help" attitude and kept smiling, we found that we got all the courtesy and help we needed. A typical sticking point with some waiters is derived from the French custom of meals being an unhurried, leisurely time to enjoy food, wine, and conversation. We Americans, on the other hand, sometimes get rushed out of restaurants and may expect an "eat and run" experience. My advice is whenever possible avoid putting yourself in a rushed situation at mealtime. We occasionally had to make a deliberate gesture to let the waiter know we were ready for our checks, but whenever we did so with a smile and bit of patience, we were inevitably rewarded. 

Normandy

Omaha Beach

Gold Beach/Arromanches

American Cemetery, Colleville-sur-Mer

As I've indicated, the Normandy portion of the trip was at the top of my bucket list of places to visit. Being something of a history student and an O/C planner, I did lots of studying -- reading books and watching documentaries and movies about D-Day, as well as talking to friends who had visited Normandy before. I developed a comprehensive list of places I wanted to visit and reserved 2 days for a solo tour with an experienced and highly recommended guide (by a knowledgeable friend and by Rick Steves in his guidebook), Ed Robinson of Battle of Normandy Tours, then had one day planned to visit the American cemetery in Colleville-sur-Mer and a few museums. As Ed had said, if we had spent a week or two in Normandy, there would still be things that we left wishing we had seen. After all, the landing beaches stretch for over 50 miles, and there are a myriad of small coastal villages, each with its own history, historical markers, and in many cases, museum. Ed and I visited Ste. Mere Eglise, where U.S. Airborne troops had landed in the wee hours of D-Day, all of the landing beaches but Sword, Pont du Hoc, the Longues-sur-Mer German battery, the Canadian cemetery at Beny-sur-Mer, and the scenic town of Arromanches on Gold Beach, where many remnants of the Mulberry harbor remain. All were impressive, and I'd consider "must see;" but Arromanches was my favorite place in Normandy. It blends exquisite natural beauty and world-changing history.

My primary regret for Normandy is that on the day that Susan and I drove ourselves along the beaches, I ended up not going to a single museum. We spent the morning at the American cemetery, which is essential for an American visiting Normandy and can't be rushed, then I spent some time at the nearby German cemetery, which I hadn't known existed until I was well into my "homework" on Normandy.  I'm glad I did that; it gave a much more somber look and quite a different perspective. Afterwards we enjoyed lunch at the restaurant at La Marine Hotel overlooking the beach. If I ever return to Normandy, and I'd like to, I'll stay at La Marine and relax a few days, and I'll visit the museums at Utah Beach, Ste. Mere Eglise, Arromanches, and Pegasus Bridge. I'm sorry I missed all of those.

Paris

I'm really glad that Susan was able to go on the trip so that I could experience Paris alongside her. It is an incredibly beautiful city with phenomenal art museums and a fascinating history. After having visited Rome, I was prepared to be disappointed in Paris because Rome has truly ancient history. I found Paris to be different from Rome, but every bit its equal. And a real bonus for Paris is that getting around is very easy.  The heart of Paris, where most of the museums and cathedrals such as Notre Dame and Ste. Chapelle are located, is quite walkable.  The Metro, as Paris's subway system is known, is reasonably priced and convenient, especially if you book a hotel within walking distance of a gare, or station. We hit the jackpot with our hotel, La Maison Albar - Le Diamond, which is less than a block from the Gare St. Lazare, which serves both the Metro and the trains to Normandy.

From here, let me divide the Parisian places we saw and things we did into 2 categories: Those which to me are "must see" and those for which I had mixed feelings. Notice there is not a "not worth it" category; we felt blessed and fortunate to have seen each place we saw. I'm thinking more like "would I want to do this again?" or "would I recommend this as a priority for someone on a limited time schedule?"  And having begun the process, I'm going back and adding a third category of "regrets I didn't."

Absolute Must See/Do

• Paris Museum Pass - Familiarize yourself with this at home well before you leave at https://www.parismuseumpass.fr/en .  Check your schedule and the options, then buy the best one for you that should not only save a little money, but will minimize your wait in lines at almost all of the museums in the city.
• Metro Passes - Again, check your schedule and the websites for the Metro (as well as some YouTube videos like one Les Frenchies have done) to figure out the best plan for your schedule, then purchase one. As with the Museum Pass, it will save you some money and more importantly will save you from wasting time standing in line to buy "per ride" tickets. We bought the 3 day Visite pass.
• Arc de Triomphe - See it in daylight, and definitely see it at night, and by all means plan to go to the top. The views of the Eiffel Tower, the Champs Elysee', and the entire city at night are exceptional. Plus catch the rekindling of the eternal flame ceremony at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, which occurs nightly at 6:30.

• Eiffel Tower - Go to the Place du Trocadero in daylight and dark to see the Tower from a terrific view. We also went to the 2nd level landing during the day and enjoyed seeing the city from that perspective. (Again, read about the Tower https://www.toureiffel.paris/en before you go to make sure you understand the various options and the cost of each.) Going up on it isn't cheap (the higher you go, the more you pay, of course ... and you have add-on options for meals, champagne, etc.), and it's a bit of a pain to wait in the lines, but go! It's worth the wait and cost to go up at least to the 2nd level on one of the true wonders of the modern world.
• Orsay and Orangerie Museums - Both have works of some of the great artists of the Western World. The Orsay has more, but seeing the Orangerie's huge Monet panels of the waterlilies in his garden in Giverny is almost a religious experience.
• Giverny - And speaking of Monet, we thoroughly enjoyed our trip down the countryside of the Seine River Valley to Monet's home and gardens in the hamlet of Giverny. There we saw where he lived and the gardens and pond that were the inspiration for many of his legendary works. It's a great change of pace after a day or two in Paris proper.
• Sacre Coeur and Montmartre - Montmartre is the highest point in the suburbs of Paris and on which Sacre Coeur (Sacred Heart in English) cathedral was built. It's breathtaking to see them from the city (including places like the Eiffel Tower and the windows of the Orsay Museum). We didn't brave the lines to go inside Sacre Coeur, and wish we had. 

Sacre Coeur, Montmartre

• Classical music concert at La Madeleine Church - Several of the large churches in Paris host classical music concerts on weeknights during the year. We stumbled on this opportunity while scouring the website for Ste. Chapelle and found that the Violins of France were doing concerts on 2 nights during our stay at La Madeleine cathedral, which is a 10 minute walk from our hotel. The price was quite reasonable, and it was one of the most moving experiences of our entire trip. The music (Vivaldi's The Four Seasons and other selections) and setting literally moved me to tears. More info on concerts at La Madeleine  at https://lamadeleineparis.fr/concerts-musique/ .

Classical Concert at La Madeleine

• Ste. Chapelle Chapel - This small church on the Ile de Cite' has 15 absolutely stunning stained glass windows that are almost 50' tall each and depict over 1,000 scenes from the Bible. I've never seen anything remotely like it. See https://www.sainte-chapelle.fr/ .

Ste. Chapelle Chapel

• Notre Dame - Unfortunately our trip was about 6 weeks before the cathedral reopened. If I ever go back to Paris, I'll go, crowds and all. It was exciting just to see it from the outside.

Notre Dame

• Seine River Cruise - Ours was a dinner cruise, so obviously at night. Seeing the city lights was enjoyable, but I'd have loved to have done the cruise in the daytime to have been able to have a better idea of the places we were seeing and their relationships to each other. The Seine and its 37 bridges throughout Paris have an historic beauty and are an integral part of the city's identity. A cruise of some type seems essential.

Pont Neuf Bridge over Seine River

• The Tuileries Gardens and Place du Concorde - These are basically city parks on the Right Bank just across from the Ile de Cite', the Louvre, the Orangerie, and the Orsay. Scenic, peaceful places to relax and enjoy what's around you ... at no cost.

Luxor Obelisk in Place du Concorde

Mixed Feelings

• Louvre - Let me begin by saying that Susan and I completely disagree on this. And honestly my feelings are conflicted: I'm most definitely glad that I have seen some of the great works like the Mona Lisa, Venus de Milo, and Winged Victory of Samothrace; but the Louvre was just so crowded that it was very difficult for me to truly enjoy seeing those great works. The Louvre is an enormous place, but it was elbow-to-elbow when we were there. One thing I'm absolutely certain about is that I'd not even consider doing the Louvre without a guide.

Crowd pressing to get photo of Mona Lisa in Louvre

• Versailles - It's almost unfair for me to put the palace in this category because we visited Versailles on our last day in France, and we were "out of gas." The upside is that it's magnificent, and the historian in me wanted to go there; the downside is that to do it justice, it's at least a half day trip from Paris proper. And again, it was really crowded when we were there. I'm very glad that I've been there, but knowing what I now know, if I was doing it again and was short on time, I'd skip it ... and probably regret having done so.

Statue of Louis XIV near entrance to Versailles

Regrets of Places We Didn't See

Montmartre - We had signed up for a walking tour of Montmartre with Paris Walks https://www.paris-walks.com/index_m.html , but did a "hit and run" trip as part of another earlier tour and decided to spend the time we had planned for the walking tour doing something else. I'll always regret not having gone on the walking tour and having spent more time at Montmartre.

Musee' d'Armee - The military history student in me really wanted to see this museum, which includes Napoleon's Tomb. We just ran out of time and had to give ourselves some R&R time; it was a victim of the reality of a couple of 70-somethings trying to see it all in 4 1/2 days, or in French pas assez de temps (not enough time).

Museum of the Liberation of Paris -  Since an abiding interest in WWII history was what compelled me to visit Normandy, it's counterintuitive that I never had the Liberation Museum on my list. On this trip, however, I had WWII as my focus in Normandy and in Paris wanted to see the iconic tourist sites and museums, which I thought would be Susan's priority. After seeing Normandy, however, I would very much like to see the Liberation Museum, which details and celebrates a critical achievement, especially for the French. 

Rodin Museum - Both of us are fans of Rodin and had wanted to see this museum of his works. Again, simply victims of pas assez de temps. We had to prioritize.

Palais Garnier - The saddest part of not touring this opera house is that it is only 10-15 minute walk from our hotel. The photos look gorgeous, but again we had more things to see than we had time. If we return to Paris, it will be higher on our list of "must see's."

Conclusion

To sum up the trip, Susan and I both came away feeling positive and fortunate to have been able to see places in the world that we most wanted to see. We know there's much more of France to see than Normandy and Paris, but those had been the most fascinating places to us ... and we came away feeling affirmed by our affinity for them. Paris is unquestionably one of the great cities in the world, and few places match its impact on Western Civilization. Normandy is where the Western countries came together as never before or since to change the course of history and give freedom a chance to continue to grow in the Western World. 

The relationship of France and the United States is much like that of two talented but strong-willed siblings. There has been jealousy and animosity occasionally; but when one was in trouble, the other has invariably come to its defense. Both helped nurture the revolutions of the other. Neither would be the country it is had it not been for the other. Lafayette, L'Enfant, de Grasse, and Rochambeau are secular saints in the U.S., as Franklin, Pershing, Roosevelt, and Eisenhower are in France. French explorers such as Cartier, Champlain, and LaSalle played key roles in the settlement of North America, and the American aviator Charles Lindbergh flew to Paris to open the door of trans-Atlantic aviation. It's been a long and complicated friendship. They gave us the Statue of Liberty for the centennial of the American Revolution, and we gave them a quarter-size replica of the Statue to commemorate the centennial of the French Revolution.

Utah Beach

It was a joy to have been the beneficiary of the bond the U.S. and France have shared and to learn more first-hand about our French cousins. Susan very much wants to return to Paris with our daughter and one or more granddaughters for an ultimate girls' trip. While I'd enjoy seeing those places I mentioned above which I missed on this trip, there are too many other places in the world I'd like to spend my time and resources visiting. I fear that I'll run out of runway before I return to France. And if I do return, I would like to spend time relaxing in the small towns in Normandy, particularly Arromanches and just chill along the beach. I'd also like to go to Honfleur and take a day trip over to iconic Mont St.-Michel. And, yes, I'd enjoy taking a day to see a couple of the museums. There's much to see and much to love ... and that's not even counting the food and wine.