“Girls’ Day” Saturday – Part 2: Planting and Exploring

The idea of our “Girls’ Day” actually started as we were leaving a show Nathalie and Stephane’s girls were in.  We were chatting outside the hall, and Nathalie mentioned that she wanted to put in some garden plants, and I offered to help.  We consulted calendars and scheduled our day.  Nathalie sent me train schedule info, and we were good to go!

After she met me at the train station, we first went to Nathalie's favorite boulangerie to get several of “the best baguettes around.”  (Her family was properly appreciative.) Then we were off to an amazing garden store.  It is all under one roof and HUGE!!  She had decided on geraniums so we made our way through the facility, past the chicken area (with a sign suggesting buying a hen as a Mothers’ Day present – hmmm, not for me, thanks!), and finally reached an area with lots and lots of plants ready to become parts of gardens in the area.  We decided on packs of six plants rather than one huge plant.  Nathalie picked two different colored six packs, then we hefted a huge bag of potting soil onto our cart, paid for our stuff, loaded it in her car, and were on our way.

When we got to Nathalie and Stephane’s home, Nathalie, Stephane, and their daughter Fanny, and I had a nice lunch with some of those delicious baguettes.  Then we got to work.  Stephane put the bag of potting soil into a wheel barrow and brought it over to us on the patio.  And, presto, magico, we soon had two large pots of geraniums!


Here's one of them!

 Nathalie had planned some sightseeing for us, and we were off.  Our first stop with the tiny village of Saint-Chef.  It has a population of 3,700 and a lot of history.  It all started in the sixth century when Theudère started an Abbey there.  The Abbey was destroyed by barbarians but rebuilt by Benedictine monks in 890.  It soon became very prosperous, and, in the eleventh century, the church was enlarged. Then it was decorated with Romanesque frescoes at the beginning of the twelfth century.  Nathalie told me people come from all over to study the frescoes; they are definitely impressive! 


Pictures from the web of some of the frescoes

 At one time the abbey had a dozen priories and a hundred parishes under it. However, the number of monks decreased over time until, in 1536, there were only twenty-eight remaining.  In 1774, they left  to unite with the abbey of Saint-André-le-Bas in Vienna.  The church was abandoned and then damaged in the revolution.  Fortunately, a man named Prosper Mérimée came to the rescue and saw it added to the first inventory of Historic Monuments in 1840.   An amazing clean up and restoration followed; the church is now a lovely, inviting place and the frescoes survived. 

Exterior of the church

Interior (frescoes are at the far end and not visible here)

We spent some time just walking around and drinking in the history and art in this amazing church.  Interesting what one persistent person with a vision can do; we owe Prosper Mérimée a HUGE thank you! 

From Saint-Chef we drove a short distance to Morestel, another medieval village, this one is noted for its artist community and many galleries.  We visited a couple of art galleries, but by far the most impressive was Maison Ravier.  As the name would suggest, it’s located in an old house.    This house dates back to the beginning of the 18^th century and is quite impressive.  I’ve been in a lot of old houses in France, and this is the first one where I’ve felt I could happily take up residence.  The rooms are all quite big, have lots of large windows, tasteful décor, trim, and details, and most have gorgeous territorial views.  It’s really a perfect place for a gallery. 

La Maison Ravier

The painter François August Ravier lived here until his death in 1895, and many of his paintings make up the permanent collection. It was interesting to see how his painting evolved and how he, too, was interested in the effect of changes in light on his subjects.  I really wouldn’t mind having some of his work  on our walls!

The current temporary collection in Maison Ravier is works by Émile Simond, who lived from 1893 to 1977.  This man was amazing!  He was an autodidact, but you would never know it after seeing his work.  And, painting wasn’t enough for him – he also created beautiful ceramics and wrote about 700 poems!  Quite the talented man!

After we left the house, we wandered around the extensive grounds, enjoyed the view, walked back down to the main part of the village, and took in a storefront gallery filled with the works of contemporary artists.  

Two examples of passageways we walked through in Morestel

 

We also went inside the village church to take a break in the cool sanctuary after walking in the warm weather.  This church, St. Symphorien, was once a chapel for an Augustine Convent in 1425 and didn’t become Morestel’s parish church until 1791.  (Especially for this West Coast native, these dates are a bit mind-boggling!)

St. Symphorien

At this point Nathalie and I both wanted something cool to drink.  Since we didn’t see any place in the village that looked promising, we decided to go back to Nathalie and Stephane’s home for a quick glass iced tea before it was time to take me to the railroad station for my trip back to Lyon.  I had a wonderful time with Nathalie and made sure to tell her how much I appreciated the time we spent together.

My trip home was totally without incident – just a very pleasant, short train ride. 

NOTE:  This is one of the longest blog posts we’ve done.  I hope your eyes aren’t glazing over.  It could actually have been MUCH longer, but I’ve shortened it by including hyperlinks instead of going into more detail.  So now you can choose to find out more about some of the places and people I mention, if you like.

 

 

"Girls' Day" Saturday – Part 1: Train Adventures

David is off on his annual bike trip with his 3 buddies, so Nathalie, our landlady and friend, invited me (Anna) to spend a “Girls’ Day” with her.  Since Nathalie and Stephane live a little way from Lyon, I needed to take the SNCF (Société Nationale des Chemins de Fer, the French railroad system) to get there and back.  It was the first time I’d done that alone, but we printed my tickets ahead of time, and David walked me through the process before he left. I felt quite confident that I could do it with no problem.  Nathalie would be waiting for me at the other end, and the train ride was less than 30 minutes long.  Piece of cake!


La Gare Part Dieu
train station-a short walk from our apartment

I got to Gare Part Dieu early, bought a local paper, and watched the screen to find out which track my train would be on. 


Departure Screen
 shows train's number, status (on time, delayed),
arrival time, destinations, and track it will be on

When the track was posted, I went to my train, got on a second class car, and pulled out my paper to wait for departure.  The engine had started, and everything looked good for an on-time departure.  Then the engine stopped, and our car’s attendant got on the PA system and said something in rapid-fire French.  About all I could pick out was “tard” (late).  Some passengers left, but most just sighed and took out smart phones, books, or papers.  I waited until she was done talking with other people and went up to her and explained (in French) that I was American and I was sorry but I understood French best when people spoke slowly, would she mind repeating again.  She gave me a big smile and replied that she spoke English, but only slowly.  (At that point she got on the “New Best Friend” list!)  She looked at my ticket, and told me this train was delayed, but I could catch another train that would get me to my destination sooner than this one would.  My ticket would be good for that train, too.  So I rushed off, back into the station, and up another lane to the track the 2^nd train was on.  I got there just in time to see all the doors close and the train leave.


A regional, Rhône-Alpes train similar to "my" train

I walked back into the station and back to the track my original train was on to check back in with my attendant.  She was talking with about four other SNCF employees, at least two of whom were talking at the same time. (I’ll never understand how they do it, but the French do that a lot, and it seems to work for them.)  There was a lot of gesturing, checking of watches, and shrugging of shoulders.  I waited until my SNCF lady was alone, and asked for an update.  It seemed there was a problem with the engine; they were checking it now and would tell us in about 10 minutes what the prognosis was.  If they couldn’t get this engine to work properly, they would put all of us on another train.  (I should point out that by this time many of the other passengers had disappeared and were presumably already on other trains.)  A couple of other passengers near me made sure I was kept up to date on all announcements by translating them into English or Franglish (my real second language!) for me.  Everyone was so kind and thoughtful – now if we could just get the train to move…

At this point I made a quick phone call to Nathalie to let her know I would be late and tell her what I knew about the train.  She was already at the station, ready to pick me up (it’s less than a ½ hour trip, remember), and saw on the screen that my train was delayed ½ hour.  She assured me that it was no problem for her to wait since she had downloaded her current favorite TV series and was happily watching her show.

Suddenly, the engine started up and my SNCF lady smiled and announced that we would be leaving immediately.  A couple of passengers rushed back onto the train car, and we were off.  The rest of my “½ hour train ride” went smoothly. I soon arrived at my destination and saw Nathalie coming towards me at the station with a huge smile on her face.

<"Girls' Day" Saturday to be continued>

 

Stopping to Smell the Roses

The weather was lovely on Tuesday, and Andrée Anne, our Découverte de la France teacher, suggested an impromptu gathering at one of the rose gardens in Parc Tête d’Or where the roses were in full bloom and their scent was at its peak.
(Side note - Parc Tête d’Or is a huge ~290 acre park right inside the city of Lyon and a short walk from our apartment.) 

 

Lovely arbor in the experimental garden

There are actually three rose gardens in the park, and we started with the experimental garden where new varieties are tried out in addition to the lovely mature rose bushes planted there.  Since we were there to enjoy to the scent of roses, we checked many of the varieties out and rated them by strength of fragrance.  It’s amazing how many varieties we saw and how different roses can look and smell! 




Front row L-R:  Anna, Andrée Anne,
Adriana & Elena, David's in the back

Grand piano in the park

After spending time in that rose garden and rating the different varieties, we strolled on around the lake, and past the various types of boats for rent, several statues, the man playing the grand piano, and lots of people enjoying a sunny morning in the park. 




Our destination was the larger rose garden with its fountain and arbor.  Needless to say the roses there were magnificent!  The grounds are meticulously groomed, and absolutely no insecticides are used!  They rely on ladybugs and wasps to keep the aphids and other nasty bugs under control.  Judging from the rose plants, their system works!


By the fountain in the main rose garden

Soon our morning escape to the park was over, and it was time to go our separate ways and get on with things.  We were all grateful that we had taken the time that morning to go to the park and check out the roses.  The roses were all at their peak, and their perfume was impressive.  We all thanked Andrée Anne for suggesting our little outing to “stop and smell the roses" and went our separate ways.


One last look before we went our separate ways

That night we were treated to a very impressive thunder storm and torrential down pour.  It’s a good thing we checked out the roses that morning before the storm!

The Village of Vauquois - an example of World War I Fighting

After we shifted our base from Reims to Sainte Menehould, checked into our hotel, and had a bit of lunch, we headed off for a preliminary look at the area where Anna's grandfather fought.  The beginning of his Regiment's attack on German positions occurred adjacent to the Butte de Vauquois.

We parked in a small lot in the 'new' village of Vauquois and followed a trail up the butte.  Even after 100 years and reforestation, trenches, craters, and tunnels are visible everywhere.  At the top of hill is a memorial to the original village along with massive mine craters.

Barbed wire still in place around opening to a dugout

Opening to another dugout on Vauquois Butte

Parking lot with 'new' village to left out of picture and memorial in center 

Vauquois Butte from Memorial

In 1914, Vauquois was a small village of 168 inhabitants at the top of the Butte de Vauquois that found itself caught up and destroyed in all the horrors of war along the western front.  At one point, the village was occupied by the Germans who shot both the Mayor and his 8-year old son along with other civilians.  The French re-took the village, and the front line shifted so that the French held the top of the butte or small hill, and the Germans the other side.

The village of Vauquois was destroyed in February 1915 following harsh battles that radically transformed its landscape. Up until 1917, French and German forces dug miles of underground tunnels in order to inflict the greatest possible damage on the enemy’s network using tons of explosives.

Top of Vauquois Butte with photo of old village in front of cratered original location

Explanation of crater formed by German mine in 1916

 

Vauquois Memorial at top of Butte with mine craters in foreground

After the war, the village was rebuilt at the foot of the butte.

Today, visitors are able to see for themselves the changed face of Vauquois Butte overlooking the formidable craters caused by the detonation of mines, along with examples of restored trenches from both the French and German sides. A tour guide is on hand in the local association’s exhibition space and at the visitor reception point in the village, charging €5 for a tour of the area above ground.

Guided tours of the underground “living quarters” are by prior appointment only, in return for a small charge in aid of the association. The number of tours is limited in the interests of safety and site preservation.  Because of time constraints and the fact our main purpose was to retrace the movements of Anna's grandfather, we did not take any guided tours.  We spent the afternoon looking around Vauquois Butte and finding areas in the vicinity where the 364th Infantry Regiment had been and fought.  See Post "Into Action with the 364th Infantry Regiment of the 91st Division".

Into Action with the 364th Infantry of the 91st Division

This post should have been completed in 2016, but we had misplaced the photos and finally got around to finding them and completing the post.

Anna’s maternal grandfather, Grover Franklin Thomas, volunteered to serve after America entered The Great War, or World War I.  He was part of Company B, 1st Battalion, 364^th Infantry Regiment, 182^nd Brigade of the 91^st Division, also known as the “Wild West” Division, of the 1^st American Army under General Pershing.  The division was made up mostly of young men from the western part of the United States – and mostly from California.  They are described in the book With the 364^th Infantry in America, France, and Belgium, written by the Chaplain and Intelligence Officer of the Regiment, as being a “motley throng of men” when they arrived at Camp Lewis, Washington for basic training in September 1917.  According to the book, they came from all walks of life – everything from business men and professional men in tailored suits to sunburned ranchers and cowboys in chaps.  All of them had volunteered “in answer to the world’s emergency” and almost all had no Army experience.  Within a year they were in the thick of things.

They arrived in France in late July, 1918 and by September 12, 1918 the Division was in reserve during the beginning of the St Mihiel offensive.  It was determined that they were not needed in this sector, so the Division traveled, mostly on foot, to the nearby Meuse-Argonne sector where they formed a part of a huge American effort to break through this heavily fortified sector. 

Historic Photo Showing the 91st Division Leaving a French Village During the Meuse-Argonne Offensive

Almost since the beginning of our sojourns in France, we had been talking about visiting an area where Grover had fought.  His Division fought in the Argonne region of France, and then in Belgium.  Looking at the map, Lyon is considerably closer to the Argonne than to Belgium, plus he had been wounded in the Argonne offensive, so that was the area we chose.

We studied the above book carefully with its maps, along with contemporary maps.  We spent a good deal of time reading, making timelines, and marking the Regiment’s, and in some cases, Company B’s movements from September 26 to October 4, 1918.  We found that with a good deal of note-taking and cross referencing we were able to follow the movements of the Regiment closely. 

The Regiment arrived September 25 at their designated headquarters between the Mont des Allieux and Cigalerie Butte, two small hills near the Butte de Vauquois which had been fought over for years.   At 2:30AM, the next day, artillery began shelling the German positions.  The Brigade was on the left side of the Division front as the infantry moved out at 5:30AM on the road between the two small hills.

Sign on building spelling out 'Cigalerie'

Area Where the Regiment Formed up to Attack - Sept 25, 1918

Note that by using historic and contemporary maps, we were able to accurately locate the area where Grover’s Regiment had formed up to launch their attack.  It was a bit spooky to stand almost exactly where Grover had stood 98 years previously and know that we were at the spot where he and his comrades were about to go into action against the Germans.

Map of Area Where Regiment Began their Attack

They were briefly held up by German machine guns, but the Battalion advanced into Cheppy Woods, capturing German positions, including a ‘canteen’ with beer and cigarettes which were, of course, liberated. 

A day later, the 27^th, the 1^st Battalion was in reserve as the Regiment continued to advance, liberating several small villages in the two days of the advance.   The advance that day totaled 1-1/2 miles, a very significant distance in this time of trench warfare.

Anna by sign for village of Very, liberated by the Regiment

Anna by sign for village of Eclisfontaine, also liberated by Regiment

 

The next day, the 28^th, the Regiment suffered heavy casualties, with the attack beginning at 9AM, with the 1^st Battalion on the left.  The advance began opposite Exmorieux Farm as German machine gunners in farm buildings held them up for a time.  The next day, at 1:30PM,  they captured the farm taking a number of prisoners.  They were fired upon by German snipers in Epinettes Woods and attacked by Diphosgene gas from German artillery.  By nightfall, the Regiment occupied a ridge north of Baulny Woods and Transol Farm.  At this point the attack shifted to another part of the line so the Regiment spent the next few days, until October 4^th, holding their positions, under shell, sniper, and machine gun fire.  Shortly thereafter, the 91^st Division was pulled out of the area and sent to the Front in Belgium.

American Monument at Vauquois Butte

Battle Explanation at Monument

91st Division in Stone at Monument
 

 

Meuse-Argonne American Cemetery and Memorial

The post below is from our trip to the north of France in 2016.  The post is delayed because we had mislaid the photos

The action of the Meuse-Argonne, September-November 1918, was the largest American battle in history, involving 1.2 million American men.  More ammuniton was expended in the three hours bombardment before the attack than both sides used in the four years of the American Civil War.

Very close by the Meuse-Argonne battlefield, where Anna's Grandfather fought with the 91st Division, is the largest American military cemetery in Europe. It is maintained by the American Battle Monuments Commision.  Most of the 14,426 men buried there lost their lives during the Meuse-Argonne Offensive. The cemetery consists of eight sections behind a large central reflection pool. Beyond the grave sections is a chapel which is decorated with stained glass windows depicting American units' insignias. Along the walls of the chapel area are the tablets of the missing which include the names of those soldiers who fought in the region and in northern Russia, but have no known grave.

We were surprised at its size as we had assumed that the largest American cemetery would be near the Normandy D-Day landing beaches.  We had discovered that a distant relative of Anna's had been killed in France and so decided to visit the cemetery to see if he was buried there.

The cemetery is near the village of Romagne-sous-Montfaucon, about which more later, and is quite impressive.

Meuse-Argonne American Cemetery

As it was not tourist season, there were few people around when we visited the office.  We were met by the American Superintendent of the Cemetery, a retired US Arny officer.  He discussed at length with us the role of the 91st Divison, pulling some books and records from the shelves.  He informed us that the 91st was considered one of the more competent divisions in what was at the time a very inexperienced American Army.  He also researched Anna's distant relative for us and discovered that he was buried at an American cemetery near Saint-Mihiel, the site of another famous American battle.

Also at the cemetery is the American Monument at Montfaucon, which we visited.  The 91st Division is memorialized at this monument - see the Post about Grover's unit.

American Monument at Montfaucon

The town of Romagne-sous-Montfaucon contains a very interesting little museum.  It is run by a Belgian man who used to vacation in the area as a child with his parents.  He would wander the area exploring bunkers and trenches and picking up artifacts.  He is apparently authorized by the French Government to continue this activity.  He and his wife have assembled a fascinating small museum, and run an adjacent snack bar where one can get a carafe of wine and a plate of charcuterie for lunch.  He has an intimate knowledge of World War I actions in the vicinity and leads personalized tours of the area.  We talked with him at some length, although we did not have time to take a tour.  He encouraged us to return at a later date and he would give us a tour specific to the actions of Anna's grandfather's unit.

Interior of the museum

Exterior of the museum building

Visit to Verdun – Iconic WW I Battleground

The post below is from our trip to the north of France in 2016.  The post is delayed because we had mislaid the photos.

After visiting Reims and the battlefields where Anna’s grandfather fought in the First World War, we planned to visit the battlefield of Verdun in northeast France on our way home.  The small city of Verdun is only about 30-40 kilometers from Sainte Ménehould where we had been staying.

Verdun has a mythic quality for France.  The Great War, or World War I 1914-1918, killed almost 1,000,000 young French men in four years, and devastated the north of France. 

As the war became stalemated in great trench lines, the German Army tried to break the stalemate by selcting a point that they believed the French would have to defend.  They then organized an offensive that the Germnans believed would bleed the French Army to death.  It did almost do that, but the French Army held on, and the result was that the German Army itself suffered massive casualties.

The battle of Verdun between the French Army and the Germans unfolded over about 300 days between February and December 1916.  It was marked by enormous artillery duels and great numbers of battles, large and small.  Casualty figures vary, but the consensus seems to be something between 600,000 and 1,000,000 men on both sides, killed, wounded, or missing.  The French had a number of relatively sophisticated, mostly underground fortifications around Verdun, but most of the men fought and lived from trenches and dugouts.  The front lines in the area did not move more than a few of kilometers in any direction during the course of ten months.  The tonnage of high-explosive and poison gas shells fired by both sides during the struggle was enormous. 

We visited Fort de Douamont, one of the key points during the battle.  The fort was part of the system of fortifications around Verdun.  Most of the fort is deep underground.  The surrounding area has been completely reforested by the French, but the trenches and shell craters are still quite visible in the area.



Fort de Douamont at the end of the battle

 



Fort de Douamont today

 

 

75mm Gun Turret, Fort de Douamont

Note Right-Hand Gun

The right-hand gun above shows a shell fragment that had enterred the muzzle from outside!

The Germans had effectively cut all the lines of replenishment to the area either by occupation or because the roads and railroads, except one, were all under heavy shellfire. In response, the French rapidly built trucks and developed a system of continuous night-and-day convoys into Verdun to keep everyone fed and supplied.  At its height 6000 vehicles were continuously in motion along the route, transporting 50,000 men and 90,000 tons of material per week - one vehicle every 14 seconds on average.  This achievement was absolutely unprecedented as motor transport at the time was very new and truck production, along with truck purchases, had to be rapidly built up from a very low base.  The ability of the French to organize and operate this system contributed almost as much as the courage and fortitude of the soldiers to the ultimate defeat of the Germans in this area.

For more information about the specifics of the Battle, there is a very informative Wikipedia article about the Battle.

The route used by the convoys was baptized after the war as the ‘Voie Sacrée’ or ‘Sacred Way’.  It is now a scenic two-lane highway from the railhead at Bar-le-Duc to Verdun, that we drove along as we headed back to Lyon.  It is marked by ‘bornes’ or kilometer posts along its length topped with replicas of a French Poilu’s helmet.

Voie Sacrée Borne