Easter in France

Good Friday in France.

Unseasonably cold weather preceded Easter, but Sunday morning the sun came out and it was a beautiful day for hunting Easter Eggs.

In France, there is a story told to the children about the church bells. On the Thursday before Good Friday, all the church bells go silent, because they are all flying to Rome. No church bells are heard until they return on Easter morning,bringing back chocolates and eggs from Rome, which are hidden in the yards and gardens for the children to find.

Our local chocolate store's window.

The candy and chocolate stores are all decorated with chocolate, eggs, bunnies, bells, and fish.
Yes, fish. Chocolate fish are a part of the tradition in France for this time of year. It originates with an April Fool's joke of sending someone off to the market to buy a fish that is out of season and therefore nowhere to be found. The tradition evolved into an April 1st prank by children sticking fish stickers on the backs of unwitting adults.

Chocolate eggs and chocolate chickens in chocolate crates.

The chocolate sculptures can be very impressive, with each store trying to out do the other. Many of the chocolates are works of art that look too good to spoil by eating. Unfortunately, most are too delicate to ship to friends and family back in the states.

Chocolate fish in store window.

Many French families enjoy egg battles as well. Tapping the small end of raw eggs against an opponent to see who has the toughest egg. Cheating has gotten to be a bit of an art as many farmers feed their chickens special feed mixes to increase the thickness of the shell and others shellacking eggs! It's all messy fun.
A traditional Easter meal in France consists of lamb. So, as part of our Easter weekend we went to the local crêperie for lamb served on a kabob with frites (french fries), red wine, and ice cream for dessert (no pumpkin pie). Followed by a cappuccino, of course.
Easter is a three day weekend in Europe. Originally in France the Monday off was not for everyone. It was to allow the servants and those that worked on Easter a day off to be with their families. The rich had their holiday on Sunday and the poorer class got their holiday a day later. Like Boxing Day in Britain. The day after Christmas, servants were allowed to box up the leftovers (after making box lunches for their bosses) to take home to their families.

Happy Easter

Tour de Normandie

Finish Line at the Tour de Normandie

Every March the fourth oldest staged bicycle race is held in Normandie France, and the coolest part is that the finish line for the 5th stage of the race is one block away from our house! Too cool. On Saturday the cyclist started their race from Gouville sur Mer (near Saint Malo) and four hours later they entered Bagnoles, circled the center and then sprinted to the finish line just beyond the Chateau Bagnoles and across from the church in the square. 

Painting the finish line.

We started our day by walking into town for lunch. We watched them making all the last minute preparations, putting up barricades, painting the finish line, and erecting the stands. They had been working all morning to get ready. The racers would be rolling into town around 4:00 p.m. After lunch we found a good spot to view the race and take pictures. Then we sat back and watched the people begin to line the streets. The vehicles carrying the race officials arrived. Then the support crew arrived. After a long wait, the police motorcycle escort came into view with lights flashing and sirens going. The crowds cheered as hundreds of cyclists came round the corner below us and raced up the hill.

Coming up the hill to the last straight.

Passing in front of the Chateau.

Crossing the Finish.

 After 183 km (114 miles) and 4 hours 2 minutes, the German, Erick Zabel crossed the finish line to win the 5th stage of the Tour de Normandie. Tony Hurel the French cyclist came in second. While the cyclists took a couple of laps around the square, we walked around the corner to where the support vehicles were parked and watched the racers cool down after the race.

The race winner complaining of his right knee.

A hard race.

Cooling down.

Cycling is a hard sport, lots of skinned knees and chins.

Awards time.

The Tour de Normandie race was started in 1939 as a race for amateurs, but in 1996 the race was opened to professionals. The race takes place in 6 stages and is seen as an important preparation for the Tour de France. The last stage will leave Bagnoles at noon tomorrow and end in Caen. 

The Raleigh Team with Alexandre Blain on the far left who would finish in 2nd place.

On Sunday morning we went down to watch the start of the last stage of the race. While we were having our cappuccino in the Hotel Gayot, the Raleigh team from Britain came in and sat next to us. Alice got her picture taken with the team and we wished them luck. Alexandre Blain was the only team member that was fluent in French, and only because he grew up in France! It was great to speak English and fun to see their excitement. Alexandre Blain would fight it out with the Swiss rider the rest of the day and come in second in the overall race.

At the end of the day Swiss cyclist, Silvan Dillier, would take first place to win the Tour de Normandie for the BMC team.

Team Raleigh support car

Team BMC support car

Start of the final day.

The start line of the final stage of the Tour de Normandie & Alice of course.

The starting line for the last stage of the Tour de Normandie with Alexandre Blain at the lead of the Raleigh team.

What a Difference

Last Thursday on the 14th we were playing in the snow at the Hotel de Ville in our town.

Today on the 19th we're walking the trails and enjoying the flowers.

Chartres

After the heavy snow of last week, we were glad to see some sunshine in Bagnoles, although it was fleeting between clouds. But the weather was warmer and we were ready to get out of the house. So we decided to visit the cathedral in Chartres.  The cathedral of Chartres, or more properly, Cathédrale Notre-Dame de Chartres (Cathedral of Our Lady of Chartres), is considered the best example of French Gothic architecture and is the best preserved of the Gothic cathedrals with most of its original stained glass windows surviving intact. It was constructed between 1194 and 1250.The cathedral is currently being restored as can be seen in the difference in the white limestone around the rose window and the darker untreated lower three portals.

Outside figures awaiting restoration, showing grey deposits from air pollution.

Inside the front portal, it is easy to see the difference between the cleaned and restored left section of wall and the unrestored righthand section.

Sculpture depicting the ascension of Mary inside Chartres Cathedral.

 All the glass from the cathedral was removed in 1939 just before the Germans invaded France, and it was cleaned after the War and releaded before replacing.
While the city suffered heavy damage by bombing in the course of World War II, the cathedral was spared by an American Army officer who challenged the order to destroy it.
Colonel Welborn Barton Griffith, Jr. (of Quanah, Texas) questioned the strategy of destroying the cathedral and volunteered to go behind enemy lines to find out whether the German Army was occupying the cathedral and using it as an observation post. With a single enlisted soldier to assist, Griffith proceeded to the cathedral and confirmed that the Germans were not using it. He rang the cathedral bell to let the Allies know he was inside the cathedral and it was not occupied. The order to destroy the cathedral was withdrawn, and the Allies later liberated the area. Griffith was killed in action on 16 August 1944, in the town of Leves, near Chartres.

Depiction of the crown of thorns being placed on the head of Jesus. Just one of many sculptures carved into the screens that illustrate the life of Jesus inside the cathedral.

Detail of vaulted ceiling where it has been restored.

Of course not all churches and cathedrals are as fortunate as the Chartres Cathedral. On the drive back home we came across the ruins of this old church dedicated to St. Jean.

Church of St. Jean, 1799-1852.

Detail of moss growing on abandoned church ruins.

Another view of Chartres Cathedral.

Almost Spring

Getting the bicycles out and ready for Spring.

It is almost Spring and the pretty days are getting warmer and more frequent. We brought our bicycles in from the garage Sunday and aired up the tires, fixed Alice's bent rear fender, which was damaged in the move, and cleaned them up overall. We put together a little wardrobe to store our winter clothes in and we ran around in short sleeved shirts both in and out of the house.
Then Monday turned cold and rainy. Sleet started Monday night about ten, by midnight it was snow.
Tuesday's entertainment was playing in the snow, not riding bikes! Oh well, it's not Spring yet.

Saturday and Sunday, sunny and warm.

Tuesday and Wednesday, snow, snow, snow.

Speeding? Me?

 Well, I got my first speeding ticket in France. Easy to do when you're not sure of the speed limit. The highway was wide open with few cars, a common condition on the toll roads. The high cost of petrol and the high cost of tolls are very effective at reducing traffic. The average cost at the toll booth is 5.00 euros and we go through three toll booths to get to Caen, an hour away.
The speed limit was 110 k/hr and I was doing 120 k/hr (120 k/hr equals 75 mph, but it sounds faster doesn't it?). I passed a nice shiny metal box with a window on the front side, "Oh shit, I bet that was a radar camera!" I thought too late. Well I was only doing ten over, "I wonder what the tolerance is?"
Well, there is no tolerance, if you're speeding-you're speeding. Sure enough two weeks later I got an official letter in the mail. Two pages of French government gobblety-gook. It was easy to make out the amount I owed, it was either 68 euros or 45 euros or the sum of both. I wasn't sure. The second page was a form to be filled out, a whole page of little boxes to check and fill in with information about the car, my address, my license, blah blah blah. All in French of course.
At the bottom of the back of the second page in small print there was an internet address, hooray, "maybe I can pay it online."
I went to the PC opened the Google Chrome browser and prepared for a long session of translation. I was pleasantly surprised. The website had an English version option and it was simple to use. I entered the ticket number and up popped the details of my traffic fine, the amount and the option to pay by credit card. Two minutes later, I'm an upstanding respectable citizen again that pays his debts to society.

“►Speed camera warnings - 2013.  The big old signs that used to warn drivers of an upcoming speed camera are being removed. More than half of the warning signs have now gone, but many of those that have gone have been replaced by automatic speed detectors, which flash up the speed of each approaching car on a luminous panel.

 It's best to understand what these are about:  if you see a luminous panel flashing up, say 101 then 99, then 97 as you approach it while decelerating, that is your speed. So keep down or drop down to below the speed limit, as there is most probably - though not always - a speed camera coming up. Some speed detectors just flash up your speed in white lights, others in green or red lights depending on whether you are within or above the speed limit. Some show a smiley below the speed - grumpy if you're above the limit, smiling if you're within the limit.”

New radars are being set up all the time, so any unofficial maps that may be available on the Internet are unlikely to be complete, and in any case cannot include the mobile radar cars or the movable speed cameras, of which there are currently about 1000. So the best rule - not to say the most sensible one - is "Do not drive over the speed limit".

Legend of Bagnoles de l'Orne

The village of Bagnoles de l’Orne is situated on a natural spring. The springs were known during Roman times and given the name Bagnolium. Here the Roman legions would relax in the warm waters of the spring between the constant battles between them and the Gauls. 

There are many legends surrounding the area. Two legends tell of the discovery of the springs. One legend is of a wealthy feudal Lord, Hughes of Tessé, who owned vast lands in the region and ruled over thousands of vassals. He was rich and highly honored, a fair and just Lord, long in the tooth. The days of his youth were far behind him. His favored mount, Rapid, had been a longtime companion. The noble horse had been a devoted and reliable friend for many seasons and was now in the winter of his life. His black coat was spotted with grey. His once mighty legs showed swelling of the joints and his steps were slow and ponderous. The Lord Hughes decided to release the horse into the nearby forest so he could live out his days in peace.

 A month later the Lord looked out over his lands and noted a young horse frolicking outside in the open pastures. When he went outside, he discovered it was his own horse, Rapid, returned home. The horse was young again! His shiny black coat had not a speck of grey and his legs were straight and strong once again. The Lord was curious as to how this could be and so he followed the horse as it wandered back into the forest and to a clear running spring. As he watched, other animals came to the spring and as they drank the waters their youth was restored. Now they could escape from the hunt.

The Lord drank from the same waters and his youth was miraculously restored as well. Lord Hughes built a hospital and chapel beside the spring in this special place. The town of Bagnoles was born.

The second legend of the springs tells of a Lord also. The Lord of Bonvoulair married a very young, very beautiful girl. The Lord and his bride were very happy together, but try as they might they had no children. The years came and went without the cheerful noises of children playing in their castle. Then the Lord heard of a magical spring and went there to bath and drink the water. Over the next few years the couple were graced with many beautiful healthy children. In gratitude the Lord built a tower as memorial for what had happened. The tower is situated in Juvigny-sous-Andaines, just outside of Bagnoles de l’Orne and bears a special shape. 

In 1913 the rail service came to this area. Most of the land was owned by the surrounding villages and there were discussions as to where to build the train depot. Land was donated by the three surrounding villages and Bagnoles de l’Orne was chartered as a neutral and central location to receive the train depot. All the villages benefited from the train service. In 2000 the villages of Bagnoles and Tessé-la-Madeleine merged together, retaining the name of Bagnoles de l’Orne since it had grown into a well-known resort for its healing baths and retirement centers. This year Bagnoles de l'Orne celebrated its 100th anniversary.

Sadly, the train depot is now closed.