FRANCE MON AMOUR

Except Chapter 2: First sight of the Eiffel Tower To reach the Eiffel Tower I had to take the Rue du Laos into the Avenue de la Motte Piquet and then go down the Parc Champ de Mars. Quite simple. Not me! Got slightly lost - in one street! But I’d got there. Opposite the Champ de Mars (as we shall call it) was the Ecole Militaire. This was the military academy. It was light brownish building dominated by a large dome with a clock on top of age portico. To get to the Champ de Mars I had to cross the road, which was not very easy. Near the Ecole Militaire, as there had also been at the Gard du Nord, were the police. These did not wear the famous kepi one associates with the French police, but rather ordinary hats rather like traffic police in Britain or even a French train guard. The Eiffel Tower stood out - a huge grey, almost light brownish latticework steel structure at the end of the Champ de Mars. Rising narrowing into the sky on it legs, with the curved arches between them. Excerpt Chapter 4: A visit to a champagne warehouse in Reims Being in Reims I had to try to some Champagne. My guide to the town listed a number of Champagne houses or maisons that were open to the public. A map was provided. So I. set off. The one that I chose was not far from the town centre, but was still up a side road. After some time I found it. The building was quite nondescript. As I recall you entered through a yard. Inside the building a very elegantly dressed beautiful young woman was seated behind a reception desk. I politely asked if the maison was open. She said that it was. So I paid my fee. She then invited me to see a video film in English about Champagne, which was quite instructive. The film described how the wine was produced. When had finished she pointed me downstairs in the direction of a Champagne cave where the wine was stored and which also had some exhibits of the equipment used in the making of the wine. After this I was given a tasting. The champagne produced here was that drunk in Maxim’s restaurant in Paris. There were various sorts. Dry and sweet. White and rose. Delicious. I even had the chance to buy some. Unfortunately I didn’t feel like lugging even one bottle of Champagne round with me. Feeling slightly light headed I left the Champagne warehouse. Excerpt Chapter 4: Visit to the Bayeux Tapestry. Of course Bayeux’s most famous attraction is the Tapestry. The building housing this was in a side street. It was an oldish looking building. The exhibition was about more than just the Tapestry. It was about the Vikings, Norman England (including the Domesday Book) and the Tapestry. It had a slide show and a lot of models. It had four floors, one which was the basement. You started at the first floor, then went to the second, before going to ground floor where the Tapestry and then to basement to get souvenirs. Some of the models in the exhibition I remember from an exhibition in Winchester in 1986 to commemorate the 900th anniversary of the Domesday Book. The Tapestry is incredible. For start with it is apparently unfinished. It has been suggested that some of it has been lost. Also one bit is out of sequence. It manages to have King Harold’s funeral before his death. The whole thing occupies one large room. It is incredible and was certainly worth seeing. Excerpt Chapter 6: Initial impression of the town of Arles Arles seemed quite different to Paris and the north. This was the south. Provence and Arles was the capital. Paris was another town and another world away. For all I knew it could have been in a different country , yet it was only a few hours away by train. I walked into the town. I crossed the road lined by trees. The first place I came across was the ‘Bar Rochet’ ‘Le Rendezvous des les amis de rugby’ I forget the proprietors names. Nearby was a public gardens. From there I walked to the amphitheatre. The entrance was in a small side street. . I paid my money and went in. Whilst the theatre had preserved its outline, one gets the impression that those who came after the Romans found it a useful source of building material. As a consequence there were chunks of stone remains all over the place. The amphitheatre had the semi-circular seating and there was wooden stage. I understood that there was going to be an opera staged there later. There were technicians and others around, including the odd cat who didn’t mind us tourists. I looked round, like the other tourists. Looked at the stone seats and looked and went the modern stage that had been constructed on the site of the Roman stage. Also the Roman pillars and the various other Roman ruins. Excerpt Chapter 11: A visit to the French Customs Service Museum in Bordeaux A museum devoted to the French Customs Service may not seem an interesting museum – on the other hand it did have a connection with Bordeaux. Bordeaux being one of the great French ports and so having time to spare that Thursday morning I decided to visit for something else to do. The museum showed the development of the French Customs Service by way of models, documents, paintings, photographs, uniforms and various pieces of equipment used or associated with the French Customs Service. It was amazing, but then perhaps it shouldn’t be as to where people will hide to stuff to avoid paying duty. Women were quite good at hiding stuff under their skirts. I’m not much good at hiding stuff. My dealings have tended to verge on the comic. I’m too honest.