The French Journal

Rick visits the "land of a thousand chateaux"

Life is too hectic, so I'm knocking out brief items, like this one.

Rick Steves + Loire Valley = this article from CNN and Rick's appreciation of "France's greatest array of chateau experiences." How'd that happen? Says Rick:

"The Loire Valley is carpeted with fertile fields, crisscrossed by rivers, and studded with hundreds of chateaux in all shapes and sizes. Medieval castles are here because the Loire was strategically important during the Hundred Years' War (when France and England battled through the 14th and 15th centuries). During the Renaissance, pleasure palaces replaced fortified castles as the Loire became fashionable among the Parisian rich and royal."

As for recommendations, he goes with three C's:Chenonceau, Chambord and Cheverny.

Five "intriguing" French castles

France is lousy with chateaux, and while it's probably an exaggeration to say that most of them are a worth a visit, they nonetheless enrich the patrimoine enormously. Since seeing them all would be a formidable task, for our Monday morning escape we'll just go to five of them, chosen by France Magazine for their mysterious, or notorious, pasts. They include:

• Château d’If - Prisons don't get too much bleaker than this, where you could be dropped into a hole that was accessible only through an opening in the roof. Located off Marseille, it's claim to fame is that it held the fictional Count of Monte Cristo -- the only person to escape its horrors.
• Montségur - The site of a massacre in the thirteenth century, when 200 Cathars were martyred for their beliefs.
• Rennes-le-Château - A modern day mystery (or is it)? The puzzle: how did a priest in the late 19th century, serving the poor parish where the chateau is located, get the funds necessary to restore it magnificently? Was it hidden treasure? Or a lot of hooey? (There's a video visit to the chateau at the top of this post.)
• The Château at Lacoste is the home of the famed Marquis de Sade. (You've been very bad lately, haven't you? And you know what happens to people who've been bad...)
• The Castle at Tiffauges once claimed Gilles de Rais as a resident, a rouge who inspired the story  of Bluebeard.

In retrospect, these stories make for a grim way to start the week, but given my home team's loss in the Super Bowl last night, grimness is appropriate.

Green France: Four for the environment

Label France, an official publication of the French Cultural Services, highlights four cities this month for unique and/or exceptional efforts to protect the environment. While some of the articles are very brief, at a minimum they will introduce you to a few places you've never heard of before. They include:

• Angers, a "city of the Pays de la Loire region (which) has become a European benchmark in its treatment of environmental, economic and social issues,"
• Amiens, in Picardie, producing energy by the use of the Volaga Process, which creates fuel from household waste,
• Caen, pioneering in the cultivation of "bêtes à bon dieu," a.k.a. ladybugs, as a way to control pests that infest the town's gardens, and
• Chambéry, a city in the Rhône-Alpes, investing heavily in solar energy.

French monks, Parts 2 & 3

Last spring, I wrote of a documentary about Carthusian monks called Into Great Silence, which became an unlikely cult hit. The movie is now available on DVD.  Around the same time, I'd also highlighted a piece about the monks of Solesmes, who are among the finest practitioners of Gregorian Chant. Last week, The Christian Science Monitor offered the reminiscences of a man who had visited that abbey as a youth, almost on a lark, not realizing that he was about to experience "such unearthly, beautiful, inexpressible moments...as if I had wandered into a performance of the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra without a clue about what I was hearing." It's an anecdote, really, and feels truncated, but it reminds us nonetheless of a different, peaceful world that exists within the boundaries of France, and that is -- in various forms -- available for us to treasure.

Trucs: Cleaning out the drawer #1

Sometimes I have no new items to cover; in other circumstances, due to timing or factors like the length of an article, I never get around to referencing a piece. Today will be devoted to mostly unrelated articles as I clean out the inventory.

• Tummygate. This week there were two insubstantial Sarko items of note, that is, not to be confused with real news. The first was a report that Paris-Match photo-cropped M. le President's love handles when they ran a picture of him in a bathing suit (The Times, U.K./Charles Bremner). Apparently, the omnipresident is not unaware of Brad Pitt's impact on the culture.
• Reza does M. le President. The best-selling book in France this month will no doubt be a short work by playwright Yasmina Reza, who spent a year trailing Sarko and then wrote about it. She is partly charmed, even though her subject has a potty mouth, a short temper, smokes cigars, and covets Rolexes. (NYTimes/IHT, which also has excerpts.) It's entitled L'aube le soir ou la nuit/Dawn Evening or Night, and it's being touted as a candidate for the Prix Goncourt.
• A train ride to Paris. I ignored this June article from the South Africa Independent On-Line about a train ride from London to Paris because I had no sympathy with somebody who could write the line, "My first glimpse of the Eiffel Tower was ambivalent," and then follow it up by being disappointed with the Mona Lisa. The article is less about the train, and more about a first-timer's knock about the city, and to be fair, he does have a few overwritten epiphanies.
• A car ride through the Loire. Whereas I ignored this article from the same source (IOL) by mistake, mixing it up the Paris train piece. Tour the castles of the Loire! The author favors the occasional exclamation point, and sometimes the writing reminds me of my worst, when I'm cranking stuff out under deadline, but it's still a worthwhile trip.
• Cargèse. Here's a little write-up from The Guardian (U.K.) about a town in Corsica, perfectly serviceable, which I didn't highlight before because it's short. What's good about the town? "The peace, the sunshine, the smell of the maquis [native flowering shrubs] and the sheer beauty." Nothing like putting a definition in parentheses when you want to kill prose.

More dust gatherers comin' up shortly.

Son et lumière et falcons and history and fireworks and theatre and...

While in the good ole U.S. of A. there are many recreations of villages and settlements of older times, in Brittany the Vendee they've come up with a concept that does it one better. The Guardian (U.K.) reports that at the Puy du Fou theme park, visitors spend a day or two going from drama to drama and witnessing re-enactments of stories from different periods, like a theme park crossed with a theatre festival.

"It is like being in a massive film-set. They have reproduced historical country living: a medieval village and farm; an 18th-century village with traditional craftsmen; and a 1900s Faubourg, lined with cafes and shops."

The biggest thrill comes with a falconry demonstration, where dozens of the birds fly above the attendees.

The Puy du Fou website is cool. Leading this post is a commercial for the park. How I know I'm a Francophile: while I generally avoid amusement parks in the states, I'd be a sucker for this.

Something's fishy in northwest France

Two articles highlight traditional -- and perhaps endangered -- activities in Brittany and in the Loire Valley.

First, Joe Ray has stepped up for The Boston Globe again with a story about fishing for "les grises" (small shrimp) off the coast of Brittany in the town of Cherrueix. Joe-Ray accompanies a troup of acquaintances as they wade and scoop up the delicacies, which are then boiled and served on open-faced French bread with dobs of the local butter. It's an inviting story, taking you into the customs of a local family, customs that you probably hadn't heard of before.

Second, down the coast a ways, the New York Time/IHT duet tells of "anchovy wars" happening in the town of La Turballe at the mouth of the Loire. Local fisherman are battling on several fronts over what they perceive as aggressive Spanish claims on the territory. At the moment, both countries are on the sidelines, as international agents have declared the seas to be over-harvested and have forbidden any fishing until next year. Meanwhile, the small French fleets are getting smaller, and those who try to hang on sense doom in the air. And they're angry.

Le Mans: It's not just for fast cars anymore

The Independent (UK) wants to correct an impression: the town of Le Mans is not just about racing. So wipe the bad Steve McQueen movie out of your mind, and head to the medieval city. These days, if your timing is careful, you'll be treated to clean-up, cobbled streets, and son-et lumière that will dazzle:

"The entire frontage of the Roman walls is lit with a startling range of images, from a Roman bestiary to tableaux featuring knights conquering dragons and winning fair ladies...(o)ne highlight of the Nuit des Chimères (the town's summer light show) features angels. One of the cathedral's chapels has a riotously exuberant ceiling painted with 47 brightly coloured angels, singing and playing medieval musical instruments...Now they have been brought to life and flutter over the cathedral's exterior, eerily lifelike."

The article has cute historical tidbits. Le Mans was the home of Berengaria, the wife of Richard the Lion-Hearted of England, who was too busy fighting the Crusades to pay much attention to his wife. During the light show of Le Mans, her ghost walks the streets (looking for a good time, no doubt). There's also the story of a bishop in the early twentieth century who attempted to close down the whore houses near the cathedral by buying them; due to the leases, he ended up being a big owner of houses of ill-repute.

Nantes, the heart of Brittany, er, the Loire

Nantes by night (© Cité des congrès de Nantes)

It's Monday morning, and reality is oppressive, so my spirit is flying to Nantes, one of the biggest cities in France, courtesy of The New York Times. (reg. req.). After a period of decline, Nantes is reviving, thanks to "a series of architectural, conceptual and cosmetic changes that have transformed industrial neighborhoods into magnets for locals and tourists alike." The place is even becoming fashionable.

As I had written once before, this summer the city is the base for Estuaire, a tour of art installations along the Loire. Additionally, a new museum which focuses on the history of Nantes, the Château des Ducs de Bretagne, has opened, and "rarely has a local history museum been so engaging and interactive." A converted warehouse has become Le Hangar à Bananes, a mix of clubs and restaurants. And what captured the writer of the article most may have been the friendliness of the people.

A Times sort of boo-boo: The article was entitled "A New Luster in the Ancient Heart of Brittany." While Nantes has historic connections to that region, it is now the capital of the Pays de la Loire.

Estuaire: Art along the Loire

Here's the concept. A series of thirty major art installations are being placed this summer along the banks of the Loire, running from Nantes to Saint-Nazaire. Now you are invited to hike, bike, or -- more likely -- take a cruise on the route and view the art works, with the entire project being called Estuaire.

A reporter for the The Independent did a trial run of the trip, but it was pretty much a bust. At the time of his journey, many of the artworks weren't finished. Furthermore, in an attempt to be cute? funny? clever? -- the writer obsesses about one of the installations that resembles a gigantic yellow duck. Still, you can get a flavor for the journey, which should be -- by now -- in better shape for touring.

The official Estuaire website is speedy and informative; like the tour itself, the site is "evolutive," which means (I presume) it will have increasing functionality as time passes. The project is to run through 2011, and the opening night poster (above) is wild!