Welcome to the New Year!
New Year’s Day found us in Oakland, California. We left Lille on the 27th and once we arrived in Oakland, we found our way to a lovely VRBO we rented in the Maxwell Park neighborhood. The tiny studio cottage, behind the main house, had a small kitchen and a private deck, which we were sure was great to use in the summer. Not so much in the winter, however.
We had two missions for this trip. The first was to celebrate the 90th birthday of a very dear friend, an incredibly vivacious and extremely intelligent woman. The party included our close buddies as well, and it was an event we simply had to make. Such a warm evening and other evenings as well, for a variety of get togethers. All of us are in excellent health, looking forward to this coming year.
New Year’s Eve was spent quietly in the studio, with take-out dinners. We heard fireworks at midnight before turning in. Personally, it’s not a night we enjoy being out and driving. New Year’s Day we were helping the birthday friend set up her annual party, which long-standing tradition requires that it start at 2pm and continue until the last guests leave, sometimes as late as midnight. We however left at 3 to meet another friend, then to take in a movie. No need to ensure it was in English! Unfortunately afterwards, we discovered the rental car had been broken into, via a smashed window on the back passenger door.
We had nothing in the trunk, which we are sure they thought a good bet, since the license plate was out of state. It just created a mess to clear with a police report, our insurance and the rental car agency. When we returned it at SFO, before our flight out, the SUV that was being turned-in ahead of us in queue had suffered the same fate with its entire back window smashed. Just a nuisance but not life threatening.
Although we did some health maintenance and banking business while in Oakland, the second main mission was to visit another dear friend I’ve known since high school, who was in hospice in Maryland. We flew into New York and the next day took a train south. I’d forgotten how close the states on the east coast are. It’s like western Europe in that regard. The train, in the 3 hour trip, went through four states. Having spent most of our adulthood on the west coast where a car is essential and one can drive an entire day without leaving the state border, it was a bit mind boggling.
Our friend was lucid during the visit and we spent our time laughing while reminiscing. She was actually at the first ‘date’ G and I were on and then had been my maid of honor at our wedding. She was diagnosed with pancreatic and bowel cancers a month before retirement, an absolutely appalling turn of events. She had been looking forward to watching her grandkids grow. The four hours we spent with her went far too quickly before we took the long train ride back to NY. We had a day left in the city before returning home but travel exhaustion set in and we stayed in our hotel room. On the way to the airport, her daughter texted that she had passed away that night. She was a unique individual who I and others will sorely miss.
Arriving in Lille, beat and done in, we were fortunate to have frozen a dinner before leaving that we could simply heat up. Although we fly Norwegian and each time in their Premium cabin with nice, wide, reclining seats that let us get some sleep in, we still find these long flights exhausting.
A bitter cold greeted us upon arrival but since we are only a 5-10 minute walk from the train station, we were quickly in our snug apartment, with dinner bubbling on the stove. The main street In Lille had lost all of its holiday decorations while we were gone, and although the holiday spin ride was still operating in the square for the next two days, the Christmas Market was gone.
It seems to be a rule that one of us will catch a cold while traveling and this trip it was me. I can’t complain because G had it after the last two trips. We use antiseptic wipes on plane and train trays, buckles and arm rests (as those around us look dubious) but one will inevitably come down with a cold once we’ve arrived home. Personally I think it’s the handrails coming in and out of buildings. It’s the only thing I use that I can’t wipe and then using a small wipe after isn’t generally possible. My theory and I’m sticking to it!
Our new year has brought a renewed commitment to learn this language. Last year we were still struggling with settling in, between travels, so learning French took a back seat. Language, health and travel is on our radar in 2020. Laughing as I’ve typed that because I’m somewhat sure those were our exact goals when starting 2019.
We did manage to get our titre, carte de séjours – see the sample below. We’d been told to wait for a text message from the Prefecture, alerting us to the cards’ arrival. But with no word since the application in May 2019, we decided to go into the office anyway. It turned out that they had the cards since June. It feels good to have them since we no longer need to carry our passports when traveling within France. And we’ll know better for the next year’s. We also met a Swiss transplant who helped us communicate during the process and left, promising to meet again over coffee. What fun!
Returning on the 9th and being in sick bay until the 12th, we spent the following week on the requisite catch-up one does after travel – on laundry, bills, grocery shopping and email catch up. Also refortified the Kindle library. Suitcases were emptied and restored, order overcoming chaos. Then of course we did it all over again, deciding that although we didn’t get to Nantes to see their Christmas Market that we should still go. With the train strikes at a manageable level since we returned from the US (many trains were cancelled and delayed when we arrived at CDG on the 9th), we decided to take our chances and go.
After meeting our friend, Laurent, for cocktails, we wished him a safe journey as he was going on a month-long meditation in India. We also made hot cocoa suiting the weather and delivered a few batches to frosted friends. It was cold this month. Then we jumped on a south bound train to Nantes. We noticed for the first time in the Lille Flandres train station a mobile counter for people to enjoy their coffee/beverage. We liked it!
Nantes (pronounced “knownt”) would have been the next city to look at last year, if we had not enjoyed Lille or had been unable to locate a suitable apartment. It is a good-sized city, that includes the Island of Nantes (Île de Nantes) with a large English-speaking populace. But it was second choice because its climate is warmer than we care for and it’s farther away by train to many of the places we wish to travel to. Upon arriving after a five-hour train journey and checking in, we took a walk around the downtown. We stayed at a central hotel that was renovated from its previous life as a courthouse. It was a very nice place, great staff, yet the interior left us a bit cold. Although, I must add that they gave us a pillow spray each evening that was decadent (photo further below) – which we’d never experienced.
Interesting that parts of Nantes reminded us of San Francisco with its hilly streets. The young guy in the photos with the juggling pins also added to our SF vibe. He would go into the middle of the street each time traffic stopped and perform a juggling act for tips for the stopped cars.
Parts of the downtown area were the typical, charming European twisting cobblestone streets that we love, with many small shops and restaurants. The architecture however was a mixture of historic and newer buildings. The only piece of that, which we found sad, was that the newer buildings were the solid block-type with little, if any, ornamentation. One can argue the economics behind a building that squarely uses all of its real estate and pares down on the construction costs. For us, the draw to the travel we take is rooted firmly in those details and flavors in each locale, which get lost as developments favor the basic block building. No one can build as they did 750-1000 years ago but one doesn’t have to erase all personality in the new construction.
Once I lamented to G that I felt I was a terrible traveler. People would come home from their travels and show us their photos, which were extremely different from the ones which I took. We always ooh’d and aah’d while looking at the same group of folks in front of a large variety of buildings, in different clothes but the same sunglasses. To be fair, it was proof that they had been in front of all those landmarks and if we really wanted to see them better – professional photographers with their top equipment, had them on the internet. The photos our friends showed were more about reliving the experiences that they had – something which is hard to translate to others via the snapshots. But their stories did.
After living in a famiy which did the exact same thing on their travels, I was never interested in posing in photos of landmarks. I also made everyone hide their bags and take off their sunglasses when taking their photos – a strange request, it seemed to others. I occasionally bought postcards for myself since they were taken at the right time, in the right light and did a much better job than I could. The Gaudi buildings in Spain are a perfect example. We also never make a straight line to the biggest wonder of what ever place we are visiting, be it museums, monuments, battlefields or castles, which is why I told G that I felt ‘less than’ when it came to being a traveler.
G pointed out that what we see and seek to see, we would not see everywhere. We are still travelers – just not the typical ones. We will go to a cafe or a pub after arriving, order something to sip while we listen to the language and people watch. The local people and their interactions create a landscape as well as any skyline would.
What draws my eye and what I do take photos of for myself are probably the most boring things to others and I rarely show them. The objects of my camera are little things like door knobs, doorways in general, the old time cast-iron doorway stops for carriages, catches for shutters which are miniature figures, balcony railings, tile patterns, creative rain spouts and a hundred other details that one doesn’t see in the states. Well, with the exception of the early, established US eastern cities, where I once drew the amusement of some colleagues, as I painstakingly photographed a set of street pavers in Boston. I am reluctant to take pictures of people, but I will if it can appear that I’m taking a picture of the square or of a train. In reality, I’m taking a picture of how the groups are lounging or what they’re wearing, along with the unique tram line – all in hopes to sketch the scene later and again, just for myself. If I ever put my photos in a book, it would have to be titled, “The Oddest Little Things.” There really isn’t any other way to put it. It’s probably a good thing that I don’t have an obsession with bathrooms.
His point was that it does not negate my travels nor my experiences and it made me feel better. I am still curious (hopefully not dreadfully boring) and should remember that we have rarely fit into any of the expected boxes anyway. For the sake of the blog, G takes all the photos so no one has to endure all the little quirks that I find facinating. I can picture my mother rolling her eyes, if she were still around, saying, “ANOTHER door knob?!!”
Back to Nantes – it is the sixth largest city in France, on the north-western seaboard, about 30 miles from the Atlantic coast. In our aim to see it in between tourist seasons, we somehow missed the fact that many things close down during January, for maintenance. We arrived on a Friday evening and Saturday morning decided to walked about a half hour to the Gallerie Des Machines and another half hour to the Jules Verne museum. The weather was great and we were unsure of the tram system. Unfortunately, they were both closed for the month, so we will clearly need to make another trip. The Machines are incredible and even sitting still, are mesmerizing so I’ve included a link: https://www.lesmachines-nantes.fr/en/.
We returned to the downtown area and were delighted to run straight into a large outdoor market of both goods and foods. Since we’d seen few people in our walk and most places were shuttered, we were almost giddy to have this in our path.
We also wandered most of the streets in downtown, window shopping and stopping for breaks. When we returned to the hotel, we asked about the possiblity of things being open in La Rochelle, as we were considering taking the train there the next day, on Sunday. Unfortunately being Sunday, the shops and most sights would be closed as well. Our decision then was to stay in Nantes on Sunday before returning to Lille on Monday. Sunday was a relaxing day of seeing statues and the landscape. The statue of the Duchesse Anne de Bretagne reminded us of a good friend, and when we texted her the photo, she reminded us that she had some Normandy heritage.
Along the way, we took in the Chateau des ducs de Bretagne, a 13th century castle, where fortunately the ramparts and courtyard were open to wanderings.
Nantes is a lovely place to visit and there are places that we’d like to see when they open back up so we’ve put it back on our list.
To finish out the month, we went to a production at the Lille Opera House of Bizet’s “The Pearl Fishers.” In this version, the production was set in a nursing home overlooking the sea, with the two main characters looking back at the past. The story centers on these two friends, Nadir and Zurga, who in their youth, both fell in love with the same priestess, Leïla, and agreed that neither would pursue her. Young Nadir broke his promise, however, and when Leïla arrives many years later in the nursing home to protect the seniors, including Nadir and Zurga, with her prayers, conflict and anger rise to the surface.
I’m not sure why – if they didn’t have the budget for costumes or they simply chose to take that angle. But it was intriguing. Created with a revolving stage of four sets. the nursing home lounge, the morgue, a single bed unit/room and lastly a huge faux wave that required at one point for the singers to climb all over it.
It was imaginative but, but, but then. The music got a bit lost despite a great orchastration, the tenor and baritone duet really didn’t shine, the story arc with the nursing home angle, had them at various points, stripping the soprano completely nude, requiring her to climb out of her ‘old person’ suit and then later the baritone down to his white jocks (not a ‘briefs’ man), to climb onto a pulled out morgue cabinet shelf – just generally disconcerting. The best part – was the music of course, which the chorus carried well, even if some (not all) of the major pieces didn’t come across strong – the worst part was a scene at the end where the soprano and the tenor – neither young – had to don tethered harnesses – she climbing up this huge plaster wave, he climbing down the wave, practically sliding down on his belly (I really did close my eyes once, although I was sure they had done this many times) – to meet on the middle of it and sing their finale. I didn’t totally hate it but I was extremely disappointed.
Granted, we missed one of their operas of the season but we’ve yet to see any beautiful costuming or sets usually connected to the operas they’ve put on. That’s why I’m leaning toward, perhaps, the reasoning being small budgets. We will still get season tickets for the next year’s productions. Maybe we’ll get used to modern treatments of the classics. We certainly haven’t gotten used to using this new year’s number and we’re already marching into February! Talk about disconcerting !!
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