St. Tropez...the holiday and vacation Mecca of the rich and famous and the jet set! This is one beautiful city, just a proverbial hop, skip and a jump down the beach from the principality of Monaco...and the casinos of Monte Carlo. Jennifer and I went here to celebrate our "paper" anniversary. And, boy, did we ever spend a lot of paper! After all, France may be a beautiful country...but it sure isn't cheap! Just one day alone can cost the average American over a thousand dollars. And, that ain't hay!
France, like Greece, is a land brimming with history. Just driving through the countryside, you can almost see the ghosts of Joan of Arc, the fighters of the Hundred Years' War, King Charles VI and his court at Chinon, Robert de Baudricourt and his garrison at Vaucouleurs...and so on.
One of our long travels began in the city of Nancy, not far from the village of Domremy-la-Pucelle. The house of Joan of Arc was a small place (by today's standards). It consists of two floors...the ground floor being the dining and milking area and the upper floor being where Joan, her three brothers, two sisters and their parents slept. Outside, behind the house, is the bathroom. The family used the nearby stream to bathe...which was often done without much privacy, because the countryside was brimming with English soldiers who just couldn't wait to find a young, naked girl to rape and a boy to hang and laugh at as he choked to death.
From Domremy, we followed Joan's trail which led us to the village of Vaucouleurs, where Joan met her first "helper" in her crusade...Robert de Baudricourt. It was here she performed her first "miracle"...keeping the hens and cows from laying eggs and giving milk until de Baudricourt seceded to her demands of armor, a horse and several soldiers who would accompany her to the court of the Dauphin. As soon as de Baudricourt gave in, the hens started laying eggs like mad...ten dozen eggs in one minute! It was then that de Baudricourt realized that he was actually helping a living saint.
Next on our trip came the city of Chinon...and the castle in which the royal court was exiled while the English held Paris. Within these walls, one could almost see Joan talking to Charles in private and telling him of her plans to take Orleans, thereby freeing the way to Rheims...and making Charles the true king.
Our final stop on the "Joan of Arc" route was the city of Rouen, where, on May 30, 1431, Joan was burned at the stake in the marketplace. The centerpiece of the marketplace today has a beautiful statue of Joan in full armor, her sword touching the ground and her gauntleted hands on the hilt, her eyes facing the church.
The final stop of our trip to France was the 495-foot tall Eiffel Tower, one of the most beautiful structures of nineteen-century technology. Greta Garbo once climbed to the top (while Melvyn Douglas took the elevator) and Superman foiled a terrorist plot to blow it up, saving Lois Lane in a plunging elevator at the same time.
Built by the same man responsible for the Statue of Liberty, the Eiffel Tower boasts a daily log of 15,000 visitors as well as hundreds of diners at its midpoint restaurant. The food there is exquisite. Just don't order French fries with your filet mignon. Be sure to order pomme de terre julienne (French for fries). One piece of advice for the first-time visitor...learn the language before you go. The French waiters cannot tolerate customers who can't speak the language. Sort of reminds you of the U.S....doesn't it?
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