The story of a tragedy

Good morning or evening. 
I will continue the story of our journey. Left off in Moncontour (photo below) where we met a wonderful English couple and stayed at their B and B. Next morning we traveled (Leslie and our Renault Clio---- great little car that gets 50 miles per gallon/diesel) through the French countryside (photos below) and saw miles and miles of farmers' fields.  Stopped by a river for lunch and got a photo of some beautiful flowers. 

St. John Maigny Church near Moncontour

Farmer's field

Lunch by the river

Les and our Clio (black with red plates)

A sad afternoon of remembrance

The afternoon turned somber when we visited Oradaur sur Glane just north of Limonges, France. This is the village where the German army (Das Reich SS Division) massacred all the townspeople (624 men, women and children) in retribution for the D-Day landings and actions of the Marquis (French resistance in the Limonges area. I have attached some photos of the village which has been left as it was (as memorial of remembrance) on July 10, 1944, the day the Germans murdered all inhabitants and burned the homes/stores/schools/church.  The townspeople were all herded to the town square; then the men taken to various locations (workshops and garages) and shot.  The women and children were taken to the church and were locked in. It was set afire and they were burned to death or shot trying to escape. While we were deeply impacted by this tragedy (seeing the museum and walking through the village), we realized that keeping the village as it was that day (June 10, 1944) has been critical.  It helps us remember what happened here was real and "can happen again" if we are not vigilant with our liberties, freedom and care for one another. If you have an opportunity I would suggest you Google "Oradaur sur Glane and read the story of this tragedy. 

Town from a distance

Town streets-- overhead wires were for the electric trolley

Town streets

A garage where men were shot.

Remembering the Binet family

Remembering the Descubes family

Church where women and children were murdered.

And our journey continued on to the Valley of the Dordogne. We arrived there on Monday, September 26th and just left this morning, Friday, September 30th. What a wonderful four days. Saw chateaus and castles from the 10th - 15th century. Below is Beynac and views (north and west) from Chateau Castelnaud. The latter was the home of Richard the Lion Hearted after the 2nd Crusade. We also had a change to see the beginning of fall colors in the Dordogne.  And yes, here is Les outside our little abode at Les Trios Collines. The pool is directly behind me and it has been 85-90 for the past week.

Beynac, one of tens of castles and chateaus

Fall colors

From Castelnaud to the north

From Castelnaud to the west

Miss Leslie @ our casita's patio door

The four wonderful days are memories and now we are in Pau (20 miles from Lourdes) on our way to St. Jean de Pied Port which is the beginning of the pilgrims trail (St. Juan Compostela) to Santiago de Compostela, Spain (500 mile  hike across northern Spain done by thousands+ each year). Stay tuned. We will update you as we venture into Northern Spain and points east across the Pyrennes.

What a wonderful place

Well, it's Thursday, September 29th and we have spent the last three days in a very special place, Les Trois Collines Guesthouse (B and B) in St. Cybranet, France in the Dordogne Valley. This valley is the location for castles and chateaus famous for their role in French history from 10th to 20th centuries. Began as forts for crusaders (Richard the Lion Hearted) and fortresses for the 100 Years' War (France and England) for control of France.  You can see the B and B at www.L3Cdordogne.nl.  The owners, Eric and Andre are incredibly hospitable. We have been made to feel at home. Eric is a phenomenal chef and we were invited to dinner (5 course meal) the first night. Wow....In the process of our stay, we have befriended some Dutch visitors and have enjoyed the time getting acquainted. That's what makes B and B's such fun... Meet lots of interesting people.

Chef Eric (left front) and Andre (front right)

So to begin at the beginning (after we left Mont St. Michel last Saturday). we stayed in Fougeres (below) at Hotel Balzac and ventured south the next morning. Along the way we happened upon these go cart races. This is serious stuff.... 70-80 miles per hour top speed. This is a final masters' race (31 years old and over) for a place in the national championship go carts races of France ( this year's international championship was in Abu Dubai. 

Making a hot left!

Sometimes the magic works and sometimes it doesn't.

Then is was off on the open road and lunch in the woods. Yes, jamon, frommage, wine and a "cute" American lady.

On Sunday we arrived in Moncontour and spent the night in the farm country of Central France (Le Grand Saule) owned by an English couple from the Midlands. We saw miles and miles of open space with churches and castles arising in the distances such as St John Maigny near Moncontour. 

Will continue from here later and share our travels from Moncontour to St. Cybranet via Oradour sur Glane (town in which all inhabitants were murdered by the Das Reich division, SS immediately after D-Day. It was retribution for both the landings and activities of the Marquis (French resistance prominent in the area). More to come in our next episode. Bye for now. 

We made it.

We arrived Paris (Charles De Gaulle) last Wednesday after flights from Boston and Dublin. We were actually feeling quite good given 28 hours without sleep.
The Renault folks were outstanding. Picked us up about 5 minutes after getting baggage (it all arrived) and took us to our "new" Clio III. Had 5 kms on the odometer. Getting the car was easy, it was venturing from the airport and finding the B and B that was challenging. But in the adventure of it all we passed through Chantilly and saw a chateau that we hadn't planned for.
Met the challenge of jet lag with three hours sleep, a good Italian dinner and eight more hours of sleep. So we made it.

We are now in Fougeres and will venture to chateau tomorrow. Over the past three days we have wandered to Erveaux, Bayeaux, Omaha Beach/American Cemetery at the D Day beaches and Mont St. Michel. These have been fantastic experiences. Here are a few pictures to share what we have seen.

Bayeux Cathedral

Evreaux Cathedral

   Here are a few of those cathedrals. Quite beautiful.

We also enjoyed visiting the exhibit of the Bayeaux Tapestry which depicts the story of  William the Conqueror's victory at Hastings (1066) and the story in 70 meters of how it all transpired.

Omaha Beach

American Cemetery

French countryside

It was very moving to visit Omaha Beach and the cemetery. It really wasn't until we saw the beaches, visited the museum and walked the cemetery that we realized how so many gave so much for us and our future freedom.  It is quite powerful what happened on those beaches and how much was sacrificed for us. I don't mean to sound "preachy" but was truly a powerful moment for us. 

To the left is one of the many "backroads" of Normandy we have been traveling and below is Mont St Michel... Quite breathtaking.

Mont St Michel

So we are having a wonderful time venturing in the French countryside, eating great meals and meeting friendly people along the way.  

Speaking of along the way. The car has a GPS which has saved us many a time. It has been fantastic. Put in the city, address et al and "Miss Muffet" gets us there.  Bye for now. Hope this first entry has been of interest. It sure has been challenging creating the blog. My first challenge was converting from French to English because it automatically opens in French because we are creating it here. Yes, old dogs can learn new tricks.  Will keep you posted as we move down the road. Let us know if there is anything specific you might would to know. Hope you are well.  Best regards. Gene and Les

Yes, we left September 19th for Boston and points east.

Well, it's Saturday, September 24th and we are in Fougeres, France.  As a means of catching you up, we left Boston @ 6:20 pm Tuesday and arrived Paris (via Dublin) Wednesday @ 9:45 am. I will let you do the math but we went a long time without sleep. Great flight from Boston to Dublin and then on to Paris. Love Aer Lingus.

The Renault folks were outstanding. Called them and they arrived about 10 minutes later, taking us to our new Renault Clio III.  Had 5 kms on the odometer and a new life saving GPS. Left Charles De Gaulle and headed to our hotel which turned out to be the pits so we cancelled and found a B and B in Senlis....That's a story in itself.
Met the challenge of jetlag with three hours of sleep, a great Italian dinner and then 8 hours more sleep.
In the morning, we headed to Bayeaux and the Normandy coast through Paris morning traffic. But, "Miss Muffet" (name for our loving GPS) guided us safely through Paris "rush hour----10:00 am" and safely to Bayeaux via Erveaux.  Erveaux has a beautiful cathedral (below) and incredible and little known museum which provided a rich overview of Erveaux since 300 B.C.

Arrived Bayeaux for our first "real " night's sleep at an outstanding B and B (Le Pigeonner). Spent the next day touring Bayeaux and visiting the Bayeaux Tapestry which depicts the story of William the Conquerer and the Battle of Hastings (1066). What is so amazing it that it's the original tapestry (70 meters) which has been preserved and restored.

We the