I am sorry it has taken me so long to put up a new blog, but I had a rough re-entry, both to the States and to reality. Like a huge percentage of the population, I suffer from chronic back trouble, but I’ve been fortunate in the past and it has never interfered with one of my research trips—until now. On Day Six of this trip, the back pain flared up and got progressively worse, forcing me to curtail some of my more ambitious endeavors. And of course that lovely 9 ½ hour plane ride in a space only slightly larger than a bread-box did me a world of good. I mentioned this in a post to my last blog, so I will spare you all the gory details, except to say that I was then ambushed with the need for emergency dental surgery which entailed (shudder) root canal work. It took me a full week before I even got around to unpacking my suitcase, and as of this weekend, I still hadn’t been able to sort through all of the e-mails that piled up in my absence.
I have been practically camped out at my chiropractor’s, but I think I am finally on the mend, at least well enough to post a blog before I take on the real challenge—dealing with a very impatient medieval king. I have not been able to go over all of the comments you guys posted while I was away, so I won’t respond to any questions, etc, in this blog, will have to save that for the next one. I did take some photos (none of me, for I am allergic to having my picture taken unless at gunpoint) and I might try to post them at a later date. The last time I tried to integrate photos into a blog, though, it resulted in a calamity, so this is only a possibility, depending on how brave I feel.
This trip began in Paris, of course, and from there we took the train to Avignon and then on to Carcassonne and Toulouse and Poitiers before returning to Paris. Usually I rent a car in France, but this time I was able to rely upon the excellent French railway system. One caveat, though, for those of you planning trips to France in the future. Their stations do not always have elevators, lifts, or ascenseurs, and while they usually have escalators, they take passengers up, not down. So pack light if possible!
Here are a few more travel tips for visiting France. Even if you buy a Rail Pass beforehand, as we did, you still need to make reservations on any of their high-speed TGV trains and there is a nominal charge for this; reservations are not needed on local trains if you have a rail pass. If you are using tickets, be sure to validate them in the orange or yellow boxes on the station platform before boarding your train. If you are going to Avignon, the train from Paris actually takes you to a TGV station a few miles from the city. You will then board a bus (no charge) which will take you into Avignon’s local train station. Aside from the hassles with the luggage, French trains are wonderful, very comfortable and almost always on time, and I’d definitely recommend them. I’d also recommend booking seats on airport shuttles from your Paris hotels to Charles de Gaulle Airport, as this is much cheaper than using taxis and I’ve never had a problem in all the years I’ve been doing this. Oh, yes, and I got a rude shock at the airport when my suitcase was “overweight” by six pounds. That didn’t surprise me, as it was stuffed with books. What did was the extra cost—$125! The airline staff were very nice, suggesting I try to lighten the load by putting things in my carry-on; fortunately my friend Valerie hadn’t been snatching up research books and her suitcase was within the allowable limit, so I was able to transfer some of my stuff to her bag. I mention this only because I vaguely remembered paying a reasonable fee for having overweight luggage in past years, but I forgot to take into account the current airline trend to charge passengers for everything but air. So, be forewarned.
Someone asked me recently on my Facebook page if it was necessary to speak French to enjoy a trip to France. I told her no, certainly not in Paris or popular tourist destinations. I think it always helps, though, to memorize a few useful phrases even if only to say “Je ne parle pas francais” or “Anglais, s’il vous plait?” The only time on this trip when speaking some French was necessary occurred at the Carcassonne train station. There was a sign indicating taxis, but there was nothing in sight outside. When I went back inside, the young woman at the ticket counter explained that we had to cross a small bridge into the town and catch a taxi there. Since she did not speak English, this could have presented a problem for travelers speaking no French. In the summer, the town provides a bus to take arriving passengers to the Cite, the old section of Carcassonne, but in October, visitors are on their own. So if you are planning to visit Carcassonne, remember that you must walk over a little bridge (not far at all) and wait on the corner at the taxi rank.
Before I start rhapsodizing about Carcassonne, the highpoint of the trip, I ought to mention something that surprised us. Many of you know that tipping is included in the price at French restaurants; you will see a statement on the menu saying that “Le service est compris.” But this is not always true in the south of France. So keep that in mind and ask.
Avignon is a lovely city, well worth a visit. The Palace of the Popes is very impressive, looking more like a citadel than a “palace” and the city walls date from the 14th century. There is also a fragment of the famed Bridge of Saint-Benezet, also known as the Pont d’Avignon, which figures in a well known nursery rhyme. Eleanor and Berengaria would have crossed the Rhone River here on their journey to join Richard in Sicily. Unfortunately “their” bridge was destroyed by the French King Louis VIII after laying siege to Avignon during the bloody conflict known as the “Albigensian Crusade.” But the four arches that survive are still medieval and I enjoyed looking out upon a vista that Eleanor would have seen.
There is little left of medieval Toulouse, but I had fun browsing in book stores for histories of the Counts of Toulouse. Unlike Toulouse, much of medieval Poitiers has survived and it should be a “Do not miss” stop for anyone interested in Eleanor of Aquitaine and the Angevins. I’d visited it some years ago, but this time we were lucky enough to be given a personal tour by Mary McKinley, an American who now lives and teaches in Poitiers. I will tell you more about our memorable day in Poitiers in a later blog, including our hunt for “Eleanor’s Eagle.”
While San Francisco remains my favorite American city, on this trip I left my heart in Carcassonne. There are actually two towns, the medieval La Cite, which is the largest walled city in Europe, I’ve been told, and the Bastide Saint Louis, which encompasses the “rest” of Carcassonne. I would definitely recommend staying in La Cite if you visit; it was the next best thing to time-travel. Cars are not allowed; our taxi driver took us to the city walls, where the hotel sent a van to pick us up. The driver’s skill at navigating narrow medieval alleyways and lanes had to be seen to be believed! We stayed at Le Donjon, a delightful hotel less than a block from the castle; there is another hotel, a five star one, in the Cite, too, but Le Donjon was much more reasonably priced and just as convenient and comfortable. And the castle….ah, the castle. It deserves a blog of its own.
I was so impressed by Carcassonne that I plan to set a chapter in Lionheart in the castle and town. In the cathedral of St Nazaire, we lit candles in memory of Carcassonne’s young viscount, Raymond-Roger Trencavel, one of history’s more tragic figures. The Albigensian Crusade was one of the darker chapters in the history of the Church, and I will discuss it in a later blog. In Paris, we also lit candles for Geoffrey, the Duke of Brittany, who was buried at Notre Dame Cathedral after his tournament death in 1186. Unfortunately Geoffrey’s tomb is long gone, but I like to think that his bones are reposing peacefully somewhere in the cathedral. I was never able to light candles for Henry and Eleanor and Richard and Joanna, all of whom are buried at Fontevrault, for it is no longer in use as a church. John’s tomb is still intact at Worcester Cathedral and I could have lit a candle for him, but it never occurred to me to do so on any of my visits to Worcester. Maybe I just assumed John’s soul was in need of more help than a few flickering candles could provide? But at least John has a hallowed resting-place, which is more than can be said for Richard III, of course.
I will talk more about the trip in upcoming blogs, as well as responding to your queries. If you are interested, you can find a number of videos on YouTube about Carcassonne. They are usually shot by travelers so the narratives are not always reliable. But the visuals are stunning. I’ll close now with by telling you about the cats of Carcassonne. The Cite is a cat’s paradise; never have I seen so many sleek, well-fed, friendly felines. They were obviously owned and cherished, many wearing collars, which cats normally won’t deign to do. They strolled along the cobbled streets, sunning themselves on stone walls and meandering by the tables of outdoor cafes. On our last day in Carcassonne, my back was beginning to give me pain, so I’d gone to sit on a step while Valerie shopped for Christmas presents. Suddenly a calico cat sauntered over, gave me an appraising look, and promptly hopped into my lap, where he settled himself comfortably, a king who’d found yet another human to service his royal needs. On trips to France, I always think how much my dogs would love to live there, for they are allowed everywhere, permitted to enter shops and hotels and even restaurants; and probably because they are so thoroughly socialized from puppy-hood, they are invariably calm and well behaved. But now I know where I’d want to live if I had nine lives of my own–the blessed cat kingdom of Carcassonne.
November 23, 2009