Tribute to our Caen Friends

Here is Chuck’s office space at GREYC - ENSICAEN.

Baptiste is defending his Ph.D. on December 2nd. He picked us up at the Caen airport. Chrystel is Baptiste’s girl friend and one of Chuck’s office mates. She is a graduate student. They went out of their way to help Chuck fit into the research lab.

Christophe is head of the lab where Chuck worked. He is a world class researcher in biometrics. He has created a wonderful work environment.

Jean-Claude is another of Chuck’s office mates. He retired from a French telecom and now directs graduate research. We enjoyed having dinner at Jean-Claude’s house.

Marc directs graduate students and entertained us. He helped make the lab a fun place to work.

Romain, Vincent, and Mohamad are graduates students that worked with Chuck. They made Chuck’s stay at the lab a very enjoyable experience.

Joëlle is the secretary of the building in which we live. She helped us with all of our living needs. Jan continually went to her for help with little things and she not only helped. But she became a special friend. She frequently invited Jan to have coffee or lunch with her friends and her. Jan learned so many things during the lunches. We discussed politics, religion, culture and food.

Joëlle introduced Jan to Subha because Subha is from India and speaks English. The funny part is that Subha has lived in France for four years (working on her masters and now PHD) and had to think hard to speak in English. She is a wonderful sweet person. She never tired of Jan interrupting to ask how to say something in French. Subha, Chuck and Jan went out to dinner and discussed India and France.

Joëlle also introduced Jan to Joanna, Joelle’s 21 year old daughter. Joanna is studying to be a lawyer and is in her 6th year of English. Jan helped her practice her English and they occasionally went shopping together.

We became friends with many people that went to the synagogue. We met Pénélope, who always has a warm smile and a double-cheek kiss when she sees us. We had dinner with her last night and she is a delight.

We met David, 13, who lived in Israel until 4 years ago. He sits next to Chuck and helps him with the prayer book page.

But the best was Rabbi David Serero, his wife Rachel and their two babies, Tehilah and Naomi. The Rabbi invited us to Friday night dinner two times, and Saturday lunch twice. We were around their house so much that their girls became quite comfortable with us. The 9 month old even let Jan hold her. Rachel had to translate for us because although the Rabbi spoke some English, he wasn’t comfortable using it but wanted to learn all about us. David and Rachel are really special people and made us feel part of their community.

Tracie's Visit

We are in our last week here. The two months seem to have gone faster than in India. It was an easier life in a more civilized country. However, there were still lots of cultural and physical differences that made the visit quite interesting and wonderful.

Last week we had company. Tracie came to Caen with us for the week after the weekend in Paris. We toured the city, visited the Normandy beaches and went to Honfleur for a day. Honfleur was a leading port and its beauty has attracted many famous painters. Their church is different than the many we’ve seen. It is built completely out of wood by ship builders. When you are in it and look up, the ceiling/roof looks just like the bottom of a boat. Because wood is not as strong as stone, the bell tower is actually across the street. It’s a very quaint town and we enjoyed taking pictures of the houses and doors.

Tracie and Jan hit the Friday market by 9:30 and still missed some of the baked goods we were looking for. We did manage to buy three cheeses, fermented cider, two kinds of bread, macaroons, madelines and apples (to go with the cheese.) The first picture is of the couple from whom Jan buys every market day that we’re in town. The woman speaks English and has helped her with all kinds of questions. The other two pictures are of fish vendors. One is expertly shelling very large scallops. (Jan was excited to see these types of shells on Omaha beach because they can be used to serve appetizers.) The other picture is the fish vendor standing in front of a large mound of mussels. 
 

It was fun viewing Caen through Tracie’s fresh eyes. We’ve gotten used to some of the views. For instance, there is Saint-Pierre Church, whose steeple you can see from almost everywhere in Caen. Jan frequently uses it to figure out where she’s going. There is a major restoration on the façade of the church. Notice in the picture that the protecting tarp covering the scaffold always looks like the building that it is covering, trying to make even construction a bit more beautiful. And the many bicycle stands set up where you can either use your monthly pass or rent by the day and ride anywhere. Then you just drop off the bike at the nearest stand. We’ve seen these in almost all of the towns, including Paris. There are many bike paths too. One of Jan’s favorite buildings caught Tracie’s eye too. This building was built in the 1400s and seems to have office furniture in it. Maybe Jan will find out its use by the end of the trip.

We have been so incredibly lucky during our visit here. We went out to dinner last week and the wine of the day was Beaujolais Nouveau. The three of us enjoyed the bottle and had a traditional meal that is kind of like a shepherd’s pie, mashed potatoes on top of shredded seasoned beef. Then we found out (you all probably knew this but we didn’t) that the wine happens only once per year and it’s a big deal. The office in the same building in which we live had a Beaujolais Nouveau get together before lunch. Courtesy of the University there were the wine, cheese, and cheese curls in different flavors. Every time someone else came into the café they got their glass of wine and clicked with every single person already there. We had to keep refilling so we could toast everyone as they came in.

Eating Mussels

We are now pros at eating mussels! The first time we ordered them, the server sat them in front of us and we looked at them and they looked at us. Then we watched others in the restaurant. Since they don’t offer the small fish forks that we use in the US, the French pick out the first mussel with a fork and then use the shell from the first mussel as pinchers to pick the rest out of their shells. It works very well. We were even able to scoop up the fresh cream at the bottom of the bowl. We’ll probably use this method from now on. Who needs to worry about those little forks!

Ellie & Tracie Invade France

Our third and final trip to Paris is over. It’s very tiring and hard on the body to do so much sightseeing and we’re lucky we could break it up into three trips. This time, we met Ellie Crawford for two days in Paris. She’s studying in London and squeezed in a trip. She brought the first sunny days that we’d seen in Paris. Thanks Ellie!

We took the underground Metro and exited near the Seine to catch the Bateaux Mouches boat tour. Ellie’s mouth dropped open because the first thing she saw coming out of the underground Metro was the Eiffel Tour. We couldn’t have planned it better if we tried. We took the tour around the city on the boat and were pleasantly surprised how interesting it was and what good views we had. The bridges are all adorned, adding to the beauty of the city. Then we went to the top of the Eiffel Tour. I think Chuck was disappointed; he wanted to climb the 800 steps! The monument and its views are really magnificent. Later we saw it lit up with a fancy light show.

On to Notre Dame and to Jan’s favorite crêpe place for a fresh crepe Nutella (a chocolate spread). Obviously Chuck and Ellie liked it too!

Friday, we split up. Chuck met Tracie Mrakich, a visiting friend from Indy, at the airport. Ellie and Jan had breakfast along the Champs-Elyseés and we all met up at the Arc de Triomphe. Chuck and Tracie learned the Metro system, taking 4 trains from the airport to the hotel and another two to the Arc. Tracie was finally glad to see the light of day in Paris! Jan and Ellie didn’t go far enough around a roundabout and missed the Champs-Elyseés for a half hour. However, they got to see even fancier stores and did eventually walk the Champs-Elyseés.

We had lunch on the …you guessed it… Champs-Elyseés and took off for the Orsay Museum. It is a large wonderful museum full of famous impressionist paintings and sculptures. Jan likes it a lot better than the Louvre. Outside the Orsay, we stopped for a snack of roasted chestnuts. They are easy to peal and pop in your mouth. But, they’re big and Ellie popped the whole thing in. It took a few minutes to get it all down and she didn’t want any more!

On to Sacre Coeur (Sacred Heart) on Montmartre. We were supposed to get there late afternoon so we could see the sunset on one of the only hills in Paris. We were a bit late, but just in time for a service at the church. It was beautiful, with the nuns singing to an autoharp. The acoustics were wonderful. This is the only area where tourists are bothered by independent vendors. You should have seen Ellie shake one of them off so she could get to the shops.

It took Tracie less than 24 hours to buy a “chapeau” (hat) and scarf and look just like the other French on the Metro. She really fit in well.

The three of us (Ellie went back to London) went to Versailles to see the palace that was built by King Louis XIV because he didn’t think the Louvre was spectacular enough. (it is!!) You can see the reflection of us in the mirror, along with the other opulence of the room. The palace was big and heavily adorned with art. It was really very similar to the Louvre!

Jan just realized we only have 2 more weeks before we come home. It’s gone very quickly. But two weeks is more than most get here so we’ll make the best of it.

Life in France

We haven’t written in awhile because we’ve been so busy being French. One week before we came, I was told it rains in the fall in Caen, but it isn’t as bad as spring. It has taken almost this long to understand it always rains in Normandy. There are tourist trinkets showing all four seasons with someone wearing a raincoat. So when we have beautiful days, it is an event and the whole town comes out. The first picture is at the chateau in Caen. We walk or take the tram by it every day. People cut through it to get to the other side. It’s just part of living in Caen, living next to a chateau and relaxing on the lawn when the sun is out!

We packed a lot into our second trip to Paris, beginning with climbing the 400 steps to the top of Notre Dame. Beautiful views of the city, (even though, you guessed it, it was raining) and scary views of the gargoyles close up! Then we took a train to Giverny, where Monet lived. We saw his house and studio. But most remarkable was his garden. We were told that he planted and maintained it. We were there on the second to last day that it is open because it eventually stops blooming. You can imagine how beautiful it is during the spring and summer. Actually, you don’t have to imagine because it is in many of his paintings. It was truly one of the most beautiful man-made places we’ve seen. It was cloudy so our pictures do not do it justice, but I hope you get some of the idea of the beauty of this place.

We visited many museums, all quite wonderful and then to a traditional café lunch. It was freezing but we really wanted to eat outside (at least we were under the heat lamps.) The experience of living like the French is a big part of the visit. Actually, we did a lot of eating. Surprise, surprise! We had falafel sandwiches on the street in Marais, the Jewish section of the city. They weren’t French, but they were delicious. As you can see in the window, he had all kinds of things to put in the pita besides the falafel and we asked for it all. It was jam-packed. We also tried the gelato. Although it was melting, can you see the pretty flower that they made out of Chuck’s gelato?

Then weekend before last, we visited Mont Saint Michel, the fourth Christian pilgrimage site. It’s a granite island surrounded by very fast tides (18 feet latterly per second.) So the fact that this incredible abbey and was built from rock from off the island is pretty fantastic. We spent a couple of days there just poking around. They have several herds of sheep that graze on the plants that live off of the salt water, so their meat is saltier. We tried that last night. Then Sunday we enjoyed moules (mussels) crème fresh (heavy cream) for the first time, also a delicacy of Mont Saint Michel.

Jan went to Friday market for the 3rd or 4th time and found out there is a friend/local discount. The wine was 2.50 instead of 3 Euros marked, and we got 8 madelines for the price of 6. Kind of fun being a regular! She’s really going to miss the weekly markets. The food is fresh, the crowd is fun and the vendors are very interesting. Last time Jan got into a discussion about Obama with the flower vendor who spoke very little English, but enough to discuss politics. By the way, he liked Obama.

We took our third and final trip to Paris this past weekend. We have been so lucky to take three shorter trips and see so much. It’s very tiring and hard on the body to do so much sightseeing and we’re lucky we could break it up. This time, we met Ellie Crawford, whose studying this semester in London, for two days in Paris. She brought the first sunny days that we’d seen in Paris. We took the tour around the city on the boat and were pleasantly surprised how interesting it was and what good views we had. We also added a trip to the top of the Eiffel Tour. It really is magnificent.