A chronicle of our day tour from Paris to Caen and the Normandy beaches Hail had hit Paris the night before my trip to Normandy, and the morning dawned cold.  It was April, so I don’t even want to think about what February was like that year.   I was wearing a long coat, turtleneck, a scarf, no gloves (this will matter later), and warm shoes and socks.  It’s what a California dweller like myself will wear when it hits 63 degrees.  I was off to Normandy for a D-Day tour, well aware that in 1944, the weather was equally dismal and it was June. Should I have packed snowshoes? These…

A Century as France’s Royal Residence The Palace of Versailles served as the royal residence of France for more than a century, from 1682 until the French Revolution in 1789. It began humbly in 1624, when Louis XIII built a small hunting lodge in the village of Versailles, just outside Paris. That modest structure would be transformed by his successor, Louis XIV—known as the “Sun King”—into one of the most extraordinary palaces in the world. Both Louis XV and Louis XVI also made Versailles their primary home until the Revolution. Early Construction and Grand Design By the late 17th century, the palace grounds could host up to 5,000 residents, with…

A journey to discover the best food in France Most of Europe lives on bread, cheese and some form of ham and sausage. They are the staples of the continent. So why then is it all so fantastic in France?  Why is France above the rest?  Pipe down, Italians, you know it’s true (even though I’ve never had a bad meal in Italy!).  I love focaccia, but who thought of the croissant? No one but the French.  Spain’s mancheca cheese is awesome.  Plus tapas.  But the sheer variety and fancifulness of French food is beyond compare. As for pastries. Sorry Britain, ten types of custard and mince pie is not even on the…

Why not spend a week or two in France?  Or more?  There is a lot to see. It’s the biggest country in Europe, besides Russia and Ukraine of course.   With mountains (the Alps), amazing coastlines (the Mediterranean and the Atlantic), rivers (the Seine and Saone among many) and rolling hills of picturesque castles, farmland and adorable villages, it is a jewel on earth. And it has been kept that way by the people themselves, who cared about their crops, their way of life and their customs long before national preservation led the way in creating UNESCO sites and the like.  Did French history preserve art and wine or vice versa? …