Monthly Archives: July 2016

The Troglodytiques

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Main street Saumur

During our last week in the Loire Valley, we went for a drive to the town of Saumur in the heart of the wine region. In addition to several chateaus and vineyards, the region around Saumur is also known for its troglodytiques which are a bit similar to the cave dwellings in Colorado but a major difference is that many are still actively utilized as homes, farms, wine caves, mushroom caves, restaurants, pubs, and a variety of other uses. There are so many in the region that it was difficult to choose which to visit but we settled on two – a tour of “Caves Louis de Grenelle” and the “Rochemenier Village” which has been preserved since it was last occupied as a working farm.

 

Modern Bottling Equipment in the old wine cave
Modern Bottling Equipment in the old wine cave

We began our visit to Saumur with a wine tasting at Caves Louis de Grenelle and, of course, we had to acquire a couple bottles of the tasty local wine. After the tasting, we took a tour of the wineries bottling and fermentation process which occurred entirely within the underground caves. We learned a bit about the different varieties of grapes, how the age of the vines impacts the flavor of the grapes, why the underground caves are the perfect environment for creating fine wines, and how the grapes were harvested and fermented into the wines we sampled including the sparkling wines that this particular winery was recognized for. We also learned that we should never refer to “champagne” as “champagne” unless the grapes that make it come from “Champagne”. If not from Champagne, France, a little bubbly should simply be called “sparkling wine”!!!  DSCN2281In the particular wine cave we visited, there were approximately 4 million bottles of wine on racks in various stages of the wine making process from initial fermentation and “riddling” (the process of turning the bottles to remove the yeast sediments) to labeling and preparation for shipping. The riddling process is now fully automated but, back in the day, we learned that an average “riddler” could turn about 50,000 bottles a day. Another possible career? Or not!!!

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Oradour-sur-Glane

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Main Street in Orator-sur-Glane

A few days after returning from Normandy, we took another side trip to Oradour-sur-Glane. We would’t have known about the place had we not seen a Facebook post from our friend Tim Martini who has a TV show called “Exploring the Obscure” – a documentary about the existence and history of some of the worlds most unusual places. To link to his show, goto:  https://youtu.be/LyEpaiVULds

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A Trip to Normandy

DSCN1850While we’re certainly enjoying the leisure and adventure of long-term travel, one of the reasons we’re here is to learn new things and gain an even greater appreciation for history, architecture, people, cultures, and life in general. We’ve enjoyed seeing numerous buildings dating back to the 11th century – some of which have been altered and maintained and are still in use today. Even in Tours, there’s a cathedral that’s more than a thousand years old and is still open for worship services!

< 1000+ year old cathedral still in use in Tours, France

 

Mont Saint Michel

DSCN1911Last week we took a side trip to Normandy where we visited Mont Saint Michele – a monastery on an island off the coast of Normandy that dates back to the 8th century. It’s current composition exemplifies the feudal society that constructed it: on top, God, the abbey and monastery; below, the great halls; then stores and housing; and at the bottom, outside the walls, houses for fishermen and farmers. This unique island commune sits about 600 meters off-shore and, until recently, could only be reached via the causeway at low tide which made it accessible for pilgrims visiting the abbey, but defensible as the incoming tide stranded, drove off, or drowned would-be assailants. DSCN1918While a monastery for a variety of different religions for the majority of its life, Mont Saint Michel functioned as a prison for a period of time. We enjoyed touring this beautiful historical place and witnessing the rise and recision of the tides that even filled the doorway to the village!

 

D-Day Beaches; World History re-learned

After visiting the monastery, we went to the town of Bayeux and the D-day beaches at Normandy – a truly somber experience. Before visiting Omaha Beach and the American Cemetery, we toured the D-day Museum where we watched a film of the Allied Invasion from the horrific day on June 6th 1944. I recall learning about D-Day in a middle school world history class but, for some reason, the lesson became more real while visiting the site in person last week. DSCN1980After visiting the museum, we had dinner and went for a walk along Omaha Beach to observe the sunsetting around 10pm. While the sunset was among the most beautiful we’ve seen, it was a sad knowing how many people had sacrificed their lives in its shadow. The next morning we went further up the beach to a point below the cliffs where many US soldiers and much of the equipment had been offloaded from the naval ships descending on the coast of Normandy. DSCN1986Just above the beach, we came upon a bunker that the Nazi’s had built and used for defense during the invasion. I entered the bunker and became immediately pensive as I envisioned myself as either a member of the Nazi regime trying to fight for what I’d been brainwashed to believe in or as a US soldier trying to do what was right for humanity and the world – both sides fearing for their lives in the midst of brutal battle.

DSCN2016After a brief visit to the beach at high tide, we went to the American Cemetery just above Omaha Beach where 9387 American soldiers are buried who were killed during the war. While the Normandy invasion lasted until August, many lives were lost on the same day. It is estimated that 2499 Americans and 1914 British and Canadian soldiers were killed on D-Day. While touring the cemetery, there were countless crosses listing the names of sons, husbands, dads, and brothers from nearly every state of our country declaring June 6, 1944 as the day of death and, sadly, there were many markers stating “Here rests in honored glory a comrade in arms known but to God.”