France, Part 16 - Saumer and final thoughts on the Loire Valley

Our lodgings that night were in a lovely restored chateau in the town of Saumer, but we arrived late enough in the day that we were too tired to explore it.  The house was a beautiful one, with a wooden staircase and stained glass windows.  

The Chateau where we stayed

A friendly dog, “Un” for “Number One” trotted up to greet us as our luggage was unloaded.  There is gorgeous woodwork all over the inside, and on the whole the house feels almost like a French styled dollhouse with everything in its perfect place.  It feels like it is still locked in a civilized place and time.

"Un"

Main hall

Parlor

Dining space

Behind it is a garden that is like a small park, and I almost felt like a character from the “Secret Garden” walking the overgrown paths.  Dinner that night was a very special treat at a lovely restaurant called Les Escargots, just up the street from our hotel.  As the name implies, one of their signature dishes is the French delicacy of snails.

At first we weren’t too keen on the notion, but as Dad said, “We’re in France, it would be a crime not to try them.”  So we did, a selection of the three kinds the restaurant is famous for.  The little guys were delectable, moist and firm, tasting of basil, garlic and cheese.   Following this, I had a lovely meal with potato gratin, and ice cream for dessert.   The portions were good, the food delicious and the staff very kind and welcoming.  It was very reminiscent of Le Bonne Excuse, and I would gladly try escargot again anytime. 

Les Escargots

That night we slept soundly and comfortably, and while I dreamed of delicious food and distant castles, I could help but think of home.   I don't have much to say of Saumer except it seemed a nice and quaint little town, very peaceful but with not a lot to see in it.

Samur was the end of our journey through the Loire Valley, a beautiful and picturesque landscape of farms, villages and castles such as Chenanceaux.  It is very much what we might describe as a “fairytale kingdom’.  We’d spent three days in this fairy land, and that morning we would begin our journey into the coast of Normandy and the battlegrounds of World War II.    I knew this would be a turning point, from fairytales to the grim reality of that conflict, but it was something I knew we had to do.

Why Titanic still resonates today...

In 1987, when I was about five years old, my parents had a small vhs tape that I discovered. Being an inquisitive child and always one for videos I popped it in and for the next hour or so I sat spellbound in the grip of perhaps one of the greatest maritime disasters in history.   I was watching National Geographic's documentary of Robert Ballard's discovery of Titanic which had happened only just a year or so before.   From that simple beginning began a love affair with just about everything to do with this ship and the people surrounding it.

It does not take much to conjure images of Titanic if you say the name to anyone.  Most people see the beautiful grand staircase, with crystal chandeliers and the beautiful woodwork.  They see the clock, the cherub, wealthy people.  Many others at the same time will see these people clustered at the stern alongside poor immigrants who had come seeking a better life in the new world.  We collectively see the lights go out into the darkness of sea and starry sky, and then no more.

102 years later, the day of April 15 is remembered for the death of 1500 people aboard that ship.  Somehow, some way, it is not only the death and the scope that linger in the collective minds of people.  It didn't take a movie to make Titanic famous.  She sat silent, entombed in the cold bottom of the sea forgotten like a myth.  Then from the surface, there came light, and from that light illumination that all might witness her enormity.

After this came the vultures, perching, picking away until she was a sad carcass, yet still Titanic lingers, but why?  Perhaps because it was the end of an age.  Titanic exemplified a time when man's infallibility was never questioned, when the class structure was tight and the moral certainty bible thick.  Titanic carried the hopes and dreams of that time, of all the people who built her and sailed upon her.  It stood to certainty that this ship was one of destiny.

People were living better, technology was on the rise, and more people were growing wealthy than ever before.   There was hope of peace, prosperity, and a unified people of all the world (under the watchful eye of a few extremely wealthy and ancient families).  Was it any surprise when people said, "God himself could not sink this ship?"   Indeed, this was an age that thought it had solved all the problems of the world.  Alas, the ironic twist of fate and a perfect evening of circumstances and missed opportunities.  The proverbial hand of God or fate struck with the worst sense of irony.

Upon her decks, the pale and beautiful world of Titanic's opulence fell apart.  Wealth and prosperity meant nothing, the classes collapsed like the ship itself and humanity was laid bare for the weak and feeble thing it always was and would be.

So ended Titanic and with it the dream of an era.  Titanic became the precurser, perhaps a catalyst to how unsolved the world's problems were.

Within two years of her sinking the world would be plunged into the first World War with worse atrocities yet to come.  Yes, from this day ended all certainty, all human infallibility.  I hope in the future to touch on some of the remarkable stories and facts I know of Titanic in future posts but for now I want to linger on Jack Thayer's words since they speak greater truth than I ever could.

“There was peace and the world had an even tenor to its way. Nothing was revealed in the morning the trend of which was not known the night before. It seems to me that the disaster about to occur was the event that not only made the world rub its eyes and awake but woke it with a start keeping it moving at a rapidly accelerating pace ever since with less and less peace, satisfaction and happiness. To my mind the world of today awoke April 15th, 1912.”  - John B. "Jack" Thayer III, Titanic Survivor.

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For anyone interested in history, I would love to send out the word about the Honor and Glory project on Indigogo.  These young men are painstakingly recreating the ship in 3D.  They are consulting with Ken Marschall and others to create a realistic experience of the ship both for fans of the ship, and for museums and such.  The goal is to not just showcase the ship, but the voyage, the passengers and the era in which she was built.  Please check them out!  Their work is incredible.

http://www.titanichg.com/

The Golden Egg - A Fond Memory of Easter Past

I have fond memories of Easter when I was a really small kid, maybe between 4 - 9 years old.  I lived in Culver City back then, right near Downtown Los Angeles and my family had a nice little house within driving distance of both sets of grandparents.   I loved both of them equally, but my Grandma on my Dad's side was always something really special.   Her name was Oma, which literally means Grandmother, and she lived up to the name and spoiled me rotten. 

One of my favorite memories of her comes from an Easter when I was probably four years old.  My Grandpa was a member of the Wilshire Country Club at that time and we would routinely go there on Easter Sunday for a brunch put on for the members there.  I didn't realize how privileged I was, I was just a kid wandering in awe at tables that seemed miles long and piled as high to the ceiling with foods and the most remarkable sweets I had ever seen.

That year they had an Easter Egg hunt out on the putting green and the grounds near the clubhouse, all the kids would go out and find Easter Eggs, but there was a BIG twist.  Somewhere out on the grounds was a hidden GOLD Easter Egg and whoever found this got a prize.  I don't remember what it was but I believe it was a picture with the Easter Bunny.   Well, I was psyched!  I wanted to find that egg, so off I set with my little basket, looking around bushes and flowers and stuff with Grandma in tow.  

Oma just tutt tutted like she always did, and I found it strange that she was sort of "guiding" me around.   "Why if you look there, I see a blue egg, and over there I see a red."   It was like she was psychic or something.   Well, what to my wandering ears did hear but her musing.  "Oh well, I wonder if you've looked there hmm? Just pick up that little leaf."  So I did, and my eyes boggled.  It was the golden egg!  I'd found the golden egg!

The best I can describe it comes from a later experience reading Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.  When Charlie finds that Golden ticket ... well that was me with the egg.  I rushed with it all the way up and showed my parents and the promptor and I had my picture and prize.   I was so happy!    It wasn't until years later my parents told me that Oma had known exactly where the egg was before hand and lead me to it.  I'm not sure how she knew, but she went out of her way to make sure her favorite and only grandson found it.

Was it cheating?   Yeah.   Was it a little on the slide?  Sure.   But you know what, I loved her for it, and I still love it.   To this day, I wish I could thank her wherever she is for all she did in this and many other stories.