Châteaux, Rivers, and Wine Wednesday, June 07 Our flight arrived at Charles de Gaulle Airport at eight thirty o'clock and we made our way to a long serpentine line in front of passport control. Once cleared through that process we made our way out of the luggage area and found the Viking Transfer Point. The agent checked off our names and immediately introduced us to our van driver who then drove just Liz and me to Le Méridien Etoile. We must have been late arrivals as others were already checked into the hotel from other group arrivals. Bernard, our Viking agent at the hotel welcomed us and gave us a quick briefing of what was to take place today; recommendations for meals at eight nearby restaurants; when we should place luggage outside the room tomorrow; when breakfast would be served; and when we were to meet the bus. He was very efficient and we quickly proceeded to our room to drop off our hand-carry items and then take a walk around the neighborhood. 1 We returned to the lobby to inquire if there was a nearby market. Bernard advised us that there was but it would close in an hour and a half so we set out to visit the area. The hotel is in in Paris's 17th arrondissement, directly north of the Arc de Triomphe at the edge of the city. This charming, mainly residential district on the Right Bank is often called Quartier des Batignolles-Monceau, and its sections still feel like a collection of villages, including the Quartier des Epinettes, Quartier des Batignolles, Quartier de la Plaine Monceau and Quartier des Ternes. The southwestern shopping area of the 17th is named for two major avenues: Wagram-Ternes feels much like an extension of the Champs Élysées, with stylish boutiques. The north-eastern end, Batignolles, has a more artsy feeling, with bars and bistros where BoBos (bohemian-bourgeois) hang out. The Batignolles neighborhood is the former home of a trove of artists and writers including Emile Zola and Edouard Manet. We were guided to find Marché des Batignolles, a covered market with organic produce, near the Square de Batignolles and continue to a delightful little park with a stream, ducks and a carousel. To reach this area we could not help but notice the activity at Place de la Porte Maillot. Notable here was the large construction project underway. It seemed that the entire Place was just a round-about detour. In anticipation of the 2024 Olympics, " A redevelopment project foresees to replace it by a central axis that will connect the avenue de la Grande Armée to the avenue Charles-de-Gaulle, in Neuilly-sur-Seine." This will include an RER-E station 30 meters below the current roundabout. Deciding to window-shop we strolled further to the Arc de Triomphe but did not go further to the Champs-Élysées. Retracing our route, we turned right at Boulevard Pereire and noted a lovely rose 2 garden with an arched pathway that included a skateboard course favored by a dozen teenagers and older. Reaching Parc Monceau, we discovered it is set in informal "English" style. Scaled-down architectural replicas include an Egyptian pyramid, Dutch windmill, and a Chinese fort. The Parc Monceau was painted by Monet numerous times. By this time we discovered a Carrefour Market so we went inside to purchase a bottle of wine and some snacks to take back to our room. By this time it was two o'clock and we decided to check out one of the restaurants suggested to us by Bernard. We selected Tabac des Ternes, a corner restaurant two blocks from the hotel. Ordering an old favorite, we chose Frites au steak, vinaigrette à la salade, aux échalotes (Steak with French fries, Salad vinaigrette, with shallots). I must admit the steak, although quite flavorful, was the toughest cut of meat I have ever had in Paris. The steak knife could not cut it but the regular table knife, which had a slightly serrated edge, was able to cut the meat. As I mentioned, it was tasty but required some effort to chew it. Returning to the hotel, we set out clothes for the next morning and watched television before early retirement. It had been a long day and we were tired. Thursday, June 08 The breakfast was as I had hoped. Lovely, strong coffee, great breads and large, flaky croissants. Plus a definite weakness of mine, French charcuterie. A third of a baguette with various types of cured meats, pâté, cheese, cornichons, baguette and mustard is my idea of breakfast perfection. Whenever I return to France (or Quebec or Montreal) I look forward to this delight. Our luggage was brought down to the lobby during our meal. And after returning to our room to gather our jackets and day-packs, we identified our suitcases before they were then loaded into the bus. Bernard then introduced to our new guide, Sylvie, who described our plans for the day. We would be driving 130 kilometers (80 miles) to Orléans, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. As we drove Sylvie spoke of the history of the city. Orléans is located in the northern bend of the Loire, which crosses from east to west. Orléans belongs to the vallée de la Loire sector between Sully-sur-Loire and Chalonnes- sur-Loire, which was in 2000 inscribed by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site. The capital of Orléanais, 120 kilometers south-south-west of Paris, it is bordered to the north by the Beauce region and the forêt d'Orléans, and the Orléans-la-Source neighborhood and the Sologne region to the south. The city was always a strategic point on the Loire, for it was sited at the river's most northerly point, and thus its closest point to Paris. There were few bridges over the dangerous river Loire, but Orléans had one of them, and so became – with Rouen and Paris – one of medieval France's three richest cities. On the south bank the "châtelet des Tourelles" protected access to the bridge. This was the site of the battle on 8 May 1429 which allowed Joan of Arc to enter and lift the siege of the Plantagenets during the Hundred Years' War, with the help of the royal generals Dunois and Florent d'Illiers. The city's inhabitants have continued to remain faithful and grateful to her to this day, calling her "la pucelle d'Orléans" (the maid of Orléans), offering her a middle-class house in the city, and contributing to her ransom when she was taken 3 prisoner. When France colonized America, the territory it conquered was immense, including the whole Mississippi River (whose first European name was the River Colbert), from its mouth to its source at the borders of Canada. Its capital was named la Nouvelle-Orléans in honor of Louis XV's regent, the duke of Orléans, and was settled with French inhabitants against the threat from British troops to the north-east. When we reached Orleans we dismounted from the bus close to the cathedral but first walked a half block to the Hotel Groslot which was built between 1530 and 1550 for the Bailiff Jacques Groslot. It has been the City Hall since 1790, and its interior was restored by the architect Delton in 1850. Today, visitors can browse the Salon d'Honneur, the guardroom, the former Municipal Council Hall, the former Mayor's office and the wedding hall in which Francis II died, having come to preside over the the States General in 1560 with his mother, Catherine de Medici and his wife Mary Stuart. Charles IX, Henri III and Henri IV have been among other illustrious guests. I think it prudent that I mention here that before we reached the city Sylvie also reviewed the history of Aquitaine, the 100 Year's War between England and France, and Joan of Arc. I mention that now because Jeanne d'Arc played heavily in the efforts to return the land permanently to France. She played a role in the lives of each of the cities we visited in the Loire Valley and artwork, statues, and stained glass depict her historical impact everywhere. When Liz and I took the cruise to Normandy we visited the site where Jeanne d'Arc was burned at the stake by the British. Now we would learn much of what took place before her capture, trial, and execution. Joan of Arc (Jeanne d'Arc, 6 January c. 1412 – 30 May 1431), "The Maid of Orléans" (La Pucelle d'Orléans), is considered a heroine of France for her role during the Lancastrian phase of the Hundred Years' War and was canonized as a Roman Catholic saint. Joan of Arc was born to Jacques d'Arc and Isabelle Romée, a peasant family, at Domrémy in north- east France. Joan said she received visions of the Archangel Michael, Saint Margaret, and Saint Catherine of Alexandria instructing her to support Charles VII and recover France from English domination late in the Hundred Years' War. The uncrowned King Charles VII sent Joan to the siege of Orléans as part of a relief mission. She gained prominence after the siege was lifted only nine days later. Several additional swift victories led to Charles VII's coronation at Reims. This long-awaited event boosted French morale and paved the way for the final French victory. On 23 May 1430, she was captured at Compiègne by the Burgundian faction, which was 4 allied with the English. She was later handed over to the English and put on trial by the pro-English Bishop of Beauvais Pierre Cauchon on a variety of charges.