Month: June 2022

This trip to Paris was mainly to spend time with family. We accomplished that goal along with getting to eat at Agapé, a Michelin star restaurant. It was exquisite! The location was perfect for us because we were staying with family and the quaint little restaurant was just around the corner from their apartment. I made reservations a month in advance of the trip. We went with the Carte Blanche menu with wine pairings. Service was excellent and the restaurant owner was there to answer any questions. It was obvious that he had trained his staff well and they all did their best to make the meal truly special. Every course was beautiful to look at as well as delicious. Although we only ate there once, I was told that everyday the menu changes using the freshest ingredients available. The wines were from all over France and unique, as well as perfectly paired to complement the flavor of the food they accompanied. Possibly the thing I liked best was that we didn’t have to think about anything. We sat there as they presented us with the best they had to offer that day, while allowing us the perfect amount of time to savor the flavor of each dish. (Pictured above is a blue lobster dish that was probably my favorite offering of the evening.)

Maybe I have gone on a little too much about the food, because it is family first. We planned our trip because of the family events that were occurring. I like to be there to capture the moment and I use this platform to share photographs with people who couldn’t be there, but wished they could. I don’t have a Facebook account and this format allows me to post photos and allow access to those who would appreciate them most–family and invited guests. If you are one of those people, click here to see the photos of these special events and some everyday things too. Anyone can click here to see photos that don’t include the private stuff. 

n the previous post I mentioned that I went on a short trip to the north of Paris by myself (leaving my wife to help babysit the grandchildren in the city). The next day I took an impromptu trip to the Mustard Capital of the World, Dijon; this time with my wife.

Though it was a long journey, we made a day trip out of it. France has an amazing train system of very fast trains leaving from a number of stations in Paris. We got up early and took the subway to the Gare de Lyon train station, where we boarded a train that at times was traveling nearly 200 miles per hour to our destination. I bought the train tickets the day before at the Chantilly train station, because it was far less crowded than the stations in Paris, and I did not want to chance buying them the morning of the trip. That night, when I got back to Paris, I also booked through GetYourGuide (I had had success online with them before) a full-day private tour (with an English-speaking guide) of the world-famous Burgundy wine region; including Dijon and Beaune. We got confirmation from GYG that we were booked and that we would receive an email from our local guide. The tour was expensive, but it was the only thing available on short notice and I had experienced that outside of Paris (with my almost nonexistent French) getting to see and do what you want efficiently can be problematic. 

Unfortunately for us, that email never came. So, as we were approaching Dijon Station, I gave the local guide a call.  The person who answered the phone could not speak English and got someone else to try to help. He said they never got the booking (even though I had a confirmation number) and he was unable to help us. He hung up, and I was worried we would never get our money back. Though it took a little more time, I was able to speak on the phone to an agent at GYG and she explained that there was a glitch and she would check into it and get back to me. She quickly investigated and responded still before we arrived at the station. She apologized for the inconvenience, while assuring me that the money would be returned within five business days. (It took less.)

The weather was nice when we arrived in Dijon. The station was small, but just outside the exit there was a tourist information center. The young lady greeted us with a cheerful, bon jour, looking pleased to have someone to help. I asked in French if she spoke English. She responded with an even bigger smile in perfect American English that she would be happy to help us. She had worked for a few years as an au pair in northern Virginia near our previous home there. She gave us confidence that there was plenty to do in Dijon (where she was born and raised) within walking distance and circled a few of her favorite spots on the map. She asked us if we would like her to book a taxi for a late afternoon trip to one of the nearest wineries and she made all the arrangements. We had a good time walking around the historic town. We had the good fortune to walk into a church where a choir was practicing for an upcoming concert and they were truly outstanding, complemented by the acoustics of the building. We then went to The Palace of the Dukes and States of Burgundy, where they had a free art museum (Musée des Beaux-Arts de Dijon). We stopped at a few shops including places to taste various types of mustard. Finally we made our way to the newly opened Cité Internationale de la Gastronomie et du Vin, where we had lunch before meeting our driver for the short trip to The Château de Marsannay. After our tour of the Château, our driver returned and brought us back to La Gastronomie to taste more mustards, wines, and other traditional foods of the region where we spent the rest of our time in Dijon before the short walk back to the station to catch our train returning to Paris.

Click here for photos from the day. Dijon really deserves more time than we had, but we came mostly to be with family. We had places to be and people to see. And if you are wondering, Yes I do like mustard–even more now that I have been to Dijon! Hopefully we will make it to Beaune and more of the Burgundy region in the future.

We came to France in early June this year because there were a number of family birthdays to celebrate and a special milestone day for one of my grandsons that my wife and I were looking forward to attending. On a day that looked like it might not bring fair weather, I decided to take a chance and traveled solo to the place pictured above.

Château de Chantilly is only a short train ride out of Paris. It was built by Prince Henri d’Orléans, the son of the last King of France, Louis-Philippe. It is one of the best Châteaus in all of France and because Henri had no heirs, he decided to gift it to the Institut de France in 1886. He gave it under the condition that his substantial collection of paintings and other collectables remain in the location that he had placed them in his lifetime. In addition to the Château there is an impressive stable complex where if you arrive at the right time you can watch an equestrian show that would please the Prince. It would probably have impressed me too, if I hadn’t arrived just as the show was ending. In that area they also have a Museum of the Horse that I was able to see. If you would like to see photos from the day click here. 

No longer living near an international airport and seeing how many regional carriers were canceling flights, I decided it would be wise to get to New York City a couple of days ahead of a departure flight back to France for a family visit. We had timeshare points that would expire and lucked into booking a nice place at the last minute in Midtown. We had stayed there once pre-Pandemic and knew it was a comfortable place with a good view from the rooftop. We made it there without any delays and just relaxed in the “Big Apple.” 

After checking in and avoiding the dreaded owner’s update, which always leads to a hard sell for more points, we headed to a wine and cheese party on the roof. There we met a couple (the gentleman was about my age, but looked younger and so did his wife) traveling up from Louisiana who were also trying to use their yearly allotment of points. The gentleman had a specific reason for going to New York. He was there to visit the final resting place of John James Audubon, the famous naturalist and painter of birds. As is typical, you meet friendly people with similar experiences with their timeshare purchases at these types of gatherings and we got to talking. I found out that he was a retired military guy who was mechanically inclined who was trained to work on aircraft. After retirement while visiting Oakley Plantation, near where he and his wife lived, and located on the property of Audubon State Historic Site; someone said he looked like Audubon. He said at the time he knew very little about the naturalist, but somehow it stuck with him and he wound up volunteering to play the part; dressing up in costume in the living history program offered on site. 

Audubon is one of my heroes, and coincidentally the next day while walking with my wife on a hot and sunny day after we had done enough window shopping; we thought we could get out of the heat by going into the New York Public Library. The Library had a sign posted for Treasures: The Polonsky Exhibition. It was free and one of the treasures in the exhibition is in the photograph above. There were lots of other treasures and if you would like, you can click here to see a few images that particularly appealed to me, as well as a few other photos from NYC.

Though I was born in Washington D.C., I have always lived in Virginia.  I like it! Virginia has a lot going for it and my wife and I will likely call the Commonwealth our home for the foreseeable future. As you may be able to tell from this website, I like a lot of places and try to find the good wherever I go, without ignoring the bad. I don’t like to dwell on the negative; consequently I tend to focus (especially my camera) on what makes me happy. In my last post (if you clicked on the link to the photos) you might have seen a couple of photos I took at Stone Mountain, which is just outside of Atlanta, Georgia. I have a son who lives near there and his girlfriend recommended we visit the state park. The place is a good one to take hikes, to get out in nature, or if you are inclined; to learn a little about the history of the south. I am going to go out on a limb here and state that Georgia, like Virginia, was (in the opinion of most reasonable people of today) on the wrong side of history. Maybe you know where I am going here–I don’t like the fact that the largest bas-relief sculpture in the world pays homage to three Confederate leaders. I wish the powers that be hadn’t decided to carve anything on the side of that impressive geologic feature. I am not saying it should be removed. I would leave it as testimony to the fact that we are not all on the same page. I feel the same way when I see people hoist huge Confederate battle flags on their property in the county I live in today. I wish they had more sense and furthermore could understand the hurt it causes. 

So, I take you now to the reason for the headline of today’s post. We were traveling a few weeks ago from our home to the wedding of a relative taking place near Richmond, Virginia. While driving I came upon a sign that let me know I was about to enter Appomattox County, which hosted a significant meeting in American history. It caused me to wonder as I read the bottom of the sign and that short phrase became the title of this post. I thought to myself, a marketing person must have tried to put the best spin they could on that historic event in order to have a good reason to visit Appomattox County. I guess it is better than, “Welcome to the middle of nowhere Virginia.” 

So I don’t hurt any feelings, Appomattox County is beautiful and rural today and it hasn’t changed demographically all that much since the 1860’s. Geographically, it is about in the middle of Virginia and today not many would go there if not for its place in history. Prior to driving that stretch of State Route 24, I had never been in Appomattox County, but because it is the place where Confederate General Robert E. Lee surrendered his army to Union General Ulysses S. Grant (For an interesting review of the conversation leading up to the surrender click here.) and therefore on the radar of a curious fellow like me. I made a mental note that if the weather was good (and my wife was willing) on the return trip, we would spend a little time there to check it out and see if there is any evidence that our nation has truly reunited. 

The photo above shows the building that gives Appomattox Court House National Historical Park its name. It is not, however, the location of the historic meeting between Lee and Grant. That took place a short walk away in what is known as the McLean House, because it was owned in 1865 by Wilmer McLean. McLean’s story can be explored through the storytelling and research of Virginia Tech history professor Dr. James Robertson Jr. by clicking here.

I was able to have a long conversation with a fellow retired high school teacher who happened to be sitting on the porch of the restored mercantile building of the town of Appomattox Court House. He was a resident of the county and former volunteer tour guide for the park whose ancestors had lived in the county since before the Civil War. We discussed among other things, that I was going to poach the line from the county sign for  the title of this post and asked him for his thoughts. He was an independent thinker and I wish I had the time to walk around the park with him and take the free tour he offered me, but I knew my wife had already headed back to the car and would already be wondering what was taking me so long.

For more photos of the short visit to the National Historical Park, click here, It is worth the visit! I wish I had planned more time and could have visited more of the surrounding county. As to whether the sign is accurate I will let you be the judge.