Paris1972-Versailles2003

And I get nostalgic and sentimental each time I need to write about Meaux . This one was briefly mentioned in previous posts but felled needed to have it in one post, me think. I like to tell you and me more about Meaux.  A nice town bordering the Marne river in Seine et Marne dept 77,of the Ïle de France region , where Disneyland is located nearby.  There have been so many times here that I lost count, I know the town like if I was born there ever since began my French history when I met a young lady native of the town of Meaux back in 1990, and as the saying goes, the rest is history and a beautiful one indeed falling short due to her cancer that took my dear late wife Martine. And my eternal thank you for giving me 3 wonderful good young men still with me.

I like to tell you about another memorable monument in this neck of the woods, the American Monument of Meaux!!  There you see a huge American monument or Monument Américain, a gift of the people of the USA to France honoring the soldiers of the expeditionary force of Gen Pershing that after landing in now near me in St Nazaire march on towards the Marne to help the French as they have done to the USA in the war of Independence with Lafayette, Rochembau , and admiral Grasse. Gen Pershing cried “Lafayette we are here” upon landing. The oldest friendship of both since 1776.

Oh yes, Meaux, you can drive on the A4 from Paris (quai de Bercy )connecting with the A140 straigth into town or do the scenic ride on the N3 from Porte de Pantin in Paris all the way to Champagne country passing thru city center Meaux. Bear in mind nowdays, the N3 is hugely congested. There is, also, the train from Gare de l’Est in Paris to the Gare de Meaux (see posts).

The American Memorial, also known under the names of La Liberté éplorée (Liberty in Distress), American monument or monument of Varredes, is located on the Route de Vareddes or the old D603 now D2405A direction Vareddes, the monument is just passing the World War I museum (musée de la grande guerre b2011) on your right hand side. The statue was designed by the American sculptor Frederick William MacMonnies ,and dedicated in 1932 to the Allies from WWI having fought at the first battle of the Marne in 1914, during the Great War or WWI.

In 1914, during WWI, the German empire troops advanced through northern France towards Paris. In September of that year, near Meaux, the French 6th Army launched an offensive against the German 1st Army. In the ensuing battle, known as the First Battle of the Marne, French and English troops together force the Germans to withdraw, saving Paris from attack.  In the United States, French sympathizers celebrate this victory. After the end of the war in 1918, a project for a statue to commemorate the battle was born, taking the form of a model competition won by the American sculptor Frederick William MacMonnies. The funds for the construction of the statue are raised in the United States and it is erected as a gift from the Americans to the French people!

The statue, whose construction took 14 years, was inaugurated on September 11, 1932 by French President Albert Lebrun, President of the Chamber of Deputies Édouard Herriot and members of the Association of American Friends of France and the Ambulance Corps, from the American Field Service. On June 3, 2021, lightning struck the monument, destroying the upper part of the statue. The French Heritage Society (an American non-profit organization created in 1982) provides support for the restoration of the monument. Their webpage: https://frenchheritagesociety.org/chapters/

The American Monument is 26 meters high and each side of the plinth measures approximately 4.5 meters. The statue represents a personification of Liberty, also evoking Marianne or “defiant France”. She is surrounded by dead or dying people and holds a child in one hand and a broken sword in the other.  It symbolizes, in the guise of a naked woman, France breaking free from enemies while supporting one of her sons who has just been killed for her. This woman who mourns his death with, at her feet, the dog that leads souls to death, the rooster representing France and the broken sword symbolizing the heroic struggle.

Joseph Joffre’s slogan of September 6, 1914 is engraved on the front of the base: “As the nation’s salvation begins, it is important to remind everyone that the time is no longer to look back; all efforts must be made to attack and push back the enemy; a troop which can no longer advance will have to keep the conquered ground at all costs and be killed on the spot rather than retreat. ”

An inscription in English is engraved on the back of the base: “Here are still heard, In the silence, the voices, the heroic sons of France, they braved everything, gave everything, during, long days full of pitfalls, while death watched them … They stopped the flood of imminent disaster, and their supreme devotion, has made the world tremble. ” Amén!! I said

Some webpages to help you enjoy further this American Monument in France are:

The City of Meaux on the Monument Américain : https://www.ville-meaux.fr/fr/tourisme/balade-a-meaux/le-monument-americain.html

The Meaux tourist office on the Monument Américain : https://www.tourisme-paysdemeaux.com/index.php/en/1687-american-monument

The Seine et Marne 77 tourist office on the Monument Américain : https://tourisme.seine-et-marne-attractivite.fr/4673215-monument-americain

The Circuit of the Battle of the Marne 1914 webpage on the Monument Américain : https://www.circuit-bataille-marne1914.fr/310-monument-americain

There you go folks, a dandy in a very memorable spot for me, so many times driven by and stopped by for respect. The Monument Américain of Meaux is even nicer to stop by today as it is next to the superbe glorious Musée de la Grande Guerre or WWI museum. And next to my Brie cheese provider see posts!!

And remember, happy travels, good health, and many cheers to all!!!

Ok so let me update this older post for you and me. On my road warrior trips in my belle France, I come into many towns, some I just passed by and others stayed a bit. This is the case of what we call Doué la Fontaine, and now officially call Doué en Anjou.  The town is in the department 49 of Maine et Loire in the region of Pays de la Loire. As in the other Loire the area is full of castles but in this town the main is the church and theater. Let me tell you a bit more on it ok. Hope you enjoy it as I.

Doué-la-Fontaine (now officially Doué en Anjou) is wearing the new name since December 30, 2016, when it was created together with Brigné, Concourson-sur-Layon, Forges, Meigné, Montfort, Saint-Georges-sur-Layon and Les Verchers-sur-Layon,been the whole area in the heart of the Loire-Anjou-Touraine Regional Natural Park, 10 km from Montreuil-Bellay , 14 km from Saumur, 40 km from Cholet and 40 km from Angers.

As Doué-la-Fontaine is new in my blog will tell you a bit on the history of it.

Around the 8C, the territory of Doué was part of Aquitaine. Pépin le Bref received the submission of Waïfre, Duke of Aquitaine, around 760. From the 790s, Louis le Pieux, son of Charlemagne, who was only 13 years old, had already been king of Aquitaine by his father for ten years, settled there. He had been living there regularly since 781 in the villa or palatium of Theotwadum. In 814, Louis learned of his father’s death and became the new emperor. In 832 he also received the submission of Pépin I, King of Aquitaine. There are no remnants of the Carolingian residence.

During the 17-18C, Doué had the honor of seeing Catherine de Medici, Charles IX, Henri de Navarre and Louis XIII passed and stayed. In 1694, Louis XIV formed the city and gave it its coat of arms. But it was under the leadership of Baron Joseph François Foullon that the city enjoyed its most prosperous hours. A restorator at the Château de Doué, he planted 500,000 Italian poplars, introduced alfalfa and sainfoin cultivation, and established nurseries in Soulanger where he built a castle. He built the fountain, the only waterpoint in the city, which fed six mills, a pool for laundry ladies and children ,and a trough.  Joseph François Foullon was one of the first victims of the French revolution. His Château des Basses Minières is destroyed. Today, only the stables and part of the foundations of the perimeter wall remain. In 1793, 1200 prisoners from Angers were transferred to Doué. They were imprisoned there in the Arenas or St. Peter’s Church until 1794. 184 of them died in prison within two months. Between 350 and 370 additional prisoners are guillotined or shot.

Some things to see here is the Church St Pierre.  The first Church Saint Pierre was blessed at the same time as the Saint Denis Collegiate Church (now in ruins), in March 1040 by the bishop of Angers ,Of this first church, not much is known, This first church was undoubtedly located a little higher than the current church, smaller in size and surrounded by the cemetery as was customary. The current St Peter’s Church, built to replace the first one which was undoubtedly damaged during the Hundred Years War, dates from the 15-16C. The church has undergone unfortunate transformations over the centuries. Nevertheless, the interior, with its five pointed bays, is not lacking in elegance, and the choir, lit by a large triple-mullioned window, forms a harmonious whole. The rather dark ensemble has a lovely religious effect.

During the French revolution, it received prisoners from the Vendée, then was transformed into a warehouse. It became Temple of Reason of the Republic and the cult of the Supreme Being was celebrated there; at the same time the bells were removed and sent to Saumur. In the 19C, successive priests embellished the church and added a baptistery, 2 small altars, stained glass windows and the southern chapel. Gothic, once had pinnacles and unfortunately demolished, and the slate bell tower was replaced by a beautiful stone bell tower. The Church Saint Pierre became the parish church of Doue la Fontaine on November 10, 1802, located at 1 Rue du Gravier.

The other interesting thing to see and surprise for a town in the middle of vineyards is the Municipal Theater. The theater is now call the Philippe Noiret theater.  Built in 1933 and renovated in 1999, the Philippe Noiret theater is located in the center of Doué la Fontaine, and overlooks the old Fontaines basin. The main access to the theater is from the Place de Fontaines, from a large pedestrian esplanade, between the rue des Fontaines and the rue du Théâtre. With a capacity of 320 seats plus 4 PRM seats in 16 rows, the doors from the theater open onto the Alfred Chevalier hall. With a surface area of 130m², this space is dedicated to welcoming the public and ticketing. Behind the stage are two dressing rooms as well as a relaxation area reserved for artists. A lodge for 8 persons and one for 3 persons.  The official Phillippe Noiret theater : https://tpndoueanjou.mapado.com/

The rest of things to see as per their tourist office are the Perrières; Carolingian hill; The Château de Doué-la-Fontaine is an old fortress castle, raised at the beginning of the 10C and remodelled several times at the corner of Blvd  du Dr. Lionet and the Impasse de la Motte, the castle of Soulanger; or Château des Basses Minières looted and destroyed during the French revolution, only the base, the stables (which house the museum aux Anciens Commerces) and an entrance pavilion remain today. The cellar with sarcophagi, former quarry of falun near the village of the former commune of Douces, at 1 rue de la Croix-Mordret. The place contains the ancient quarry of the Merovingian period, an old farmhouse, a cellar and a cave chapel. Time to be back!!

The new city of Doué en Anjou and its other heritage : https://www.doue-en-anjou.fr/decouvrir/tourisme/sites-touristiques/#.XUw0Z_IzbIU

The Saumur Val de Loire tourist office on Doue la Fontaine : https://www.ot-saumur.fr/DOUE-LA-FONTAINE_a13225.html

The Saumur Val de Loire tourist office pdf file on Doué la Fontaine and its heritage : https://www.ot-saumur.fr/attachment/2031601/

This is one of those town I go by I lost count of how many, this one at least took some pictures . Me thinking is a good base for the nearby castles and wine houses as the area as is in wine country of Saumur-Val-de-Loire and côte de Layon. Anyway is a good location town ,the new name Doué en Anjou but I still like the locals prefer Doué la Fontaine! Hope you enjoy the post as I.

Hope you enjoy it and remember, happy travels, good health, and many cheers to all!!!

This is Loire river area in the in the Maine et Loire dept 49 of the Pays de la Loire region to pay a visit to Fontevraud l’Abbaye or the Notre Dame Abbey of Fontevraud!!! I have written before, but found new pictures not in the blog yet and feel they deserve to be shown for this magnificent abbey church, Hope you enjoy it as I.

We are used to see these wonderful monuments in my belle France,  but this one was there for king Richard the Lion Hearted. one of the most important abbey complexes of Europe, at the crossroads of the departments of Maine-et-Loire, Indre-et-Loire and Vienne, as well as the regions  of Pays of the Loire, Centre-Val de Loire and Nouvelle-Aquitaine.

Made up of 1129 registers and files, from the 12C to 1790, the Fontevraud chartrier is, today, one of the richest collections preserved in France. This wealth, it owes above all to the illustrious past of the abbey, represented at each stage: its foundation, by Robert d’Arbrissel in 1101, and the efforts of the first abbess, Pétronille, to organize around it. an Order which spread over thirty years in more than fifty priories.

Necropolis of the Plantagenets, then the Royal Abbey, it was run for almost two centuries by abbesses, half of them from the royal family of the Bourbons. Abandoned in 1792, the Abbey was transformed into a prison from 1804 to 1963. The monastic complex today consists of two monasteries, a Romanesque kitchen, the 12C Saint-Benoît Chapel, as well as a cloister, a chapter house, and 16C infirmaries. The Saint-Lazare priory dates from the 12C and currently houses a hotel residence.The Fontevraud hotel: https://www.fontevraud.fr/en/the-hotel/fontevraud-l-hotel/

Walking through its 13 ha, you will travel through the history and architecture of the place. It was first a monastery ahead of its time at the head of which succeeded 36 abbesses for more than six centuries. The nuns were forced to leave the abbey after the French revolution, which, like many religious monuments, was turned into a prison. It was considered one of the hardest prisons in France. And undoubtedly the most poetic, nicknamed “the prison with 1,001 windows and doors” because of its many arches and stained glass windows. As for the Grand-Moûtier cloister, it has retained its original dimensions and is quite simply one of the largest European buildings of this type.

There is now a new museum in the Fontevraud abbey.  Paintings, drawings and sculptures by 19-20C artists, antiques and objects from Africa, Oceania, Asia and the Americas … more than 900 works make up the collection of the Musée d’art moderne de Fontevraud or the Fontevraud modern arts museum, The collections of Martine and Léon Cligman, some of which are signed by great artists such as Henri de Toulouse ‐ Lautrec, Edgar Degas, Juan Gris or Germaine Richier. This fund is a donation from the couple to the State, and allocated to the Region: a collection that they have assembled together for more than 60 years and a donation that made possible the creation of this museum unlike the others, proud to have obtained the appellation Musée de France. It opened on May 19, 2021 !!
Over a hundred paintings from the 19-20C, from Camille Corot to Toulouse-Lautrec, from Robert Delaunay, Juan Gris, Georges Rouault to Chaïm Soutine, Jean Fautrier or Bernard Buffet. Nearly 300 works on paper, including several avant-garde inks by Ivan Puni, mannerist drawings by Roger de La Fresnaye and the 36 original illustrations for Petrone’s Satyricon by André Derain. Sculptures by Edgar Degas, André Derain and above all, a remarkable collection of fourteen works by Germaine Richier. 88 spectacular glass works by Maurice Marinot. Ancient and extra-European objects (Mesopotamians, Egyptians and Cycladic, Africans, Oceanians, Asians and Amerindians), among which several remarkable works such as a female figure from a Fang reliquary, American birdstones, an Olmec statuette, a Melanesian tapa. Awesome indeed !! The city of Fontevraud on the museum: https://www.fontevraud.fr/en/modern-art-museum/museum-collection/

The city of Fontevraud l’Abbaye monument abbey/church: http://www.fontevraud-abbaye.fr/notre-village/fontevraud-labbaye/

The official Fontevraud l’Abbaye : https://www.fontevraud.fr/en/

There you go folks, another dandy in my belle France, This one is tops , and a must to visit me think, Hope you enjoy the post on the Fontevraud l’Abbaye.

And remember, happy travels, good health, and many cheers to all!!!