Friday, May 10, 2019

When in France...

(Source)
While I would like to say that the opening photo is one of Your Humble Scribe and one of his grandkids relaxing next to the pond at Chez Sarge, I won't. As cool as that might be, the upkeep on that place has to be horrendous. For that is a photo of a portion of the palace at Versailles. In France. (For the edification of those of you with a "modern" education, which I'm proud to say are damned scarce in these spaces.)

Anyhoo.

I learn new things from you, the Chanters, and often your comments make the Old Sarge rethink a thing he learned as a callow youth. New things come to light all the time shedding new light on old topics. So I am rethinking that whole "the Versailles Treaty caused World War II" thing. While that concept is not complete bunk, after all Hitler used it as a cudgel to beat the German Volk into believing that they'd actually not lost World War I at all, nope the army stood undefeated in the field while the politicians blew the game back home.

While I'm all in favor of blaming politicians for lots of things, losing World War I wasn't one of 'em. That "undefeated" German army was deserting in droves and refusing to fight in many areas. They were beaten, they had nothing left and the good old U.S. of A. was pumping in doughboys by the thousand to continue to thrash the Hun and drive him back to the Vaterland.

Anyhoo. All that rethinking made my head hurt but it also reminded me of a wee sojourn The Missus Herself  and Your Humble Scribe went upon back in the Year of Our Lord Nineteen Hundred and Ninety-Two. In other words, an awfully long time ago. I daresay there are people I work with these days who were naught but toddlers when the missus and I got onto the bus to go to Paris. In France. (See above.)

We had been in Germany for only about four months when the unit to which I was assigned decided that an Easter weekend bus trip to la belle France would be just the thing to improve morale and delight the enlisted. So yes, we signed up. (Our unit did a lot of those trips over the years, some of the best times I ever had.)

So from Germany we advanced down the traditional invasion corridor, through a small bit of the Netherlands, across Belgium, and into northern France. Thing is, we were on a tour bus and not riding tanks, so we were welcomed with open arms. As long as we were spending money that is. (I kid, most of the folks we met in France were awesome.)

The drive across northern France was interesting, lots and lots of rolling farmland and here and there were these small structures which I swear must have been bunkers. For all I know those were where the farmers stored stuff. (Which doesn't rule out their use as bunkers in an earlier time.)

The first place we hit in France was the Tour d'Eiffel (Eiffel Tower for you non-Francophones.) Two things struck me immediately, the first was just how big the freaking thing is, kinda looks small on a postcard, in reality it's pretty big. The second thing that struck me was a chunk of hail. Yup, while there we saw sunshine, rain, more sunshine, and a passing bit o' hail. Welcome to France!

While the ladies all wanted to wait in line (forever) to go up the elevators to the top of the tower, we men proposed climbing the stairs (as the lines were much shorter). Eventually cooler heads prevailed and we went to seek the hotel where we'd be staying, which was on the outskirts of Paris. Once assigned to our rooms and with our luggage stowed, we went back to the bus to head "downtown," as it were.

I remember eating at a small restaurant on the Left Bank where the mussels were extremely delicious and the tables crammed together so tight that one could scarce swing a fork. But we managed, seems that wine makes a good way to maintain friendly relations with one's neighbors. Worked for us at any rate.

We didn't do many touristy things in Paris, a bunch of folks wanted to tour the Louvre, where the lines were a long as those on the beaches of Dunkirk in 1940. (Not to mention how the French lost WWII, well, they did didn't they?) I also recall being shushed at one point as we walked down the Champs-Élysées and I casually mentioned seeing photos of the Deutsches Wehrmacht marching down that very street in 1940. One of the passersby gave me a rather indignant look in the middle of that remark and I decided at that point that I shouldn't be mentioning the war, dontcha know?



Well, enough said about that the better.

We spent a lot of time at the Musée de l'armée and Les Invalides, the former for the many displays of French military artifacts and the latter for the tomb of Napoléon. (There is more than one tomb there, I was very impressed with the names of the men entombed there, many notables from French military history.)

While at Napoléon's tomb I was approached by an elderly gentleman who began to ask me, in rather terrible French, some question which escapes me at the moment, he might have been asking for directions to the loo, I don't remember. It was quite some time ago, as I mentioned above. I told the chap that my French was nearly as bad as his and perhaps did he speak English?

Well of course he did, he was an American WWII veteran come to visit Europe one more time, this time in a friendlier fashion I might add. When I mentioned that the lads and I were all Air Force members and their wives stationed in Germany (well except for Hans who is Dutch and his Swedish wife) he got a big kick out of that. He was late of the Army Air Forces and had been a bomber crewman in the Mighty Eighth. Small world, neh?

At any rate it was three nights and the better part of three days strolling the streets of Paris, visiting Versailles (long lines there as well, so we stayed in the gardens, very picturesque those were), and marking time in little bistros, sipping wine and observing life in Paris. It was a great trip.

I have photos, somewhere, which I need to dig out and digitize, for back in those days it was all film and the like. Digital was in its infancy, if it existed yet at all! I'd like to go back someday, once the heathens are driven out that is. There are parts of the City of Light a native-born Parisian won't go, not unless they've a death wish that is.

Sigh, the world changes and not necessarily for the better.



50 comments:

  1. With the " emigres ", and "immigrants ", O wonder how much time France has left?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. The French are starting to wake up, don't know if it's too little and too late, but we shall see.

      Delete
    2. They are very careful to not allow pictures of all the wonderful sights covered with islamic grafitti and trashed. And the trash.

      Friend went last year and said the police are very polite but firm about not allowing pictures taken of said grafitti, or any group of emigres or of the homeless squalor that makes downtown SanFran or Los(t)Angeles look totally upscale.

      They especially don't want pictures taken of the police vehicles that look like tanks or apcs...

      Delete
    3. Probably because they are APCs.

      Delete
    4. Of course they are, but we're not supposed to notice them. (Or take pictures of them.)

      My mother went to Londonderry in the early 2000's, and didn't understand why all her photo films of British troops and equipment were 'accidentally' lost... (Why, yes, she was a ditz.)

      Delete
    5. Ouch, taking pictures in those places (at certain times in history) can get you arrested, or worse.

      Delete
    6. One night, she slightly moved the curtains aside so she could take a photo.

      I rue the day the Brits didn't shoot her, or at least near her, but they showed remarkable restraint. Dangit.

      Now, taking photos of the local troublemakers would just get you shot forthwith, which she understood.

      Delete
  2. Interesting. But, I have been there, same road, many of the same places.just earlier, 80's. France has to have the old blood returning. Remember the Moors outside of Paris? Many stayed. It's in the art. The same as now, they need the new vitality. They don't need the, like us, the hate groups. After all, whhy did our old folks emegrate, mine because of religious interolerance. They were not Catholic. Same roads, different times. A shame.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. The Moors never made it to Paris in the wayback. They're there now.

      Delete
    2. Charles the Hammer had something to say about where the Moors stayed. And he was serious.

      It was Hammer Time!!!!

      Delete
    3. Paternal great-grandmother's maiden name was Martel.

      I often wonder.

      Delete
    4. Well, Savior of Europe and all that, he did get around...

      Delete
  3. Les Gilets Jaunes may be making several French cities a bit spicy on the weekends these days, they've been active for over five months now. The Chant COC prevents me from posting what I think about the heathens Sarge. Didn't realize Fawlty Towers comprised only 12 episodes, amazing what can be learned on the Internets these days.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. The French have ever been ill-served by their leaders, save one or two (both of whom are kinda famous).

      Yes, Fawlty Towers had a very short run, too short.

      Delete
    2. Charles Martel.

      Henry the Jouster (well, until he got shafted.)

      Who else?

      Delete
    3. Modern France, post-Bourbon.

      Delete
    4. Oh, well, can't really name any then.

      (Dad's side is partially descended from Henry the J...)

      Delete
    5. Speaking as a descendant of Frenchmen, Napoleon and (don't laugh) de Gaulle.

      Delete
    6. My Frenchmen left before the head-lopping started. So I discount any post-revolutionary greatness. My peeps were Normans and Burgundians and those that became Cajuns.

      Delete
    7. Well, Napoleon did end the head chopping, at least the "let's execute everyone" phase. Freaking Robespierre and his ilk.

      Delete
    8. Yeah, buttheads, buttheads all.

      Delete
  4. As I recall, there were no lines to those places when I was there in '57 ( that was 1957, not 1457, Andrew ). My strongest memory, however, is of a little French man in a uniform who came up to my family as we were sitting on a park bench and demanded that we pay a fee to sit there. One of the reasons why I have not been fond of the French ever since.

    Thanks for the post.
    Paul L. Quandt

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I know you're not that old. Now 1847... ;)

      Delete
    2. And the post-war attitude (well, and the pre-war attitude) towards most Americans is why the French have such a negative attitude amongst a lot of people in America.

      Delete
    3. PLQ - 1957? Lots going on in France in those days, none of it that good.

      Delete
    4. Beans the 1st - 1847 would have put him there just before the year of revolutions.

      I can picture Paul manning a barricade throwing cobblestones at the authorities. And correcting their grammar. ;)

      Delete
    5. Beans the 2nd - The common Frenchman/woman isn't a bad person, Parisians have a very bad reputation amongst tourists. We had no trouble with anyone, met a lot of nice folk who were pleasant and helpful. My experience of Paris was better than some other cities I could name, mostly in this country.

      Official France? Bunch of arrogant dicks.

      Delete
    6. We visited France in 2009. Agree with your assessment of common Frenchman. Outside of Paris not a problem in the world. Inside...well there were some jerks, but most were "just more sophisticated" than us. Did manage to visit a place where we shouldn't have gone when we missed a subway stop and got off at the next one. My winemaker friends wanted to walk back and explore. We exited the station into a mass of Moors who had been watching two soccer teams from their home countries. The game was over and someone had lost. I used my military voice to tell my wife and friends that we were going back into the station expeditiously and get back on the train. Yes...I got a bit "nervous".

      Delete
    7. Yes, parts of Paris are overrun with that sort. Not a good situation, you made the correct choice.

      Delete
    8. My father was in F-84G (transition?) training and the next squadron over in training was a bunch of French pilots, getting ready to pick up their planes and go home.

      They had nothing to do in public with my Cajun father, except to look down their aristocratic noses (all were either Parisians or pseudo-aristocracy or both) at the 2nd rate country bumkin Cajun. And mostly in private, too. The two Provincials were cool with Dad in private, and went hunting with him a couple times, but they could not acknowledge him in public lest it get back home and ruin their careers.

      That is the post-war French attitude, by the Parisians and other nose-in-the-air frogs that has pissed off us poor uncivilized stumblebums over here.

      Not all French. The provincials and coastals really rather appreciated and appreciate us. Coincidentally, troops and officers from these areas are also good and cool to work with. It is the elitists that just rub everyone the wrong way.

      I am sure that your tour of NATO had some of these frog-princes there.

      Delete
    9. No, not a Frenchman to be seen at our NATO base. They go their own way, not many see that as a problem.

      Delete
    10. "PLQ - 1957? Lots going on in France in those days, none of it that good." We were only in Paris for a few days awaiting transport back to the States after my father's tour in Italy. So I didn't see anything else of France.

      Paul

      Delete
  5. Isn't the saying something to the effect of, "The French as individuals are great, but as a people they are horrible and idiotic."??

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Truth be told, that can be said about a number of nationalities.

      Delete
    2. Their soldiers are powerful. Their leaders are weak.

      Delete
    3. At least we as a country seem to be working towards some stronger leaders, at least since 2016. Not that more and greater work doesn't need to be done...

      Delete
    4. We need to shed some of the parasites currently holding office in the legislatures at the state and Federal levels. Scum, many of 'em.

      Delete
    5. "We need to shed some of the parasites currently holding office in the legislatures at the state and Federal levels. Scum, many of 'em." Most of them, in my opinion ( of course, my opinion may be influenced by living in Oregon ).

      Paul

      Delete
    6. Some states have it worse than others. Little Rhody could use some change.

      Delete
    7. at least a couple of communities up your way in the western part of the state have voted to become Second Amendment sanctuary cities - was certainly encouraged by that! But overall, I agree that the advice given by Mr. Shakespeare about lawyers should also apply to politicians, especially since many are in both camps!

      Delete
    8. Yes, Burrillville gives one hope.

      Delete
  6. Slightly off topic, but.... IIRC, there's a scene in the book "Is Paris Burning" where there's an American tank at one end of the Champs-Élysées, and a German tank at the other end (Place de la Concorde v Arc de Triomphe, but I don't remember which was where.)
    One of the American crew recalls from a school French class that the length of the Champs-Élysées from the Place to the Arc is roughly 2 kilometers, and they set the range thus and destroyed the enemy tank.
    I have no idea why I remember that bit of trivia, as I must have read that book some 50 years ago or more....
    The mind is a strange and wonderful thing, eh?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. That story rings a bell!

      I need to go find that.

      Delete
  7. In some places, France still remembers. This is an issue of the news letter for my dad's bomb group.

    http://www.447bg.com/447th%20Newsletter%20Spring%202011%20%28FINAL%29%2016-pages%20COLOR%20spreads%203-22.pdf

    You can read about Wissous on pages 4 and 5.

    The B-17 Pictured on page 10 under "447th Taps" is this one--

    http://www.447bg.com/42-97392.htm

    The Baker crew flew this ship one time on 12/24/44.

    Lt. Thompson flew her on three missions. That would be my dad.

    ReplyDelete

Just be polite... that's all I ask. (For Buck)
Can't be nice, go somewhere else...

NOTE: Comments on posts over 5 days old go into moderation, automatically.