France travel | Travel Thru History

Loire Valley: Chateaux and Croissants

By Karoline Cullen

The croissants are still warm from the oven. Chuckling at our swooning appetites, the bakery madam wishes us a good breakfast. Tempted to devour them on the spot, we resist and revel in their buttery aroma filling our French 2CV car.

Fetching croissants every morning is but one of the delights we discover while renting a French country house in the heart of the Loire Valley, midway between Angers and Saumur. This rose covered, white stone house tucked by a stand of poplar trees is our holiday base. We’re but fifteen kilometres from the Loire River and within a 50-kilometre radius, vineyards, villages, and classic chateaux beckon.

Chenonceau, with its arched gallery stretching across the Cher River, is considered the loveliest in the valley. Known as the Chateau of the Ladies, it has a decidedly feminine air and reflects the influence of the women who have lived here. Unlike many chateaux that have mandatory guided tours, Chenonceau allows visitors to wander freely. With brochure at hand, we marvel at enormous Flemish tapestries, sculpted ceilings, medieval paintings, and intricately decorated furniture. The library is intimate and cosy while some rooms have elaborate fireplaces that could swallow us whole. Strikingly unusual are the black walls and ceiling decorated with silver symbols of mourning in the bedroom of widowed Louise of Lorraine. Diane de Poitier, Henry II’s mistress, built the bridge across the river. After he died, his wife Catherine de Medici ousted Diane, reclaimed the chateau and ruled France from there. She added the famed gallery on top of Diane’s bridge. In WWI, the gallery was a hospital and in WWII, the gallery’s southern door provided access to France’s Free Zone. Diane and Catherine each added a formal garden at the entrance but these, while attractive, are small compared to the gardens at Chateau Villandry.

The buildings at Villandry date from the 1500s but the renowned gardens were created in complete harmony with the Renaissance styling of the chateau in the early 1900s. Three garden tiers: water, ornamental, and kitchen, are precise, orderly sections stretching almost as far as we can see from where we stand on the Belvedere lookout. Cloistered in lime trees, the peaceful water garden has a sunken, Louis XV mirror shaped lake complete with swans. Intricately patterned, the ornamental gardens are vibrant blocks of red, yellow and lavender, which represent themes of love, religion, and music. The potager or kitchen garden is a showy mix of fruits and vegetables based on 16th century geometric designs. Each of the nine squares has an individual colour scheme and is framed with knee-high espaliered apple trees. Combinations such as purple eggplants and cabbage with cauliflower and lacy carrot tops provide contrasts in colours and shapes. I can easily imagine 16th century monks quietly pruning and tending. Alongside the potager is a large herb garden and running our fingers through the rosemary bushes perfumes them with the tantalizing scent of their essential oils. All this garden browsing stimulates our appetites and we’re off in pursuit of lunch.

In France, the delectable possibilities for lunch are legion. We relax at a café on the riverbank, another on a hilltop in the midst of grapevines, and at one in a troglodyte house tucked into the limestone cliffs. Classic picnics of cheeses, breads, and wines are taken in a chateau’s park, beside a vibrant field of sunflowers, and on a Loire sandbar. At our farmhouse, we grill selections made for us by the helpful butcher in Azay le Rideau and pair them with a bottle of our favourite local red, St. Nicholas de Bourgeuil. On our outings, we search out the vintners recommended by locals and buy, as we find their wines so inexpensive. Each village has a sign listing its numerous winemakers; it is more than a lifetime’s challenge to visit them all. Fortified with food and drink, an afternoon nap is foregone in favour of a history lesson in nearby Chinon.

The ramparts of a fortress-like chateau crown Chinon, which sits prettily along the Vienne River. Most of the chateau is in ruins but the still intact tower keep looms high on the hill. Rue Voltaire is a well-preserved medieval street, lined with buildings half-timbered or of white stone. Cats lounge on carved windowsills, looking with indifference at the house where Richard the Lionheart lay in state in 1199 or at the intersection where Joan of Arc dismounted in 1429. History galore.

Within a matter of days, we’re happily immersed in living the French country life. We’ve learned the poplar trees by our house are grown as a crop, their bark used for wooden Camembert boxes. Furthermore, the bakery madam knows our daily breakfast order by heart.

Tours is an excellent starting point for exploring the Loire Valley. It is approximately 2 hours by train from Paris. From Tours to the south-east is Chenonceau; to the south-west are Villandry and Chinon.

If you go

www.chenonceau.com
www.chateauvillandry.com
www.chinon.com

About the author:

Karoline Cullen always travels with camera and pen at hand. Her works have been published in numerous newspapers, magazines, and on-line and she is a member in good standing of the British Columbia Association of Travel Writers. www.cullenphotos.ca

Photos by Karoline and Gary Cullen, Cullen Photos:

2cv at the bakery
Chenonceau
Catherine de Medici’s garden
Chateau overlooking town
2cv and a field of sunflowers

Dawdling in the Dordogne

by Karoline Cullen

My eyes search in vain for a sliver of light. The blackness is absolute and our shallow breathing the only sound. When the guide finally spotlights the frieze of beasts above our heads, our gasps of appreciation echo off the cave walls.

We collectively crane our necks to study the 13000-year-old paintings gracing the cave’s ceiling. We are in Grotte de Rouffignac, just south of Périgueux in the Dordogne area of southwestern France. In this region of dark forests, wending rivers, and rolling hills, inhabitants from prehistoric Cro-Magnons onward created decorated caves, gas lit towns and gardens. For modern day travelers like my husband and me, dawdling through these sites perfectly fill our days in the Dordogne.

On a gray rainy day, we agree that going into a cool, damp cave is an ideal alternative to getting wet above ground. We almost miss Rouffignac’s unassuming entrance in the woods and are soon on a little electric train whirring off into the darkness. The guide highlights large, round hollows in the rock where cave bears denned for the winters and long scratches on the walls where they sharpened their claws. The bears were long gone before early man created his art by the light of tallow lamps in these galleries and passages. Spotlights dance over paintings of bison, horses, ibex, wooly rhinoceros, and what this Grotte is famous for, multitudes of mammoths. There are single animals and groups. Some were engraved with chisels or, on some softer surfaces, with fingers; others were outlined in black. Using the curved surfaces of the cave and strong simple lines, the prehistoric artists captured the beasts’ enormity, power and shagginess. The anatomical correctness of the mammoth drawings vouches for their authenticity, the guide explains. Until modern researchers studied frozen mammoths in Siberia, only people who lived amongst these animals could have drawn them with such exacting detail. Why Cro-Magnons ventured so far into this cave to make these paintings is unclear. In this, and many other caves throughout the region, our relatives left powerful depictions of the animals populating their world.

Fast-forward many millennia to when Dordogne residents were not painting on rock but building with it. Sarlat-la-Canéda is a bustling market town with a wonderfully preserved medieval centre. Narrow cobblestone lanes wind between golden stone buildings with black slate roofs.

Many of the ground floor buildings date from the 13th century, while distinctively styled Renaissance houses were added in the 15th century. At night warm, glowing gaslights bring out the fine architectural details and highlight cheery flower boxes on mullioned windows. On a ramble through the maze of streets leading away from the main square, my husband and I savour the atmospheric ambience.

The bronze geese in “Goose Square” pay homage to one of the regional specialties, foie gras. We pass animated patrons at sidewalk restaurant tables and their jolly noise echoes down a deserted walkway presided over by leering gargoyles. Tomorrow, these streets will teem with shoppers attending one of France’s best markets. We will be amongst them, shopping for picnic supplies.

After rock caverns and stone buildings, I long for the freshness of outdoor greenery. On a bluff high above the Dordogne River, the gardens at Marqueyssac are the ideal counterpoint. We could tour the 18th century chateau but the garden paths beckon. Thousands upon thousands of boxwoods were planted in the 19th century along winding paths to give a fanciful, labyrinthine effect.

The bushes are hand pruned into bulbous shapes and swirling patterns. It is an extravaganza of green! Wandering further, I sniff the wafting fragrance of rosemary and lavender before I see the sizable herb gardens. Along sinuous paths in the forest of oaks, cypress, pine, and lime trees are delightful surprises of sculptures, stone huts, waterfalls, or hidden benches. We have no trouble finding a secluded spot for a picnic while appreciating the plants, the views, and the occasional peacock wandering by. At the end of the walk is the Belvedere lookout, with its expansive view of the river, rolling vineyards, far off chateaux, and the cliff hugging ochre houses of a town below.

It’s possible a distant Cro-Magnon relative contemplated this view before he descended into the valley in search of another cave to paint in. Of course, no mammoths or wooly rhinoceros roam the valley floor today, but we know from those old paintings that long ago, they most assuredly did.

If You Go:

Full Day Tour Dordogne & Vezere Valley

For photos of the cave paintings and information: http://www.grottederouffignac.fr/index.php/fr/

Sarlat-la-Canéda

The gardens at Marqueyssac are a National Historic Monument.

Half day Tour of The Villages of the Dordogne

About the author:

Karoline Cullen always travels with camera and pen at hand. Her works have been published in numerous newspapers, magazines, and on-line and she is a member in good standing of the British Columbia Association of Travel Writers. www.cullenphotos.ca

Sarlat-la-Canéda-Place photo by Gilbert Bochenek / CC BY

All other photos by Cullen Photos

2. The author at the entrance of Grotte de Rouffignac.
3. A lane in Sarlat.
4. The lit main square of Sarlat at night.
5. Garden Marqueyssac boxwoods.
6. Garden Marqueyssac path and valley view.

France: Ghosts of the Trianon

by K.M. Lowe

If you’ve been to Versailles you’ll know that it redefines large. Looking out from the main palace, the gardens go past the horizon in two directions—literally as far as the eye can see. The historic site covers 2,000 acres, making it larger than Manhattan. Once the home of French kings, Versailles can take all day to tour, and you still would not see everything.

Because of its distance from the main palace, many visitors do not get to a small chāteau on the grounds known as Le Petit Trianon.

Originally designed for Louis XV’s mistress, Madame de Pompadour, construction on Le Petit Trianon was begun in 1765. Madame de Pompadour, however, died before the miniature palace was completed, which eventually happened in 1778. The next Louis (XVI) gave the chāteau to his wife, Marie Antoinette, who used it as an escape from the hectic life at court.

Back in the 1980s, I saw a movie on television called, “Miss Morison’s Ghosts.” The programme told the story of two British women who visited the Palace of Versailles on a hot August day in 1901.

While wandering the grounds near the Petit Trianon, the pair of women became disoriented. They subsequently witnessed a series of people and sights that seemed strange, and they also experienced feelings of oppression and dreariness. The event upset them so much that after they had recovered, they did not speak of it for a long time. But when they finally discussed it months later, they learned that they each had seen different sights during the same time period in the same places.

Curious and somewhat disturbed, the women wrote down their individual accounts independently of one another and then compared notes. Surprised by what was revealed in their writings, they began carrying out research on the palace, its history and particularly the small chateau near where they’d witnessed the sights: Le Petit Trianon.

Eventually they learned that their visit to Versailles August 10, 1901 had happened on the anniversary of Louis’s and Marie’s imprisonment during the French Revolution. They discovered descriptions of the property made at the time of the French Revolution that matched what they had seen.
Returning to Versailles (several times in fact), they found the landscape different from their first visit, and records indicated that some of what they had seen did not exist in 1901. It had, however, existed in the 1700s.

Watching the movie “Miss Morison’s Ghosts,” I thought the tale fictional and was surprised to find later that these women did exist. The story had caused a scandal when they published it in 1911 – 10 years after the incident – in a book called, “An Adventure.” They wrote the small booklet using the pseudonyms Elizabeth Morison and Frances Lamont to conceal their identities. This turned out to be a good idea because the book was ridiculed by many, and the authors would likely have faced scorn and ultimately ruin.

After their deaths, however, the authors’ identities were revealed as respected academics Charlotte Anne Moberly and Eleanor Jourdain. In 1901, Moberly was the first Principal of St. Hugh’s College in Oxford, a hall of residence for young women. Jourdain had authored several textbooks and was being considered for the position of assistant to Moberly. Moberly visited Jourdain in Paris, where Jourdain tutored students. They decided to visit some of the sites, and on August 10, they took the train to Versailles.

The book that Jourdain and Moberly wrote had descriptions of everything they saw and heard that day and includes details of music, people, clothing, tools, landscape and buildings. Moberly wrote about “very dignified officials, dressed in long greyish green coats with small three-cornered hats…” She also described a man wearing a cloak and large shady hat whose appearance was “most repulsive… its expression odious. His complexion was dark and rough.” A lady in a summer dress and white hat sketching on the grass was determined by Moberly to have been Marie Antoinette.

Eventually the book they published became known as “The Ghosts of the Trianon,” and the alleged event as the ‘Moberly-Jourdain Incident’ once their true identities were revealed. Over the years, the story has been the topic of scrutiny, ridicule and serious study.

Disbelievers have insisted that these academics were suffering from heatstroke on that sweltering August day. Believers have maintained that they had travelled back in time to the 1700s. Another explanation is that they had inadvertently strayed into a fancy dress party sometimes held on the Versailles grounds by the French avant-garde. The two women themselves thought they may have tapped into psychic memories of Marie Antoinette.

When I eventually found my way to the Palace of Versailles, I was reminded of the story of “The Ghosts of the Trianon.” In addition to wanting to see the grandiosity of this historic location, my love of mysteries drew me to Versailles. Of course we toured the main palace, but I simply had to visit the small chāteau to satisfy my curiosity about the Moberly-Jourdain Incident.

Wide paths walled with massive manicured trees connect the Petit Trianon with the main gardens. In the days of Marie and Louis, travel to and from would have been by carriage. Today, there is a trolley to shuttle visitors back and forth. But I was compelled to walk the same paths that the British academics would have walked in 1901.

Of course we got lost along the way. You could even say we became disoriented, possibly just as Moberly and Jourdain had more than a century earlier. It is easy to do. The tall trees make it impossible to see anything other than the path you are on, which all look the same and intersect at angles. We found ourselves at dead ends twice and had to backtrack to get around a canal and a fence. And we were there in the autumn without the stifling heat of summer that may have caused even more physical distress.

We did eventually arrive at the picturesque chāteau with its private gardens and domed gazebo. The building itself has been called “simple and elegant, architecturally correct…” While knowing little of architecture, I must agree. The impression the chāteau gives is: right; appropriate; proper. But I wonder if that is a relative comparison. Could it be that after touring the grand palace, one can’t help but see the small chāteau as more appropriate by contrast? The Trianon gardens certainly contrast with the formal symmetry of the main Versailles gardens. Meandering paths and streams form a nature retreat around a neo-Classical gazebo. Known as the Temple of Love, the gazebo is only a short walk from the chāteau yet because of the vegetation looks and feels isolated and secluded.

In “Ghosts of the Trainon” or “An Adventure,” Jourdain apparently wrote: “Everything suddenly looked unnatural, therefore unpleasant; even the trees seemed to become flat and lifeless, like wood worked in tapestry. There were no effects of light and shade, and no wind stirred the trees.”

I say she ‘apparently wrote,’ because I have been unable to acquire a copy of the book. However, I must admit that the whole area had a flat, lifeless look to it when I was there, as if it were a life-sized painting. Jourdain is reported to have used the term ‘tableau vivant,’ or living picture, which seems appropriate for what I experienced.

Did I feel the dreariness they’d described? Maybe; there was something unnatural about it all. I wonder though if that had to do with how out of time it appeared—preserved as it would have been for the kings and queens who are now long dead along with the lifestyle they represented. Ghosts of the past, certainly.

As noted early, I have not found a copy to read, and I have also been unable to view the film a second time. For some reason, it is easier to travel to Versailles than it is to get a copy of the film “Miss Morison’s Ghosts” or the book that inspired it.

Sadly, there were no actual ghost sightings for us. But there have been for others. The area is known for ghostly visions and weird occurrences, and a woman matching Marie Antoinette’s description has been seen sketching near the Petit Trianon on more than one occasion. The ‘incident’ experienced by these British academics, however, is the most famous (to date).

If You Go:

Read the book here

Wikipedia

Internet Movie Database

Watch the movie below…

About the author:
K.M. Lowe is writer, journalist and corporate communicator. In her 20+ year career, she’s worked at NGOs, high tech, publishers and the media. Her jobs have included communications director, publishing advisor, staff writer, and managing editor. With a passion for story-based communications, she’s written 100+ articles and hundreds of blog posts. She has traveled extensively and lived in Canada and in West Africa. For more information visit: www.kmlowe.com

Full Day Private Guided Tour Versailles Castle Gardens Petit Trianon from Paris – $233.65
from: Viator

Photo credits:
Versailles photo #1 courtesy of www.all-free-photos.com.
All other photos by K.M. Lowe:
The palace of Versailles and its grounds combined cover 2,000 acres, making it larger than Manhattan… literally as far as the eye can see
The Petit Trianon chateau was built for the king’s mistress, but she died before it was complete. So when it was finished, he gave it to his wife instead.
Paths from the main palace of Versailles to the Petit Trianon are lined with massive hedges preventing visitors from seeing exactly where they are or where they are going.
There are rumours that Marie Antoinette’s ghost is seen in the small (well, relatively speaking) garden of the Petit Trianon near the Temple of Love.

France: Celebrating Citrus in Menton

by Barb Harmon

Located in the South of France with a picture-perfect medieval old town, belle epoque villas, and a yearly average of 316 days of sunshine, it is easy to see why the seafront town of Menton is called the Pearl of France. It has also earned the title of the Lemon Festival Capital of the World. Every February when it hosts the Fete du Citron it becomes apparent why Menton has kept this well bestowed title for 84 years.

The festival initially started as an exhibition of lemons, oranges and flowers and quickly grew into what it is today…the World’s largest event celebrating citrus. The festival itself is held for approximately 19 days and coincides with the Carnaval in Nice. Menton is a mellow town but during the festival it is bustling with the 240,000 people which are there to experience the town and the festival. Located 20km from Nice, 1.5km from the Italian border it offers the best of both countries…food and ambiance.

There is a theme each year and the giant citrus covered displays as well as the floats reflect the theme. I attended ‘Around the World in Eighty Days (with a Secret stopover in Menton)’. The Fete du Citron was celebrating its 80th Anniversary and it was tied into the 140th Birthday of the author Jules Verne.

In the book, the Englishman Phileas Fogg accepts a wager that he and his valet can make it around the world in eighty days. They travel by exotic and traditional means making several stops along the way in an effort to win the bet.

The story was translated into life size displays which were decorated with lemons and oranges. Every display had sound. The Pacific Railroad, hot air balloon and elephant were just a few modes of transportation. Walking through the festival was like walking through a living book.

The displays are erected in Les Jardins Bioves with its pea gravel walkways and gardens flanked by palm trees. It takes thousands of hours to put the festival together as it also has many citrus covered parade floats. 145 tons of oranges and lemons are used. The smell of citrus floats through the town. Approximately 15 tons of metal is used to create the moving floats and stationary displays which are then covered with metal netting.

The fruit is attached to the netting by elastic bands and is checked daily to make sure it looks perfect. If necessary, replacements are close at hand. The displays are lit at night and worth a second look if you have visited during the day.

The Promenade du Soleil is the location for the Golden Fruit Parade. This is held every Sunday afternoon during the festival with the night parade on Thursday evenings. Excitement fills the air along with lively music, and energetic dancers, as the floats roll along the seafront. Fireworks add to the excitement.

Reserve some time to explore Menton. The old city and port will take you back in time. From the 1600’s, the gently colored Saint-Michel Archange Basilica on Parvis Saint-Michel will leave you in awe. You can’t miss seeing the belle epoque villas and lush gardens as they are scattered everywhere. Rue Saint Michel the lively pedestrian street offers numerous spots to enjoy a drink, meal, shop or just to people watch.

If You Go:

Transportation – Trains from Nice run regularly. There are shuttles from the station to the festival area. If walking from the main Menton train station, allow 15 minutes to reach the festival area. Buses from Nice are available but stop often.

Menton Tourist Office, 8 Avenue Boyer, Palais de l’ Europe. 00 33 4 92 41 76 76. It is located across the street from Les Jardins Bioves. Ask for a map of the city which is free and will come in handy if you decide to explore the town.

Tickets – These can be purchased at the Tourist office. Tickets for the Citrus displays in Les Jardin Bioves are €10 for adults, €6 for ages 6-14. Children under 6 and those with mobility problems are free.

Parade reservations are required. Seated tickets for adults are €25, €10 for children 6-14. Standing room only tickets are €10 for adults, €6 for children 6-14.

Arts and Crafts Show – FREE in the Palais de l’ Europe. This features local artisans and is the perfect place to pick up a souvenir or two.

Full Day Private Custom French Riviera Tour from Nice

About the author:
Barb Harmon’s love affair with travel began in high school as an exchange student in The Netherlands and continues to this day decades later. As empty nesters, she and her husband travel as often as possible looking for the next adventure. She is a member of The International Travel Writers and Photographers Alliance. You can visit her blog at: www.chasingthenextchapter.com

Photos by Barb Harmon:
Lemon Man citrus display
Hot air balloon by the Palais de l’ Europe
Train engine citrus display
Promenade du Soleil

Paris: Sleeping With Dupytren

by Anne Harrison

I lay in bed, staring at the flood-lit towers of Notre Dame through my sky-light. Founded by Saint Landry in 651 AD, the Hôtel-Hospitel Dieu was the first hospital in Paris, and still cares for ill Parisians. The ghosts of some 1300 years of medical history glide along its marble corridors, whispering in consultation outside the wards, then pass into the old-fashioned lifts to visit the fourteen quiet hotel rooms hidden on the sixth floor.

Early drawings of the Hôtel-Hospitel Dieu show a main hall divided by pillars into three aisles, with four rows of beds per aisle. Like many medieval hospitals, the Hospitel catered for the poor, offering food and shelter in addition to basic medical care. (With wolves attacking Paris well into the 1400’s, this proved a vital social role.) By 1515 the Hospitel spanned both sides of the Seine, and Francis I built the Pont au Double to allow the transport of patients across the river, its name coming from the double denier toll used to pay for its construction.

AMBROISE PARÉ (1510 – 20/12/1590)

Ambroise Paré rose to eminence as the King’s surgeon, serving four kings: Henri II, Francis II, Charles IX and Henri III. Noted for his humility, Paré once remarked “Je le pansai, Dieu le guérit,” (I bandaged him, God healed him). Paré saw knowledge of anatomy and dissection as essential for surgery, and created the Confraternity of Saints Cosmos and Damian, distinct from the Confraternity of Barber Surgeons who were not true doctors, for they did not understand Latin.

This era in French History was marked by both civil and religious war, including the Bartholomew Day’s Massacre of August 2nd, 1572. (The signal for the slaughter of the Heugonauts to begin was the ringing of the bells of St-Germain-l’Auxerrois matins.) As a consequence of personal experience, Paré wrote widely on the management of trauma. His 1545 Method of Treating Wounds describes how, lacking boiling oil to put on amputated limbs, he instead used a mixture containing rose oil (which contains the mild disinfectant phenol). To his surprise, this mixture gave his patients a better recovery. Paré also promoted the ligature of blood vessels during amputation to minimize haemorrhage.

BICHAT (14/11/1771 – 22/7/1802)

Despite refusing to use a microscope, Marie François Xavier Bichat is remembered as the father of modern histology and pathology. An anatomist and physiologist, he initially worked in Lyon. During the Revolution, however, Bichat fled to Paris, where he accepted an appointment at the Hôtel-Hospitel Dieu in 1793.

At this time, the Hospitel employed the then large number of eight physicians and one hundred surgeons. Often housing more than 3500 patients, with up to six patients per bed, it gained the reputation of the most unhealthy and unhygienic hospital in France.

Political instability continued, with the memory of the French Revolution, followed by the execution of Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette, haunting the country. (Louis XVI’s diary entry for July 14th, 1789, says much with its brevity: Rien – nothing). During Bichat’s appointment, Napoleon was promoted to general, then married the creole Josephine in 1796. (Apparently reluctant, Josephine was encouraged in the match by her current lover). Two days later Napoleon marched off to conquer Italy.

Bichat lies buried at Père Lachaise Cemetery. Once a poor district haunted by outlaws, La Cité des Morts now boasts to being the world’s most visited cemetery. Amongst the 300,000 people buried here are Abélard and Héloîse, Proust, Bizet and Jim Morrison.

DUPYTREN (5/10/1777 – 8/2/1835)

Guillaume Dupytren became assistant surgeon at the Hôtel-Hospitel Dieu in 1803, Professor in 1811, then Chair of Clinical Surgery and Head Surgeon in 1816. He also established a benevolent institution for distressed physicians.

His appointments coincided with the Napoleon’s First Republic. Even those few parts of Europe Napoleon failed to conquer were influenced by Neoclassicism, and the high-waisted Empire Fashion. Then came the reactionary Congress of Vienna in 1815, establishing a balance of power which somehow lasted until 1914. Yet the ideas of liberalism, equality, nationalism and democracy could not be quenched, as witnessed by the insurrections of 1830 and again in 1848, when barricades and rioting blocked the streets of Paris.

DIEULAFOY (1870s)

Best known for his treatise on appendicitis, Dieulafoy’s triad – hyperesthesia of the skin, exquisite tenderness and guarding over McBurney’s point – is still memorised by medical students. At this time cholera outbreaks regularly swept through the overcrowded city. Partly for hygiene, but also to develop broad avenues allowing rapid troop movement (and to prevent rioters barricading narrow streets), Baron Haussmann began redesigning Paris. The slums surrounding the Hôtel-Hospitel Dieu on the Ile de la Cité, so vividly described in Victor Hugo’s The Hunchback of Notre Dame, were levelled in 1864, and the present building begun in 1877.

To combat both disease and revolution, the Parisian sewers were modernized, and opened for public tours in 1867. Society ladies could be seen floating by in luxury sluice carts, steered by white-clad sewer men.

HARTMANN (1860-1952)

Hartmann’s appointment to the Hôtel-Hospitel Dieu proved eponymous: Hartmann’s procedure, Hartmann’s pouch, Hartmann’s critical point, Hartmann’s forceps, to name a few.

In 1874, a group of artists (including Monet, Degas and Pissaro) organised an exhibition in Paris, and Impressionism was born. Baron Haussman continued to beautify Paris, and in 1889, Eiffel built his temporary tower. The Dreyfus Affair of 1894 divided the country, leading to the rise of the Left and the separation of Church and State. (Consequently, the Augustine nuns left the Hôtel-Hospitel Dieu in 1908, where their order had tended the sick for centuries). This Golden Age of The Third Republic – La Belle Epoch – ended only with the First World War.

TODAY

The Hôtel-Hospitel Dieu remains a working hospital, with a special interest in ophthalmology and dermatology. It is also a perfect place to stay in the true heart of Paris, where the celtic Parisii founded a fishing village on a small island in the Seine over 2,000 years ago.

If You Go:

♦ Hôtel-Hospitel Dieu website
♦ Parisian visitors Bureau
♦ An institution not to be missed: shakespeareandcompany.com
♦ Time Out: a guide to all things Parisian

Ghosts of Paris: Private Evening Mystery Tour

About the author:
Anne Harrison lives with her husband, two children and numerous pets on the Central Coast, NSW. Her jobs include wife, mother, doctor, farmer and local witch doctor – covering anything from delivering alpacas to treating kids who have fallen head first into the washing machine. Her fiction has been published in Australian literary magazines, and has been placed in regional literary competitions. Her non-fiction has been published in medical and travel journals. Her ambition is to be 80 and happy. Her writings are available at anneharrison.com.au & anneharrison.hubpages.com

All photos are by Anne Harrison:
The towers of Notre-Dame
A typical Parisian market
The Arc de Triomphe, Symbol of Napoleon’s achievements
The inner courtyard of the Hôtel-Hospitel Dieu
Eiffel’s temporary tower