French Mother's Day Chateau Bouquets

(Five Queens Room/Chenonceau)

Today is Mother's Day in France 

and these photos are from some of the chateaux

on a Mother's Day weekend some years ago.

They filled their ancient rooms with these exquisite flowers. 

My last Mother's Day post showed the exterior of one of the chateaux

(Azay le Rideau)

so I thought I'd show a few of the actual lovely arrangements. 

While the French Fete des Meres is always the last Sunday in May

(unless it coincides with Pentecost and then it's moved to the 1st Sunday in June),

I just learned that the Italian Mother's Day is the same as in the US,

2nd Sunday in May and is known as La Festa della Mamma.

In the UK, it was known as Mothering Sunday

and was originally tied to the Christian calendar

falling on the fourth Sunday of Lent,

usually late March or early April

when followers were given time off to return to their 'mother' church.

 Always something to learn while blogging!

I think this last basket of creamy white roses and Cala lilies is my favorite

with its view out the window to the water. 

Bonne Fete des Meres to les Mamans in France! 

(Photos copyright: Kirsten Steen)

Poilane's Long Lost Bread Artiste

Not only am I missing Paris today

but I'm also missing these magnificent bread sculptures...

... made by a long gone artiste.

Just down the street from us

in their corner window, 

Blvd de Grenelle's Poilane bakery in Paris

frequently used to display an exquisite scene 

 made out of BREAD.

Every time I walked by and there was a new one,

I had to get out my camera.

And now I'm so thankful I did!

Because one year when we returned, 

they were gone. 

They simply covered the window with a curtain. 

And each time I went by, I checked. 

But always the curtain. 

I finally went in to ask

after years of watching for them 

and wondering about them. 

The young clerk had no idea what I was talking about. 

Missing whoever it was 

that created such artistry. 

For some info on Poilane's famous dark bread,

Click HERE. 

(Photos Copyright: Kirsten Steen)

Heloise and Abelard

Heloise died on this day in 1164.

If you walk along the Seine on the Ile de la Cite not far from Notre Dame,

you'll come upon this plaque announcing that Heloise and Abelard lived here in 1118. 

We've all heard of their tragic love story. 

There are books, songs, poems and plays about them. 

Pierre Abelard, a canon, theologian, philosopher and teacher 

requested room and board in exchange for tutoring Heloise

in the home of her uncle where the young woman lived. 

It's not long before Heloise is pregnant. 

Once her pregnancy was discovered, 

Abelard sent her to Brittany to be looked after by his family

and it was there that their son, Astrolabe, was born. 

Her uncle insisted Abelard marry her and he agreed

 but only if it could be kept secret to protect his reputation and career. 

Heloise was not interested in a secret marriage,

or as it sounds from some of her letters, in any marriage.

Her written opinions about marriage 

are quite strong and unusual for women at the time. 

But she finally gave in. 

She was brought back to Paris where they were secretly married. 

However, to punish Abelard, the uncle lets it be known. 

To protect Heloise, Abelard sends her to a nunnery where she had spent her early years. 

The uncle, believing Abelard has discarded his niece after using her,

sent some of his friends to Abelard's room to castrate him. 

Following this, Abelard also took up the life of a monk

and made Heloise take the habit, again against her wishes. 

Their child is barely mentioned in any of the letters between them over the years

and little is known of his fate. 

Many years later, Heloise becomes the Prioress of her nunnery

and a respected physician thanks, in part, to Abelard's tutoring. 

In reading more about her,

I didn't realize (or remember) that originally she was a reputed scholar in her own right,

well-known for her brilliance in her studies. 

According to one source, this was the reason Abelard chose her. 

And to this day, she is considered an important part of 

French literary history and the Epistolary genre.

In Paris in the middle ages,

schools began with the School of Notre Dame

located on the Ile de la Cite and taught by the clerics.

By 1200, the Left Bank had become a hotbed of schools and monasteries

which gave rise to the University of Paris. 

Abelard was just one of many teachers

and this was just one story 

which became famous through their writings. 

Wonder how many other stories like this one were never told?!

(Photo copyright: Kirsten Steen)

Mother's Day wishes

Mother's Day is coming up! 

And when we visited the Loire Valley one Mother's Day Weekend 

several years ago with The Chef's parents,

we found that many of the chateaux decorate their rooms with

magnificent flower arrangements for the Moms. 

Both his parents are gone now as is my Mom

and what I wouldn't give now to walk both those Moms 

through these gorgeous rooms as a Mother's Day Sunday treat. 

List of things I miss about my Mom:

* The way she swept my hair behind my ears with her long fingernails 

when I was little to put me to sleep *

* The beauty of her long elegant hands *

* Her music and radio voice *

* Late night drives in the car, my sister and I wrapped in blankets

in a bed in the back watching the stars and silhouetted trees through the window *

* Her giggle *

* Her sing-song voice when she was in a good mood *

* Her I love you's *

* Her love of all things purple *

If you are blessed to still have your mom, 

I hope you have a little something sweet planned for her.

And if this day simply brings up loss and sadness, 

I hope you will show yourself some sweetness.

Pick a bouquet from the garden for yourself,

or stop by the store for a little tenderness for your heart. 

We all tend to mother those close to us in our lives

so don't forget to mother yourself this weekend. 

Bonne Fete des Meres!

 (The above photo is Chateau Azay le Rideau.

For a little more info on the chateau itself, Click HERE.) 

(Photo copyright: Kirsten Steen)

Ina Caro on Chartres Cathedrale

(New Book Bento on Instagram)

While I've been laid up, 

I've been reading Ina Caro's Paris to the Past,

her wonderful book about Paris day trips by train to historical sites. 

Caro tells an interesting story about the building of Chartres,

one of our favorite cathedrals in all of France.

On June 10th, 1194, the areas of the church that the bishop had wanted replaced

mysteriously burned (along with much of the city),

 the most precious and expensive parts of the church being left untouched. 

The people of the town were terrified, thinking that the church's holy relic,

the Sancta Camisia, the tunic it was believed Mary wore while giving birth to Christ,

had burned. The townspeople not only believed that the relic had kept them safe,

(after being displayed on one of the ramparts before a raid that never happened),

but had also made them wealthy. Thinking it was gone, many were preparing to leave. 

So in his bid to implore the people for funds to rebuild the church,

the bishop started a procession through the town with the saved relic

which had been kept in the surviving crypt. 

He told them it was a sign that Mary wanted a new cathedral to house the relic. 

The funding and the building began. 

And were completed thirty years later. 

(Labyrinth outside behind the church)

Caro also mentions the cathedral's interior labyrinth

which is usually very difficult to get a photo of as it's covered most of the year. 

But while she was there, it was uncovered and visible

as pilgrims walked it on their knees. 

Malcolm Miller, the tour guide who has been giving daily English tours 

(except Sundays) since 1958, replied, upon being questioned about their actions,

that it was because it was the Summer Solstice.

So if you've been wanting to get a good look at the labyrinth,

 you now know when to go. 

According to Caro, the labyrinth is walked by modern pilgrims

as a symbolic pilgrimage meant to symbolize the twists and turns of life.

The Chartres labyrinth has no dead ends.

And they walk it together to symbolize that we are all in this (life) together. 

(15th Century clock and tower)

We've been to Chartres 4-5 times, often taking friends and visitors when we're in France. 

One of the last times was with Ed's parents who are both gone now 

so I can't think of it without remembering the sweet afternoon we spent roaming the cathedral

and having lunch at a little place across the street. 

We've done a couple of tours with Malcolm Miller and have indeed found him

as Caro describes him, 

"with snide but hilarious comments... humor and bitter sarcasm..."

One bit of humor he shared with us was a comment made by a member of his tour audience:

Something along the lines of... 

'My mother did the tour 20 years ago but it was a different tour guide then 

because he had dark hair.'

(Wisteria growing alongside the cathedral)

If you are interested in a tour with Malcolm Miller,

the website states that he still does tours every day but Sundays

From Easter to end of October at Noon and 2:45 

and from November until Easter one lecture only at Noon

(if there are 8 or more interested and he is in residence.)

You can also get his book Chartres Cathedral HERE. 

And Ina Caro's book HERE.

Chartres Cathedral website is HERE.

(Photos copyright: Kirsten Steen)