Normandy: War-Torn Yet Full of Life

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HI, I'M RICK STEVES, CONTINUING TO EXPLORE MORE OF THE BEST OF EUROPE. THIS TIME, WE'RE IN NORTHWEST FRANCE, ENJOYING NORMANDY. FRIENDLY LOCALS, CREPES, CAMEMBERT, WATER LILIES, AND BIG ABBEYS. THANKS FOR JOINING US. THANKS FOR JOINING US. WHILE IT'S SEEN MORE THAN ITS SHARE OF WAR, TODAY NORMANDY IS A PEACEFUL AND WELCOMING PLACE. WITH ITS THOUGHT PROVOKING SIGHTS AND MEMORIALS, DELICIOUS CUISINE AND IDYLLIC NATURE, IT'S NO WONDER THIS REGION IS SUCH A POPULAR GETAWAY FOR NEARBY PARISIANS. AFTER EXPLORING THE HALF-TIMBERED CHARM OF ROUEN, WE REFLECT ON LILY PADS AT MONET'S GARDEN, PEEK IN ON LOCAL CRAFTSPEOPLE, SET UP AN EASEL AT HONFLEUR, ENTER ERIK SATIE'S ECCENTRIC MUSICAL MIND, REMEMBER D-DAY AND ANOTHER INVASION NINE CENTURIES EARLIER, AND TAKE A PILGRIM'S HIKE TO AN ENCHANTED ABBEY. OF FRANCE'S MANY REGIONS, NORMANDY IS STRATEGICALLY LOCATED ACROSS FROM ENGLAND AND HANDY TO PARIS. FROM ROUEN WE SIDE-TRIP TO GIVERNY, TRAVEL TO HONFLEUR, BAYEUX, AND VISIT THE DRAMATIC D-DAY BEACHES, BEFORE FINISHING AT MONT-ST.MICHEL. THE HISTORY OF NORMANDY IS FILLED WITH WAR. VIKING NORSEMEN WHO SETTLED HERE IN THE 9th CENTURY GAVE NORMANDY ITS NAME. THE 7th DUKE OF NORMANDY, WILLIAM THE CONQUEROR, INVADED ENGLAND FROM THESE SHORES. JOAN OF ARC, WHO RALLIED THE FRENCH AGAINST THE ENGLISH, WAS BURNED AT THE STAKE IN NORMANDY. AND ON THESE BEACHES, A WORLD WAR II BATTLE WAS FOUGHT THAT CHANGED THE COURSE OF HISTORY. THE STIRRING SIGHTS ASSOCIATED WITH EACH OF THESE EVENTS TURNS MANY VISITORS INTO HISTORY BUFFS. NEARLY 1200 YEARS AGO, THE VIKINGS MADE THIS TOWN, ROUEN, THEIR CAPITAL. WILLIAM THE CONQUEROR CALLED IT HOME BEFORE MOVING TO ENGLAND. DURING THE MIDDLE AGES, ROUEN, WITH 40,000 RESIDENTS, WAS FRANCE'S SECOND LARGEST CITY. ONLY PARIS WAS BIGGER. IN THE 12th CENTURY, HALF OF TODAY'S FRANCE WAS RULED BY ENGLAND. CAUGHT IN THE MIDDLE, ROUEN WALKED A POLITICAL TIGHTROPE BETWEEN FRANCE AND ENGLAND FOR CENTURIES. AND BECAUSE ROUEN WAS AN IMPORTANT ENGLISH BASE DURING THE HUNDRED YEARS' WAR, THIS IS WHERE JOAN OF ARC WAS BURNED. TODAY ROUEN MIXES DAZZLING GOTHIC ARCHITECTURE AND CONTEMPORARY BUSTLE BEAUTIFULLY. IT'S A BUSY PORT WITH A PEDESTRIAN-FRIENDLY OLD TOWN AND A GRAND CATHEDRAL STANDING AS A REMINDER OF THE TOWN'S HISTORIC IMPORTANCE. THE SPIRE WAS MADE OF CAST IRON IN THE LATE 1800s, ABOUT THE SAME TIME EIFFEL WAS BUILDING HIS TOWER IN PARIS. AT NEARLY 500 FEET, IT'S THE TALLEST IN FRANCE. ROUEN'S ORNATE PUBLIC CLOCK HAS DECORATED THE FORMER CITY HALL FOR 500 YEARS. BACK THEN, JUST HAVING AN HOUR HAND OFFERED AMPLE PRECISION. THE LAMB AT THE END OF THE HOUR HAND IS A REMINDER THAT WOOL WAS THE SOURCE OF ROUEN'S WEALTH. AND THE ARTISTIC HIGHLIGHT -- LEAN WAY BACK -- FILLS THE UNDERSIDE OF THE ARCH WITH THE GOOD SHEPHERD AND LOTS OF SHEEP. THAT THRIVING WOOL TRADE STOKED ROUEN'S MEDIEVAL BUILDING BOOM. BECAUSE THE CHALKY LIMESTONE QUARRIED FROM THE CLIFFS OF THE SEINE RIVER NEARBY WAS SO EXPENSIVE, AND IT WASN'T GREAT FOR BUILDING QUALITY -- I COULD ACTUALLY MESS IT UP WITH MY THUMBNAIL HERE IF I WANTED TO -- AND BECAUSE THE OAK AROUND HERE WAS SO PLENTIFUL, HALF-TIMBERED BUILDINGS BECAME A ROUEN FORTE. THE OAK BEAMS PROVIDED THE STRUCTURAL SKELETON OF THE BUILDING. THE GAPS WERE THEN FILLED IN WITH A MIX OF CLAY, STRAW AND PEBBLES, AND PLASTERED OVER. WANDER THE BACK LANES AND PEEK INTO SHOPS. THIS FLOWERY AND PASTEL HAT SHOP IS THE LAST OF ITS KIND IN ROUEN. THE HATMAKER IS CONSIDERED A TREASURE BY HER DEVOTED CLIENTELE. JUST AROUND THE CORNER, MONSIEUR AUGY WELCOMES SHOPPERS TO BROWSE THROUGH HIS STUDIO AND SEE ROUEN'S CHINA, KNOWN AS FAIENCE, BEING MADE THE TRADITIONAL WAY. FIRST, THE CLAY IS MOLDED AND CAREFULLY TRIMMED BY HAND. AFTER BEING FIRED, DIPPED IN ENAMEL AND DRIED, IT'S LOVINGLY HAND-PAINTED. A SECOND FIRING GIVES IT ITS CHARACTERISTIC GLAZE. IN THE 1700s, ROUEN HAD 18 FACTORIES CHURNING OUT THE POPULAR PRODUCT. TODAY, THE AUGY FAMILY CARRIES ON THE FAIENCE TRADITION. ON THE MARKET SQUARE, A CROSS MARKS THE SPOT WHERE JOAN OF ARC WAS BURNED AT THE STAKE IN THE 15th CENTURY. AS THE DEMORALIZED FRENCH WERE REELING UNDER ENGLISH OCCUPATION, THIS TEENAGER OF SUPREME FAITH, AFTER HEARING DIVINE VOICES, WON THE CONFIDENCE OF THE FRENCH PEOPLE. DRESSED AS A MAN, SHE WAS GIVEN AN ARMY AND RALLIED HER COUNTRYMEN AGAINST THEIR ENGLISH INVADERS. IN 1431, 19-YEAR-OLD JOAN OF ARC WAS TAKEN BY THE ENGLISH, CONVICTED OF HERESY AND BURNED RIGHT HERE. AS THE FLAMES ENGULFED HER, AN ENGLISH SOLDIER SAID, "OH, MY GOD, WE'VE KILLED A SAINT." NEARLY 500 YEARS LATER, JOAN OF ARC WAS MADE A SAINT AND HE WAS PROVEN CORRECT. MIDWAY BETWEEN ROUEN AND PARIS, ABOUT AN HOUR'S DRIVE AWAY, IS GIVERNY. CLAUDE MONET, THE FATHER OF THE IMPRESSIONIST MOVEMENT, SPENT HIS LAST 40 YEARS HERE, FINDING INSPIRATION IN THESE GARDENS. THE COLORS OF HIS COTTAGE GARDEN ARE LIKE HIS BRUSH STROKES. THEY SEEM UNTAMED AND SLAPDASH, BUT ARE PART OF A CAREFULLY COMPOSED MOSAIC. HE DIVERTED A STREAM, MADE A POND, FILLED IT WITH WATER LILIES AND BUILT A FOOTBRIDGE, WHICH EVENTUALLY BECAME OVERGROWN WITH WISTERIA. MUSEUMS IN PARIS BLOOM WITH MONET'S GARDEN PAINTINGS. IMPRESSIONISM WAS A REVOLUTIONARY MOVEMENT IN EUROPEAN ART, THE RAGE IN THE 1870s. MANY ARTISTS ABANDONED REALISM IN FAVOR OF THIS INNOVATIVE STYLE, WHICH CAPTURED LIGHT, GLIMMERS AND REFLECTIONS. IMPRESSIONIST ART EVOKES THE SUBTLETIES OF NATURE. THE ARTIST, USING SHORT BRUSH STROKES OF DIFFERENT COLORS PLACED SIDE BY SIDE, SUGGESTS SHIMMERING LIGHT. THE TRUE SUBJECT IS NOT REALLY THE LILIES, BUT THE CHANGING REFLECTIONS ON THE SURFACE OF THE POND. AS HE GREW OLDER, MONET CROPPED THE SCENE EVER CLOSER UNTIL THERE WAS NO SHORELINE, NO HORIZON, NO SENSE OF WHAT'S UP OR DOWN. FOR DINNER, I'M JOINING MY FRIEND AND FELLOW TOUR GUIDE SABINE LETEINTURIER BACK IN ROUEN. FOR WHAT YOU'D EXPECT TO SPEND IN A MODEST AMERICAN RESTAURANT, WE'RE ENJOYING THE FULL, FUN-LOVING RITUAL OF FINE DINING IN FRANCE. [ speaking French ] OOO, VERY NICE. THIS IS CLASSIC NORMANDY CUISINE AND TONIGHT WE'RE GOING TO EXPERIENCE THE FOUR Cs. AHA, FOUR Cs. WE'RE GOING TO HAVE THE CREAM. CREAM. CAMEMBERT. OKAY. CIDER AND CALVADOS. OKAY. AND THE CREAM, YOU CAN FIND IT RIGHT IN THE SAUCE. THEY DO MIX IT IN. YOU HAVE RED WINE, FOIE GRAS AND CREAM. OKAY, SO CREAM IS -- WHICH MAKES IT REALLY SMOOTH. CREAM IS A PART OF THE -- IT KIND OF SMOOTHES OUT THE SAUCE. AND THE SAUCE IS SOMETHING THAT IS VERY IMPORTANT IN THE NORMANDY CUISINE. IN A FINE FRENCH MEAL, THE MAIN PLATE IS FOLLOWED BY A CHEESE COURSE. IN THIS CASE, CREAM GIVES WAY TO CAMEMBERT, WHICH IS ONLY ONE OF MANY TASTY NORMANDY CHEESES. Server: CAMEMBERT, PONT L'EVEQUE, LIVAROT, AND NEUFCHâTEL. SO ALL OF THIS CHEESE, REALLY, IS FROM THIS REGION, FROM A FEW MILES FROM HERE, REALLY. IT'S FROM NORMANDY, JUST ABOUT, PROBABLY AT THE MOST, 30 KILOMETERS FROM HERE. I LOVE THIS CONCEPT OF EATING LOCALLY. YOU EAT LOCALLY, IT'S DISTRIBUTED LOCALLY AND YOU JUST ENJOY IT LOCALLY. THE REGION IS ALSO FAMOUS FOR ITS APPLES, WHICH ARE SAVORED AS CIDER, OR AS THE LIQUEUR, CALVADOS. WHAT IS THIS? SOUFFLé POMME CALVADOS, SIR. APPLE SOUFFLé WITH CALVADOS. AH. MMM. IS IT GOOD? VERY GOOD. THE FOUR Cs OF NORMANDY: CRèME, CAMEMBERT, CIDER AND CALVADOS. YOU GOT IT. OUR NEXT STOP IS JUST DOWN THE ROAD. HONFLEUR ESCAPED THE BOMBS OF WORLD WAR II AND FEELS AS PICTURESQUE AS IT LOOKS. GAZING AT ITS SNUG HARBOR, IT'S EASY TO OVERLOOK THE HISTORIC IMPORTANCE OF THIS PORT. THIS IS WHERE THE SEINE RIVER MEETS THE ENGLISH CHANNEL. FOR OVER A THOUSAND YEARS, SAILORS HAVE ENJOYED HONFLEUR'S IDEAL LOCATION. WHILE BUSY CONQUERING ENGLAND, WILLIAM RECEIVED SUPPLIES SHIPPED FROM HONFLEUR. AND CANADIANS KNOW HONFLEUR AS THE PLACE SAMUEL de CHAMPLAIN SAILED FROM IN 1608, DISCOVERING THE ST. LAURENCE WATERWAY AND ESTABLISHING QUEBEC CITY. THE HARBOR, ONCE FORTIFIED WITH A WALL AND TWO GATES, IS NOW AN EASYGOING MARINA. TODAY'S HONFLEUR, LONG ECLIPSED BY THE GARGANTUAN PORT OF LE HAVRE JUST ACROSS THE SEINE, HAPPILY USES ITS PAST AS A BAR STOOL AND SITS ON IT. HONFLEUR'S CHURCH OF ST. CATHERINE IS WORTH A VISIT. IT WAS BUILT BY A COMMUNITY WITH PLENTY OF BOATBUILDERS AND NO CATHEDRAL ARCHITECTS. IF YOU FLIPPED IT, IT WOULD FLOAT. WHEN THE FIRST NAVE WAS FINISHED IN THE MID-1400s, IT WAS IMMEDIATELY APPARENT THEY NEEDED MORE SPACE, SO THEY BUILT ANOTHER. MANY CONSIDER HONFLEUR THE BIRTHPLACE OF IMPRESSIONISM. JUST AS MONET ONCE DID, ARTISTS STILL COME HERE TO CATCH THE LIGHT PLAYING ON THE HARBOR FRONT AND REFLECTING ON THE WATER. IT WAS IN PLACES LIKE THIS THAT THE BATTLE CRY OF THE IMPRESSIONISTS, "OUT OF THE STUDIO AND INTO THE LIGHT," WAS BORN. JUST DOWN THE STREET, VISITORS DON HEADSETS TO EXPLORE THE BOYHOOD HOME OF COMPOSER ERIK SATIE, WHICH PRESENTS HIS MUSIC IN A WHIMSICAL WAY. [ lilting piano music ] WANDERING FROM ROOM TO ROOM, YOU ENJOY FRAGMENTS OF SATIE'S MUSIC ALONG WITH HIS LIFE STORY. Man as Satie: "AFTER A FAIRLY SHORT ADOLESCENCE, "I TURNED INTO A MORE OR LESS DIGESTIBLE YOUNG MAN, "NOTHING MORE. IT WAS THEN I BEGAN TO THINK AND WRITE MUSICALLY." SURREAL IMAGES COMPLEMENT HIS MUSIC, REFLECTING HOW RADICAL THE PARISIAN ART SCENE WAS IN THE 1920s. AND FOR A MUSICAL FINALE, YOU GET SOME EXERCISE. FOR LUNCH, WE'RE HARBOR FRONT AT A CREPERIE. A FUN SPECIALTY, BOTH HERE IN NORMANDY AND IN NEIGHBORING BRITTANY, IS CREPES. SAVORY CREPES ARE MADE WITH BUCKWHEAT AND CALLED galettes. WHILE PLAIN LOOKING, THEY COME FILLED WITH WHAT YOU'D EXPECT IN A PIZZA OR IN AN OMELET. TRADITIONALLY, CREPES ARE WASHED DOWN WITH HARD AND TASTY CIDER. YOU CAN GET IT SWEET OR DRY. OUR ROOMS ARE IN A chambre d'hote, A FRENCH BED AND BREAKFAST. SETTLING INTO A FRENCH HOME RATHER THAN A HOTEL SAVES YOU MONEY WHILE GETTING YOU CLOSER TO THE CULTURE. WE'RE IN THE HOME OF GREGARIOUS MADAME GIAGLIS'. IT'S JUST THE KIND OF PLACE I SEEK OUT AND RECOMMEND IN MY GUIDEBOOKS. SHE AND HER HUSBAND ANTOINE OFFER A WELCOMING LOUNGE AND SIX ROOMS, EACH AS INVITING AS THE OWNERS. DISTANCES IN NORMANDY ARE SHORT AND, AS LONG AS YOU STICK TO THE AUTO ROUTE -- WELL WORTH THE TOLLS -- YOU'LL MAKE VERY GOOD TIME. OUR NEXT STOP IS BAYEUX. IT'S SATURDAY MORNING AND THIS NORMALLY SLEEPY SQUARE HAS ERUPTED INTO A BUSY FARMERS' MARKET. THE LONG TRADITION OF THOSE WHO GROW IT SELLING DIRECTLY TO THOSE WHO EAT IT, THRIVES THROUGHOUT FRANCE. AND THE FOOD COULDN'T BE FRESHER. BAYEUX'S CLAIM TO FAME IS THE BAYEUX TAPESTRY, WHICH HUNG IN THIS CATHEDRAL. IT'S A 900-YEAR-OLD EMBROIDERY WHICH TELLS THE STORY OF ARGUABLY THE MOST MEMORABLE EVENT OF THE MIDDLE AGES, THE PIVOTAL BATTLE OF HASTINGS IN 1066. THE TAPESTRY NOW HANGS PROUDLY IN A MUSEUM JUST DOWN THE STREET. HEADSETS NARRATE THE 230-FOOT-LONG CARTOON TELLING THE STORY OF WILLIAM THE CONQUEROR AND THE BATTLE OF HASTINGS. DON'T WORRY; IF YOU LOSE YOUR PLACE, YOU'LL FIND SUPER TITLES IN LATIN. ENGLAND'S KING EDWARD WAS ABOUT TO DIE WITHOUT AN HEIR. THE BIG QUESTION, WHO WOULD SUCCEED HIM: HAROLD, HIS ENGLISH BROTHER-IN-LAW, OR WILLIAM, HIS FRENCH COUSIN? KING EDWARD CHOSE THE FRENCHMAN, WILLIAM. BUT WHEN THE KING DIED, HAROLD GRABBED THE THRONE. WILLIAM, THEN KNOWN AS WILLIAM THE BASTARD, THOUGHT THE THRONE WAS RIGHTFULLY HIS. SO HE PREPARED HIS ARMY, GATHERING WEAPONS AND COATS OF MAIL AND SAILED FROM NORMANDY ACROSS THE ENGLISH CHANNEL TO THE SOUTH COAST OF ENGLAND. HE MET HAROLD AT THE TOWN OF HASTINGS, WHERE THEY FOUGHT A FIERCE 14-HOUR BATTLE. WHILE THE ENGLISH FOUGHT VALIANTLY, THE NORMANS HAD AN ADVANTAGE: HORSES WITH STIRRUPS. HISTORIANS ATTRIBUTE THEIR VICTORY TO THESE STIRRUPS. EXTRA DETAILS OF THE BATTLE SHOW UP BELOW. HERE, DEAD SOLDIERS ARE BEING STRIPPED OF THEIR VALUABLE ARMOR. HAROLD WAS KILLED, ARROW IN THE EYE. OUCH! AND HIS SAXON FORCES WERE ROUTED. THE END OF THE TAPESTRY IS LOST, BUT THE END OF THE STORY IS WELL-KNOWN. WILLIAM, NOW WILLIAM THE CONQUEROR, MARCHED INTO LONDON AND CLAIMED HIS THRONE. NOW HE WAS BOTH DUKE OF NORMANDY AND KING OF ENGLAND. BAYEUX, WITH A PLEASANT TOWN CENTER AND ONLY SIX MILES FROM THE D-DAY BEACHES, MAKES A GREAT HOME BASE FOR VISITING THE AREA'S SIGHTS. ALONG THE 75 MILES OF ATLANTIC COAST NEARBY, YOU'LL FIND COUNTLESS MEMORIES OF THE LARGEST MILITARY OPERATION IN HISTORY. IT WAS ON THESE BEAUTIFUL BEACHES, AT THE CRACK OF DAWN, JUNE 6th, 1944, THAT THE ALLIES FINALLY GAINED A FOOTHOLD IN FRANCE AND NAZI EUROPE BEGAN TO CRUMBLE. DURING THE D-DAY INVASION, AMERICAN TROOPS AND THEIR ALLIED PARTNERS COURAGEOUSLY ASSAULTED THE GERMAN-OCCUPIED CLIFFS USING GRAPPLING HOOKS AND LADDERS. WHILE ULTIMATELY VICTORIOUS, THEY SUFFERED HORRENDOUS LOSSES. SMASHED GERMAN BUNKERS AND BOMB CRATERS REMAIN, ONLY HINTING AT THE UNIMAGINABLE CARNAGE AND CHAOS OF THAT MOMENTOUS DAY. THE SMALL TOWN OF ARROMANCHES WAS GROUND ZERO FOR THE D-DAY INVASION. ALMOST OVERNIGHT THE ALLIES ERECTED AN IMMENSE PREFAB PORT, ENABLING THEM TO BEGIN THEIR VICTORIOUS PUSH TO BERLIN. IMAGINE THE BUILDING OF THIS INCREDIBLE HARBOR. SEVENTEEN OLD SHIPS STEAMED ACROSS THE ENGLISH CHANNEL AND WERE SUNK, BOW TO STERN, CREATING A FOUR-LE-LONG PROTECTIVE BREAKWATER. THEN, WITH MASSIVE CONCRETE PLATFORMS AND ROADS FLOATING ON PONTOONS NEARLY A MILE LONG, THE HARBOR WAS COMPLETED. WITHIN SIX DAYS, 300,000 ALLIED TROOPS AND ALL THEIR EQUIPMENT HAD ESTABLISHED A BEACHHEAD HERE IN FRANCE. AND LESS THAN A YEAR LATER, THE WAR WAS OVER. TODAY, 60 YEARS LATER, THE TOWN, WITH ITS BEACHCOMBERS, HOLIDAY TRINKETS AND FAMILIES AT PLAY, STILL SEEMS TO CELEBRATE THAT ALLIED VICTORY. PEACE CAME AT A HUGE PRICE. THE INVASION COST OVER 4,000 ALLIED LIVES. THE AMERICAN CEMETERY AT ST. LAURENT CROWNS A BLUFF JUST ABOVE OMAHA BEACH AND THE EYE OF THE D-DAY STORM. THOUSANDS OF TOMBSTONES GLOW IN MEMORY OF AMERICANS WHO GAVE THEIR LIVES HERE TO HELP FREE EUROPE. THE BLUFF OVERLOOKS THE STRETCH OF NORMANDY BEACH CALLED "THE PORTAL OF FREEDOM." WHILE TRANQUIL NOW, FOR THOSE OF US WHO WEREN'T THERE, THE HORROR OF THAT DAY IS IMPOSSIBLE TO IMAGINE. FROM THE MEMORIAL, WITH A BRONZE STATUE SYMBOLIZING THE SPIRIT OF AMERICA'S YOUTH, A PEACEFUL SEA OF CROSSES INVITES THOSE VISITING TO WANDER AND PONDER THE SACRIFICE SO MANY BRAVE MEN MADE IN THE CAUSE OF FREEDOM. IMMEDIATELY AFTER THE WAR, ALL THE BODIES WERE BURIED IN TEMPORARY GRAVES. IN THE 1950s, WHEN THIS CEMETERY WAS ESTABLISHED, THE FAMILIES DECIDED IF THE BODIES SHOULD REMAIN WITH THEIR COMRADES OR BE BROUGHT HOME. OFFICERS ARE DISPROPORTIONATELY REPRESENTED. THEIR FAMILIES FIGURED THEY'D PREFER TO BE BURIED WITH THE MEN THEY COMMANDED AND WITH WHOM THEY FOUGHT AND DIED. NEARBY, ANOTHER MILITARY CEMETERY IS THE RESTING PLACE OF 21,000 GERMAN SOLDIERS. THIS CENTERPIECE SYMBOLIZES GERMAN MOTHERS AND FATHERS WHO LOST THEIR CHILDREN. THE SITE, GLUM WITH TWO GRAVES PER SIMPLE MARKER AND DARK CROSSES THAT HUDDLE TOGETHER IN GROUPS OF FIVE, IS A SOMBER REMINDER THAT MANY YOUNG GERMANS WERE VICTIMS OF HITLER AS WELL. THE BEST WORLD WAR II MUSEUM IN FRANCE IS IN CAEN, THE FIRST BIG CITY FREED BY THE ALLIES. OFFICIALLY NAMED THE MEMORIAL FOR PEACE, IT PUTS THE BATTLE OF NORMANDY IN A BROADER CONTEXT. YOU START WITH A DOWNWARD SPIRAL STROLL, TRACING, ALMOST PSYCHOANALYZING, THE PATH EUROPE FOLLOWED FROM THE END OF WORLD WAR I TO THE RISE OF FASCISM AND INTO WORLD WAR II. YOU'LL GET A THOROUGH LOOK AT HOW WORLD WAR II WAS FOUGHT... FROM INDIVIDUAL WEAPONS... TO FLOATING AIRPORTS... TO THE TWO-TON V-1 -- THE UNMANNED PREDECESSOR OF TODAY'S SMART BOMBS -- TO THE D-DAY LANDINGS. THE COLD WAR WING GIVES AN OVERVIEW OF THE BIPOLAR WORLD THAT FOLLOWED WORLD WAR II. IT GIVES INSIGHTS INTO THE BATTLE WAGED BY THE USSR AND THE USA FOR THE HEARTS AND MINDS OF THEIR PEOPLE, UNTIL THE COLLAPSE OF COMMUNISM IN 1989. THE MEMORIAL THEN TAKES YOU BEYOND WAR. THE GALLERY OF NOBEL PEACE PRIZES CELEBRATES THE IRREPRESSIBLE HUMAN SPIRIT. IT HONORS THE COURAGEOUS AND TOO OFTEN INCONSPICUOUS WORK OF PEOPLE LIKE ALBERT SCHWEITZER, MOTHER TERESA, MARTIN LUTHER KING AND MANY LESSER-KNOWN CHAMPIONS OF JUSTICE WHO UNDERSTAND THAT TRUE PEACE IS MORE THAN JUST AN ABSENCE OF WAR. THE CONTEMPLATIVE FINALE IS A WALK THROUGH THE U.S. ARMED FORCES MEMORIAL GARDEN. PLAQUES HONOR THE SACRIFICE YOUNG AMERICAN SOLDIERS MADE FOR EUROPE. THE SIGHT OF CHILDREN ENJOYING THIS MEMORIAL AS A PLAYGROUND CAPTURES THE SPIRIT OF THE QUOTE ETCHED IN THE PAVEMENT: "FROM THE HEART OF OUR LAND FLOWS THE BLOOD OF OUR YOUTH, GIVEN TO YOU IN THE NAME OF FREEDOM." OUR NEXT STOP, AN HOUR'S DRIVE AWAY, IS MONT-ST. MICHEL. FOR OVER A THOUSAND YEARS, THE SILHOUETTE OF THIS ISLAND ABBEY HAS SENT PILGRIMS' WEARY SPIRITS SOARING. TODAY, IT DOES THE SAME FOR TOURISTS. MONT-ST. MICHEL, WHICH THROUGH THE AGES HAS BEEN AMONG THE TOP PILGRIMAGE SITES IN ALL CHRISTENDOM, FLOATS LIKE A MIRAGE ON THE HORIZON. THE VAST BAY OF MONT-ST. MICHEL, WHICH TURNS INTO A MUDFLAT AT LOW TIDE, HAS LONG PLAYED A KEY ROLE HERE. SINCE THE SIXTH CENTURY, HERMIT MONKS HAVE LIVED HERE IN SEARCH OF SOLITUDE. THE WORD "HERMIT" COMES FROM AN ANCIENT GREEK WORD FOR DESERT. THE CLOSEST THING TO A DESERT IN THIS PART OF EUROPE WAS THE SEA. IMAGINE THE DESERT THIS BAY PROVIDED AS THAT FIRST MONK CLIMBED THAT ROCK TRYING TO GET CLOSER TO GOD. THE ROCK, CAPPED BY AN ABBEY, WAS EVEN MORE ISOLATED BY ITS MYTHIC TIDES. PILGRIMS CROSSED THE MUDFLAT QUICKLY AND CAREFULLY, KNOWING THAT THE SEA SWEPT IN AT THE SPEED OF A GALLOPING HORSE. IN THE LATE 1800s, A ROAD WAS BUILT, CONNECTING THE ISLAND TO THE MAINLAND AND LETTING PILGRIMS COME AND GO WITHOUT HIP BOOTS. THE TOWN OF MONT-ST. MICHEL, WITH ONLY 30 RESIDENTS, ENTERTAINS OVER TWO MILLION VISITORS A YEAR. ITS MAIN STREET, LINED WITH SHOPS AND HOTELS LEADING UP TO THE ABBEY, IS GROTESQUELY COMMERCIAL. IT'S SOME CONSOLATION TO REMEMBER THAT, EVEN BACK IN THE MIDDLE AGES, THIS WAS A RETAIL GAUNTLET, WITH STALLS SELLING SOUVENIR MEDALLIONS, CANDLES AND FAST FOOD, LIKE OMELETS. [ swishing ] AN ISLAND SPECIALTY IS QUICK, TASTY AND EXTREMELY FLUFFY OMELETS. THEY WERE POPULAR FOR EAT-AND-RUN PILGRIMS WHO NEEDED TO BEAT THE TIDE, AND THEY REMAIN A HIT WITH VISITORS TODAY. ENJOY THE SHOW AS COOKS MAKE SURE THE TRADITIONAL BEAT GOES ON. [ rhythmic swishing ] YOU CAN SKIRT THOSE MAIN STREET CROWDS AND ENJOY MONT-ST. MICHEL'S FINE 15th-CENTURY FORTIFICATIONS BY FOLLOWING THE RAMPARTS UP TO THE ABBEY. THESE WALLS WERE BUILT TO DEFEND AGAINST A NEW WEAPON: THE CANNON. RATHER THAN TALL, THEY WERE LOW, TO MAKE A SMALLER TARGET. WHILE THE ENGLISH TOOK ALL THE REST OF NORMANDY, THEY NEVER CONQUERED THIS WELL-FORTIFIED ISLAND. BECAUSE OF ITS STUBBORN DEFENSE AGAINST THE ENGLISH THROUGH ALL THOSE YEARS, MONT-ST. MICHEL BECAME A SYMBOL OF FRENCH NATIONAL IDENTITY. AS YOU CLIMB THE STAIRS TO THE ABBEY, IMAGINE THE PILGRIMS AND MONKS WHO FOR CENTURIES HAVE CLIMBED THESE SAME STONE STEPS. MONT-ST. MICHEL HAS BEEN A HOLY PLACE SINCE THE YEAR 708, WHEN, ACCORDING TO LEGEND, THE ARCHANGEL MICHAEL APPEARED TO A LOCAL BISHOP IN A VISION AND CONVINCED HIM TO BUILD HERE. THIS WAS AN IMMENSE BUILDING PROJECT EVOLVING OVER MANY CENTURIES. IT WAS A MARVEL, A MEDIEVAL SKYSCRAPER BUILT UPON A ROCK, CROWNED BY A GILDED STATUTE OF ST. MICHAEL. THE BAY STRETCHES FROM NORMANDY TO BRITTANY. THE RIVER MARKS THE HISTORIC BORDER BETWEEN THE TWO LANDS. NORMANDY AND BRITTANY HAVE LONG VIED FOR MONT-ST. MICHEL. IN FACT, THE RIVER USED TO PASS ON THE OTHER SIDE, MAKING THE ABBEY PART OF BRITTANY. TODAY, MONT-ST. MICHEL IS JUST BARELY, BUT THOROUGHLY, PART OF NORMANDY. THE CENTERPIECE OF THIS EXTRAORDINARY ABBEY IS ITS CHURCH. WHILE IT'S MOSTLY 11th-CENTURY ROMANESQUE, WITH ROUND ARCHES AND SMALL WINDOWS, THE APSE BEHIND THE ALTAR WAS BUILT LATER. ITS GOTHIC POINTED ARCHES AND BIGGER WINDOWS FILL THE SANCTUARY WITH LIGHT. SITTING ATOP ALL THIS HEAVY CONSTRUCTION, LIKE A DELICATE FLOWER, IS THE ABBEY'S CLOISTER. IN THIS PEACEFUL ZONE, WHICH CONNECTED VARIOUS ROOMS, MONKS WOULD GROW VEGETABLES AND MEDICINAL HERBS. THEY'D MEDITATE AND READ THE BIBLE. AND, FOR THOUGHTFUL TRAVELERS TODAY, THIS ABBEY STILL INSPIRES. SO MUCH OF FRANCE'S RICH HERITAGE SURVIVES, AND HERE IN NORMANDY, PERHAPS MORE THAN ANYPLACE IN THE COUNTRY, IT INSPIRES US ALL. THANKS FOR JOINING US. AND vive la France! I'M RICK STEVES. UNTIL NEXT TIME, KEEP ON TRAVELIN'. Au revoir.

Info

Channel: Rick Steves' Europe

Views: 825,827

Rating: 4.8721461 out of 5

Keywords: Mont Saint-Michel (Island), Rick Steves (Author), Honfleur, Full Episode, Normandy (Location), Giverny Rick Steves, Rouen France, Normandy travel guide, Rick Steves Normandy, Rick Steves full episode, Rick Steves Europe full episode, monet's garden giverny france, giverny monet garden, d-day normandy beach, rouen france rick steves, rouen france travel, honfleur normandy, honfleur rick steves

Id: vzU1h61yqQg

Channel Id: undefined

Length: 26min 8sec (1568 seconds)

Published: Wed May 14 2014

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