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Postcard#1

SATURDAY AFTERNOON | Sept. 30, 2006
En route back to Lucca, Italy

Hello!

First, a little note about our travel program: There are two 'editions' of our journey to Tuscany and Normandy. One delightful group of guests began their holiday with a week in Tuscany at the Villa Borgo Bernadini; then flew to Paris last Saturday, September 23, to begin their cruise on the Seine River through Normandy to Paris. For shorthand purposes we'll call these guests "Villa-France".

The second version of our journey involved another pleasant 'collection' of guests arriving in France on September 23 to join the Villa-France travelers for our cruise through Normandy, then fly with us to Italy to explore Italy. We'll denote these guests as "France-Villa".

Last Saturday was a bit challenging. First of all, those beginning their journey in France arrived weary from their flights. Christine met them at the chaotic Charles De Gaulle airport, then brought them to Rouen, to board the ms Cezanne riverboat to begin our journey.

Paul flew with the guests who spent their first week in the Villa Borgo Bernadini, arriving mid-afternoon in Paris. They waited more than an hour for their luggage, only to learn belatedly from Air France that none of our luggage had been boarded in Florence due to weight limitations on our small aircraft. Furthermore, it would not arrive on the next flight; rather it would be sent only the following day from Italy, hopefully. Then Air France wanted each guest to laboriously fill out lost luggage reports, further delaying our departure to Rouen. This is one of the frustrations of flying these days, particularly with air carriers where no one will take responsibility for solving problems. (Fortunately we were able to speed up the process and take over the responsibility of retrieving the luggage so our guests could enjoy their journey.)

Shortly after 6:00 pm we were all safely on board the lovely Cezanne and found it a delightful vessel.

The next day, Sunday, together with two guides, we departed Rouen for our excursion to the historic beaches associated with the Allied Landings in Normandy on June 6, 1944. As we drove south towards Omaha Beach and Pointe du Hoc, the lovely Normandy countryside revealed its tidy beauty. However, even the beautiful countryside did not intrude on our concentration on those momentous events that took place here 66 years ago.

American Cemetery in Normandy	Our Servicemen pay their respects

We stopped at the American cemetery, the last resting place for nearly ten thousand servicemen and women who gave their lives in the attempt to establish a beachhead on the European continent. Rows of crosses and stars of David stretched on seemingly without end. Dr. David Selby asked all the servicemen with us to come to attention to honor the fallen soldier as taps were played. Later we saw the well-constructed German bunkers where machine guns devastated the arriving Allies who had to cross long, empty beaches to secure their landing. Finally Jerry Nudelman, who arrived in Europe 60 days after D-Day told us of the constant fear and misery each solider felt; "during my entire time in Europe, there was not one pleasurable moment". We won't soon forget this day.

For a week we cruised up the Seine River Valley on the Cezanne, a luxurious 100-passenger riverboat. A superb crew made us feel very welcome (and kept our engines running well with outstanding cuisine) as we visited delightful places such as Rouen, Honfleur, Caudebec-en-Caux and Vernon. We felt, after nearly a dozen river cruises, that this was one of our best experiences.

Honfleur, Normandy	Ken Wait and Millie Amann along the Seine

Though many of us had never seen this region before, most said they would like to come back to spend more time. A particular highlight of our visit was Giverney, where we stopped to visit the home and beautiful gardens of the Impressionist, Claude Monet. At the end of our week, we sailed into Paris and berthed downriver from the Eiffel Tower. (From the sun deck of our riverboat, we could see the tower illuminated each evening. It was particularly fun to watch each hour when the entire tower sparkled with twinkling strobe lights.)

Last Saturday we bid farewell to the "Villa-France" guests as they made their way home and our "France-Villa" travelers flew from Paris to Florence to begin their stay at the Villa Borgo Bernadini. It was a wonderful feeling to unpack in our elegant quarters in this sublime retreat in the hills of Lucca.

Wish you were here!

Paul and Christine Niskanen