ARRIVAL AT THE TROGLODYTE CHURCH
Channel: slobomotion
Date: 2014-04-17

Digital video recording, comments and annotations copyright 2014 Lisa B. Falour, B.S., M.B.A.
cutecatfaith.com
Dailymotion:  LisaFalour
YouTube:  SLOBOMOTION, CUTECATFAITH

I didn't know what I was about to see.  It was to be a surprise.  I waited in the car in the Val d'Oise département of France, not extremely far from Paris (about an hour and a half by car) while my spouse was, it turns out, tapping on the window of La Mairie (town/village/small city hall) at the pre-arranged time, so the lady inside could open the window, chat with him briefly and pass him the big old key.  (She was alone there and won't ever open the door for people, but you tap on the window and she comes and opens it -- very country French!)  

In fact, we were pretty much parked right in front of the cemetery, monuments and entrance to the church, but foolishly drove a ways down the road looking for it!  We figured out to turn around and drive right back to where we had originally parked.  Duh!!

White Cretacious rock mounts and cliffs go along a pretty valley through which flows the River Seine.  I have a clip up of the interior of the church on my other channel, CUTECATFAITH.  They just cannot leave it unlocked, but if you call ahead to La Mairie in Haute-Isle, France, they'll arrange to lend you the key, you can go in and look, then lock up and go give the key back.  A lot of France is like this.  ("The key to the tower is with the barkeep across the road."  "The key to the Templar tunnels and the church above are in the bakery, and they'll call and see if the local historian can pop over and take you through!")  (You then offer a tip -- there is usually no charge.)  It's worth asking around or even hiring a local guide -- I used to do that here, but no longer do.  A lot of great stuff is completely unmarked, often on purpose.  It may be unsafe to explore without assistance, or may be too valuable to indicate, and the funds aren't there to have it guarded.

I love blowing the minds of visitors to France upon their arrival by taking them immediately or darn close to immediately to someplace utterly astonishing, and enjoying the looks of delight they cannot suppress.  One time, we drove up this road, years ago, to visit Les Andelys, the white, ruined stone castle of Richard the Lionhearted, high above the Seine.  This is a terrific place to drive to, scenic all the way, after declaring to a first-time visitor, "I've packed a French picnic, let's go for a drive and have a lunch al fresco!" and just pretend you aren't that impressed with the view ... which is stunning.  Epic.  Gorgeous.  I once took a friend who'd never been to Europe at all STRAIGHT to Senlis, France from the airport, to stay in a castle for two or three nights of a long weekend.  "I love France!" she exclaimed.  "It's so beautiful!"  Then, we took her to our apartment in Saint-Denis.  Ha ha ha ha ha!  Reality!!  (She was NOT amused!)