1989 ~ Chasing the DEA

It was in 1989 while Benjamin and Trey were in Pagosa so I was home all by myself.  When I arrived at work one morning, there was a big black Suburban in the parking lot.  It had totally black windows and looked very creepy.  When I looked in the windows all I could see where some vague black shapes.  When I asked about it, no one seemed to have any idea who it belonged to.  That seemed odd to me since it was so striking.  I wondered about it all day.  

When I left work, as I got in my car it pulled out so of course I followed it.  I mean, who wouldn't???  It led me on a merry chase all right.  We flew through Vernon then onto 387 and it kept picking up speed.  We got to Electra and then I had to give up.  I think by then we were going about 80 mph.  I knew if I got stopped I would lose it and probably end up in jail.  LOL.  Crestfallen, I returned home with my curiosity unabated.  

However, the next day, there it was again!  This time Dr. Pete Jacoby (one of my bosses) was in his office so I went and asked him about it.  He said "Well actually I'm glad you are asking.  The feeling is mutual apparently".  He told me to have a seat and then explained the story.  The Suburban belonged to the DEA and they were parking it at A&M and using an A&M official vehicle (with Pete in it) to stake out the crop dusting landing strip next door. Apparently drug dealers were landing at some of the small airports at night to distribute their drugs.  The day before they were headed to a small landing strip on the other side of Electra.  

And yes, of course, they saw me following them.  They were not happy because if I had been stopped it might have attracted attention.  They asked Pete if he knew who it was and he said of course, and promised to tell me to back off.  LOL.  So I was warned not to bother the DEA.  Usually, isn't the other way around?   

1965 Bus Stop, Bus Go...

 My sister and would walk from our apartment at 89 Avenue de Wagram to the corner of l'Avenue des Ternes and la Rue Bayern, where the bus would pick us up to take us to the American School of Paris in Louveciennes.   At the time, there was a big Au Printemps department store on the corner.  I remember that there was a tower on the building. (Au Printemps was eventually bought out by FNAC)

When I think back, it always seems to be a gray, cold, and rainy day, maybe in November.  I am standing at the bus stop with my sister, I watch her get on the bus, then I turn around and go into the store.  In the entrance way, there is a place that makes berlingots basque, which is a triangular candy made with hot sugar.  It smells like cotton candy and the air is warm and humid.  I can see my breath.

Then I go inside to the stationery department.  I stay there for at least an hour or so, handling all the cahiers (notebooks), plumes (pens), et crayons (and pencils)*.  After that, I go home, stopping at the boulangerie across the street from our apartment to get something tasty so I can bribe my mother not to tell my dad I skipped school again.

However, when the weather is nice or I am going to meet my boyfriend, Patrice, I walk to les Champs Elysees and just wallow in the joy of being there.  When that is the plan, I meet my sister in the afternoon at the bus stop and we walk home together down la Rue de Poncelet.  She gives me all the pertinent information like what they served for lunch, etc., so that I will pass any cross examination that might be thrown at me.

It worked for a long time, that is until my mother saw me "sauntering" (her word) down les Champs Elysees with Patrice one day.  It just so happened she was sitting at one of the cafes.

She took it well.  My father, on the other hand, did not.

___________________
* I have always been drawn to paper and notebooks, maybe because of that innate need to express myself, whether by writing or by drawing, neither of which I can do.  It's one of the great frustrations of my life - how do I express myself, let everything that's inside come out?

1956 Omaha Beach

Omaha Beach was one of the beaches where Operation Overlord (aka D-Day) took place.  The others were Gold, Sword, Juno, and Utah.  

In  July 1956, not long after the American Cemetery at Omaha Beach was officially dedicated, my parents took my sister and me there.  

My dad was in the Marines during WWII.  He never talked about it.  But I know my uncle Abbey was in the Army in Normandy.  I remember as we got closer to Omaha Beach, we saw cemeteries with black crosses.  My dad said that was where German soldiers were buried.  That made an impression on me.  

When we arrived at Omaha Beach, my dad wanted to walk around alone.  Even though he was never in Europe during the war, it didn't matter.  It affected him greatly.  We walked through fields of white crosses, as far as you could see.  

Then we went and stood overlooking the beach, where you could look out and imagine that fleet of every size of boat imaginable, coming across the English Channel.  It gave me chills as a child and it still does.  

Then we walked to one of the bunkers and then onto the beach.

In 1956, there was a small memorial, not like there is now.  All I remember are the crosses and flags, and looking out at the water.

It wasn't until many years later that I learned about the poem that was broadcast, signaling the Normandy invasion was on.

1958 Le Chateau d'If

 
While we were in Marseille, my mother insisted we go to le Chateau d'If.  I was very excited to see it.  

By age 11, I had read "The Count of Monte Cristo" many times.  In fact, I had brought my copy on the trip with me.  We absolutely had to go to le chateau d'If.  


In actual fact, my mother and I went, and my dad and my sister had their own adventure somewhere else.




The Chateau d'If
Built in the in the mid-1500s on the tiny island of If, the fortress was originally intended to act as a coastal defense station. By the 1800s the space, useless as a fort, was converted to a prison that used its island status as its main escape deterrent. During this time, a range of inmates were committed to the jail ranging from murderers to political prisoners. The conditions ranged from over-crowded dungeon cells for the lower classes to small apartments equipped with fireplaces for wealthy prisoners. The prison held a bit of notoriety thanks to its unique position, but it was catapulted into history when author Alexandre Dumas used it as the jail where his famous Count of Monte Cristo spent over a decade before escaping.

The chateau d'If is located a little under a mile offshore in the Bay of Marseille.

 

1958 Sur le Pont d'Avignon

On the way to Juan Les Pins, we made a detour to Avignon, to see "le pont d'Avignon".  After singing the song for so many years, how could we not go? 

♪ Sur Le Pont D'Avignon ♪

Sur le pont d'Avignon

On y danse, on y danse

Sur le pont d'Avignon

On y danse tous en rond

Les beaux messieurs font comme ça

Et puis encore comme ça.

Les belles dames font comme ça

Et puis encore comme ça.

Sur le pont d'Avignon

On y danse, on y danse

Sur le pont d'Avignon

On y danse tous en rond.

 

It's actually called le Pont Saint-Benezet, and was built between 1175 and 1185.  It was destroyed and rebuilt several times, but finally fell into disrepair.  The four surviving arches on the bank of the Rhone were built around 1345.  The Chapel de Saint Nicholas is on the second pier of the bridge.

Eventually in the middle of the 17th century the bridge was abandoned. The four surviving arches on the bank of the Rhône are believed to have been built in around 1345.  In 1995, the surviving arches of the bridge, along with the Palais des Papes and Cathedrale Notre-Dame des Dome, were designated as a World Heritage Site.

1958 La Grande Corniche and the Princess

When we took our trip to Juan Les Pins for our summer vacation, my mother wanted to visit Monaco.  My dad agreed, but the only way he would go was if we first drove on La Grande Corniche.

There are actually 3 different roads:  La Basse Corniche, La Moyenne Corniche, and La Grande Corniche.  Nothing less than the high one would do for my dad.  However, we drove from La Turbie to Monaco and didn't go all the way past Menton.  That short cut was one of the scariest parts though.

It was terrifying.  And my dad, of course, made it even more so.  He kept saying he was having trouble staying on the road, things like that.  We were in our convertible and I was scared I was going to fall out!  He got such a thrill from our screaming.

Many years later, I had similar experiences when Trey (husband #3) was driving through the Rockies in Colorado, namely over Wolf Creek Pass.  And I admit that I would scare myself driving up to Trail Ridge Road in Rocky Mountain National Park.  I also scared my mother once on the way to Aspen.  

The Grande Corniche is where Hitchcock filmed Grace Kelly driving her roadster in To Catch a Thief. Built 1,600ft above sea level by Napoleon over the ancient Via Julia Augusta, its landmark is the monumental Trophée des Alpes (14 BC) at La Turbie, commemorating Caesar’s conquest of the Gauls. 

Scene from "To Catch a Thief"
overlooking Monte Carlo.  Did she
know that soon she would be the Princess?
This is when she met Prince Rainier.
They were married in 1956.

The Corniche Inférieure

Firstly, the Corniche Inférieure or Basse Corniche (Lower Corniche) starts in Nice, leading to Menton following the coast. The Corniche Inférieure was laid out in the 18th century by the Prince of Monaco.

The Moyenne Corniche

Built between 1910 and 1928 when aristocratic tourism on the French Riviera was booming on the Corniche Inférieure, the Moyenne Corniche (Middle Corniche) is another scenic driveway of 31km long from Nice to Menton . It follows the border with the Principauty of Monaco at Beausoleil before descending to the Cap Martin peninsula. It is a very frequented road and was the preferred route from Nice to Italy before the construction of the A8 motorway.

The Grande Corniche

The Grande Corniche (Upper Corniche) was constructed by Napoleon I and follows the ancient Roman route known as Via Julia Augusta-the old Route Aurélienne.

Running 500 meters above the sea, it offers spectacular views over the Mediterranean coast. The Grande Corniche, 31 kilometers long, passes through the Col des Quatre Chemins,La Turbie before descending to Roquebrune and rises as high as 450 meters above the Principality of Monaco.

Down by the water is La Basse Corniche
About half way up is La Moyenne Corniche
The picture is taken from La Grande Corniche

The walls are low and so are the guardrails.
In some places, there are neither.

The Death of a Princess

The death of Princess Grace in 1982 hit me hard, but not as hard as it hit my mother.  It seemed like yesterday that we had driven on that road, just 2 years after she had married the Prince. 

The curve where Princess Grace's car went off the road

A rose left at the site of the accident.

Death of a Princess

On the morning of September 13, 1982, Princess Grace and her daughter Stephanie were to head back to Monaco from their vacation residence, Roc Agel. They loaded the Rover P6 with luggage and prepared for the 35-minute drive back to town. The car was so packed full of belongings, Princess Grace suggested to the  chauffeur that she would drive them by herself

At 9:30 in the morning, with Stephanie in the passenger seat and Princess Grace behind the wheel, the car would set out down a narrow, treacherous and windy road, CD37 (Route de La Tourbie). Contrary to popular belief, this was not the same road on which she drove in her 1955 movie, To Catch A Thief.  Ten minutes into the drive things would go horribly awry.

A motorist driving behind the Princess’s vehicle would report seeing the Rover swerving erratically back and forth. The concerned observer would honk several times to get the attention of what he assumed to be a drunk or sleepy driver. As Princess Grace’s car approached a hairpin curve in the road known as "Devil’s Curse,” it suddenly accelerated to well over 50 m.p.h. The car crashed through the stone barrier before careening down the 120-foot hillside, clipping the tops of the trees as it lurched its way down the slope.  A local gardener heard the accident and upon reaching the scene, noticed the wrecked vehicle had struck a tree near the bottom of the hill and rested near a pile of rocks. The good Samaritan observed that Stephanie had extricated herself from the car and was yelling to help get her mother out of the vehicle. “Help, my mother! My mother is in there! Get her out!” The unconscious Grace was removed by smashing the vehicle’s rear window.

Princess Grace and Stephanie were taken to a local hospital in Monaco for treatment for their injuries. Reports say that Monaco Hospital (later renamed Centre Hospitalier Princesse Grace - Princess Grace Hospital Center), where the injured survivors were taken, was not well equipped for these types of injuries. Surgery was performed on Grace’s lungs to stop the internal bleeding. Her other injuries included multiple fractures of the collar bone, thigh, and ribs. A CAT scan revealed that shortly before the accident, Grace had suffered a stroke which rendered her unable to control the vehicle. Fearing that the princess may survive as a helpless invalid, the royal palace attempted a cover up of the extent of her injuries. But at 10:30 p.m. on September 14, 1982, Princess Grace was taken off her life-support equipment and she passed on. She was 52 years old.

1958 Monaco

From Monte Carlo back to Juan Les Pins

While we were in Juan Les Pins and after we had driven La Grande Corniche (see separate post), we made a side trip to Monte Carlo in Monaco.  

Monte Carlo at Night

My mother had always been a tremendous fan of Grace Kelly and I think deep down she thought maybe we would catch a glimpse of her.  

Grace Kelly and Prince Rainier of Monaco

We had lunch at the Castleroc, which at the time was the most famous restaurant in Monaco.  

Castleroc Restaurant

Castleroc Restaurant

We looked out at the marina and the harbor and all the incredible yachts.  There were a lot of yachts all over the French Riviera, but nothing like Monaco.  It was spectacular!

Monte Carlo Marina

We drove up to look at the Palace as well.

The Royal Palace

1958 Marseille and Velvet

In 1958 when we drove from Gravenchon to Juan Les Pins, one of the places we stopped for the night was Marseille.  It's a city known for seafood and my mother couldn't wait to get her favorite:  Moules mariniere (mussels cooked in garlic, butter, and white wine).  There is something about the sound of those shells clinking against each other even now, 60 years later, that takes me right back.

Moules Mariniere

We walked around the city that night, particularly around the docks.  But what I remember best is what happened the next morning.

We had our dog Velvet with us.  (He went on the trip and stayed in a kennel in Juan Les Pins, for some reason).  The room my sister and I shared had a big window that opened really wide onto a square.  There was a small balcony outside, just about big enough to stand on.  

Hotel Vieux Port, Marseille

I dressed Velvet in a pair of my red shorts with thin white stripes and my white t-shirt, and put him out on the balcony with me so we could watch the people walking below.  After a few minutes, apparently someone spotted him and before long, everyone was pointing up to him (we were on the second floor) and clapping and laughing.  He loved it.  I loved it.  My parents didn't love it so much.  It was a moment that stood out in a long road trip.

1957 Biarritz and Castles in Spain

In 1957, we drove south to Biarritz for our summer vacation.  

Hotel du Palais

Beach and Hotel du Palais

We stayed at L'Hotel du Palais, which was beautiful.  

We always stayed in the best hotels because as she told my dad all the time, these were once-in-lifetime experiences.   

Postcard that looks just like
the view from our room

Rock outside the window

I don't remember much about the hotel except that out the window we could see the ocean and a big rock.  One morning we heard a helicopter and there it was, right between our hotel window and the big rock, lowering a metal basket to the ocean.  Then someone climbed in the basket and the helicopter took off, with the basket swaying.  We were really excited that we had seen a real life rescue, but we learned later that it was a drill.  Still, it was exciting to me.

  

Beach at Biarritz

Surf at Biarritz

Biarritz was a beautiful place, with big white sandy beaches and really high surf.  The waves were huge and the water wasn't as cold as I was used to on the New England coast.  Apparently, it was well known for the excellent surf.



We had an air mattress, the most awesome one I have ever seen.  It was orange with yellow sides.  It had a window on both sides so you could see through to the water below.  It had a cushion and pillar type construction, so it was extremely stable. 

I would take the air mattress and go out and ride back in on the waves, sometimes with my sister in tow.  It was pretty deep though.  My mother spent all her time lying on the beach getting a tan.  I don't really know what my dad did, he wasn't much of a beach bum.  He probably dropped us off and went looking for refineries.

Great Pyrenees

Biarritz to San Sebastian
across the France/Spain border

One day we decided to go to Spain, to San Sebastian.  It wasn't very far. I thought we would cross the Pyrenees and I was convinced I there would be big white dogs galloping along the road.  

Of course, I didn't, because we never even saw the mountains.  


When we got to the French/Spanish border, they checked out passports.  I was very proud of the fact that I had my own.  Then we had to get out of the car and they casually searched it.  I think the Customs agents wanted to check it out more than anything, because they did a lot of talking and nodding their heads.  Then we were on our way.  As we were driving, at one point, my mother asked my dad to stop and take a picture of what looked like an old castle.  My mother sighed and said "There is it, my castle in Spain."  I didn't know what she was talking about but I found out later that a 'castle in Spain' is an unachievable goal, an unobtainable dream.

Castle in Spain

In San Sebastian, the first thing we did was go to the top of a mountain so we could see the spectacular view that was so famous.  

View of San Sebastian

When we went down to the city, we didn't go to the beach, we walked in the city.

My dad admired the architecture and my mother admired the shops and boutiques.  





We had lunch at a small restaurant off the main street.  It was almost like a cave, dark and cool.  For our first course, we had French fries, very good and crispy, not really like any I had had before.  They were so good that while my parents were busy talking about the day so far, I ate almost all of them.  When my dad noticed, he laughed and said "My goodness, you really liked that squid, didn't you?  Should we get more?"   What?  I almost gagged on the spot.  Squid?  I just ate an entire plate full of tentacles?  It took all my willpower not to throw up but I could tell by the expression on both my parents' face that would not be wise.  I just sat there afraid to open my mouth at all for the rest of the meal.  Of course by an hour or two later, I had gotten over it.  That was my one and only time to eat squid.  

Looking back, it must have been pretty good.