10 Days in Gaul

"Gallia est omnis divisa in partes tres"
Thus wrote Julius Caesar in the opening lines of his "Commentarii de Bello Gallico" or "Commentaries on the Gallic Wars". I first read these words in Miss Sarah Elston's Latin II class back in '68 and it was my first real introduction to France. The literal translation is "All Gaul is divided into three parts." Gaul is the name the ancient Romans gave to the land we now know as France. Or, more accurately, it was officially Gaulia Transalpina, literally, France across the Alpines.

We begin our adventure in Paris, the City of Lights, which is located in what Caesar knew as Celtica, the ancient home of the Celts. As we travel northwest from Paris, we will traverse much of the ancient region of Normandy. In the 9^th century AD, the Vikings, or Northmen, out of Scandinavia began to settle here and in the 10^th century, King Charles III gave Normandy by treaty to the Viking Jarl (or Earle) Rollo. (And, yes, that is the same Rollo portrayed in the TV series Vikings.) His intent was to protect Paris from other marauding Vikings. Today, many Normans consider themselves to be a country separate from France even using the language Norman French. In 1066 William, the Duke of Normandy, went on to defeat the Anglo-Saxon King Harold Godwinson at the Battle of Hastings, thus providing the given name of William to Flew males that echo through my family tree.

As always, I will be traveling with my daughter Amy. However, I will arrive a few days before her to get a little of that je ne sais quoi that is Paris. From Paris, we will sail majestically down the Seine aboard our Uniworld long ship the S.S. Joie de Vivre. Unlike the super cruise ships that ply the Caribbean like ancient pirates and hold as many as 6000 passengers and 1200 crew, the S.S. Joie de Vivre has accommodations for 126 passengers and a crew of 54. (Think of 3 Greyhound buses only ³/₄ full!)

Our 6 day, 378 mile trip down the River Seine to Caudebec-en-Caux and back will include several day excursions including a trip to the Palace of Versailles and, the highlight of the trip for me, the Beaches of Normandy. This will certainly be a new adventure.

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