No 4:00 am alarm for us this morning. We slept in until 7:15 am.
Our big activity for today was a visit to La Musée de la Résistance et la Deportation de l’Isere. Joni and I believed the museum had been renovated since our previous visit. There were many more audio and video displays than we remember, and most of the exhibits included explanations in French, German, and English. and exhibits are spread out among three different floors.
For western civilization few days were darker than those during the rise of Hitler and the spread of Nazism. How people coped with such cruelty and treachery is beyond comprehension. The photos of the work camps and death camps were hard to look at. I feel it’s important for all of us to see, but the images are so horrifying that I find myself having to look away quickly.
Petain and Hitler agreeing on France's terms of surrender. Petain believed by surrendering he was preventing the deaths of many more French citizens and allowing time for them to regroup and fight another day. Not all historians agree.
Prior to the France surrendering, Jews from all of Europe began coming to Grenoble 
However even in Free Zone, Vichy France, Jews quickly lost all their rights, property, and privileges.
Madeleine Kahn, executed for her helping save Jewish children
The heroism and sacrifices of the resistance fighters and of those who protected Jewish refugees should never be forgotten, and certainly makes each of us ask, “what would I do in that situation?”
Resistance fighters, also referred to as the Maquis
Dropped by parachute into France, this telegraph kit was vital to communication for the Resistance.
Liberation Day in Grenoble
Leaving La Musée de la Résistance et la Deportation de l’Isere, we were emotionally exhausted but continued our walking tour of Grenoble, marveling at the beautiful architecture, and eventually finding a delightful cafe where we had a wonderful lunch.
Do you know what this is?
Chez Marius
Le Spritz, perfect drink when it's in mid 90°s
A cut above McDonalds
We returned to our hotel after lunch, window shopping, newspaper seeking, and a stamp purchasing at the post office purchasing. Back at the hotel we watched stage 13 of the Tour which quickly passed through Grenoble, and just simply relaxed.
For dinner we did not have a reservation, both of the restaurants Joni had researched were closed, so we took the advice of Fabien, the affable and most helpful concierge at the hotel and went to L'Epicurienn which was within walking distance in Place Aux Herbes. Febien's recommendation hit the mark for us. This meal was fabulous.
Les digestifs, compliments of the house
We had a long conversation with our waiter who was Albanian. He was only 21, and he spoke five different languages.
2 comments:
Yet another great day !
Not familiar with chartreuse (other than the color), I learned that it is a liquer which comes in two different colors, each with their own flavor and alcohol content. Interesting. Looks pretty in the special glass.
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