A Day with French Cousins

 

Great fun the whole day long. We had a paella extraordinaire.

 I could easily spend a month here and not get bored. 

Chez Mireille en Vendémian

The next day we traveled from Montpellier to Vendémian where my cousin Mireille Chabal lives. 

The countryside is fabulous and filled with wild thyme, lavender, and other luscious herbs. As one would expect in April, everything was quite green. 

She lives in a medieval village with wonderful ancient passageways.

A nice spot for lunch in the backyard

A dramatic dish consisting of cheese and potatoes. It is all about the consistency!

And of course with a plate of sausages. France is a cut above the USA in this regard. 

Below we have Sandra, Mireille, Vero, and Isabel. 

 I was happy to see that my cyanotype has found a good home.  

And after lunch a nice walk was essential. Non?

Avignon Part 3 Marie Rieusset

After Lunch, we located the four major places in Marie's life. Her parents' home on La rue Four de la Terre, where Marie grew up, then to 14 Rue Carnot, where she first lived as a new bride, and then finally to the top floors of the building where the Shirt Shop was established. That address is 26 Rue Marchand. This is the place I remember visiting as a child. Marie is my grandfather's grandmother.  She had 7 children, and I am sure they were all over these streets of Avignon. Especially at the school that was housed in a building that was from the 1100's of which only a part is still standing and called the Tower of Saint John, or in French, Tour Saint-Jean.  

The shirt shop I remember.

And today it looks like this. 

Vero in front of Le Palais des Papes

Avignon Part 2

After our busy morning in "Les Cimetierres D'Avignon," which was just outside the Ramparts, we finally made it back into town. We ate at a bistro on the Place Pie and near the Tower of Saint-Jean 

This tower is the only vestige of the old house belonging to knights of Saint-Jean of Jerusalem built in the 11th century. The rest of the house was destroyed in 1898. 

Regis Chabal, "The Entrepreneur," born in 1859, went to school in this building before it was taken down. Below, Véronique is standing right about where he had his classes. 

And in his later life, Regis bought this painting of the building before it was taken down. The painting still hangs in my Cousin Dominique's home. 

A visit to Avignon

 

Today, Véronique and I visited Avignon,  where our mothers grew up.  Our Grandfather Chabal and Grandmother Hébrard grew up a minute's walk from each other, got married, and spent the rest of their lives there. 

Véronique has almost finished her book called "Photos et Archives Généalogiques de la Famille Chabal" and she is getting ready to work on the same type of book for the Hébrard family. 

So in addition to enjoying the day, we had some sleuthing to do.

Here is a Map of Avignon. This city dates back to Roman times when it was called Avennio. But most of the architecture is from after the 13th century when the Pope's Palace was constructed. 

The city ramparts. 

One of the many waterwheels that turned to power the robust textile industry. Today, they turn very slowly as they have long since been replaced with the use of electricity. 

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Here is the first Tomb we found. Our great-grandfather Antoine Régis Chabal had 2 children die young. His son, Regis Caslmir Chabal in 1920 at the age of 19 years old and his sister Germaine in 1929 who was just 30 years old.  So he bought the crypt for his young children. They are the ones with the fancy portraits. But there was room to spare so in 1946 my grandmother Jeanne joined in; she was only 48 years old. In 1955, room was made for his wife Marie Méry, who died at 84. At that point, the crypt was no longer considered for the young ones. In 1972 his son Louis Pierre Regis joined, and lastly his granddaughter Suzanne Chabal in 2017.  

I have heard stories from my mom, Simone, who heard them from her father, Marcel, that the bodies would turn to ash over time, and those remains were swept aside when a new family member was laid to rest. A living member of the family had to preside over the procedure. And it often fell upon Marcel's shoulders. 

Ironically, Marcel's dad,  Antoine Régis Chabal did not want to be buried here. He made specific instructions to be buried in the country with only R.C. etched on his grave. And so here is a photo of resting place in the Vieux Cimetìere des Angles. 

We found this cyclamen plant growing wild at the bottom.   

Next we visited the Tomb of the Grand Ancêteres. This included Chabals plus the parents of Marie Rieusset. We surmised that he was the one to be the first to enter and probably bank rolled the cost as well. Pierre Rieusset died in 1889 and his wife Elisabeth died in 1884.Oh boy it is a tangle story and will took my a long while to unpack. I hope to revisit their lives in the future. I find their past fascinating. And it is also frustrating because photos and dates and only tell you so much. At some point a little imagination will be necessary be bring them back to life. 

Here lies in order 

Elisabeth Rieusset 1884

Pierre Rieusset 1889

There son-in-law Regis Chabal the Colporteur 1913

 Their daughter Marie Rieusset Chabal, 1915

Granddaughter Elisabeth Chabal, 1941

Married to Elisabeth Chabal was Lucien Moulin in 1941

 These next two are not buried here, just commemorated here. The story goes that when Maurice died, he left a bereft mother who only last a few more years. They were out of town and buried elsewhere.  

Maurice Victor Chabal, 4 years old 1897, Grandson of Regis Colporteur

Marguerite Grangeon 1902 28 years old  Daughter or Regis Colporteur

Louis Firmin Chabal 1909 Son of Regis the Colporteur

Louise Chabal 1953, daughter of Regis the Colporteur

Then lastly, our grandfather Marcel Chabal 1987

with  is second wife Lucette Gouyon Chabal 1992

To my mother, 

your body to the earth, 

your soul to heaven, 

your memory with us.

To my father, 

in vain the earth gains you, 

but my heart will always see you

And here are the inscriptions of the two people I knew as a child. My grandfather Marcel and his second wife Lucette. Why are they in the Tomb of the Grand Ancêtres? We think it is because Marcel was worried about having two wives in the same Tomb. So since his first wife, our grandmother, was in the younger tomb, then he went to this one. 

My mother's generation had no interest in burial. They were all cremated and left numbered photos and life stories instead. This cemetery was established in the 1820's. I have no idea what happened before this. Less people, less money and certainly less elaborate tombs. 

And now on to the Hebrard Family

They were on the slightly more upscale areas. And a little less crowded as well.

Vero cleaned off the ivy a bit. There is just the one plaque. When Vero finishes with her book on the Hebrard family I will have more details. But for now, Rest in Peace. There was also one more Tomb. But honestly, all of this researching was getting me hungry for lunch, and we had one more bit of sleuthing to do before we could walk into town a seek a nice meal. 

This is a photo of the road that borders the cemetery. 

Taken  in 1944

In 1944, during the Second World War, the Allies mistook a railroad track for another road further south and consequently, 450 civilians died. This photo shows the day of the people who went to the enormous number of funerals and burials that day. As it was close to the end of the war, moral must have been quite low. Our own grandmother died in 1946, just after the war. She had TB. At that time, antibiotics were available for soldiers, but it wouldn't be until 1948 that antibiotics would be available for civilians. Gulp.

Below, Vero and I looked to take a photo in the same spot. We got pretty close but surmised the photo was taken high up, perhaps on a truck. 

or perhaps it was here. 

A visit to Veronique's Flat

 

Left April 1, Arrived April 2.

A long day.

April 2

My cousin Véronique generously invited me to her place for 5 wonderful nights. We talked nonstop, like long-lost best friends. And in French! I learned a lot and could see that it is really a matter of practice. Our own mothers were very close sisters, and so we shared a common family culture. Jet lag was not easy, and I can't honestly remember much of this first night other than this wonderful meal, unpacking, and crawling into bed for a full night's sleep. 

I took photos of food to please my chef husband, Alex, who was left behind.

The sausages are superior in France. Hands down. No question. 

April 3 

Véronique took me to the "outsider art" museum. Which means art created by artists with no formal training. As a general rule, the art is highly individual and very, very much outside the box thinking. Here are a few samples from the museum. Also called MUSÉE D'ART BRUT

I love love this art! It is expressive and easy to surmise that the artist was having a good time while making the art. And that is 50% of the reason for my own art. It is a way to keep sane.

We had a guest for dinner with Jean René and his wife, Albi. I had not seen Jean René for more than 50 years. He and his wife were wonderful company. 

Sandra, Ambi and Jean René