Betty Werther rushed off to Paris when she graduated from the University of California, Berkeley in 1949 and embarked on a life of travel, romance and adventure. During her travels, her passport was lost.

It all began in 1949. Her grandmother sent her to Europe with a friend as a graduation gift.  The girls traveled to Paris, supposedly to become students at the Sorbonne, but wanderlust became strong and they literally hit the road with backpacks to hitchhike their way to who knows where. They eventually ended up in the Middle East.

In a recent interview with Yasmin Anwar of Media Relations at Berkeley, Betty said, "That was fairly unusual. Two women hitchhiking down through an Arab country was very unusual. I think people were so stunned they didn't know what kind of animal this was."
 
 

THE DISCOVERY

It was Paris, 2011, and medical student, Nuno Fonseca, was wrapping up his studies and preparing to return to his home in Portugal.

"The school year was just ending, and I wanted to take something from Paris that would remind me of the good time I spent there," Fonseca says. He wandered through a flea market without finding anything of particular interest. 

"When I was just about to leave and get to the last vendors, I found this passport, this old passport. It was full of visas from the first page to the last one," he says.

The passport was issued to an Elizabeth Hatfield, who had been about the same age as he when she began her travels. Nuno found something more interesting though: her address. She had lived in the very same student housing complex in Paris where Fonseca was living.  He set his mind to trying to return her passport to her if it were possible.

Once home in Portugal, he searched the Internet for Elizabeth Hatfield, hoping that after so many years she might still be around. A Google search brought up an Elizabeth Hatfield who graduated from Berkeley in 1949 and was originally from Ardsley in New York.  He contacted the Ardsley village manager who put Fonseca in touch with the Ardsley Historical Society.  They were able to find an old schoolmate of Elizabeth Hatfield who just happened to know where she was.  However, her name was now Betty Werther and she lived in Paris!  The friend provided her phone number as well.

"I was very nervous," Fonseca says. "I didn't know, if I did find this person, how she would react, if she would be interested or not at all." He telephoned Betty in Paris.

"I thought it was a crank call," Werther says. "I am used to having people phone me for money or to belong to something or to sign a petition, and so I almost hung up."

THE MEETING - 2012

Soon after their telephone call, Nuno Fonseca left for France. Betty Werther would soon be reunited with her passport, missing for some sixty years.  A million-in-one chance, don't you think?

"There was such a build up to this," Werther says. "I was kind of palpitating." 

She and Nuno went through the passport pages over dinner and Champagne, as she recalled so many travel adventures associated with the visa stamps that filled the pages. 

"It was fantastic. Betty is a very welcoming person, and she has lived a remarkable life, and she has many stories to tell," Fonseca says.

Betty was very happy to have her passport returned, something she never thought was possible.  But, she says meeting Nuno Fonseca, this young medical student who went to so much effort to return it to her, was the best thing of all.  When he found her passport in 2011 he was a student at Diderot University in Paris, and then in the summer of 2012 Fonseca did an internship at the Pierre et Marie Curie University in Paris.  He has now returned to Porto for his last year of school, but Betty keeps up with his life and career.

"To meet this person who had gone through so much trouble, that was more important than the passport," she says. "It's the whole experience which is extraordinary."
 

"If I got the chance to find the person, for sure it would be someone amazing, and it would be rewarding," he says. "And it was indeed."

"It's an unbelievable story," Werther agreed.

FEATURING:     FALL IN LOVE ~ with these French Villages                      Part II in the series
 

There is something so rewarding about driving through the French countryside and coming upon unique hamlets and villages ~ each with its own charm and character.  It's often like discovering gold at the end of a rainbow.  There are occasions when our French friends recommend that we visit a particular village; other times its just plain luck when we come upon a hidden treasure. We are about to take you to two villages that are quite special to us ~ and perhaps you'll find yourself visiting them one day.

The first is in the département of the Orne in Basse Normandie and the second in the département of the Sarthe in the Pays de Loire, but what they have in common is that they are on the River Sarthe ~ one of France's most picturesque rivers.  The river is 174 miles long (280 kilometers) and winds its way from the Orne in a southwesterly direction until it teams up with the River Mayenne near Angers to form the River Maine ~ which, by the way, disappears into the Loire River only 7 miles later!  We've found the Sarthe to be one of the prettiest of rivers.  When exploring this region it seems that every pretty village we find is on the River Sarthe.

Saint-Céneri-le-Gérei was first settled in 1044, and some ruins of a castle built at that time still remain. The castle was besieged by William the Conqueror in 1060 before being taken by Robert Courteheuse, the Duke of Normandy, in 1088.  During the Hundred Years War (1337-1453, actually 116 years), the fortress was defended by Ambroise of Loré, but it finally fell in 1434.

 
 

The name of the commune has interesting roots.  There was an Italian hermit by the name of Céneri who lived in this place in the 7th century.  He had some disciples, and together they constructed a monastery dedicated to Saint Martin of Tours.  The little church in Saint-Céneri-le-Gérei in on the site of that monastery which was burned down in 903 by the Vikings.  For a long time afterward, there was no church in the tiny commune.  This was the period of the Dark Ages in Europe (410-1066 after the fall of Rome). As Europe was coming out of that period in history, and in 1089, construction of the present church began, and it was completed in 1125.  When we were in there several years ago, the community was trying to restore the more than 900 year-old building which was sadly crumbling ~ boarded up so no one could step inside.  Saddened by what we saw, we donated a bit of money to the cause, and from what we see today, they were successful in raising enough funds to save the building.  But maintaining the church is an ongoing effort, so they have established Les Amies de Saint-Céneri.
 
 

Most interesting are the ancient murals (fresques) on the walls inside the church.  They date to the 11th century and were restored in 2006.  Don't miss an opportunity to see them.  There is also a chapel in the fields, La Petite Chapelle, that was built in the 15th century. 

What strikes anyone first as they enter the village is how very pretty it is.  Classified as one of the Most Beautiful Villages of France (Les Plus Beaux Villages de France), it has been a magnet for artists since the 19th century.  They began coming here to draw, paint and live because of its sheer beauty.  In order to qualify for Les Plus Beaux Villages classification, a village must have a population of 2,000 or less, must have a minimum of two protected areas such as picturesque or historic sites, or sites of scientific, artistic or historic interest, and the decision to apply must be made by the town council.  Currently, there are only 157 such villages in France.

If you decide to come to this lovely part of Normandy, we hope that you will make a point of visiting this charming village.  It is only 13 kilometers southwest of Alençon in the Alpes Mancelles, a natural region of hills and valleys.  See below for three places nearby to stay while visiting the Sarthe and Orne.

The village of Solesmes in the Sarthe département of the Pays de la Loire is the kind of place you visit more than one time.  Captured by its tranquility and charm, and remembering our first visit fondly, we decided to look there for a restaurant when we were in France last autumn.  As we arrived and were about to enter the restaurant, we looked around and realized that Solesmes had changed very little in those years that had passed.  It was as we had remembered it ~ still charming.

Without question, the primary appeal of the village of Solesmes (pronounced SO-LEH-muh) is the Abbaye Saint-Pierre de Solesmes.  A monumental structure, the Abbey has become world famous for its Gregorian chants. Chants originated with the Romans and appealed to Gallican musicians who transformed them, and they called them Grégorien chants. They were first taught by ear and committed to memory, and the written text was used only to prompt for correct performance.  After losing popularity during the Middle Ages when it was thought the chants were corrupted, along came the Renaissance and the music and vocals were 'corrected', resulting in what was referred to as 'plainsong' ~ or further corruption of the original music.  This lasted for about two hundred years.  Today's inspiring chants and their wide appeal is owed to a priest from Le Mans who, in 1833, undertook the task of restoring Benedictine musical life on the site of an old priory in this village of Solesmes.
 
 

Dom Prosper Guéranger enthusiastically worked on the chants with his monks emphasizing phrasing, pronunciation, and accentuation all in the service of prayer: the chant is a musical reading of the bible.  Guéranger also brought back authentic melodies, and the principal manuscripts grew into a fine collection at Solesmes ~ facsimiles (thanks to modern day photography) from the libraries throughout Europe.  In 1889 they released the first of the series, Paléographie Musicale, a reconstruction of the earliest Grégorian chants.  Rome rejected it until 1903 when the new Pope, Pius X, quickly accepted it as authoritative.  On our first visit many years ago, we found that we had just missed the 10 AM Mass where we could have heard chants.  But, we did come home with a CD from the gift shop. 

Solesmes is a treasure of a town, another of many along the banks of the River Sarthe.  It's not overrun by tourists, and during our visit this past October, our search was rewarded when we did find a lovely restaurant in a small hotel in the village ~ new to us since our first visit many years ago ~ that has actually been in that spot since the 18th century.  It is the Restaurant des Saveurs in the Grand Hotel on the main street.  Our dinner was superb!

We hope you will be able to visit this tiny village with the impressive Abbaye de Solesmes when you are next in this beautiful part of France. 

WHERE TO STAY WHEN VISITING EITHER VILLAGE:

If you are looking for a much-loved family home filled with fine furnishings and antiques, look no further than Château de la Barre.  In the same family since the early 15th century, la Barre offers luxurious guest rooms for bed and breakfast guests and gîtes that can be rented on a weekly basis.  You will receive a warm welcome from the Count and Countess de Vanssay, and by prior arrangement you can arrange to have dinner at their elegant table.  Inquire about their special offers and August musical gatherings.
 
 
 
 

A very special bed and breakfast is the beautiful Château de Vaulogé.  Enjoy an apéritif the evening of your arrival with your charming hostesses and delicious breakfasts each morning with luscious home-baked delights.  The estate is vast and guests are free to visit the two chapels and ancient mill on the grounds, or they can just enjoy watching the swans float by in the wide moat.  Gourmet dinners can be reserved in advance, served in the elegant dining room.  Le Mans and its race course are short drive away. 
 
 
 
 
 

For those who want to become Lord and Lady of the manor for a week or more, the beautifully decorated and sophisticated Château du Grand-Lucé is perfect.  Set on 74 acres of gardens, meadows and woodlands, it has fourteen sumptuous en suite bedrooms and sleeps up to 28 people.  This self-catering property offers a heated swimming pool, mountain bikes, central heating and an elevator.  A chef can be requested to prepare some meals for the guests. Grand-Lucé is style and grandeur in a great region of France.