PARIS TRIPS

We go into Paris once a week. Sometimes we go for the day, but usually we spend one night. We alternate between going in on the train and driving. The cost of the train is about the same as gas and parking for 2 days. The train is more relaxing, but it means I can’t bring as much stuff since I have to haul it on both the train and the metro, and then walk to the hotel.

We have been staying at a nice but modest small hotel in the 7th, a short walk from the Tour Eiffel. The neighborhood is very pleasant and reasonably quiet, and there are plenty of restaurants within a short walk. Next week we are going to try a new hotel in the 6th.

To entertain ourselves, we go to museums, take long walks through all the sites and through neighborhoods, and have leisurely lunches (often a picnic in one of the many beautiful parks). So far we have been to the Musee D'Orsay, the Orangerie, the Marmottan Monet (in the 16th, highly recommended), the Dali in Montmartre (excellent explanations of the symbolism in English as well as French), and a new exhibit at the Luxembourg, Miro to Warhol.

We also go on the organized walking tours, “Paris Walks.” The 2 hour walking tours are really fun and interesting. So far we have done the Latin Quarter at the time of the revolution, and the history of the Marais. Next week we will do Montmartre, and later Paris Under the Occupation.

In the evening we go out to dinner. We also saw the new Woody Allen movie, in English with French subtitles, which was fun and a good mini French lesson at the same time.

Below is a sampling of pictures. If you can't see something clearly, you can click on it to enlarge.

The fine print describes L'Espoir Obama. Next week we are going to Harry's Bar in the 2nd, a hangout for American expatriates, to cast our vote for president (we already voted officially, absentee).

On a bridge over the Seine, outside the Musee D'Orsay

The view looking out across the Seine from the top floor of the Musee D'Orsay

One of our first museum trips was to the Musee D'Orsay. We drove in, had a nice lunch, then spent several enjoyable hours walking through at a leisurely pace.

On a Paris Walks tour, this one of the Marais. We have really enjoyed these 2 hour walking tours / history lessons. In conversation during the tour we learned that the couple to the left, the Montnas, is from my home town (Yuba City).

In front of Sacre Couer, Montmartre

In Montmartre, after the Dali Museum (unexpectedly, one of our favorites).

On a walk, crossing the Seine

A picnic lunch on a sunny day in the Luxembourg Gardens. Even in late October, the dahlias and other flowers were beautiful. After lunch we went to a new exhibit, Miro to Warhol, a collection of art from post - Impressionism to today.

Ken under the Eiffel Tower at night

The Eiffel Tower after dinner on a rainy night. It is lit up in blue at night during the month of October.

A lunch break at the Jardin de Tuilleries

Notre Dame Cathedral in the background

Bike Rides

A big part of what we do here is bike riding. We usually ride about 4 days per week. Most people would probably get sick of riding as much as we do, but fortunately it is something we both really enjoy. We see the beautiful countryside, discover new places, and get fresh air and exercise all at the same time. And, it justifies the good dinners we have in the evening.

Sometimes we ride from our house, sometimes we put the bikes on the back of our car so we can start from a more distant point and cover more area. We almost always pack a picnic lunch (tomatoes, cheese, baguette, apples, and a pain au chocolate) because we have found that most of the towns we ride through don’t have any places to buy anything, or that they are all closed during the long lunch hour.

Our rides range from a quick 12 mile loop to a maximum of about 40 miles. The area is hilly but nowhere as steep as the area around Orinda and the Bay Area generally. We ride through farmland and small villages, and stop frequently to look at ruins or check out a town. Most every small village is centered on a picturesque and often historic church, some going back to the 11th century. On the edge of the village is usually an impressive home and an adjacent farm and farm buildings, also made of stone, and all within a stone wall.

The area is also rich in WWI history, and to a lesser extent, WWII. We are about 2 hours from the Belgian border, so there are many war-related sites and memorials. Each small village, while having maybe only 50 inhabitants total, has a memorial dedicated to those lost in WWI showing as many as 20 names.

Below is a selection of pictures from various rides. You can click on any image for more detail. The pictures do not do the beauty of the area justice.

Typical open farm road, this one outside Dommiers

The dungeon of Vez rising on the hilltop

Overlooking the Sunday soccer game in Pernant

Climbing after lunch, outside Saconin et Breuil

Mustard field north of Montigny Legran

Typical WWI monument, in Ambleny

Ruins of a tower in Ambleny (with WWI monument to the left)

Abbey near Vez

Typical lunch

A lunch stop outside the ruins of an abbey in Chateau Thierry.

Outside of Largny sur L'Automne

Ken retuning"home" to Soucy, after a day's ride.

On a small back road we came across a 32 kilometer foot race that went on the country roads and through the forest trails. We past several runners who looked pretty tired and hot. As we rode on we came to one of those water / rest stops, like we have in the US. But, instead of water they were offering little pieces of bread spread with pate, pieces of cheese that looked like a brie, and small plastic cups with red wine! The person manning the station invited us to share, so we had a snack and went on our way. The wine was pretty good, too. The French, what can I say?

Outside of Hautefontaine, an amazingly charming and pretty area.

The Abbey at Longpont, largely destroyed at the time of the revolution.

Rethonde, crossing the river Aisne.

On a ride in our neighborhood, we went on a small road we had ridden before several times, where they were doing road work and the road was blocked to cars. The road work had stopped and instead there were about 6 or 8 college students digging by the road, with a man writing on a clipboard. As we got up next to them, you could see they were digging up old unmarked graves just off the side of the road. They were small and shallow, about 10 dug up so far, and many with almost completely intact skeletons laying in them. I asked one digger if it had been a cemetery and he said yes. I asked if it belonged to the nearby farmhouse. He said no, it was a cemetery from the Middle Ages and the time of Charlemagne . The students were painstakingly dusting and cleaning off each skeleton. About 30 more spaces had tags on them like they were about to be dug up.

On the road to Taillefontaine

September 20: We left Switzerland and headed to Munich, stopping overnight at Lake Bodensee in southern Germany. Once in Munich we met up with our friend Carl just in time for the first day of Oktoberfest (which always lasts 3 weeks and spans the last 2 weekends of September and the first weekend on October; go figure). Oktoberfest was an aboslute kick to see. It is a massive 3 week beer party on a totally amazing scale. The fest is centered in a very large amusement park in Munich. Every day for the 3 weeks, people fill these beer drinking tents from morning til midnight. Each tent holds about 5000 people and there are 14 tents, each by a different beer maker. The tents fill up so you can't get into one unless you get there early in the day and there are big lines of people waiting to get in. They serve beer all day in liter mugs and they also serve food, huge pretzels, plus dinners. Everyone is jolly, many are very drunk. There is band in the center of each tent and periodically the band plays German beer-drinking songs, and everyone will stand up and join in. Needless to say, for those of you who know Carl, he was in his element. It's one of those events that has to be seen to be believed and the pictures here only give you a taste.

Another stop on our road trip - Lake Annecy in France- turned out to be very beautiful and charming. We had never heard of it before, but it was highly recommended to us by our friend Roger. We stayed in Tailloires, in an old Benadictine Abbey. The weather was crisp but I mannaged to get in a good swim in the lake. We stayed 2 nights, then headed back to Switzerland before leaving for Germany.