On July 9th we said goodbye to our boat, our guide, and our fellow passengers and headed to the apartment we are staying in in Paris.
This is the view from our window: the top of the Eiffel Tower. We understand that this lovely building was used by the Gestapo during World War II as a headquarters. The top floor rooms, where we are staying, were used to interrogate prisoners such as those they suspected to be spies.
I wonder whether they looked out and saw this spire above the rooftops.
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Soon after we arrived via the smallest elevator we'd ever experienced, I hung my earrings on the shutters and did my best to capture both the earrings and the Eiffel Tower view.
John and I headed out on our adventures, we thought we'd descend the stairs. They are pre-war, wooden stairs. The metal bannister curves down the 5 flights to a tiny ground floor courtyard with no exit. As we climbed the stairs again, we felt a chill, imagining what might have befallen some who'd traveled those stairs during the war.
When we looked up at the shuttered windows, at the beautiful building where we're staying, we shuddered to think what might have happeded behind those shutters long ago.
And then we headed off to wander the streets of this incredibly beautiful City of Lights. Along the Seine, past the Eiffel Tower.
Our canal boat set sail early in the morning on Friday, July 8th, heading for Paris. We traveled through several locks, the first time on this trip that most of us were on board rather than riding our bikes.
The captain hoped that we could make good enough time as we approached the city that he could take us on a tour of Paris on the Seine. Although we had a slow start, waiting 2 hours for the first lock, we made great time after that.
From our own canal boat, we took the river tour of Paris, all the way to the Eiffel Tower and back to the Arsenal lock. It gave us all a sense of the city, and a good chance to think about how we would spend our time over the next few days.
When we docked, a group of us set out with our guide to visit Montmartre, the highest point in Paris. We spent time inside the Sacre Coeur, the remarkable church begun in 1875 and not completed until 1919, and then wandered through the artist's market before walking down through the winding streets to a cafe and then the metro.
I chose these earrings in honor of the wedding anniversary of my daughter Kathe and her husband Jim. My mother-in-law gave me this set of two small orbs and the matching necklace. They remind me of the possibility offered by marriage: two small individuals who gain the strength to grow and thrive through each other. 07-08-09. A date to remember!
After a day of cultural sites the day before, on Thursday, July 7th we rode around the French countryside. Our guide worked hard to avoid major roads which we would have had to share with speeding trucks and cars.
I was glad to have my bike helmut, my padded bike gloves, my bike saddle with its "anatomic pressure release," and my camelback backpack. Many of those in our group ran out of water during some of our longer, hotter riding days. I kept sipping on my camelback all day long, using my water bottle only at lunch time.
We rode from the lock at Melun to the lock at Evry, a suburb of Paris. It's less than 20 miles as the crow flies. But we rode first to Vaux-le-Vicomte, a chateau built by Louis XIV's finance minister. When Louis visited, he was outraged that one of his employees could build a home more lavish than his own. So he imprisoned the man for the rest of his life, hiring the same architect to build his own palace at Versailles. We peaked through the fence at the chateau, and then headed back towards Melun along the sycamore lined drive, in search of roads less traveled.
Much of our route was along the Seine, next to beautiful retreats for the residents of Paris. We picnicked in front of one that was for sale. John waded into the river, skipping rocks.
John, In-Seine, his sister Beth suggested I should entitle this photo.
Again, only one photo allowed. I'll try again later.
It was drizzling as we set out on the longest, busiest day of our week of biking in France. I chose these simple polymer clay earrings, aqua like my favorite biking shirt.
Here they are, hanging from a candle sconce at Fontainbleau, the chateau that was home to all of the French kings beginning in the 12th century.
Each king sought to demonstrate his own power, building additions, renovating, and improving the palace.
I am trying to add more photos, but alas, something is not working correctly. Later.
For my 55th birthday, I wore my Kenyan Fair Trade bike earrings and rode 55 km, mostly along roads that passed through wheat, corn, barley, and sunflower fields.
I took this photo of my earrings with my bike early in the day as we rode through a forest once reserved for the king and his chevaliers to hunt wild boar and deer.
I am not sure when we will have wifi access again, so I'm going to make some other short posts about recent days. I plan to go back later and add a bit more for each day.
On the 4th of July, we again rode through many fields of grain and through many villages. The temperatures were in the mid 80's for most of the day.
In the afternoon after our group ride I headed into the nearby town of Nemours on my own to see the sites. Since it was Monday, everything including the Tourist Office was closed. But I did walk around the medieval castle and find my way into the cathedral where I took this picture of my 4th of July firecracker earrings, a gift from my flyfishing friend, Bob. Bob is enjoying a stint as an Episcopal minister, so I though he might enjoy seeing his gift on display with the saints du Gatinais.
July 5th was another warm day. We arrived at the Seine River in the afternoon around 2 o'clock (called 14 heures,here), hours before our boat arrived. We wandered the streets of the village of Saint Mammes in search of beer and/or ice cream. Finally, at 3 o'clock, one of our group discovered one bar that was open. I had a great time practicing my French with the bartender and her friend. They were very friendly and willing to let me search for words.
I wore my Schrader valve earrings, shown here on a Leffe bear bottle. The French do not make beer, but they do import it. Our Dutch guide says that this Belgian beer is the best in the world, and he should know: he's cycled through Europe, across North America, through the Amazon, even up to the base camp of Mt. Everest.
What is a Schrader valve? The part of a bicycle inner tube that allows the air to enter but not leave.
In the evening, my husband John and I rode 3 km to the nearby medieval town of Moret sur Loing where we saw the spot we wished we visited earlier--this waterfall, once used in tanning leather, but now the perfect place to cool off at the end of a biking day.
My son is working this summer in summer stock in North Carolina. He told me that the challenge of living, working, and partying with the same people 24/7 is the most difficult part of his life right now. "An introvert needs time alone." This was his comment after 20 days of 13 hour workdays without a day off.
My situation is nothing like that. But riding, eating, and relaxing with a group of 20 people makes it difficult to find time to sit and reflect quietly. My personal space is my bunk. There air is hot and still, and I cannot sit up straight in it. This morning I got up at 6:15, and came up on deck to spend a little time alone.
People are beginning to join me, and conversation distracts. Off to enjoy another day!
Today we will meet the crew and passengers for our boat and bike trip in France. I'm wearing my swan earrings, a birthday gift from my sister-in-law Beth three birthdays ago, when we were on our previous bike and barge expedition in Holland.
I couldn't remember the French word for swam, so I looked in all 3 of our hard-copy resources. No such entry. I went on-line, and presto, cygne. Zut, alors! Je l'ai connu toups le temps. (I'm not sure about connu... it's been 37 years since I sat in French class, and I wasn't great at verb tenses even then... but I'm aiming for connaitre, meaning to know... Shucks! I knew it all along!) Cygnet is a young swan, in English...
I'm also wearing my favorite bike shirt, also from Holland.
Now we're off to find the boat.
Bon voyage!
Tonight in Montargis, a small town in France about an hour south of Paris by train, I sat down at a table with my husband John, his sister Beth, and her husband John for our first sit-down meal since leaving Virginia yesterday. Ma salade preparé avec poulet, oeufs durs, et legumes, le pain, le vin, et l'eau... magnifique!
We flew through Reykjavik, Iceland to Paris, met a driver who drove us to a train, then took the train to this town where we will meet our bicycle tour tomorrow. How glad we were to sit and eat a delicious meal, drink good wine, and relax together, having reached our first destination.
When I was reunited with my checked luggage this afternoon, I put on these earrings (shown here hanging on my wine glass) that my daughter Käthe bought for me in Louisiana last year. The connection? Louisiana's cajun country was settled by the French speaking Acadians who fled south from Canada after the defeat of the French by the British. Through some stretch of my imagination, they seem perfect for our first day in France. No doubt we four each share more than a drop of French blood somewhere in our ancestry. I know the Norman conquerers sired my Ashhurst ancestors, and probably many more.
Des etoilles. Stars. The same ones fill French skies as will rise back home in a few hours. Time for a good night's sleep!
Soon after we arrived via the smallest elevator we'd ever experienced, I hung my earrings on the shutters and did my best to capture both the earrings and the Eiffel Tower view.
