Domestication

we spent the day as promised getting ourselves all settled. Clothes have been washed, travelers checks cashed and groceries bought. Some pictures have been uploaded, though they are not yet ready for public consumption. Takes a long time to upload 300 or so pictures.

 
We slept in a bit this morning, then got a three cheese quiche to split and a pain au chocolat apiece. We hopped on the metro down to L'Opera to the American Express office to cash our travelers checks. Of course the office was not quite where we thought it would be, but we found it eventually. And boy, was it a madhouse down around the Opera. Tourists, hustlers, crazies, you name it!

We left our clothes washing at the laundromat and did today's shopping. It was lots of fun. You go to lots of different stores for each kind of thing you want. A bread store, a veggie store, a cheese store, etc. I think we made about seven different stops in all. Great people watching as we went. Back to the apartment to put things away and then back down to the laundromat to get our clothes to bring back to hang to dry. Lots of walking and stair climbing.

We had gotten these great bread, tomato, feta cheese, basil things that we had for lunch. Then I had to take a nap. Our apartment is great, but the bed is not so awesome. It is a futon that sags in the middle, so I spent most of the night hanging onto the edge for dear life. If I turned on my other side, I would roll down into the hollow in the middle and smother. Not terribly restful. Plus, it is vacation and I can nap when I want.

Rob made the infamous Big Salad that he perfected mere blocks from here when a poor student without a real kitchen. I think the one we had tonight was  bit more high brow - roquefort blue cheese, white anchovies, fancy olives.

We went for a stroll after dinner, hoping to drop into the Montmartre Cemetery, but all the gates were closed for the night. So we went up to the top of Montmartre and down over the other side a bit into the really expensive neighborhood. We window shopped for an apartment or house over there - they are going for $2-3 million. That's actually euros, but I have no idea where the euro symbol is on my computer. So, a lot.

According to our hostess, the movie Amelie has had a huge impact on real estate here in Montmartre, much like Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil or Fried Green Tomatoes. Apparently, it has had a lot to do with Montmartre getting trendy and yuppiefied.

So we are off to bed early tonight. We plan to hit the Louvre tomorrow, which will likely be an all day event. I hope to finish the pictures tomorrow, but, hey, I'm on vacation; I'll get to them at least by the time we leave.

Home Sweet Home a Paris

We made it back to Paris late this afternoon. We are comfortably ensconced in our apartment, where we will be staying until our departure on May 5. 

We had a wonderful stay in Maintenon at Le Vieux Logis in the Coquelicot room. Unfortunately, the WiFi (pronounced WeeFee in French) did not work, so we were unable to update you on our progress. We have not had a chance to work on the picture issue either, but rest assured that we will get on that tout suite!

I am afraid this will be rather long, as I have to go back to yesterday morning to begin reporting and we have seen a lot between then and now! So go get a drink or a snack before reading the rest of this - I'll wait....


Okay, all ready? So we awoke in Chartres yesterday morning after a wonderfully restful and quiet night at the Hotellerie St. Yves. We had breakfast at the hotel and it was quite the experience, at least for me. They had a self serve coffee maker contraption that was quite the delight! You just put your cup under the spout and the pressed the button for the kind you wanted. 

I started with a cafe court (cafe short or espresso), and then, because it was so much fun, I moved onto a cafe au lait (coffee with milk, which is two cafe court with frothy milk added - like a latte). I could have stayed there all day making myself all sorts of coffees and chocolates. Alas, there were sights to see! Plus the waitress already had a great deal of material for telling stories about the silly Americans at breakfast.


Our first stop was a climb up the north tower of Chartres Cathedral or Cathedrale Notre Dame de Chartres . We went up and up and round and round a teeny little spiral staircase. The view from the top is unbelievable. Rob took tons of pictures of the sculptures that surround the arch openings even at that height. The amount of work and craftsmanship that went into the construction of the cathedral is amazing. We could have stayed up there for hours, but...

We had to go on the crypt tour at 11:00am, so we had to come down. The name of the tour is a bit of a misnomer as most of the area we toured is actually the lower church. Masses for the public are held there regularly, as are christenings at the baptismal font, which dates from the 12th century. 


This tour included the Carolingian St. Lubin crypt that was constructed in 858. A column there dates from the 6th century and some paving from the 4th century. There is also a well from Gallic times (4th century?) into which the Vikings supposedly flung people in 858. We are talking REALLY old stuff here. I love old stuff. The tour was in French, which I followed a little until my brain got tired (about 3 minutes in), but I was just happy to be surrounded by really old stuff.

Interestingly, they are continuing the tradition of continually adding to and repairing the cathedral. One of the stained glass windows in the lower church was installed about a month ago. The cathedral is a living, breathing building that is still serving the religious community, as well as displaying beautiful religious art for the enjoyment of all. It is also still a pilgrimage destination for the devout.


After our crypt tour we bought a baguette and some camembert and enjoyed a picnic in a park directly behind the cathedral. We then went to the Chartres Centre International du Vitrail (Center for Stained Glass, where you can attend classes even as an average Joe). It has a very informative exhibition of stained glass (all text in very technical French). I really enjoyed the building, the cellar of which was built in the 12th century. It had gothic arched ceilings inside and rough stone outside, but the outside was below ground - thus the word cellar! The upper floors were newer, but still old - timbered with huge beams. All very fascinating.

Our brains were ready to explode after all that visual candy and French translation, so we sat at an outdoor cafe in lounge chairs looking up at the cathedral. Rob had his first citron presse, of which he is now a great fan. It is pressed lemons to which you add your own sugar and water to make the perfect lemonade. I, of course, had a cafe (espresso). We watched the birds riding the updrafts created by this massive building and generally stared in awe. Then we grabbed our bags and headed to the train station (la gare) to go to Maintenon.


We managed to get on a train which had its first stop in Maintenon, so we only rode for 10 minutes. We headed to the city center to find a map to find our hotel, only to discover that we had actually passed it on our way in. So we back tracked a few blocks to Le Vieux Logis. 

The house was a relais de la poste long, long ago. It is several centuries old and backs up to the Louis XIV Canal, which was built during the 17th century during his reign. It was covered in a wisteria vine that was also extremely old - the stem is the size of a good sized tree trunk! It also had a lovely garden out back complete with cats to play with.

Once checked in, we had a stroll along the canal followed by a lovely dinner at Le Vieux Logis. Dessert was ice cream that was flavored with real flowers - a scoop of violet and a scoop of rose, as well as one called pain epice, or spiced bread. It tasted of maybe anise or cloves or cinamon or all of those. It was very good and very interesting.

This morning (Thursday) we had breakfast in the bed and breakfast, ran along the canal and then headed out to tour the Chateau de Maintenon

The property includes aqueducts that Louis XIV ordered built to carry water from the River Eure to Versailles to keep all the fountains flowing. War broke and the master builder died so the project was never finished. It was a bit of a boondogle anyway as the aqueduct was to be about 66 miles long with three levels. Only the first level covering a short distance was ever built and it has been allowed to fall into ruin since. Very bucolic ruins with vegetation growing from it and birds nesting in its cracks.

We left Maintenon in mid-afternoon on the train and returned to Paris. After a quick walk down a long tunnel, we hopped on the metro. We walked up the long staircase to emerge from the Abbesses metro station in the heart of Montmartre in Paris. A short walk up a steep hill brought us to our Home  Sweet Home a Paris .

We are very glad to stay in one place for multiple nights. The apartment is very spacious and in a great location. We got moved in, went for a stroll and then stopped in a cafe for a great dinner. Probably the best meal I have had yet. I had a butterbean (white) soup, tomato pie with a side of olive paste and a green salad. For dessert we both had a tiny chocolate cake with warm chocolate syrupy stuff in the center and raspberry coulis (drizzly syrup). Yum!


Now we are back in for the night. Rob is checking out all the books, of which there are many, including a cartoon book that he is chuckling over as I type. I think it is making fun of George W. Bush. Plenty to laugh at there.

We plan to reconnoiter, do laundry, label and post pictures, grocery shop and generally get thoroughly moved in tomorrow. Maybe get our travelers checks exchanged. It may rain and it will be a bit cooler, but it is spring time in Paris, after all. 


A bientot!

Let The Touring Begin!

We began the day with a small petite dejuener in a garden next to the church across the street from our hotel. Notice I keep reporting on the food - I know my audience! Pain au chocolat, bagel, juice, cafe au lait.

We took the train to Chartres (my first French train ride!) in the middle of the day, arriving in time for a quick reconnoitering and we found the hotel quite easily.  We could not yet check in, so, of course, we ate! We had a delicious full lunch complete with wine and a long wait for the check - everything one could hope for in a leisurely French lunch. Rob was quite fascinated by the road crew that was installing a stone road in front of the bistro. He particularly liked the stone cutting that was demonstrated several times for us over the course of lunch. Quite loudly.


The Hotellerie St Yves is built on the site of the monastery that was attached to the cathedral. Some of the ruins of the old buildings are still visible - they make up a delightful courtyard that is full of flowers and birds. We have an excellent view of the city and river valley from our room.


Once checked in, we strolled around the old part of Chartres. The Eure River flows through here and some of the old mills and other buildings along it are still in use today as residences and businesses. We found some very interesting timbered buildings, including the one now housing the visitors' center. It is kinown as the Salmon House due to the carving of a salmon, among others, in one of the wooden pillars on the front. Unfortunately, it was covered in netting and scaffolding so we can't show any pictures.


We also toured the cathedral. It has incredibly beautiful stained glass windows that are famous for their number and their intense blue color. It has three rose windows in addition to a particularly famous window depicting the Virgin Mary.


The cathedral is in the beginning stages of a multi year restoration that involves cleaning the inside stone as well as the stained glass windows. The difference between the cleaned areas and the still dirty areas is startling. Once the whole thing has been done, it will completely change the feeling inside the cathedral. It will go from a very dim, heavy feeling interior to a bright, light space. I am eager to return once the restoration is complete to see if I even recognize the place!


We went for a run on a pedestrian path along the river after our tour of the cathedral. The path goes along next to a paved bike-specific path that winds around buildings and through town and across main roads. It was quite nice and we had a good time bird watching as we ran.


After dinner we walked back up to the cathedral on our way to the hotel and we were treated to an amazing light show that apparently runs several times a night beginning in April. They project lights onto the west facade that morph over time and include accents along architectural features. It included projections of some of the stained glass windows, which then seemed to crack and fall. It was really quite impressive and terribly hard to describe. 


Chartres is definitely a city for the pedestrian and we have enjoyed taking advantage of that. It is surrounded by countryside and it was a treat to ride through beautiful fields of green and gold on our way here. It is too bad that we could not be on the bikes, but next time we will!

We are having technical difficulties with attaching pictures this evening and it is bed time. We will work on correcting that and will let you know if you should review this post for pictures in the future.

Bonne Soiree!

Nous Sommes Arrive!

Let the eating begin! 

After landing on the tarmac - first time for that in years - we made our way from the airport to our hotel on the train. We had only slight confusion on Blvd de Montparnasse vs Rue de Montparnasse; fortunately, the hotel had a big sign out front that could not be missed if one happened to glance that way.


Our first meal here was classic French - crepes! Yummy! We had a main course crepe, which is a galette when a main course, then we split a dessert crepe, which is then a crepe. A gooey, warm Nutella crepe!


We got checked into the Hotel Renoir, which is in an old building and has the classic spiral staircase. Boy will that put the burn on your legs, not to mention make you dizzy!


We decided to just wander yesterday afternoon and go wherever our whims directed. We were much too jetlagged to make any real decisions. So we walked around le Jardin du Luxembourg before making our way over to Notre Dame.

All the chestnut trees in the Luxembourg Gardens are blooming and they are beautiful! It is hard to describe how many there are and how huge some of them are. There are rows and rows of them cut into hedges that form an allee that goes from the old Palais du Luxembourg out to the edge of the Gardens and continues on down the boulevard.

There were lots of people in the Gardens sitting in the fresh air and sunshine, playing chess, tennis and boule, taking pictures, admiring the flowers. We were definitely not the only gawking tourists there!


We wandered down to a book store that Rob remembered to buy a book of maps of Paris after leaving the Jardin du Luxembourg. It was a great book store, but we did not linger because I was feeling an almost irresistable desire to crawl under a display and go to sleep. I think that is frowned upon here.

Notre Dame de Paris looked sparkling clean and bright in the sunlight. We both think it has had a bath since either of us was here 20 years ago. We continued to wander and took pictures and people watched.

We seem to be on a crusade to remark upon on the old models of cars that are still running around. We will have a complete album of original Minis, old Fiats, Citreons, and the like very soon!


Dinner was mussels that came with a side of frites (that is french fries, which aren't really French at all, I don't believe), beer and wine in a Belgium styled brasserie. Cheese plate for dessert.


I tried to write the blog last night, but was wise enough not to post what had been written since I was cross eyed with sleepiness. Needless to say, I just started over this morning - wouldn't you like to know what I wrote to start with?! 

We were convinced we would be up at 5am or some other ridiculous hour this morning since our bodies are still on Utah time and we went to bed at about 8:30pm last night. Ha! I slept until 7:15am until some little internet browsing mouse woke me up. No cats head butting me or biting my chin or stepping on my hair or lying across my chest or standing on me or... oh sorry, got a little carried away with how bad that cat is. Anyway, no dogs or cats demanding I get up and feed them or let them out and just pay attention to them in general. It was lovely. Now if could just do something about that mouse....


We are headed to breakfast soon and then on to Chartres for this evening.

T Minus One

Tomorrow should be the day! Flights continue to arrive and depart with no problem in most of Europe. Iceland has finally had to close some of its airports.  Hmph.

We are cleaning, cutting grass, packing and dog sitting four extra dogs (the cat is thrilled - no seriously, it gives him even more dogs to boss around) today - all the things one must do before being gone for an extended time. Actually I feel quite like the Pied Piper whenever I walk anywhere in the house; I have six dogs ranging in size from about 75 lbs down to about 6 lbs plus one 17 lbs cat shadowing my every move. It is annoying, but it does make one feel popular!

Flight is at 5:00 pm tomorrow and we aren't assuming anything until we are actually on the ground at Charles de Gaulle airport. We do need to find a hotel in Paris for our first night still, but I think we can do that fairly easily through Google maps. Rob continues to toy with the idea of renting bikes for our journey out to Chartres and Maintenon. It would involve a ride of about 35 miles on a bike that is sure to fit no one, especially me, so we (I) are definitely not yet sold on it. I know my back would start to hurt in approximately 5.2 seconds on my bike until we got a shorter stem (made me not have to reach out for the handlebars quite so far), so I know how much an ill-fitting bike can effect ones comfort. And this is, after all, vacation where comfort is of the utmost importance. We are taking our running shoes, so we can still get plenty of exercise - as though walking around Paris all day isn't going to do it!

So assume no news is good news, although if we don't get to go this time I may be too devastated to turn on the computer. Plus, it sure is hard to type with a Pug in your lap or even staring up from the floor imploring you for a little lap time.

Teeters the Pug mix

MeGosh, the chihuahua, Odo the large cat and Teeters

Behold the power of the Evil Eye

Now I must go escort a dog down the hall past the cat. Good thing we have dogs to protect us.

A Ride!

Well, it wasn't the French countryside, but we had a great ride none-the-less.

The day started out cold and rainy (even snowy on the bench, which is further up the mountains to the east of us!). By late afternoon it had cleared up, dried off and warmed up, so we jumped on the bikes.

I even made it up 4500 S all the way from 900 E to Wasatch Blvd. For those of you unfamiliar with our fair burg, that's a hella hill! It will make you either blow the gunk out and get on up the hill or blow a gasket. Anyway, that section of the ride was actually easier than the first time I did it.


We have been enjoying the beautiful spring here despite our travel woes and the amount of pollen in the air. The early lilacs and starting to bloom and the tulips are out. Having lots of those two are one of the great benefits of living in a colder climate.

Still Not On Vacation

It seems that the planes have begun to fly again in Europe. We are keeping our fingers crossed that it will continue through Monday evening so we can make it over to France.

Rob has looked a little into renting bikes for our trip out to Chartres and Maintenon, but we haven't made any definitive plans. He has been searching in French instead of English, but he hasn't found too much more than we found in our original search in English.

In the meantime we are dog sitting Sage, working on house projects and going to work when necessary. It is raining an unusally long and steady downpour; we even had thunder several times today! We might as well be in France with this Spring rain!

We are working on a back up plan for an anniversary trip if we don't make it to France again for some reason. Though I don't want to work on that too much just so I won't jinx the France trip. Not that I am superstitious.

So everyone cross your fingers, throw salt over your shoulder, spin around three times and touch your nose or take whatever other action you think will get us to France this Sunday.

How We Spent Our French Vacation

We should be at the airport getting ready to board our overnight flight to France right about now. Instead we are doing projects around the house. Once we realized that our flight had been cancelled yesterday, all forward momentum and enthusiasm for the task at hand ceased. We sat around and felt sorry for ourselves all afternoon, then went to a bon voyage dinner hosted by friends. Only we failed to voyage.

We do have seats on next Sunday's flight. We will get to Paris at about the midway point of our planned trip. We'll just pick it up there, minus the bikes. So we are going to spend one night in Paris and then travel by train to Chartres. We have a reservation for one night and then we will go to Maintenon for our one night there. We have a special dinner of "local cuisine" scheduled for our evening in Maintenon. Then we will go back to Paris, likely stopping at Verseilles along the way, and stay in the apartment we are renting in Montmartre.

Rob the window washer.

My contribution to the day's "vacation" activities.

Smilie's contribution to the work.

We plan to go to work this week so we don't use up all our vacation sitting at home sulking. We can sit at work and do that! We will have to come home by our original return date because of Rob's work schedule. So we are talking about doing the cycling portion of the trip maybe this fall or next spring. Assuming the Erysklljumnrbnesydwjukllevzxqpjukll volcano stops erupting in time.

Disappointing to not get to ride our bikes around, but still a GREAT vacation.

For those who want to feel envy:

Chartes hotel: http://www.hotellerie-st-yves.com/

Maintenon chambre d'hote: http://www.vieuxlogis-maintenon.com/

Damn Volcano

Aaaaaaaarrrrrrrrggggggghhhhhhhh!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Ahem. Well, our Sunday flight to Paris is officially cancelled. Charles de Gaulle is closed until at least Monday morning. And the Eryrkjkllapplorkjllrwebmngszejjkle volcano seems to be picking up steam. He he, see what I did there? Volcano? Steam?

We are assuming that we won't be able to get on a flight until later this week if the airports do open again. Lots of us will be in line for flights. So its likely the cycling portion of the trip won't happen. We have done a cost benefit analysis and $900 to get bikes over there and back seems mighty steep for only a few days of riding. We will just extend our time in Paris and maybe do more day trips from there by train. All assuming the airports reopen.

Fortunately, Rob got trip insurance. Money well spent. We assumed striking French people would derail the trip and it turns out to be a natural disaster.

Volcano Still Going

Well damn.

Aack! Possible Real Vacation Disaster

So, Iceland had to go and get all cute and have a natural disaster that is effecting the whole rest of the world! Just who do those Icelanders think they are? Airports all over northern Europe are closing due to the ash plume from the volcano eruption. Notice the main airport in Iceland, however, remains open! First they foist Bjork upon us and now this!

Charles de Gaulle airport will close tonight at 11:00 pm. (Though maybe the bigger news is that CDG actually normally closes every night from midnight to 5:00 am.) It may or may not re-open tomorrow. As of now, the flight we will be taking on Sunday that is scheduled for Saturday is still on.

The great thing about our itinerary is that we can just pick up wherever we happen to be in it. If we don't fly until Monday, we ride our bikes to the Monday town. If it's Wednesday, we ride to Wednesday's town. We won't have to reshuffle the whole thing since we are riding in a big circle around Paris. I do want my whole vacay, though!

I do have to say, I am very sorry for the people in Iceland who have been forced out of their homes due to the flooding from the melted glacier. Not fun.

Okay, back to me. The hard part about writing a blog is that I think of something clever and witty to say while I am on the other end of the house getting more coffee or a snack and by the time I get back down on the computer end, I have forgotten what it was. So insert something clever and witty here. Now chuckle, maybe shake your head a little at my impishness. Okay, we can go on now.

Mom has offered to line everyone up facing east and have them all blow as hard as they can to try to push the ash away. Great plan! Huffing and puffing will commence at 7:00 pm MT tonight.

E

Disaster Averted

Disaster was narrowly averted this morning. After having sent a final confirmation email to all the properties where we will be staying on the trip, we innocently, without a worry in our heads (aside from all the normal ones we carry around), went to bed last night.

I checked my email this morning and, fortunately, read them in the order in which they were presented. Newest was at the top. The email was from the Paris property owner, advising that he had a solution to the problem. Problem! What problem? I quickly scanned through to discover that they thought we had not sent a deposit and had rented our apartment to someone else! OUR apartment, the one with the great view of ALL of Paris! With a washer for our stinky bike clothes!Someone else! Where would we stay?!?

The solution was to rent us their other apartment in the same building. No view. No washer. Larger, with a king sized bed, however, and for the same price. So, the panic was kept to a minimum. I emailed back that their solution would be acceptable, but I did manage, without being too childish I hope, to whine about the missing view and washer. It is a delicate balance to let people know you expect something more without annoying them to the point of not giving it to you. I want wine, croissants, dinner! I'd especially take my clothes being washed.

You can check out our new Paris digs at www.vacationhomerentals.com/18463 . We will not suffer unduly.

Otherwise, things seem to be moving smoothly along. We are both ready to leave now and are having a hard time waiting until Sunday.

Au revoir!

Current Weather

Plan your trip Local Radar Detailed Forecast

Planned Route for Bike Tour around Paris

The following links are for our planned routes through the countryside around Paris.

Day 1 April 19 Charles de Gaulle Aeroport to Orry la Ville



Day 2 April 20 Orry la Ville to Beauvais



Day 3 April 21 Beauvais to Soissons





Day 4 April 22 Soissons to Reims



Day 5 April 23 Rest day at Reims

Day 6 April 24 Reims to Broyes



Day 7 April 25 Broyes to Ville-sous-Grez (near Fontainebleau)



Day 8 April 26 Rest Day at Fontainebleau

Day 9 April 27 Ville-sous-Grez to Chartres



Day 10 April 28 Maintenon

North of Chartres

Day 11 April 29 Maintenon to Versailles



Day 12 through 18 April 30-May 5 Paris, Momtmatre, rue Berthe

Pre Trip Travel

So we had a little trial run of our planned travel this weekend. It went pretty well, although we did a run instead of a ride. We made some new friends along the way and got to look at pretty flowers.

We stayed at the MacGregor Inn & Tavern. The accommodations were more than adequate, though the whole place could have used a good vacuumming, quite frankly. We had heard that some really terrific meals could be gotten here, but we found the selection a trifle disappointing. Apparently, no one really felt like cooking the days we were there. The owners were quite friendly and hardworking, however, and that really made up for the other shortcomings.

MacGregor Inn & Tavern

The Innkeeper

Angela the groundskeeper. I understand they pay her in breakfasts.

We also really enjoyed meeting and spending time with the other guests. They were very warm and enthusiastic and seemed to want to spend lots of time with us.

One of the other guests napping on the couch.

Two of the other guests enjoying the warm sunshine.

All in all, we would recommend our weekend activities and accommodations to others. Probably the best part of all was the famous person that stopped by for a few minutes! We had no idea the owners knew anyone like this and she was gracious enough to let us take a quick picture while she was there.

Dolly Parton!

Sat morning run

Countdown

The countdown has begun! Only a week and a half to go until we set sail! Or wing, as the case may be. Rob is at this moment in the garage reattaching my repaired bike computer that got broken last weekend during other bike upgrades. Get one thing fixed up only to create another problem!

We also have French homework to do this evening for our French class at the University tomorrow night. Despite our vowing each week to practice every day, we do our homework and one night of practice every week on Wednesday night! Old school habits die hard!

I have been in caffeine and wine training for the trip. Very important to have one's tolerance high enough so as not to get the coffee shakes in the morning or to embarrass oneself with public drunkeness in the evening. Oh, and we have been riding the bikes some, too!

So we have upgraded my bike with some new components to make it more comfortable and we also got new panniers (bags) for my bike. I have been pretend packing to see just how much stuff in can get in those suckers! Not much.

Rob has a few more things to do to his bike in preparation, then we just have to stuff both bikes in boxes, put our clothes in the panniers and head to the airport!