Nimes

(Pictures: Nimes Arena; Maison Carree; Boulevard de Victor Hugo, along a canal in Nimes; view of the Jardins de la Fontaine; the Tour Magne; view of Nimes from the top of the Tour Magne)

Today was our last full day in France, and we spent it touring the city of Nimes and visiting the various Roman ruins that are located here. All of the ruins in the city are over 2000 years old. The weather was absolutely gorgeous (yes, the sky really was that blue!) and the day was very enjoyable. May 1 is a holiday in France, similar to Labor Day in the United States. There was a large marathon being held in the city this morning, and we saw many of the participants pass by as we walked along. It was neat to see the city celebrating, with musicians and dancers creating a lively atmosphere in the city square.

First we went to the Nimes Arena and took a very interesting audio tour. We learned all about the history of the arena, as well as Roman culture and customs, including gladiators and other spectacles. This arena is one of the 20 largest Roman arenas that remain today, and is the most well-preserved of all of them.

We then headed to the Maison Carree, a Roman temple. Unfortunately the temple is under restoration and some unsightly scaffolding was set up all along one side, but it was still a great sight to see. After a break for lunch, I headed to the Jardins de la Fontaine which were beautiful! A system of canals runs through this large park, and there are many fountains scattered throughout. The scenery was almost tropical, and reminded me of how close I am to the Mediterranean Sea. After passing through the park, I walked up to the top of the hill, which also has many walking paths weaving through a quiet, wooded area. At the top of the hill is the Tour Magne, an ancient Roman watchtower. This is the highest point in the city. I climbed to the top and viewed a wondeful panorama of the city of Nimes and the surrounding area.

It was a last day very well spent. Tonight we catch an evening train back to Paris, and tomorrow we fly home, marking the end of our trip. It's been an amazing experience and I've very much enjoyed documenting it every step of the way! Thank you for reading!

Pont du Gard

We caught another early morning train and made our way to Nimes. Nimes is in the region of Provence and is only 20 km away from the Mediterranean Sea! Here we met Gramzie’s French friend Terri. They were at Wellesley together for one year while Terri had a scholarship to study in the United States. Terri is really great and it’s been fun to have another native French person to show us around.

We got lunch at a little outdoor café and then caught a bus to the Pont du Gard. This is a 2000 year-old Roman aqueduct a little ways outside the city. This might be my favorite thing that we have seen so far. I distinctly remember studying the Pont du Gard in school and thinking it was really interesting, and it was my specific request that this be added to our itinerary. And was it worth it! The weather was absolutely beautiful today and the time spent outside was very enjoyable. There are many different paths around the Pont, each providing a different, spectacular view. I hiked to the top of the hill and viewed the Pont from the top. During the peak season, May to September, visitors can climb to the top of the aqueduct and walk along. Unfortunately for me, today is April 30th! Oh well. The trip was still amazing and I really loved it.

For dinner the three of us went to a little restaurant nearby our hotel. This was a very neat little establishment. It is owned by a 74 year old woman who has been running it for 48 years! It was all traditional, home-cooked French cuisine. For an appetizer we had fish soup which was different but very tasty. Then we had rib steak served with delicious mashed potatoes, and the traditional French dish – Ratatouille! It was all very good. I was too full for dessert but Gramzie had a caramel crème dish, similar to Crème Brulee (I’ve learned this is her favorite dessert – she gets it every chance she has!) and Terri had the a flan-like dessert served with pears.

Tomorrow is our last day in France and we will spend it touring the city of Nimes and the ancient Roman ruins located here.

Cahors and Grotte du Pech-Merle

Today Gramzie and I caught an early morning train from Paris to Cahors, a small town about 350 miles south. Cahors is in the Dordogne region of France and in the middle Pyrenees. It was interesting watching the terrain change as we traveled. It is very rocky and mountainous here. Very unlike the rolling hills and fields of the Ile-de-France region in which we biked.

After arriving at our hotel, we took a taxi to Cabrerets, about 20 miles east. This is the location of the Grotte du Pech-Merle, a prehistoric cave that contains many paintings, drawings and carvings that are 25,000 years old! Unfortunately I was not allowed to take any pictures in the cave, but I posted a few from the Internet just so you could see what I'm talking about. Pech-Merle is much bigger than I was expecting! To tour the whole cave took about an hour, and there are 15 different sections of paintings. The most famous is the spotted horses, which the artist painted on a rock face that is actually naturally shaped like a horse's head (horse on the right). It was a very interesting experience, and once again, I especially appreciated seeing these same caves that I distinctly remember studying and admiring in art history. Very, very cool.

Dinner was superb! We ate at the hotel restaurant, which is actually a 4 star establishment and has the reputation of being the best place in town. It was very fancy and very good. We started with a tiny leg of pigeon and two little puff pastries that were served with a beet cream spread. Neither was something I would have tried on my own most likely, but I was glad I did! Surprisingly good! My appetizer was some kind of creamed cauliflower, almost like a mousse, served with stalks of asparagus and lobster. Gramzie and I ordered the same main course. A filet of Sole served over top a flaky croissant with tomato paste and calamari. Delicious! And of course, the best part about fancy restaurants is that the portion sizes are on the small side - but this simply meant we had room for dessert! I had pear sorbet and Gramzie had a praline souffle served with mandarin oranges and green tea sorbet. Everything was wonderful and we very much enjoyed our "splurge" meal of the trip.

Tomorrow we take a 6am train to Nimes, where we meet Gramzie's college friend Terri!

Versailles

(Pictures: Chapel in the Chateau, the Hall of Mirrors, View of the Grand Canal and Gardens, View of the Chateau, inside the Temple of Love, a path through the gardens)


Today Gramzie and I visited Versailles, the famous Chateau of the French royalty. Versailles is about 22 km outside of Paris and about 45 minutes by train. We toured the chateau, which is, not surprisingly, very grand. The famous Hall of Mirrors was particularly interesting to see, as were the king's and queen's apartments. It is impossible to describe the scale of Versailles, although I will say that I can't imagine calling a place like that my home - even if I were a queen!

We walked through the gardens and to the living quarters of Marie Antoinette - the Grand Trianon and the Petit Trianon. These were buildings about 3 km away from the main chateau that she built and designed in an effort to have a more "simple" living space - simpler than the chateau they may be, but they are many, MANY times the size of a normal house today, so I wouldn't say she was roughing it when she lived there.

We really enjoyed the day today, and luckily the rain held off for the most part. Tomorrow we have a very early start as we say Au revoir to Paris. We make our way to Cahors and the Grotte du Pech Merle.

Musee du Louvre

(Pictures: Venus de Milo, Winged Victory of Samothrace, Mona Lisa, dining room in Napoleon's apartments, an art student's work)

Today Gramzie and I visited the Louvre. It was great. We saw so many famous works of art, and many that I remembered studying in art history. That's been particularly enjoyable for me - seeing the real works that I studied in school. The Louvre is too large to see in its entirety in one visit, so Gramzie and I each picked out some areas that we wanted to prioritize. We did the highlights of course, as seen in my pictures, and also went through the Northern school of painting, Italian paintings, French paintings, Greek and Roman antiquities, Egyptian antiquities, the apartments of Napoleon III, and various other sections we meandered through going from one place to another. We spent the whole day at the Louvre and we're both very tired!

For dinner we ate at a restaurant near our hotel and we each ordered veal Milanese with penne pasta. It was very good. We also made a pact to not eat any bread during this meal so we'd have room for dessert! All week we've skipped out on delicious French desserts because we're always too full! But today Gramzie Creme Brulee and I had a crepe with coconut and chocolat sauce and vanilla ice cream. Delicious!

Tomorrow we head out of Paris for the day to visit Versailles. Stay tuned!

Musee d'Orsay and Le Marais

(Pictures: Musee d'Orsay, Shakespeare and Company, Musee de Picasso, Notre Dame at sunset, me, Nadia and Gramzie)

Today we went to the Musee d'Orsay in the morning. This is probably the second most popular museum in Paris, next to the Louvre. I really enjoyed this visit. They have a diverse collection of materials, and an especially broad collection of paintings, which I really enjoyed viewing. My favorite section was the Impressionist rooms, but I think that's the favorite of a lot of people! Monet, Renoir, Cezanne, Degas, Van Gogh, and Sisley (who we learned about in Moret-sur-Loing) were among the artists represented.

After touring the museum, we met Gramzie's friend Nadia. She was an exchange student when she was in high school with my great aunt and uncle, and is a professional interpreter. It was a really neat experience to spend the afternoon with her. We ate lunch at a charming little French tea house and then walked around part of the city with her. We saw the coolest little book shop I've ever seen, Shakespeare and Company - floor to ceiling covered in books! It was great. Then she took us to Le Marais, a famous neighborhood in Paris. There are so many little streets filled with cute shops and gardens, and it was great to walk around and get a feeling for the area. Gramzie and I really enjoyed being shown the city by a person who lived there many years.

We went to dinner at a restaurant called Les Editeurs - another book themed establishment! It was really cute. We hadn't made any set plans for our time that evening, so Gramzie and I decided to go on a sightseeing river cruise after dinner. I'm really glad we did this. We got to see a new perspective of Paris and view many of the major monuments by night! It was really pretty.

Tomorrow we head to the Louvre!

Back to Paris!

(Pictures: Eiffel Tour, Sacre Coeur in Montmartre, view from the dome of Sacre Couer with the Eiffel Tour in the distance, a field of grape trees in the Clos du Montmartre vineyard, the Moulin Rouge, one of the many cool Metro signs in Paris, the view from my hotel room - the Eiffel Tour at sunset with the Hotel des Invalides in the foreground)


As I'm writing this, I'm looking out my window at the Eiffel Tour, aglow with thousands of golden lights as night is falling over Paris. This has to be the best view from any hotel room I've ever had. Ever.

Today began at the early hour of 5am! We had a very early breakfast, loaded our luggage and said "Au revoir!" to The Fleur and her crew by 6am. Some of our group members had a 10:30 flight so we had to make the two hour bus ride back to Paris very early in order to get them there on time. About half the group was heading home, the other half was extending their visits and doing a variety of things. Some were staying in Paris longer, others were going to Strasbourg, some were going to Germany, and two were even taking the train to Istanbul! I certainly was spending time with a bunch of globetrotters this week.

After we left the group in Paris, Gramzie and I took a taxi to our hotel. We were in Paris by 8am and our room wasn't ready yet, so we dropped our luggage in storage and headed out. I intended on taking advantage of the early start and getting a full day in! We began making our way to the Eiffel Tour. Unfortunately the forecast is calling for rain the next few days, but the skies were still fairly clear when we got to Paris so we wanted to do the Eiffel Tour right away, before the rain moved in. We got there just in time. It was a bit cloudy when we made our way to the top, but at least the rain held off until later this afternoon. The trip to the top was a lot of fun. The view is, of course, incredible. It was fun to try and find all of the spots around Paris we had visited the week before. I posted several pictures, but I got a couple of, what I think are, cool shots that I wanted to share!

After the Eiffel Tour, we took the metro back to our hotel to check in. We did a little bit of settling in, and then headed back out to see more of the city. Our hotel is near the Sorbonne, the top university in France. We ate lunch at a cute little outdoor cafe very near our hotel. I had a delicious bowl of French onion soup, and a salad of field greens, smoked salmon, tiny shrimps, cucumber, tomato, and avocado, in a mild cocktail sauce dressing. It was great! Filling but refreshing.

After we'd revived ourselves over lunch, we took the metro to Montmartre. Montmartre is a very cool neighborhood on the northern most edge of Paris. It is set on a steep hillside, and on top is Sacre Couer, a church and one of the most recognizable landmarks in Paris. The church is very unique looking, and to me, almost looks more like a mosque than a Catholic church. The fact that it has domes instead of traditional steeples is what, I think, sets Sacre Couer apart from the other cathedrals in Paris. I made the 300 step climb to the top of the dome (Gramzie sat this portion of the adventure out) and saw another incredible view of the city. Despite the clouds, a lot of landmarks could be made out in the distance, including the Eiffel Tour.

We spent the afternoon doing a self-guided walking tour through Montmartre, browsing in many of the cute little shops that are scattered throughout the neighborhood. We ended by passing by the famous Moulin Rouge. This was a fun site to see. Obviously the movie has made it very well-known, and the Moulin Rouge and its windmill are now a trademark symbol of Paris. We then hopped on the metro and went back to our hotel. We ate at another cafe for dinner. I wasn't too hungry after the big salad I had for lunch, so I had a crepe with ham, cheese and egg for dinner. It was simple but very tasty.

It was a marathon day of sightseeing and I think I finally wore Gramzie out! Tomorrow will be another packed day so check back to read about it!

Dordives to Montargis

(Pictures: Biking along the canal, railroad crossing closed!, display at the glass museum, Jean Claude the glassblower, a WWII memorial en route to Montargis)

Today was our last day of biking, and it was a day full of adventures! We set off in the morning and began making our way to Dordives. Our first destination was a glass blowing museum. But with the museum in sight, and only a set of railroad tracks left to cross, we discovered to our dismay that the crossing was closed and we couldn’t get by! Since we’d been biking along the canal, we had to go back almost the entire way we’d already come to find another crossing. It was a bit of a setback and made us late to our tour of the museum, but secretly I was a bit glad because it meant more time on the bikes!

Once we finally made it to the museum, we were given a very nice tour by a British lady named Sue. The museum traces the history of glass making and has many, many examples of different types of glass products and glassblowing tools. We saw one piece that one an award for the best piece of glassware made in 2007 in France. It was a large sphere shaped piece that is made of thousands of joints in the shapes of birds and other animals, and took 18 months and over 600 hours of work to complete! After the tour we watched a demonstration by a retired glassblower. This was really neat to watch. He showed us how they use a blow-torch to heat the glass, and spin it into different shapes. Anything he made was attached to a long cylinder of glass which he blew into to fill the soft glass with air and give it shape. He even designed a face into a sphere of glass, and gave it to me to take home!

After the museum we made our way to Montargis where we are staying tonight. Along the way we stopped in Ferrieres for lunch. We got more sandwiches from a little bakery shop and for dessert Gramzie had Crème Brulee and I had a raspberry tart. It was very good. On our way we encountered more obstacles. It seemed to be a prime day for road work and construction in France, and Odile had to ask very nicely several times for permission to pass – otherwise we would have had to go way out of the way of our route! Not so hard to detour in a car, but many extra miles on a bike isn’t always possible! But Odile is very charming and we were allowed to pass.

Montargis is a very nice little city of about 50,000 people. It is called the Venice of Galatais, the region of France in which it is located, because many different canals run through the town. There was a nice main street with many shops and Gramzie and I had a pleasant afternoon outing browsing around. That evening Odile told us we biked about 20 miles today, making for a grand total of 110 over the course of the trip! Not too shabby!

The farewell dinner was delectable. Markus pulled out all the stops to impress us one last time. Our appetizer was an arugula salad with country ham, which is similar to prosciutto. The main course was duck cooked in an orange glaze, chickery – a vegetable I’d never had before but is somewhat like an artichoke but with a more bitter taste, tomato and endives. After the main course we had a wonderful cheese platter with four different types of cheese, and grapes and nuts. The cheese was delicious. With the cheese we had port wine and Reint made a farewell toast. And this wasn’t all! Afterwards we had a crepe served with marinated pineapple and French vanilla ice cream with toasted almonds. It was all superb. Markus really outdid himself!

Sadly it was our last meal on board the Fleur. Tomorrow we leave at 6am!!! to head back to Paris and say farewell to our fellow bikers. But just because the bike trip is over doesn’t mean my adventures with Gramzie are! Check back tomorrow to see what else we’re up to!

Nemours to Neronville

(Pictures: A section of the Bourdelle gardens, a field of blooming canola seed, Chateau-Landon from a distance)

Today was a great day full of biking. We covered 29 miles! We started off at 9 as usual and began making our way to Bourdelle. On the way there we had a small mishap. One member of the group got a flat tire just before the bottom of our first large climb. Unfortunately, she was at the back of the line so Odile had already made it to the top by the time she found out what had happened! She had to turn around, ride back down to patch the leak, and then do the climb all over again. I suppose that’s the price you pay for being the leader!

We were a little behind schedule after that so we didn’t take too many breaks until we got to the sight of our first excursion, Bourdelle. This is a tiny little town that is home to the gardens and museum of Antoine Bourdelle, a French sculptor in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The garden was very beautiful and the large sculptures are displayed all around. I had never heard of this artist before but the tour was very interesting and fun to learn about him.

After the tour of the garden, we biked a short ways to the town of Egreville where we stopped for lunch. We went to a little bakery and had quiche Larraine, and Gramzie and I split a country ham sandwich. Both were very good.

After lunch, we biked for a good while longer, conquered a few more hills, and made it to the town of Chateau-Landon. This is a medieval town that is set high on a hill (which we had to bike up!) and is fortressed all around. The large church dates back to 1064. There is also a very large abbey that used to be the home of Benedictine monks. At the foot of the hill there are some beautiful gardens which we were able to tour. The whole town was very quaint and idyllic.

Dinner was delicious, again. Chicken soup with angel hair pasta to start. Breaded catfish fillets with eggplant, zucchini, and sun-dried tomato, with a bean sprout and vinaigrette salad and some kind of potato cake as the main course. Dessert was something I’ve never had before – a cheese mousse parfait! It was served with sliced pears and cherries. It was delicious! Not everyone liked it but I really enjoyed it.

Tonight we stay on the canal in Neronville. There isn’t much around but the scenery is very pretty. Tomorrow is a sad day – our last day of biking. We travel to Montargis where our bike and barge journey ends.

Fontainbleau to Nemours

(Pictures: View of Fontainbleau from the gardens, the library, the Queen's bed chamber, the King's bed chamber, a green bedroom, a vine-covered house on the way to Nemours, Cookie!)

Today we started biking in the morning and arrived at the chateau of Fontainbleau. On the way we biked through the woods of Fontainbleau. It was fun to go off-roading for a little bit! Our bikes are somewhere between a road bike and a mountain bike so we've been able to go on a variety of terrain without much trouble. Once we arrived at the chateau we had a guided tour which was very interesting. Fontainbleau has a long history and was an official residence for many of the French kings dating back to the middle ages. This is the site where Napoleon abdicated the throne. We were able to see the desk he signed the papers on, and the staircase where he officially stepped down!

After our tour, we had about two hours to get lunch and walk through the gardens. Gramzie and I went to a little sandwich shop and got ham and cheese sandwiches on baguettes, and ate a picnic lunch in the gardens. The weather was beautiful again and walking through the gardens and fountains around the chateau was very pleasant. We also walked into town and browsed through a few shops, and Gramzie and I went for a ride on the Merry-go-round in the square! It was fun.

We biked the rest of the afternoon to the town of Nemours where we are staying tonight. The bike ride was again very pleasant. We stopped in the little town of Grez-sur-Loing where a bridge is located that has been painted many times by Impressionist painters. It was very picturesque. In order to get to the barge we had to cross a little footbridge that we were not allowed to ride our bikes on. The French have a funny little "bike barrier" invention, as we decided to call it, which prevent people from riding their bikes on the bridge. It's a stone with a little groove just the size of a bike tire with a metal gate on each side that is just wide enough for a bike to pass through. It basically forces you to get off your bike and walk it through the opening. It was a clever little contraption and not anything I've seen before.

Dinner was wonderful, as usual. All the people on this trip (except me, of course) have been on previous bicycle trips and many were commenting tonight that the food was never as good as this trip. I guess Markus really is exceptional! For starters we had Caprese salad, which is already a favorite of mine so I was really looking forward to it. The way Markus prepared it was great - slices of tomato, fresh mozzarella, and avocado, topped with basil pesto. Dinner was actually Indian food tonight. We had "Thailand tortillas," as Markus described them - basically crispy tortilla shells. We broke these into pieces and ate rice and curry chicken on top. We ate this with a white cabbage salad that was similar to coleslaw. It was very good. For dessert we had passion fruit sorbet with other diced fruit on top, plus a splash of champagne! It was great!

Tomorrow is supposed to be our most difficult day of biking. There were some grumbles and worried looks when Odile told us this, but I'm excited! I suppose I have an unfair advantage over everyone else, but I can't help that so I'll just keep enjoying myself. Check back tomorrow to see how we faired in the hills!