tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-42719853491837629152024-03-19T03:47:25.455-07:00France Randonnée 2013 (aka the France Ramble 2013)The second annual ramble this time through FranceHatchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09775901478599555563noreply@blogger.comBlogger10125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4271985349183762915.post-81202674388616325092013-07-23T18:48:00.003-07:002013-08-19T17:36:15.360-07:00Day 10 - Homeward BoundAfter an uneventful ride to the airport in a Prius cab, a long flight to Dulles and a two-hour drive home (we took the back way this time), our adventure has come to an end. In our 25 years of marriage, we may have just had the best vacation ever. We are already considering the next Euro Ramble, perhaps to Italy.<br />
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Until then, keep rambling.</div>
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Hatchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09775901478599555563noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4271985349183762915.post-783874206082430472013-07-23T18:45:00.002-07:002013-07-27T06:53:46.892-07:00Day 9 - Notre Dame and Le Tour<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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Your Ramblers' last full day in Paris was the hottest yet. Which is not a great outcome when the plan
was to spend most of the day in large crowds.
Another quick jolt of Starbucks coffee and the last of the croissants
from the Cora in Caen served as breakfast.
We decided to check out the Metro today because of the distance to Notre
Dame. Off we went and after some kiosk confusion (a recurring theme) a very
helpful Metro attendant guided us through the steps. I will say this for France, goods are/may
seem expensive, but service is very good and very inexpensive/free. It is a
pleasant tradeoff in many cases. Our Metro tokens acquired, we hopped the
#1 train to the Hotel de Ville station
across the Seine from Notre Dame and walked the short distance to the
cathedral. (Note: For a good part of the trip, your Ramblers thought that "Hotel de Ville" was a hotel, until we noticed that most towns had one. After consulting our trusty iTranslate app, we discovered it means "City Hall".)<o:p></o:p></div>
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Notre Dame has been in existence in some form for 850 years
and it is still in use. Your Ramblers got in the visitor line, but many folks
got in the mass line. Since it was Sunday, morning mass was being held even while
several hundred visitors circled the outer ring inside the cathedral. The cathedral
is an amazing spectacle for the sheer engineering ingenuity and effort it took
to build something like that over 800 years ago. It is also steeped in history as one can imagine
and walking through you can almost feel the intrigue, majesty, charity and horror that has
taken place here. Your Ramblers decided to skip the upper tower tour because of
the line, it was really getting hot, and with Le Tour finishing late in the
evening it was going to be a long day. <o:p></o:p></div>
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We sought out some shade and refreshment (and a bathroom as
well) and found it in a nearby café. A shady spot on the corner was ideal for a
plate of sausages and frites with a small carafe of wine to serve as lunch. Our
bellies full, we decided to reconnoiter the route Le Tour was taking in Paris and
see if any good spots were available. We
found several, but since it was still six or seven hours before the riders would
appear (and Rambler Rule #1 is short lines and don’t sit in the heat for a
really long time) we had to take note and keep moving. The course was already
beginning to get early viewers staking out their spots. The Norwegians had a premo spot just outside
the Louvre. Here is Rambler Jane amongst
the throng.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Rambler Hance found a really great spot (at least better
than anything except the finish, which was grandstanded up for VIPs and
officials) at the 1 KM to go mark. He explained to Rambler Jane the racing at
that point would be intense on the final lap. Rambler Jane seemed less than
impressed. C’est la vie. After wandering in the general area for a
while longer we set off for a Metro
station to catch the train back to the hotel to take a rest. The Paris Metro is actually cool (temp not
cachet). The cars are all open from the front of the train to the rear and they
are connected with flexible joints that when moving make the train resemble a
snake but it allows a lot of airflow through the train. Anyone that has been on
the NYC subway in hot weather knows that is not how the system works there. The A/C in the hotel room felt wonderful and
we settled in for a little blogging and a power nap.<o:p></o:p></div>
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We had been told quasi-reliably by two tourist guides to
show up on the Le Tour route about 2 hours ahead of time. So at 5:30pm we left
our hotel again to brave the heat. Since
the sun stays out until 10:30-11pm, this is similar to 3:30 for our Virginia
readers. (A little latitude lesson: Paris is a degree or two south of 50
degrees North, similar to Ottawa, Canada.) AKA it was still very hot at 5:30pm. The crowds were
really starting to grow, and getting and keeping a premo viewing spot was one
part heat preparation, one part crazy.
After walking a few blocks on the Champs-Elysees, your Ramblers pulled the "go to" card
and went to a café with umbrellas for shade for dinner and some cold beers. That killed an hour or so and the caravan
that precedes Le Tour (all the sponsors have vehicles and floats that precede
the race for the entire 21 days and every town along the route gets this little
advertising parade) started to arrive, so your Ramblers decided to find a spot
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continued to grow and by this point was
three to five bodies deep as far along the course as we could see, which means the
whole 5-6K loop inside Paris must have been this way. Our spot staked out was next to some entertaining young Brits with three plastic shopping bags full of beer from McDonalds, and there we watched
the caravan arrive and dance and wave and do a full on 3D advertising
spectacle. The crowd continued to grow
and now was five to seven deep but strangely peaceful. The last stage of Le
Tour is a sporting oddity. Neither the final
day’s race nor the overall race are really contested until the final lap
when the sprinters go at it. It is more a parade celebrating the end of three
weeks of physical effort for the riders. The presumed winner (presumed
unless he dies on the course or has such a bad wreck he can’t pedal the rest of
the way home) rides in yellow and drinks champagne on his bike with his team
and managers and the peloton casually cruises through the French countryside, then parades into Paris with the team of the yellow jersey leading the
whole peloton into Paris for one lap around the Paris course. All this
cycling description is a long way to say the crowd knows how this ends and
other than a little sprint excitement the whole day is really just a
celebration of cycling, of your countrymen on whatever team and sort of a
festival with closed off streets. By the
time the riders come into town and start traversing the looped circuit in
earnest the crowd in total is probably a million people give or take. It becomes difficult to see other than the
big video boards deployed along the course and even those can be difficult to
see over the heads of the tall, kids and girl friends on shoulders of others
etc. If you really want to see the cycling – watch TV. <o:p></o:p></div>
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As the tour came to and end it was close to 10pm and we retreated to the hotel room to watch the awards ceremony and the light show, which was great. We were bushed and went to bed knowing we were headed for home tomorrow. </div>
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Until then, au revoir and keep rambling.<br />
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As the title of this post implies, this day’s activities centered around the Louvre. Your Ramblers hit the trail with a breakfast
visit to the local McDonalds. A bacon and egg McMuffin and bacon and beef
McMuffin (think bacon cheeseburger with English muffin instead of hamburger
buns) later we headed down the Champs-Elysées to look at all the stores and
make our way towards the Louvre. It was another hot day in Paris and we hugged
the shady side of "le grande avenue". Saw some really cool cars in the Peugeot
store. Wish they would bring some of the
cool small cars sold here to the U.S. <o:p></o:p></div>
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The Louvre is a really, really large former palace connected
to a very large garden called the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tuileries_Garden" target="_blank">Tuileries Gardens</a>.<b> </b>We were afraid of the crowds at a
place as prominent as the Louvre so we set out to find a museum pass that
covers about 60 places in Paris and gives line priority. We received assistance in our quest from a helpful young woman
who told us to go back to the entrance, go underground, and go to a small snack
shop that sold them. What a find! Under
the Louvre is an entire mall as well as multi-story parking facility. We found the shop (and the air conditioning in the mall) and there was <b>n</b>o line to purchase the passes. Win! We purchased two passes and rolled right
on inside via the underground wonderland. The goals were simple. Hit the
highlights and see some Egyptian artifacts for Rambler Jane. We did the big three - Mona Lisa, the Winged Victory and Venus De
Milo before viewing what must have been
the contents of every pyramid, tomb and barbeque shack in ancient Egypt. Art is
impressive but quickly loses its wonder after seeing hundreds of objects.<o:p></o:p></div>
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After the Louvre we hit a Starbucks on the way out to grab
some coffee for a caffeine jolt and some sandwiches to refuel. The sandwiches
were surprisingly good, and we enjoyed them amidst the flora in the gardens. We decided to
walk back to the hotel with our new found energy and hit the other side of the Champs-Elysées for some retail grazing. We also stopped to have a quick libation before
hitting the hotel for showers and dinner. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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We enjoyed the first Christian Constant restaurant so much
we decided to try another. This time we hit up <a href="http://www.maisonconstant.com/violon-ingres/" target="_blank">Violin d’Ingres</a>. We did not have reservations so there was
some hope in our hearts. We arrived at 7:30 and got a table, not a great one, but a table. The staff did their best to make up for the seating and we had
another fabulous meal. Rambler Jane particularly liked the soufflé with caramel sauce she had for dessert--she is convinced that she has reached soufflé nirvana. We wandered back by foot across the Seine and found our way to the Four Seasons George V for a drink. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Some photos from the day. Tomorrow is Notre Dame and Le
Tour.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">HIgh End Hybrid Concept Car</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Models at the entrance to Abercrombie & Fitch</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Louvre</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Fountain on Place de La Concorde</td></tr>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiRWEZ70ItG3RAJJLO6RMnqaXO2iPh1hEBvqkQb2_7XrnqTa03eeSuu5LcstgiQUh9KNdAAuJTr8K-1n5nQEP_RmhrselG6OLRhohipZCaAMREaFeCYs8irm5ujBUgJEoPkTHhOWF2N1rM/s1600/DSC_0300.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiRWEZ70ItG3RAJJLO6RMnqaXO2iPh1hEBvqkQb2_7XrnqTa03eeSuu5LcstgiQUh9KNdAAuJTr8K-1n5nQEP_RmhrselG6OLRhohipZCaAMREaFeCYs8irm5ujBUgJEoPkTHhOWF2N1rM/s400/DSC_0300.JPG" height="267" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Rambler Jane in Front of Louvre</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPQIS4TH5tucDSwU0qTWpOhKWoDgmMJSrJ-54_-jNVu42IxF5kpiQcbCEgtvf1hBg45luvHVFUN0MoPF9ujxT1kDz-qv-CgqBbhyphenhyphenyTpGBmWEqFtHa6bTGU76trDYbTrWJqt1Ek533MOYwL/s1600/P1020766.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPQIS4TH5tucDSwU0qTWpOhKWoDgmMJSrJ-54_-jNVu42IxF5kpiQcbCEgtvf1hBg45luvHVFUN0MoPF9ujxT1kDz-qv-CgqBbhyphenhyphenyTpGBmWEqFtHa6bTGU76trDYbTrWJqt1Ek533MOYwL/s400/P1020766.jpg" height="400" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">You Know Who</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHM3L58f38ZpZ4MAfzHqOZipgUyOGcZ3jTHa4I_AkB9s1Qux00EfZszTHWU_o6jhkCahxq3OZ65mlb8ptW_U7u01dDvAJy44pJVfSAoXRBVACmKlcH-nB5UbeXVa35xRgOT-uav72oXY9-/s1600/P1020852.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHM3L58f38ZpZ4MAfzHqOZipgUyOGcZ3jTHa4I_AkB9s1Qux00EfZszTHWU_o6jhkCahxq3OZ65mlb8ptW_U7u01dDvAJy44pJVfSAoXRBVACmKlcH-nB5UbeXVa35xRgOT-uav72oXY9-/s400/P1020852.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Rambler Jane's Most Excellent Souffle!</td></tr>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6zQdJN68BWkw-njjQfzaDmRVtpfJoMoUs_UBLTJAMqXyAHCQ-BBRZ0EHyPmbc4aReBgra8r4Kw5ym-oRVScTwMYrQPq5JfoS8Ve3wtFN5WapKUaQBIuec6M97tbfUmesPgTa8AriSGay7/s1600/P1020874.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6zQdJN68BWkw-njjQfzaDmRVtpfJoMoUs_UBLTJAMqXyAHCQ-BBRZ0EHyPmbc4aReBgra8r4Kw5ym-oRVScTwMYrQPq5JfoS8Ve3wtFN5WapKUaQBIuec6M97tbfUmesPgTa8AriSGay7/s400/P1020874.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">The bar at Four Seasons George V</span></div>
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Until tomorrow, au revoir and keep rambling.<o:p></o:p></div>
<!--EndFragment-->Hatchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09775901478599555563noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4271985349183762915.post-92051834433388288032013-07-19T23:44:00.003-07:002013-08-15T16:02:05.246-07:00Day 7 - A Couple of Tourists in ParisWith the first air conditioned hotel room of the trip and our jet lag seeming to disappear, your Ramblers actually got a good full night's sleep. Instead of sugar plum fairies we dreamed of the Starbucks right next to our hotel. Tres Bien! We have learned over the last week that France is not a nation of breakfast coffee drinkers (or water drinkers in general but that is another story) so your Ramblers have been cold turkey for 6 days - but on the 7th day God granted us coffee. Rambler Jane was overcome.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilybAmg1CqpKc7_3tK8jwO9_P3jnNjyJvB6yhKbp5IQVTs8YHx6LzFFWUCkDHJLDx3UoCR5I69KL06NAmateJavlOyZTq_xQmUMCc9w1Qpyxb7plmIVtpoPJYZky5xrDbOCII_FowiKlX6/s1600/IMAG0407.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilybAmg1CqpKc7_3tK8jwO9_P3jnNjyJvB6yhKbp5IQVTs8YHx6LzFFWUCkDHJLDx3UoCR5I69KL06NAmateJavlOyZTq_xQmUMCc9w1Qpyxb7plmIVtpoPJYZky5xrDbOCII_FowiKlX6/s640/IMAG0407.jpg" height="640" width="380" /></a></div>
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After some coffee and a little "on the fly" planning, we decided to knock out the big three of the Paris tourist trail. The Arc de Triomphe, Eiffel Tower and a Seine River boat cruise.<br />
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First, the Arc - What's to say? It's massive, impressive and beautiful. We hit this spot first and the lines were pretty limited. It was built to honor those who fought and died in the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars and also contains the French tomb of the unknown soldier.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Inside the Arc de Triomphe</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">View of Eiffel Tower from Top of Arc de Triomphe</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Arc from Middle of Champs-Elysées </td></tr>
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Next up was the Eiffel Tower. To Rambler Jane's chagrin, your Ramblers decided to walk the 30 minutes to the tower (her choice of footwear that morning turned out to be a bad one). It ended being a pleasant walk and we even found the Thomas Jefferson Garden on Place Des Etats-Unis.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Virginia: woot-woot!</td></tr>
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Paris is a great walking city and a great motorcycle city. Rambler Darryl would be excited. The drivers of said motorcycles especially in Paris are ...frankly...in a word...NUTS! They cut between cars (legally) and speed and zig in and out of traffic like they are on a closed road course. One final comment on traffic in Paris: Rambler Hance thinks Paris stands for Park Anywhere Risk Is Small because people just stop and park in odd places, motorcycles and scooters park on the sidewalks and cars park pointing both ways on the same side of the street. France may be a quasi-socialist economy but the parking is all Ayn Rand.<br />
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Anyhoo, we made it to the Eiffel Tower in no time and found that the rest of the tourists in Paris were also there. After taking lots of pictures and being awed by the sight, your Ramblers decided to pass on the extremely long lines (especially on a hot day) and settle for the ground view. It is quite a view. And to think, the thing was going to be torn down after the 1889 World's Fair.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEgiljCTH96J6ZsPYg0VgvdPs4-kP3V82ja892xSDgW_ON9kborEP5cA_9h20tixJW_NfmpOtIAIFXVY3JOGgIpnZbczX2_2wiv_TMo76ShfqBNqiF_-3YYDqi5iS_aTN5lFyhhMpNdWTh/s1600/DSC_0166.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEgiljCTH96J6ZsPYg0VgvdPs4-kP3V82ja892xSDgW_ON9kborEP5cA_9h20tixJW_NfmpOtIAIFXVY3JOGgIpnZbczX2_2wiv_TMo76ShfqBNqiF_-3YYDqi5iS_aTN5lFyhhMpNdWTh/s400/DSC_0166.JPG" height="267" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">See, Not So big (view from Arc de Triomphe)</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Crossing the Bridge over the Seine</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Rambler Hance</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyTy2bm9cXkR0UJNq-vArDWFwpwDml48ENNCFxEzmd4_JIV6sdbbwJX-__GMUaNtOgPRmy-1cpK_aR3G6DmsvQlaGGAH7avLNbYjrJ61v4aE6Y2zsHEf5OcvDqc2cNu_C5m3KCOmoGkT2E/s1600/IMAG0408-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyTy2bm9cXkR0UJNq-vArDWFwpwDml48ENNCFxEzmd4_JIV6sdbbwJX-__GMUaNtOgPRmy-1cpK_aR3G6DmsvQlaGGAH7avLNbYjrJ61v4aE6Y2zsHEf5OcvDqc2cNu_C5m3KCOmoGkT2E/s640/IMAG0408-1.jpg" height="640" width="384" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Rambler Selfie</td></tr>
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With the decision to avoid the lines of touri (pronounced tour-i) wanting to reach the top of the Eiffel Tower, your Ramblers decided to check out the boat cruises on the Seine that leave from the base of the tower. The prospect of sitting down for an hour and getting a quickie view of some of the main Paris must-sees also seemed appealing. After battling the glare of the ticket kiosk screen that was facing the sun, we just made the 12:30 boat and with our quad-lingual host and the multi-language audio guides at the ready, we set off. It is a great and quick way to get a good view of Paris. The Seine is the heart of the city, and the original part of Paris that was settled over 2000 years ago was an island in the middle of the Seine. We passed several notable bridges, the Louvre, Notre Dame, the national legislative building (editors note: where a statement was made about the 1789 Declaration of the Rights of Man being the cornerstone of modern democracy --cough Declaration of Independence, 1776-- cough), the original island that was settled, and many others. It was well worth the 13 euros (per person).<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">French Russian Friendship Bridge</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Notre Dame behind the River Wall</td></tr>
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After a busy morning of monument stalking and floating down the Seine we were famished. We decided to try and walk to a nearly cafe recommended by two travel and foodie FORs (friend of the Ramblers) - <a href="http://www.maisonconstant.com/cafe-constant/" target="_blank">Cafe Constant</a> owned by Chef Christian Constant. We made it in a few minutes with no navigation errors and there were still tables available. It was hot day and we got seated upstairs which was a little stuffy but we opened one of the windows further and settled in to an hour of simple, yet exquisite goodness. We started with a couple of entrees and then even though it was a hot day we ordered the beef stew because we had heard it was exceptional. Awesome does not describe the food in this place. The only thing that would have made the stew better if it was 45 outside instead of 85. Here is the view from the cheap seats.<br />
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">A salmon appetizer</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">An artichoke and mushroom appetizer</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">Yummy beef stew</span></div>
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After being rejuvenated by the food, Rambler Hance persuaded Rambler Jane to continue the march across Paris to the nearly <a href="http://www.musee-rodin.fr/en" target="_blank">Rodin Museum</a> that was recommended by the same FORs. The museum gives a pretty complete picture of the works of Rodin during his life and is viewable in 1-2 hours unless you really know or enjoy examining the nuances of works of art - your Ramblers do not. The best known (at least by layman) works by Rodin are these two:<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi465siY39bpbOpw1-Of24t0x8OJ0rHSlKDRT8aGhiMbFxvdfBh4IY99weGHFUdA-LZ6e3f5VVCsRt1Uxt1yWLOc7Tpx83sUIHopax46IW5HvYVoxTEMn33mEEdWXoJRJYAs9BtEDVkY7lL/s1600/DSC_0278.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi465siY39bpbOpw1-Of24t0x8OJ0rHSlKDRT8aGhiMbFxvdfBh4IY99weGHFUdA-LZ6e3f5VVCsRt1Uxt1yWLOc7Tpx83sUIHopax46IW5HvYVoxTEMn33mEEdWXoJRJYAs9BtEDVkY7lL/s640/DSC_0278.jpg" height="640" width="427" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Thinker(s)</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Gates of Hell</td></tr>
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After a long day (and no air conditioning in the Rodan museum) we made one final push to go next door and determine the source of this beautiful dome.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHXAYMLqtiRakdNlfi2pQFIVjQN7nPG8ITvZ6b1pH7_bscXke4zr7TyLjiBupOvYRCBmDPHi9yCUqYGMj-ERuzkYM77M_oEd-9pTwsL_83ipalusDf3ULP1ICPKF4vOZZOufrX3Fe-F6rW/s1600/DSC_0288.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHXAYMLqtiRakdNlfi2pQFIVjQN7nPG8ITvZ6b1pH7_bscXke4zr7TyLjiBupOvYRCBmDPHi9yCUqYGMj-ERuzkYM77M_oEd-9pTwsL_83ipalusDf3ULP1ICPKF4vOZZOufrX3Fe-F6rW/s640/DSC_0288.JPG" height="428" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">??????</td></tr>
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Come to find it out it was the Dome Church, part of the <a href="http://www.musee-armee.fr/en/english-version.html" target="_blank">Les Invalides</a>, where Napoleon is buried. It might be worth a look on another day or another trip, but after a long day, your Ramblers did not feel the need to buy the tickets and tromp through another sight.<br />
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It was time to catch a cab and head home. Luckily the former was rather quick and we arrived back at our hotel tout de suite. We decided to go have a quick drink before dinner and hit up another local cafe with an American name.<br />
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We returned to the hotel to catch up on blogging, take a quick nap, shower and make dinner plans. We decided to try and eat at Zinc Caius, listed on one of the food blogs recommended by a FOR and got the hotel to make reservations. We set out a little after 8pm to find the establishment. When we arrived on the street at the address, it wasn't there. We asked a nearly local and they pointed back up the street from whence we came. ???? We spied a sign that had a big C that looked like the Caius portion of the establishment we were looking for and in our pigeon French asked about our intended destination. The staff said it had closed and been turned into an Italian restaurant. Well, your Ramblers did not come to Paris to eat I-talian. So in a reverse Seinfeld move, we <i>made</i> the reservation, but did not <i>hold</i> the reservation. We were coaxed into trying what turned out to be <a href="http://www.caius-restaurant.fr/" target="_blank">Caius</a>. Long story short, the food was excellent, it was the larger and more expensive sibling of our original destination, and why the hotel did not figure out that the place we asked them to make reservations for no longer existed, we are not sure. The hotel is 0 for 2 on the dinner thing and your Ramblers think they will go it alone from now on. The food was excellent and our waiter Jen (he said "Yen") was the best yet in France. He also helped us find some strategic Tour de France viewing sites. He was so helpful and friendly that we left our first tip since the Coke guy in the bar in Vouvray, when did not know any better.<br />
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;">Our waiter at Casius</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
After a long day and a delicious dinner, it was time for bed. Tomorrow is another tourist day and we are undecided what spots to hit, but Notre Dame and the Louvre (depending on the lines) are at the top of our list.<br />
<br />
Until then, au revoir and keep rambling.<br />
<br />
<br />Hatchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09775901478599555563noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4271985349183762915.post-53765525988390954012013-07-19T09:28:00.002-07:002013-08-16T04:14:21.623-07:00Day 6 - Trip to Paris<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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Another travel day dawned bright and early and your Ramblers started out by driving to Caen, turning in the rental car and catching the train to Paris. Checkout was quick and seamless and after
loading the car with luggage we pointed Gabrielle at the Hertz location in Caen, which
fortunately was located right next to the train station. Although we had prepaid for fuel, we could
get a credit if we returned the car filled. So, as we neared Caen, we asked
Gabrielle to find us a petrol station.
The first try ended up being a big hole in the ground that might have been a BP in
a former life. Who knows? The next spot
was near the train station but when we got there, BP was nowhere to be seen. C’est
la vie. Since the petrol was paid
for, it was a small loss in a grand
adventure and we attempted to find Hertz.
Lets just say inner city rental car offices are similar to their hotel
counterparts, which is to say nothing like their airport cousins. We finally
located the office on a little back street where we turned into what looked
like a service station bay, handed them the keys and setoff down the block to
the train station. We're convinced that Gabrielle and her GPS cousins are not reliable when it comes to navigating near airports and to rental car returns, since this is the second time we've had trouble relying on them to gas up and return a rental car. One positive, the
price they charge for petrol is the same as local service stations, unlike the
highway robbery that is charged in the U.S. (I’m talking about you, Boston, and
your $9.72/gallon). We had prepaid the
train tickets and all we had to do is go to a kiosk and print them out.
However, kiosks, all in French, can be quite hard to decipher so Rambler Hance
joined the line to talk to a human and quickly got the tickets and instructions. After grabbing lunches to go (Coca-Cola
Zeros in plastic bottles (boo), two baguettes sandwiches and some yogurt--not bad for train station food) we made the train
with no problem. The train was a good chance to catch up on blog posts. We arrived in Paris in less than two hours (passed by lots of graffiti again), hailed a cab, found the hotel and checked in. With dinner reservations procured it was time to hit the town.<br />
<o:p></o:p><br />
<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhP_I4ShWghIY0QiRsWmx4WS77icKwvz791buDnILLtGJRgN8cdoXMUUx8HZceL0pxUwSWxIol7pSlbWPD_t7v5NfS43oMksd4rHksyFV34KHnywj3CfslY_3VYr2IXybE-ezu9tXCkyrfE/s1600/P1020619.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhP_I4ShWghIY0QiRsWmx4WS77icKwvz791buDnILLtGJRgN8cdoXMUUx8HZceL0pxUwSWxIol7pSlbWPD_t7v5NfS43oMksd4rHksyFV34KHnywj3CfslY_3VYr2IXybE-ezu9tXCkyrfE/s400/P1020619.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Paris St Lazare Train Station</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
What to do when you get to Paris? Head to a cafe for a drink of course! After a little libation we did some scouting around our hotel, which was about 200 meters from the Arc de Triomphe. After a few pics we moved two streets over to the grand avenue, the Champs-Elysées. The preparation for the Tour de France was already underway with barriers in place, the army and police forces visible and the video boards going up.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7dEfmyuAhKYGuu-EdWsXgLZPe6LtLd8gMasz1gogDmsoxoU-LJCf6LjDpgS3xQJaGAd0JF-AsewMuikrp4Gvr3OvE_vxG4uXyo9B5dFNClK2Jjq8VLTFMf08r5WZWchpXKZ-Z3lSUNZO7/s1600/P1020625.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7dEfmyuAhKYGuu-EdWsXgLZPe6LtLd8gMasz1gogDmsoxoU-LJCf6LjDpgS3xQJaGAd0JF-AsewMuikrp4Gvr3OvE_vxG4uXyo9B5dFNClK2Jjq8VLTFMf08r5WZWchpXKZ-Z3lSUNZO7/s640/P1020625.jpg" height="640" width="480" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">End of Our Street, Avenue de Wagram</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTeyeyBFL9bPNqrprTbd4bm9CWPFzbbbFKACb6mKK5iTKZAJjiWRDeZPuoDfnWqZEm5TPlt_0M0pFzw3h0RRwnAbxN88VcMHv0iGOn_orstrL5L3G6HQta47VlcdsbVj8xkF8o6keXSj0h/s1600/P1020626.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTeyeyBFL9bPNqrprTbd4bm9CWPFzbbbFKACb6mKK5iTKZAJjiWRDeZPuoDfnWqZEm5TPlt_0M0pFzw3h0RRwnAbxN88VcMHv0iGOn_orstrL5L3G6HQta47VlcdsbVj8xkF8o6keXSj0h/s640/P1020626.jpg" height="640" width="480" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Our Hotel, Emeraude Plaza Etoile</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<br />
The Champs-Elysées has some premo shopping so we stopped at the Louis Vuitton store. Hokie colors are "in" this season, with orange and maroon purses, scarves, wallets etc. distributed through the store. Nice to look at but will leave the buying to others for now. <br />
<br />
After shopping, we wandered back to our hotel and learned the first lesson of navigating Paris near the Place Charles de Gaulle, which is basically a bicycle wheel with 12 spokes--always take the non-linear angles into account and thus lean the way you want to go rather than going straight.<br />
<br />
We ate dinner at a small cafe (12-15ish tables total) around the corner from and recommended by the hotel called Chez Gabriel. It was ok (or maybe we have gotten spoiled). Rambler Hance grants 3 stars while Rambler Jane's scallops rated 4 stars. We will split the difference and rate it 3.5 stars. By the time we finished dinner and made a short run to the market for some bottled water, it was 10:30. It was still a little light out but after a long and satisfying day, it was time for bed.<br />
<br />
Tomorrow is tourist day in Paris.<br />
<br />
Until then au revoir, and keep rambling.</div>
<!--EndFragment-->Hatchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09775901478599555563noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4271985349183762915.post-52272993306940371002013-07-18T06:40:00.000-07:002013-08-16T04:45:15.143-07:00Day 5 – Normandy<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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Today was a somewhat somber day so your Ramblers apologize
for the tone of this entry. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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We visited the <a href="http://www.abmc.gov/cemeteries/cemeteries/no.php" target="_blank">American Cemetery at Normandy</a>, Omaha Beach
and Pointe du Hoc. The visitor center at
the cemetery is excellent, and frankly every American should visit this place
once in their lives. The enormity of the task to take the beaches and cliffs there is
hard to fathom. The D-Day landing took place at
low tide so many of the underwater obstacles and traps could be avoided by
allied landing craft. However, that decision resulted in the troops having to traverse a much wider
beach before any cover was available. Your Ramblers stood on that beach at low tide
and it is the widest beach we have ever seen. It is probably 150-200 meters
from the water line (landing craft did not make it that far) to the first
dunes. A steep hill immediately follows
the dune line. [Rambler Hance’s
thoughts: If I had been standing where I was 69 years, 1 month and 11 days prior, the three most likely outcomes for me were 1) I was dead
already, 2) on my way to being dead rather soon or 3) about to have a close personal
encounter with a projectile.] The opening
scene of <i>Saving Private Ryan</i> seems a little more real, except I think the
filmmaker did not do justice to how wide the beach actually was. I was also looking at
it sans two levels of barbed wire, a tank trap trench, land mines and about a
million rounds of flying lead looking for a home.<br />
<o:p></o:p></div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoEonNxPVjdx_lekUlWqFH-4YwYEU2Dy4bmgeJDgVW0Laas95ZJUpko2NKrNDFqvSzHfHjZdfPfnfax7Vq0UAyEnCdJp5H2dt1TralUX7nfC-QE0gLLbgDMw6nGpxnkG2FJ1ejcqkQnI71/s1600/DSC_0010.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoEonNxPVjdx_lekUlWqFH-4YwYEU2Dy4bmgeJDgVW0Laas95ZJUpko2NKrNDFqvSzHfHjZdfPfnfax7Vq0UAyEnCdJp5H2dt1TralUX7nfC-QE0gLLbgDMw6nGpxnkG2FJ1ejcqkQnI71/s1600/DSC_0010.JPG" height="267" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Standing on Omaha Beach</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMqwJbJRUluGiOACQiW9uLjymvaRQ85l6DFf6KbsAPwX3cV7JG90Ah54TaxET37y8YKWHYP1jjWwsOn3FGt6CfM6fIErqQb267EygarAhDjJZmafghIErQuqTfRJLjZx9Wn0h09vBp_9BS/s1600/DSC_0009.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMqwJbJRUluGiOACQiW9uLjymvaRQ85l6DFf6KbsAPwX3cV7JG90Ah54TaxET37y8YKWHYP1jjWwsOn3FGt6CfM6fIErqQb267EygarAhDjJZmafghIErQuqTfRJLjZx9Wn0h09vBp_9BS/s1600/DSC_0009.JPG" height="267" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Halfway Across</td></tr>
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With all of the above stated, the beach and surrounding
areas are beautiful. We visited on a gloriously sunny day, the water was blue,
the cliffs and hillsides green and the arc of the coastline reminded us of parts
of California with its abrupt elevation change, cool water and low humidity
summer weather. <o:p></o:p></div>
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After traipsing on the beach, your Ramblers climbed a hill
that looked down on Omaha Beach and visited the remains of some German pillboxes
and cement bunkers/gun placements along with a memorial to the 1<sup>st</sup>
Army Infantry Division l (the Big Red 1) and a memorial to the combat engineers
of both the Army and Navy. The engineers
were among the first ashore with the job of blowing holes in the obstacles the
Germans had placed on the beach to widen the road, so to speak, for tanks, men
and machines. Needless to say, at that
moment in time, it was probably the most dangerous place on earth. From on high, with that big wide beach
below and the man made traps and obstacles strategically placed it is hard for
these non-military experts to imagine a more perfectly designed killing field.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGHiJ6Lok_OY4qxScTrfxYTnGTmF9QPTuZ-XTH7xhELYq0-gQtIENNphQxks0AFyXdmZjJ_cxMcCwKolN9u4iWbWxCSAqsWGC6NnKiPYJB2y1tvP-Frxaj0qW6TuiBEpRv424_XEDUpja2/s1600/DSC_0046.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGHiJ6Lok_OY4qxScTrfxYTnGTmF9QPTuZ-XTH7xhELYq0-gQtIENNphQxks0AFyXdmZjJ_cxMcCwKolN9u4iWbWxCSAqsWGC6NnKiPYJB2y1tvP-Frxaj0qW6TuiBEpRv424_XEDUpja2/s1600/DSC_0046.jpg" height="640" width="428" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Big Red 1 Memorial</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFS_zIR8_-D1rz6YbIy0NDBrGOKO7eU3EAVUvlU75R7AtBazDHnBmkwC8bWeE60uq_jwQ3aKPK5FL87VYDFxqEQXjJMLq_MmNKrsFga6SNisd2FbefK-S7Xuogm3-TARMVYfvtk4tEXahe/s1600/DSC_0038.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFS_zIR8_-D1rz6YbIy0NDBrGOKO7eU3EAVUvlU75R7AtBazDHnBmkwC8bWeE60uq_jwQ3aKPK5FL87VYDFxqEQXjJMLq_MmNKrsFga6SNisd2FbefK-S7Xuogm3-TARMVYfvtk4tEXahe/s1600/DSC_0038.jpg" height="640" width="428" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Combat Engineer Memorial</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyDhvsYDL257GU_9fm-NOGn0D41bTrbWiarxmLAmqEgibSD-8NbT9lXcE1Nx4g2h2KyfXQca6C-KhRE8E0LyC4PmTygLB7paYoiiWdN4kl5nfPFcpr_FRgEQDgn-vNFrU9m4mQf1Vf8u4V/s1600/DSC_0069.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyDhvsYDL257GU_9fm-NOGn0D41bTrbWiarxmLAmqEgibSD-8NbT9lXcE1Nx4g2h2KyfXQca6C-KhRE8E0LyC4PmTygLB7paYoiiWdN4kl5nfPFcpr_FRgEQDgn-vNFrU9m4mQf1Vf8u4V/s1600/DSC_0069.JPG" height="267" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">German View of Omaha</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0RR0GGK0a_bW6wg9bRBtm8FDP9kQF_q5QFTWPifRO_wMMxz-iAxFeJBf0JGxYgnlD3ISV1OBeMzxyuwQUBrQuUy4r9n6t-l0mDWC3Q4vCUuGpKn71kekBf6zRWLPGufYqkZ-kPksYSAG6/s1600/DSC_0015.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0RR0GGK0a_bW6wg9bRBtm8FDP9kQF_q5QFTWPifRO_wMMxz-iAxFeJBf0JGxYgnlD3ISV1OBeMzxyuwQUBrQuUy4r9n6t-l0mDWC3Q4vCUuGpKn71kekBf6zRWLPGufYqkZ-kPksYSAG6/s1600/DSC_0015.jpg" height="640" width="426" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Standing on Top of German Bunker Overlooking Omaha Beach</td></tr>
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After we left Omaha Beach, we walked to the American Cemetery and
exhibition center. It is very well done--it tells individual stories and gives
a sense of statistics of the landing undertaking; the preparation, equipment
and mistakes made. The cemetery is a
little hard to take, frankly, due to the number of graves present (that would be 9,387). If you visit to see a specific grave, consult
the directory for its location because we could not ascertain a system of
burial.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZ2ZIPdtGopz4XkMC1bGUUp_txvmls5izhvQ8-GCt-5cw0HtGj-TatKK5YoG2yNk4JHElNQt75P3uGFwpEcTCg0q0sLFgfSdV4pEaIjeDUxtb_p_86s4iNgMrkIZRNrnCCF58cylUE4_pZ/s1600/DSC_0075.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZ2ZIPdtGopz4XkMC1bGUUp_txvmls5izhvQ8-GCt-5cw0HtGj-TatKK5YoG2yNk4JHElNQt75P3uGFwpEcTCg0q0sLFgfSdV4pEaIjeDUxtb_p_86s4iNgMrkIZRNrnCCF58cylUE4_pZ/s1600/DSC_0075.jpg" height="640" width="428" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;">Sculpture called "Spirit of American Youth"</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0Dfye995J_3FkbuwxQczDYKTS7ML-nF9d-CyyYvV1YQ0i4su3ZUcPTRPizDFWkph2nu9Pbl_7pto_bxhenOCTwXRtiWWhJpgmndM-Xm3M1JwGsLinJRXLxmSGYVD7TNoL9nB99JUF0Wt0/s1600/DSC_0081.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0Dfye995J_3FkbuwxQczDYKTS7ML-nF9d-CyyYvV1YQ0i4su3ZUcPTRPizDFWkph2nu9Pbl_7pto_bxhenOCTwXRtiWWhJpgmndM-Xm3M1JwGsLinJRXLxmSGYVD7TNoL9nB99JUF0Wt0/s1600/DSC_0081.JPG" height="267" width="400" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;">Rambler Jane in front of the reflecting pool</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhv78pmF_IWtE1Z86GCQ3ITHwM162v6oirEkIkZjxat8R-v6fU-yb_5fDGOPH-28lkRDOBAgNInq7kNGSdE7X7CZ-Xkz6CrD0IDPOiq7VR_Xgpb9O9tNFB4HdPUQCKAj0ylzmxufaL_Scxh/s1600/DSC_0089.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhv78pmF_IWtE1Z86GCQ3ITHwM162v6oirEkIkZjxat8R-v6fU-yb_5fDGOPH-28lkRDOBAgNInq7kNGSdE7X7CZ-Xkz6CrD0IDPOiq7VR_Xgpb9O9tNFB4HdPUQCKAj0ylzmxufaL_Scxh/s1600/DSC_0089.JPG" height="267" width="400" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;">Inside the chapel</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOlGYCOZLrlwRtyujdsvCfA6UiG1UZ_wR3R_G5GhYuM-Ws8-daak1oso6ncUyS47dmPjKFORks6pg7gDb1cpZecPz_RAjYpuQ0sJTtXPsa5PILLo1BGe-VLxqNGwxm344EiRqL9Hhnk9QF/s1600/DSC_0090.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOlGYCOZLrlwRtyujdsvCfA6UiG1UZ_wR3R_G5GhYuM-Ws8-daak1oso6ncUyS47dmPjKFORks6pg7gDb1cpZecPz_RAjYpuQ0sJTtXPsa5PILLo1BGe-VLxqNGwxm344EiRqL9Hhnk9QF/s1600/DSC_0090.JPG" height="267" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">Rows and rows of markers</span></div>
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After leaving the cemetery, we traveled down the road a few
kilometers to Pointe du Hoc. Pointe du
Hoc was a strategic point in the allied landing plans because it contained (or
at least it was thought to contain) several large German guns. Positioned as it was between the American
beaches, Omaha and Utah, it was necessary to take it out in order to prevent it
raining death on the American landing zones.
A group of American Rangers, who were specifically trained for this task, landed at this site and
using special climbing gear, climbed and fought their way up a sheer cliff and
took the position. When the Rangers arrived, the guns sought were not there, but
they continued inland several kilometers, located the guns, and destroyed them. They then stayed there, holding a key road for
several days until reinforcements arrived.
As Bill Rafterty would say, “<a href="http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=onions" target="_blank">Onions</a>”.
We did a walk around, and the area was left largely as it was that day
sans any armaments. The landscape is littered with dozens of craters 10 feet or
so deep left by bombs, rolled barbed wire lines the face of the cliff, and the
German bunkers and gun placements are numerous.
A visitor can still see large chunks of the very thick concrete walls of
the German positions blasted away and imagine shells of all types hitting the
structure. We also went into one bunker where clearly a fire had taken
place. Whether from an explosion and
subsequent fire or from Rangers using flamethrowers, those small concrete rooms
would have been hell on earth either way.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh42XzIddxQkFOQS8IMkK1_ZXZt_CvzSD55hdzvGDbsEWgnj3HKb8dtPb3nWeR7Va5kL4Xc8r2krjeAGt8KBaBpWMOUxHwAbutWEqW_igESPhWSkU379TN92dYFeTu6RiVhC9810Jc1b8eN/s1600/DSC_0121.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh42XzIddxQkFOQS8IMkK1_ZXZt_CvzSD55hdzvGDbsEWgnj3HKb8dtPb3nWeR7Va5kL4Xc8r2krjeAGt8KBaBpWMOUxHwAbutWEqW_igESPhWSkU379TN92dYFeTu6RiVhC9810Jc1b8eN/s1600/DSC_0121.JPG" height="267" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ranger Memorial</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiY0Vj5v19M8mBKCw64q_YaJfDG_wo6aSt_NbU3o4nHSUyDZeaj5AGjmkHPuVzOWUGSrz9VrltCQZRZl_oejRhHqRuYJ8fXhXG4vdyLOacOxIWz36dIebg4z3eZA3JgZX4PKiwj-ahtSQFo/s1600/DSC_0124.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiY0Vj5v19M8mBKCw64q_YaJfDG_wo6aSt_NbU3o4nHSUyDZeaj5AGjmkHPuVzOWUGSrz9VrltCQZRZl_oejRhHqRuYJ8fXhXG4vdyLOacOxIWz36dIebg4z3eZA3JgZX4PKiwj-ahtSQFo/s1600/DSC_0124.JPG" height="267" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Rambler Jane with a shot up to coast towards Utah Beach</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNdBVELpZHI_OAEXiisaHoykx3yWpyC2uviHaCPak9SaMYGt6nz0OAdUs6lYfo9SFmm41HIZd53Fo-gte3baU-YAfnsiv4JJABkopUOmWK-HngsQTSeT6E7APOz5a6PdCRO2VmTIjLHVgd/s1600/DSC_0130.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNdBVELpZHI_OAEXiisaHoykx3yWpyC2uviHaCPak9SaMYGt6nz0OAdUs6lYfo9SFmm41HIZd53Fo-gte3baU-YAfnsiv4JJABkopUOmWK-HngsQTSeT6E7APOz5a6PdCRO2VmTIjLHVgd/s1600/DSC_0130.JPG" height="267" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Backside and the Way to Enter Bunker</td></tr>
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<o:p><br /></o:p></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhL5CfG_WE-yu9cqQjAD88lG0gIUGQK7ahNjohUkmZ5swa-A4oMgmIwsxxRTeUoHaVDp38ToZradS-w74veqBP-6lfJI9FBGphGx11HuzVv9AlQ2F2zlSREdBclCqBwrgKOCn9NxcBj8TLz/s1600/DSC_0131.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhL5CfG_WE-yu9cqQjAD88lG0gIUGQK7ahNjohUkmZ5swa-A4oMgmIwsxxRTeUoHaVDp38ToZradS-w74veqBP-6lfJI9FBGphGx11HuzVv9AlQ2F2zlSREdBclCqBwrgKOCn9NxcBj8TLz/s1600/DSC_0131.jpg" height="640" width="427" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Notice Large Chunks of Concrete Missing</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEBrPSt9pPEKIaeyGZkkgzJf6rp2qsRgAJ47YZHtMSC7dV6P7x2W64iCLm1ErIAevMQJlmD2OfH13-ZcDoI0pGh6LR5MHP-l9CvOXFilgBx9WRHgZIKsNLa4PTjiexOWFr00CpBGN8Bg_V/s1600/DSC_0129.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEBrPSt9pPEKIaeyGZkkgzJf6rp2qsRgAJ47YZHtMSC7dV6P7x2W64iCLm1ErIAevMQJlmD2OfH13-ZcDoI0pGh6LR5MHP-l9CvOXFilgBx9WRHgZIKsNLa4PTjiexOWFr00CpBGN8Bg_V/s1600/DSC_0129.JPG" height="267" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Looking Out from a Machine Gun (We Think) Bunker</td></tr>
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After the somber morning we drove our little car back
into Port-en-Bessin-Huppain to find a little lunch and refreshment to lighten
the mood. We found a wonderful little place with patio dining and split a grilled ham
and cheese sandwich (cheese on the outside of the bread??), a dozen Normandy oysters and
two Coca-Cola Lights (Diet Coke), again in the green bottle. The oysters were top notch. And by top notch, I mean Eastern Shore seaside, salty goodness top notch. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Awesomeness!</td></tr>
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After lunch we retreated to our hotel/chateau to catch up
on blog entries and email, and plan dinner. <o:p></o:p></div>
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We located dinner with the help of the hotel staff. We
wanted seafood, after walking the waterfront in Port-en-Bessin-Huppain and
tasting our oysters. We selected Fleur
de Sel and got a street side seat. Rambler Jane got the salmon steak and
Rambler Hance got the seafood platter (steamed) with sea snails, prawns, a crab
(something like Dungeness), snails, shrimp, mussels and very small langoustines. It was pretty good but frankly was the most
nondescript meal so far. The seafood platter was steamed but cold (think
cocktail shrimp temp but for everything). It would have been better hot but
wasn’t bad. Rambler rating: 3 stars. After
dinner we retreated to our room to prepare for tomorrow's train trip to Paris, which meant turning in the rental car and saying a bittersweet goodbye to Gabrielle, our GPS.<o:p></o:p></div>
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See you tomorrow.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Until then, au revoir and keep rambling.<o:p></o:p></div>
<!--EndFragment-->Hatchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09775901478599555563noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4271985349183762915.post-82550868013544734982013-07-18T05:57:00.001-07:002013-08-19T04:50:15.244-07:00Day 4 - The Road to Port-en-Bessin-Huppain<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Day 4 dawned with your Ramblers yet again slow to rise. Could be the jet lag still lingering or the wine or both, who knows. Anyhoo, we got on the road about 10am after first hitting up the local artisan boulanger (which means <i>baker</i>, and every town has the same sign) for some awesome croissants and some bottled water for breakfast. We pointed Gabrielle towards our destination and off we went in search of 250 kilometers of French countryside and interstate. Making good time, we decided to stop in Le Mans (yes, the race is named for the town) to take a quick look-see at <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Le_Mans_Cathedral" target="_blank">Cathédrale St-Julien du Mans</a> in <span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">Cité Plantagenêt</span></span>. The cathedral construction began in 1080 and went through several phases, taking over 500 years to complete. <span style="background-color: white; line-height: 19px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">One of the stained glass window panes, dating back from the twelve century, is actually the oldest stained glass still standing in the world. </span></span>It is impressive and still in use.<br />
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After our visit to the cathedral, we hit the highway again; shortly thereafter we started getting a little hungry (and our Volvo was in need of gazole (diesel). We pulled off when we saw signs for the same and ended up in a combo outlet mall park and Costco-type hyper market called Cora. After determining that foreign gas pumps do not like foreign credit cards (your Ramblers had the same experience in Canada) we got in the cash line, put 20 euros worth of gazole in the tank (so as not to bleed off all the cash on hand) and then went to pay. As luck would have it, the humans will take foreign credit cards (just like Canada) and we paid for our diesel on plastic. We then ventured into the Cora, which is like a super large grocery market to buy a few supplies and some cheap lunch. The Rambler shopping list included a new razor for Rambler Hance, who broke the one he brought, some bottled water, a box of croissants, a package of ham and some packaged sliced cheese (which is not easy to find in France unless it is swiss cheese) and a sweet treat for Rambler Jane. We proceeded to the checkout line only to get behind a woman apparently was shopping to feed Napoleon's army, and after waiting were told in French we needed a Cora card to be in that line and to go to the cash line. (The cash line was the one we initially avoided because the sign above it showed the outline of a pregnant woman and a wheelchair, neither of which applied to us.) So off we went. When we proceeded to pay, we asked if we could pay with a credit card and the cashier said "oui" but then Rambler Hance realized he had left the credit card at the gas station drive-up window of the Cora metropolis. We paid cash for our purchases and hurried back over to cash booth at the gas station; fortunately, the cashier happily recognized us and handed over our card.<br />
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After a short picnic in the Cora parking lot, we were back on the road to Port-en-Bessin-Huppain and our next abode at <a href="http://www.lacheneviere.com/en.php" target="_blank">Chateau La Cheneviere</a>. This hotel is close to all the Normandy visitation points and is very nice. We had an exceptional dinner (our 25th anniversary and Rambler rating: 5 stars) and the hotel was aware of our anniversary (thanks to our travel agent, Dale) and gave us several benefits, including a free aperitif and a bottle of Pommeau de Normandie.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Chateau La Cheneviere: Side View</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Main View<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Dinner Pic </td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Rambler Jane displaying our anniversary number</td></tr>
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After dinner and some decafe it was midnight (another meal pushing 3 hours long) and time to hit the hay because tomorrow we visit the D-Day sites Omaha Beach and Pointe du Hoc.<br />
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Until then, au revoir and keep rambling.<br />
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<br />Hatchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09775901478599555563noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4271985349183762915.post-88606966662171928872013-07-17T08:23:00.002-07:002013-08-19T05:19:08.163-07:00Day 3 - Loire Valley Time TravelDay 3 and we are in the flow--well, except for the sleep thing. Today's event was an arranged tour with <a href="http://www.tourtheloire.com/" target="_blank">Loire Valley Time Travel</a> in a very lovely and unique vehicle named Celestine. Celestine's human helpers, Simon and Susan, were our escorts for the day. They picked us up at our hotel promptly at 9am and off we went to <a href="http://www.chenonceau.com/" target="_blank">Chateau Chenonceau</a>, which is built across a river and is spectacular. The chateau dates from the early 1500s, and if the walls could talk, they would tell quite the story--full of love, intrigue, mistresses, vengeful kings, war and so on.<br />
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Next, we progressed through the countryside to a lunch spot in Montrichard. We arrived a little before noon, so naturally <u>no</u> one was there. This place was a family run relais-style restaurant frequented by carpenters, plumbers, electricians and the like for lunch. Susan explained that if you have more than 6 employees in France, the workers have to be provided a lunch voucher and lunch typically takes 90 minutes. These type of places typically have a fixed price menu that provides patrons an entree (an <i>entree</i> in France is served at the beginning of a mean--think high end salad bar), one of a few main courses, a small carafe of wine, and dessert with cheese. Imagine any local small town restaurant where the patrons are regulars and that is where we were. Of course, we did not stick out at all (ha). The food was basic but very good and we rate it 4 stars on the Rambler scale (again, we will need to rescale for France at the end of the trip).<br />
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After our hearty lunch, we headed off to tour some local caves where mushrooms are grown commercially. The caves were originally carved out in the mining of limestone blocks for building, but as other stones and construction methods came into prominence, the family began to use the caves to grow button mushrooms. At one time they had 500 workers, but the Dutch figured out a way to accelerate the growth of mushrooms and undercut them on the price. The French view is the Dutch method pumps the 'shrooms up with water and so when cooked they shrivel like crazy (they do) and they don't keep nearly as long. Now, the family has 6 workers and they grow far fewer but exotic mushrooms with much higher prices. Here are several pictures of some of the 'shrooms:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRglyuHfDvUJ-Gc7eCE3oO3MwFkmnb6co7Ts5MW7wRxR5MIsuXvHSC2acVi5SmQdH9mQZJGU9M6o6mWnrrD74q6YFtji0U7BIqvo8rkl0CwEEw472bToP4BmW_ckgm9KeAnuvAqfnWR3IO/s1600/P1020489.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRglyuHfDvUJ-Gc7eCE3oO3MwFkmnb6co7Ts5MW7wRxR5MIsuXvHSC2acVi5SmQdH9mQZJGU9M6o6mWnrrD74q6YFtji0U7BIqvo8rkl0CwEEw472bToP4BmW_ckgm9KeAnuvAqfnWR3IO/s400/P1020489.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Shitake. These are beaten on and dropped to simulate the earthquakes prominent in Japan which they need to grow</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Oyster mushrooms</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Decorative mushrooms for a chef in Paris</td></tr>
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After parading around in the 52 degree caves for an hour, we set off to the first of two winery tours. The first was <a href="http://www.domaine-de-la-chaise-41.com/index.php" target="_blank">Domaine de la Chaise</a> in appelation controlee Touraine. We were scheduled to meet with the wine maker (Christophe Devault) but he had a bad case of the flu so his lovely wife gave us the tour and a tasting of several of their wines. Unlike his father and grandfather before him, Christophe is trying to market his wine under his name rather than selling grapes and wine via the local cooperative, where it would be labeled <i>vin de France</i>. We bought a nice bottle of Tradition, which is a blend of two reds for a whopping 5 euros. Here is his wife posing with a bottle.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjG6eBOUslLPF6IHR0pXmBsa8ErNbbO4rEj0BdRBuWul3BpWVhuZ8YCWuVD-WOlnNNglibdyVeXgob63ZAncPI4aCgmPecwqBb8dsMyLnwF-v4eNakE1Zq5h3yb22m5zTQFXlHR52p5zktR/s1600/P1020509.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjG6eBOUslLPF6IHR0pXmBsa8ErNbbO4rEj0BdRBuWul3BpWVhuZ8YCWuVD-WOlnNNglibdyVeXgob63ZAncPI4aCgmPecwqBb8dsMyLnwF-v4eNakE1Zq5h3yb22m5zTQFXlHR52p5zktR/s640/P1020509.jpg" height="640" width="480" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mrs. Christophe</td></tr>
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We hit up another chateau (Chateau Amboise) next, but just for the long distance look-see and to get a cold drink. Driving across the French countryside in Celestine was pretty cool, but a nice Coke sure hit the spot. Another point about the French and their food: The only Cokes we have been served thus far have been in 33ml green bottles. Your Ramblers whole-heartedly agree that the green bottled Coke is the best Coke.<br />
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To wrap up our day of touring, we returned to Rochecorbon to visit another winery, this one in a cave and a small family affair named <a href="http://www.chateaugaudrelle.com/" target="_blank">Chateau Gaudrelle</a>. It is in the appellation controlee Vouvray and the only grape grown in this appellation is the Chenin Blanc. We had a thorough tour from a very enthusiastic young man named Charles. They make a lot of sparkling wine at this vineyard and the process is quite involved. We really liked several of their wines and bought a case to ship home. Here are some pictures.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSdn8aQocF1frfvMSojwkwjRbY_CkzaskTAn8Jalg3wwuIUcbxV14idG8sTEGvmdX5jb1YdekkPuQeh9jCSUcInNNn1C_1hcGv_dPWaJ8Cn2XLp0X8Jch4B1za3-0odr54Rdy8kCjuaXc8/s1600/P1020516.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSdn8aQocF1frfvMSojwkwjRbY_CkzaskTAn8Jalg3wwuIUcbxV14idG8sTEGvmdX5jb1YdekkPuQeh9jCSUcInNNn1C_1hcGv_dPWaJ8Cn2XLp0X8Jch4B1za3-0odr54Rdy8kCjuaXc8/s400/P1020516.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">60k sparking wine bottles in process</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVQk5tCYuzVnnRc028cMwSTvBglyjCOfTE31Rd_HT9cdUmAIQTEqop8NQv3XE32ZtFj-ue6INRQtpRXcEJgEOpGIINN1wJfIIMTrn_a50UpbtaomL1bNFdt8y4pAng0hLpgj11nwHxEN0h/s1600/P1020517.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVQk5tCYuzVnnRc028cMwSTvBglyjCOfTE31Rd_HT9cdUmAIQTEqop8NQv3XE32ZtFj-ue6INRQtpRXcEJgEOpGIINN1wJfIIMTrn_a50UpbtaomL1bNFdt8y4pAng0hLpgj11nwHxEN0h/s400/P1020517.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Bottles tagged to be sent to appellation for testing</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizt0rkQ2EfzHLZsLYDUwbGs0XiOzgHEJhy4e_8zjIl3bGHNo9BiLAPFopQJvOUST8XFGt4OC9JDzn4f5fOtyF_z7EcvNY_NObOVIcNV067qWYV6-tJob7Ye2JzglNBboXXCV40zgEDpPel/s1600/P1020518.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizt0rkQ2EfzHLZsLYDUwbGs0XiOzgHEJhy4e_8zjIl3bGHNo9BiLAPFopQJvOUST8XFGt4OC9JDzn4f5fOtyF_z7EcvNY_NObOVIcNV067qWYV6-tJob7Ye2JzglNBboXXCV40zgEDpPel/s400/P1020518.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Charles - he loves his job</td></tr>
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Finally, Susan, Simon and Celestine returned us to our hotel and we said our goodbyes and took a few photos. Next, we set off to find dinner with an emphasis on quick. We drove a few miles down the street to the town of Vouvray and spied a pizza place and thought "that has to be quick". For once we were right, and after a quick (1 hr) dinner we headed home to bed, preparing to head out tomorrow for Port-en-Bessin-Houpain on the Normandy coast.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqtqA1TOjiRG_JCyaw-I5rTYf5paUxvmLgfu_H_9ORDp_G6EyFX9cExtJsYAa7Zo21zRwtjzKj1KZ35NtuJngkUWH9UGGbVECn4o2uBICUUyjwdODndsD9R4Kv8sNNTYFZhi5dx_mGCZZ9/s1600/DSC_0122.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqtqA1TOjiRG_JCyaw-I5rTYf5paUxvmLgfu_H_9ORDp_G6EyFX9cExtJsYAa7Zo21zRwtjzKj1KZ35NtuJngkUWH9UGGbVECn4o2uBICUUyjwdODndsD9R4Kv8sNNTYFZhi5dx_mGCZZ9/s400/DSC_0122.JPG" height="266" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Your Ramblers and Celestine</td></tr>
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Until then au revoir and keep rambling.<br />
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P.S. The current bottles-of-wine-to-days-traveled ratio is slightly below one, but your Ramblers are up to the task and we are working hard to raise it.Hatchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09775901478599555563noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4271985349183762915.post-15675783784049724202013-07-16T16:02:00.001-07:002013-08-19T17:33:54.440-07:00Day 2 - Dragging a Little and A Royal AbbeyDay 2 dawned bright and late for your jet-lagged Ramblers. After a very full Day 1.5, the crew did not manage to crawl out of bed until 10am. After puttering around, eating our local croissants and generally moving slowly, we hit the road around noon and asked Gabrielle to take us to Abbaye Royale de Fontevraud. <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abbaye_de_Fontevraud" target="_blank">The Abbaye</a> was about an hour away by car, so we set out to drive across more French countryside to reach it. Given our late start, we detoured into Tours Centre (the center of Tours, and to Gabrielle's dismay) and had a little lunch at a local brasserie. Tours is a lovely small city of about one hundred thousand people.<br />
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Here is the beautiful fountain in the center of town.<br />
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And of course, what would a meal be without pictures?<br />
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">The French can make even a simple salad look like a work of art.</span></div>
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Yes, even a simple salad is beautifully prepared. Your Ramblers also got their first lesson in tipping en franchise. After lunch, we pulled out and Gabrielle got us back on the path to the abbey. The amount of traffic on a French interstate on a holiday weekend was a sight to behold because....well....it wasn't there. I guess gas prices north of $6 a gallon, lots of tolls and a great passenger rail system have their impacts. Charlie Munger would be proud of the incentive system at work.<br />
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Upon our arrival at the abbey, we got the English audio tour devices and set out to explore. The abbey is under rehabilitation but it has been around since 1101 so let's give it a break. Why explore this abbey? Well, partly because Rambler Hance has some people way back in the West family tree buried there--Henry II Plantagenet and his wife Eleanor of Aquitaine (according to the internet, "t<span style="background-color: white; line-height: 24px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">he Abbey Church was pillaged and looted by the Huguenots in 1562. There are stories that the royal remains were thrown into a nearby river and also that the monks reburied them in a secret location," but they <i>were</i> there at one time<span style="color: #444444;">.</span></span></span>) Henry and his sons Richard the Lionheart and John of Lackland, who signed the Magna Carta, were all kings of England (now you know where Rambler Hance gets the 'tood'). The abbey was very successful and unusual for the times because men (monks) and women (nuns) were both housed there. Abbeys were quite the commercial enterprise and the Abbess (head was always a woman) had to be a shrewd business woman and politician to keep and feed several hundred people a day, and to maintain good relations with the local dignitaries, especially if they were important givers of money (similar to the job of a large university president today). After the French Revolution, many abbeys fell into disuse or were repurposed for other uses. This one served as a French prison from the early 19th century until 1963 (the last prisoner left in 1985). That obviously had a negative effect on some of the more beautiful components. A major restoration project is underway. Here are some pictures:<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The effagies of Henry II Plantagenet and Eleanor of Aquitaine</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The kitchen with Byzantine inspired architecture</td></tr>
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The drive home was uneventful. Upon inquiry to the friendly hotel staff, we got dinner reservations at a local (Rochecorbon) restaurant. We ambled down the road and proceeded to walk into an empty restaurant. But not to fear, because French dining 101 says "no one is in a restaurant, and then all of a sudden it is full". Many restaurants are only open certain hours (11:30 -2:00 for lunch for example) and most customers show up at similar times. Once again, a we had a beautiful meal but a <i>long</i> meal. (Rambler Darryl would be straining at the bit.) To interrupt patrons while they talk late in a meal with a bill or other questions is considered rude by the waiter as it interrupts the conversation; of course, by the end of <i>our</i> meal, we were playing games on our cell phones waiting for the bill to come. Your American Ramblers are still getting acquainted with the idea but it is happening slowly. At the end of Day 2, we finally tracked down the waiter, got the bill and learned the second lesson in tipping en franchise. It is: THEY DON'T TIP unless the service was above and beyond. I guess we now know why the bartender practically jumped for joy, spouting "merci beaucoup" after your naive Ramblers left a 1 euro tip on a pair of 5 euro Coca-Colas.<br />
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Well, time for bed. Tomorrow is our tour with locals to several chateaus, a couple of wineries and a local French restaurant.<br />
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit; line-height: 20px;">Until then, au revoir and keep rambling.</span><br />
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<br />Hatchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09775901478599555563noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4271985349183762915.post-25360902246538664852013-07-06T17:53:00.001-07:002013-07-17T08:29:09.873-07:00Day 1 to Day 2 - Cars, Planes and 3 Hour DinnersYour intrepid Ramblers, circa 2013, set out for their latest ramble (silver anniversary ramble edition) on Friday at noon. After final instructions to Director of Homeplace Security Jenna we hit the road to Dulles. Luckily airlines can be counted on for one thing in these times - delayed or cancelled flights. Happily (and thankfully) our flight was only delayed a minor amount. That extra time is always welcome when venturing into the traffic vortex known as Northern Virginia (why do you people live there?). After hitting up Fredericksburg for some gas and Arby's grub we hit the real traffic. Thankfully it only slowed and never came to a dead stop (like the other side of I95). We made it to Dulles by 2:20pm got parked and then did the underground maze wander that is the Dulles walkway system. At this point we entered the equivalent of the airport twilight zone (cue the Rod Serling). We hit the Air France check-in desk (cue the <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XVSRm80WzZk" target="_blank">theme song</a>) and the Air France representative handed us a letter from the airline apologizing for the plane being late (who does this?), they also ably assisted us with the ticketing kiosk and kept the bag check line moving at a reasonable clip. Just when that rare bit of airport magic seemed to be an aberration we hit the security area where the initial view of the line looked reasonable until realizing it snaked around a corner and seemed long but ok when an official TSA dude says "keep walking to the next security point" and you realize LOTS of people are converging on the same point. Any seasoned airport navigator knows one phrase for this type of outcome (S**T). As countless of our fellow airport lemmings converged into a big line we noticed a lighted arrow that alternatively pointed left or right. When we arrived at the sorting hat ...errrrrrrr lighted arrow our fate was designated to the right which sent us..wait for it... right back to where we started. As we approached the new line, the original one, with Rambler Hance cursing the genius of all things TSA and government run in general, a happy TSA agent (they do exist--contact <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nassim_Nicholas_Taleb" target="_blank">Nassim Taleb</a> about the follow-up to the Black Swan) appeared and began to tell us we have been selected to go through the TSA-PRE line. The wonders he prepared us for included keeping our shoes, jackets and belts on, keeping our laptops in our bags, and not taking our liquids bag out. There had to be a catch... retinal scan, finger printing, body cavity check, direct NSA email bcc, something. But no, it was pure random TSA-generated advertising. Give the people a taste of breezing through airport security and they will run panting to sign up. THEY ARE RIGHT! If any readers fly more than once or twice a year, run, do not walk, to your local TSA office and get signed up for TSA-PRE. Now that we were sure we had somehow warped into some alternative universe of air travel pleasantness and efficiency we snapped back to the next Dulles maze - the train system. Finally arriving at our gate and we again find lots of helpful Air France folks as well as a seating line system similar to what Southwest uses (albeit with assigned seats). Rambler Jane had booked our travels in Premium Economy which to your author means 4-6 inches of leg room and nothing else. Oh no.. on Air France (my new favorite airline) it meant that plus a foot rest, leg support and a little pod similar to business class albeit without the ability to really lie down (that would be an issue later). Here is Rambler Hance in his pod.<br />
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After we settled in it was a typical transatlantic flight - read a little, eat dinner, try to sleep, read/watch a movie, try to sleep a little more, have breakfast and before you know it 7 hours have past and you are landing. One note on the plane. It was a new Airbus A380 the biggest and baddest plane in the sky right now. It had two decks of people and massive wings. Truly an engineering marvel. <br />
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Upon arrival in Paris is was foggy to our dismay but we found our way through Charles De Gaulle airport with relative ease (Rambler Hance's Travel Rule #10 - if you have seen one big international airport you have seen them all). After hunting up our baggage and tracking down an ATM machine (le distributeur automatique de billets) we headed off to Hertz. I have to admit, since joining the Hertz Gold Club I have been nothing but thrilled - until now. First, we did not get the Mercedes C Class we thought we had reserved, they tried to give us a Chevy van type SUV but we finally held out for the Volvo. Hertz negative points for the experience.<br />
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Once we procured the car, a nav system and all the insurance required Rambler Hance did some quick math and determined your ramblers could have shipped one of their cars to France for half the price. But twenty-five years of love knows no bounds so off we went. After circling the airport three times because Gabrielle (our French GPS voice) kept telling us to turn left we finally got the translation parsed and went straight, but tilted left, and exited the airport. Vive le France!. Lets just say when 90% of the road signs are unintelligible a GPS is a wonderful thing. As we cruised around the Paris beltway and headed southwast towards Tours here is one American's initial impressions: they farm in France - a lot, they are the kings of graffiti (Paris is littered with it and other towns can be as well) and the roads are top notch although the speed limit moves up and down all the time. Oh and the toll booths take credit cards but not mine evidently. We stopped for a bladder break at one of the regular gas, food and facilities locations along the French equivalent of U.S. interstates and verified another of Rambler Hance's Travel Rules (#3) - that is even optically great looking French sandwiches bought at a Tigermart are mediocre at best.<br />
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After a three hour tour across southwestern France we arrived at Tours and Rochecorbon more explicitly. We checked into the hotel and our cave room and then broke the cardinal rule of transatlantic flight, we took a nap rather than powering through until the normal local bedtime. Some things can't be helped. A little exploring in the local town in search of a snack and a bottle of wine was largely uneventful and we retreated to our hotel for dinner at their four star restaurant. Initial impressions of French dining: Presentation is VERY important as is food quality but dining is to the French what running was to the Greeks, a marathon not a sprint. We were clearly the geeky American tourists because we took pictures of all our food and so far almost everyone we have encountered knows way more English than we know French. When in doubt we have found a pleasant bonjour and merci plus fingers for courting goes a long way. Below is displayed some of the beautiful food we had our first night. Rambler food rating a 5 star (U.S. scale) but we will rescale upon the visit to Paris. Stay tuned!<br />
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After eating all that food and spending 3 hours doing so it was time to hit the hay. With Day 1.5 in the books the tally was in: 400 km driven, 6200 km flown, awake for 36 hours, ate one incredible meal and your Ramblers had descended on France.<br />
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Tomorrow we are going to the Abbaye Royal de Fontevraud where my people the Plantagenet's are buried.<br />
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Until then au revoir and keep rambling.Hatchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09775901478599555563noreply@blogger.com1