Having said goodbye to the
Halling mob we travelled with the Rowlinson clan onto the continent and a site
near Chartre an hour West of Paris. A pleasantly quite site.
The nearby village of
Maintenon held their local market the day after we arrived. The variety of food
made selection of what to pick difficult. (So why did we stock up with food
before leaving UK?)
Chickens and ducks were
locally butchered and left with their heads on. Not even the youngest member of
our clan was taken in by the suggestion the birds were still alive despite the
head bobbing up and down.
Samples of rock melon were
particularly well received and was a good idea as we bought three. They were
really sweet and mouth watering.
The closest town was…. With its cathedral (named yes you
guessed it Notre Dame) built in 1220.
Before exploring we decided
on a picnic in the park – in such colourful surroundings you just had to look
cool.
The cathedral had been
largely refurbished and parts looked almost new. In the entrance was a maze
which some just had to walk. Done slowly it is a good time for reflection.
The windows incorporated the
most detailed stained glass I have ever seen.
The whole place really came
to life when the organ struck up and reverberated wonderfully throughout every
nook and cranny.
The City is quite compact but
along with the Cathedral has many other picturesque old buildings which overlook
the river. For example St Pierre with its flying buttresses.
There is even the remnants of
an 1100 Barbican – not in quite the same condition as York. Indeed one of the
remnant towers looked decidedly precarious particularly the way it cantilevered over an adjoining cafe.
Even some of the modern
buildings fitted well with their surrounds.
We had contemplated having a
late nights as many of the buildings are lit up, however we (never mind the
children) were really rather tired and ready for bed.
However, a sleep in was not to happen
as we were all rudely awakened by much yelling and banging outside. Expletives such as "Good God!" were thankfully quite muted as we discovered the source was Glen’s
parents (George and Jean) who had flown over to celebrate his 40th!
The earlier than planned start was quickly forgotten when we set eyes on some
birthday pastries and cake.
In the evening we headed into
Paris where we treated Glen to an evening meal cruising on the Seine. Good food
and great surroundings.
Just to prove we were in Paris……
It was clear that Helen could
not get enough of the desert (as she certainly was not born with a silver spoon
in her mouth).
After a rather too filling dinner a
walk seemed appropriate. Just South of the Eiffel Tower we came across L’ile aux Cygnes. It is between
two bridges in the centre of the Seine and being remote from the traffic was a pleasantly
quiet walk. I turned around to see a normally buoyant Daelin stock still. He
had spotted a dog and had been trained to use this stance. I have never seen it
before but Helen later tried it and it works. Great resolve for a four year old
to hold this stance rather than panic. Impressive.
As we returned to the car an
intense shower passed to the North giving rise to wonderfully contrasting
light.
The following day also saw us in Paris to see the last day of
Le Tour.
The lead up caravan took an
hour or more to pass but was enlivened by a short aerial display.
This was the best place to
view the activities.
The result – well after our
Australian hope (Ritchie Port) crashed out on stage 9 with a broken collar bone
and pelvis there was no stopping Chris Froome. His Skye team continued to give
him great protection even during this last day's ending with 8 laps of the Champs
Elysee.
Mind you Aussie Michael
Matthews won the Green jersey (the sprint competition with points allocated for
those winning sprints held throughout the tour).
And the White Jersey won by
Aussie Adam Yates of the Aussie Orica team (youngest rider under 26 years with
the best overall time). So it was a last day worth watching!
No comments:
Post a Comment