Julie Duggan
A woman who craves independent travel...just beginning to explore what's outside the familiar boundaries of home.WanderWoman8
Travel Blog Posts
September 17th 2009
Voie Verte is French for Greenway Across France, the state is developing a network of greenways—known as les Voies Vertes—reserved for pedestrian and non-motorized vehicle use. I’d cycled a few kilometers on a greenway in Burgundy last year and was eager to see what one in Upper Normandy would be like. I chose the greenway called The Valley of the Epte, so named because it intertwines the Epte River, a tributary of the Seine. The French pronounce l'epte as if they were saying the English word lept, as in "he lept to his death." I chose this route for no other reason than it was near the place I was staying. Here's a map of the route; it's in two pages: Map of Voie Verte My plan was to devote one day to the lower half ... read more
September 15th 2009
By Bus and by Train This day, Tuesday, was a travel day. I left the Hotel Chopin after breakfast and traveled by a single city bus--no transfer--directly to the Gare St.-Lazare. From there I caught a train to Vernon, about an hour away in Upper Normandy. A fellow passenger on the train who was coming from Paris to visit his family offered me a lift to the Avis car rental office, saving me the long walk with luggage bumping along behind. 4 Wheels Things had gone so smoothly until now, I was not surprised when there was a bit of difficulty with the rental car. I'd reserved a 5-door vehicle large enough for 5 adults so there would be room to stow a bicycle in the back. However the vehicle waiting for me at the Avis ... read more
Valadon & Utrillo, Laduree, and Shopping
Published: September 21st 2009Europe » France » Île-de-France » Paris
September 14th 2009
A Little Breakfast My first full day in France began with an exercise in self-discipline: arising at 6 am. The most effective antidote to jet lag I've found is gently encouraging my body to adhere to its usual schedule, on the local time. Breakfast in the hotel's tiny dining room was self-serve and I was its first guest of the morning. The coffee table held two thermal carafes: one with coffee, the other with heated milk. Into a cup I dispensed an equal quantity of both, making a mental note to set up a similar arrangement at home. Yogurt, croissants, baguettes, and cereal were on offer. And fresh orange juice, which you squeezed yourself with an automatic press that dropped a whole orange--like a pinball--into chute where it was sliced in two, the juice extracted into ... read more
An Afternoon in Paris--Part 3
Published: September 20th 2009Europe » France » Upper Normandy » Giverny
September 13th 2009
It's Always Nice to See Other Americans in Paris I was welcomed to the Left Bank by the bronze statue of Thomas Jefferson, who served as ambassador to France prior to his term as president of the new US. They say he spent much of his time here enjoying the sights, socializing with the French elite, and developing a close personal relationship with a member of his American staff. Seeing Jefferson there at the foot of the pedestrian bridge always reminds me that the first job of every American in Paris is to fully appreciate everything the city has to offer. Né dans la Rue By this time, the afternoon was starting to wane, and I was really lagging, but I didn't feel like stopping. My destination was an exhibition of grafitti at the Cartier Foundation ... read more
An Afternoon in Paris--Part 2
Published: September 18th 2009Europe » France » Upper Normandy » Giverny
September 13th 2009
A Bit of Practical Info Public restrooms that don't require admission to something else first can be scarce in Paris. In an emergency, I've used those gray metal cylinders on the sidewalks—the ones that automatically clean themselves after every customer—but I find them damp and a little scary, and they aren't plentiful either. The conventional solution is to stop at a cafe, then (1) order a beverage and (2) use the facilities. Doing 2 without 1 is frowned upon, and some places even post a notice forbidding it. In the Louvre area, there's a quick pit stop in the Carrousel du Louvre, a modern shopping mall beneath the great museum. Visits used to be free, but since my last trip to Paris (September 08), the mall has subbed-out management of their restrooms to the contractor WC-Point ... read more
An Afternoon in Paris--Part 1
Published: September 17th 2009Europe » France » Upper Normandy » Giverny
September 13th 2009
A Hotel Down a Passage Touched down at Charles de Gaulle airport late this morning and got myself into the city by the Roissy Bus. My lodgings—in the Hotel Chopin—are in the lower portion of the 9th district, only a kilometer or so from the Opera Garnier where the bus drops its passengers before heading back to the airport. Hotel Chopin is a budget accommodation, but it suits me just fine. Chief among its attractions is its location at the end of Passage Jouffroy, one of Paris' covered passages. The passages are narrow lanes lined with shops enclosed—in the late-middle 19th century—with iron-and-glass roofs and paved with terrazzo tile, some with quite ornate designs. I suppose you might describe the passages as precursors to the shopping mall; they permitted shoppers to browse from vendor to vendor, ... read more
September 12th 2009
1: Murder in the Bastille by Cara Black Selected because I'm consuming mystery novels like M&Ms at the moment and this one takes place in Paris. Disposition: While awaiting plane in Tallahassee airport, dragged myself through first two pages; spot-checked pages deeper in book to confirm no improvement in writing style; jettisoned in ladies restroom before takeoff. 2: NY Times Book Review from previous Sunday Read dutifully from cover to cover on flight to Atlanta to distract myself from being mashed, shoulder to knee, against the same body parts of a gentleman endowed with rather more girth than his seat could accommodate. Disposition: Deposited in pocket of seat in front of me before deplaning. (Is it just me or has the content of the NYTBR been flat lately? Perhaps the doldrums of August are lingering still, ... read more
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