France - and a bit more: 5 (Finale)

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France - and a bit more: Episode 5 (Finale)

This blog describes our 2023 journey to Europe; specifically France (with the possibility of a small foray elsewhere as both Italy and Spain are 'next door'!). As always, we segment the 'blog' into roughly weekly or fortnightly posts (this being the 5th).



Our travel blog has been written for family and friends to 'travel with us'. We now recognise we write the blog for ourselves; it is how we revisit our past adventures and remind ourselves of the the enjoyment. Thus, there is more detail included than merely a brief discourse for family and friends.



BTW, if you want to see the picture in a larger size, just click on it.




Oh, and if you missed Episode #1, you can find it here, and Episode #2 here and Episode #3 here. The last episode (4) can be found here.



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July 1: Day 49 - Making our way home.

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After the joy we'd experienced in Provence, and the absolute peace and delight in L'Occitania, it was with considerable sadness that we packed our bags and headed north to Lyon to drop off the car, take a train to Paris, and end the 'rural' aspect of our holiday in France.



The night was wet, and the day opened cloudy, so we didn't feel that negative feeling that departures on a sunny create. Fortunately, the rain stayed away and the drive was procedural and (fortunately) uneventful. That said, the route was not straightforward. We'd selected the non-toll option so instead of a wide 130kph highway, we had to contend with speeds varying from 30kph (in towns) through 50kph (outskirts of towns), 80kph - the national rural road speed - and some 110kph (national non-freeway) separated highway speed. Bruce complained that the variation of speeds must have been designed by someone in Government Revenue to ensure a constant income!



As we'd written in the 1st episode, the train trip was comfortable, fast and quiet. That said, we made a boo-boo! As like others, we had to select seats with our booking. Ours were in carriage 8. So, when making our way to the platform, we located ourselves where the sign indicated carriage 8 would stop. Turned out that there was a 1 above the 8, and we were standing where carriage 18 stopped. The train had come from Marseilles, so we knew there was only a short window of time to board. Thinking carriage 8 was further along, we went past 17, 16, etc., until we arrived at carriage 11 - the last carriage. We hopped on to ensure we were aboard and hoped we could make a solution once there. We found a couple of seats (apparently) free and sat down awaiting the conductor. Soon, he arrived and told us not to worry, the train was now a direct to Paris and if the seats were free, that's the way they'd stay. Whew!



We enjoyed the scenery flash past and soon found ourselves at Gare de Lyon (the terminus). From there it was a Metro ride to our apartment in Montreuil/Vincennes. Like all 'net' booked accommodation, there is always the fear that it may turn out to be horrible. This wasn't horrible, but the pictures made it look larger than it was. It didn't really matter as it was only for a few nights and we'd planned to be out and about a lot.

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July 2: Day 50 - A walk in the park.

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The accommodation (on the border of Vincennes and Montreuil) was a 10 minute walk from the Château de Vincennes, a former fortress palace of pre-revolution royalty. In a former time during royal occupancy, the locality was all forest - for royal pleasure. And, much of the forested area remains (refer pic). As Sunday is a 'quiet' day in France, we decided to go visit the park. We knew it was 'there' because Googlemaps showed it. But, until we went, we had no idea as to how spectacular it was.



We didn't do any research on the background, but by the end of the day we'd discovered that the huge space was part, organised play area for families 'doing' a picnic, part a large sporting area, part a huge nursery for restocking parks and streetscapes, a formal botanical garden, a large zoo, and a monstrously large 'royal' type reserve. In the latter, we saw that most of the trees were many, many years old (centuries, maybe?). After we'd been walking in this area for a while, we also realised many of the various paths were designed on the classic radiating pattern. And, this 'classic' forest extended south from the Château. Many of the areas within the 'triangles' were huge, and within we felt as though we were back in a national park somewhere in the south of France. It was just green! And, it was quietly peaceful. Meandering through the park was a creek. And, this appeared to be well used by the native fauna.



Even though there is much green, there is also large areas of grain fields. And, road spaces that had originally been for cars have now been given over for cyclists to do 'their thing'!



We were even surprised that the authorities has allocated a smallish area for campers. Parts of the park have paths especially for horse riders. We discovered this by being sort of confronted by a horse and rider galloping toward us. Nearby, was an equestrian centre; primarily being used by youth. We were fascinated by the number of pony's trotting around and the riders were very much in control. The centre had a small restaurant, so we had a long break enjoying a baguette sandwich and watching the frolicking ponies.



Parisiens are so lucky to have such a magnificent open space so close to the city centre. And, on this Sunday, plenty were enjoying their treasure.



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July 3: Day 51 - Bricolage.

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On a previous visit to Paris, we'd stumbled upon a hardware store - somewhat like a very small Harvey Norman. What surprised us then was the variety of different styles in the home-maker goods. The 'Harvey Norman' of France is Leroy Merlin - though competitors may say otherwise. In France, these sorts of stores are known as 'bricolage'; meaning to tinker oneself, or DYI. We decided we'd spend the day at one of the Leroy Merlin larger stores; still very small in size, stock and range compared to Harvey Norman. To get there, we walked about a kilometre to the tram terminus. Reason? Because Metro would have meant a couple of line changes, while the tram took us directly there to Saint-Denis.



It was not until the tram neared the location of the store that we realised we were extremely close to a couple of the sites that over the past few days had incurred youth venting their anger. On reflection, the expressions of anger occurred during the night. By day, Paris just got on with life. As an example, in a park in Saint-Denis we watched as a group of landscape workers added annual flowers to a well proportioned garden. Nearby, burnt out cars lined the street!



We arrived at the store and it was nice to see how Europeans - and the French in particular - addressed common household ideas of furnishing, decoration and style. On the way back, Bruce reflected that while he wanted to visit the store, he pondered the desire as he doesn't want to spend more time 'renovating'.

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July 4: Day 52 - Homebound reparations.

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We spent the morning resting and re-organising our gear to ensure we'd not have a mountain to carry to the airport. We tend to travel light and prefer not to 'acquire' as we travel. But, as they say, 'the best laid plans...' and all that. We achieved the result we wanted without too much fuss.



Judy expressed the concern that with the luggage (an extra bag) the transfer needed on the RER (the semi express train in Paris - and that we were to take to the airport) might be difficult.



We decided to take the Red RER to Les Halles and look at what lay in front of us as we transferred to the Blue RER. Out the door of the Red, across the platform and onto the Blue - simple!



Les Halles is a very large Westfield shopping centre. Though we'd looked at fashion along our journey, nothing 'stood out'. And, Judy wanted 'one last look'. Unbeknown to us, July 4 is the beginning of the SALE season and Westfield had put on a show. Judy found something and the discount made the item even more appealing.



Unless a male wants sneakers, there are no shoe shops in Westfield of the type where Bruce could get sandals. Asking around, we were told to go look at Bvd Saint-Germain. We took a subway and though there were some offerings, nothing that attracted Bruce's attention.



Before returning to the Metro, we both spied a Pierre Hermé patisserie. We could NOT go past - we learned by experience on a past trip to Paris that his are the BEST Macaroon's ever!



Public transport is clearly the primary means to travel around Paris. The Metro trains are only 2 or 3 minutes apart. Trams and buses are less well spaced, but still amenable. The next option seems bikes - both pedal and motor - and on most suburban streets strong metal frames have been placed to lock up the bikes. Near our accommodation a section was also provided for kids scooters!

July 5: Day 53 - Making our way home.

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Our flight was at about 10pm, so we arranged with the accommodation host to leave our bags there and return late afternoon to collect.



We'd originally intended to go visit Château de Vincennes as it has much history. But, while the morning opened sunny, the sky quickly turned gloomy. And, rain threatened.



We changed plans and went to the Musee d'Orsay. This is a museum of (mainly) Impressionist era art, and is housed in an elaborate train station built at the end of the 19th Century as a showpiece for a large cultural exhibition.



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Though more than Impressionist and Neo-Impressionist paintings, the focus of our attention were the painters; by painters including Berthe Morisot, Claude Monet, Édouard Manet, Degas, Renoir, Cézanne, Seurat, Sisley, Gauguin, and van Gogh. The collection of art and sculpture is impressive - especially for we Australians who see 'token' reprisentations. Here, most artists had several works showing how their skill and flair developed over time. The only downer were the number of tourists!!!!
Given the location of the museum, we headed to Saint-Germain / Odeon to grab some lunch and have a wander. While lunch was great, a rain squall set in so we headed back to our accommodation and get our bags.



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By the time we'd returned to our accommodation, the sun had returned! We were going to be early at the airport so on the way to the Vincences RER terminal, we grabbed a 4 pack of craft beer, some nibblies and a baguette sandwich. The RER transportation was super quick; it took just over an hour to arrive at the airport. There is a little park at the airport near the hotels, so we headed there and relaxed in late afternoon sunshine enjoying the last remnants of our France holiday.

Reflections...

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If we'd just arrived into Paris from some other urban location, we could say Paris was a buzz. However, we arrived after some wonderfully peaceful and relaxing rural pursuits.



We'd previously gone 'tourist icon' chasing, so didn't need to repeat. That said, we managed to enjoy aspects of Paris that reflects more of a local than a tourist - and we like that.



Perhaps the day at the Château de Vincennes 'gardens' gave us the joy so as not to be thinking about the rural / urban contrast.



As for the whole holiday - despite a couple of medical issues, we loved our time in France, Andorra and Spain.



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