Countryside of France

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On the fourth day in France we took the train to Fontainebleu to meet up with Emmanuel. He and Masa went rock climbing while I went straight to the village of Fontainebleu south of Paris about 60 Km or so, I think. There was a market going on in town which was cool to walk around. they were selling everything from mattresses to clothing to fruit. there´s also a chateau there that was a auxilliary home to many of the kings of france and later Napoleon spent some time living there. I didn´t go inside but spent a lot of time wandering the massive gardens surrounding the estate. The town of Fontainebleu is very pretty with both the old world feeling of windy streets and the outdoor cafes and shops that look more modern.

Masa and Emmanuel met up with me later in the afternoon and we rented a couple of bikes for Masa and me and biked the twenty minutes or so back to Thomery, a smaller village where Emmanuel´s family has a house. His grandmother was there and they were so generous to us, giving us food and letting us stay at their home.

the next day there we biked around the French Countryside. Sounds romantic huh? Well it was fantastic. The weather was gorgeous and the woods were beautiful and lush. We ate a picnic lunch by the side of this amazing blue-ish pond with crazy boulders jutting out of it. E said it used to be a quarry. We contemplated swimming but it was juuuust beyond the limits of comfort as far as tempurature went so we opted not to but the view was amazing and the lunch was great. After that we biked through small villages (like one right out of the storybooks complete with gothic cathedral and tiny windy streets with half-timbered facades.) and lots of woods. The whole time I was just so amazed to be out there doing that. Keep in mind my last bike was a pink and grey jr. sized tenspeed I got for my tenth... maybe eleventh birthday. It was a great bike but it never really saw anything but the bike lane to and from Divisadero middle school. And that only when my mom or Anne (my sister) refused to take me. so this was certainly an experience and I´m happy to say I only crashed down the embankment of the Seine once. Luckily I didn´t fall in as my descent was hindered by a nice soft patch of stinging nettles. All I got was a small scratch on my leg and a nice bright patch of welts on my back and armpit but those went away within an hour. no harm done. I think I got off easy. It was all completely worth it for such a beautiful day. One of my favorites on the trip so far.

Our last day out in the country we went for another bike ride aruond the town and through the woods again. This time it was shorter though as we were due to have lunch at the house and we were to leave for Paris in the mid afternoon. That evening we traipsed around Paris with Emmanuel visiting various landmarks by night. we had mussels and beer for dinner and crepes for dessert. We spent that night at his apartment again - his generosity really made our experience that much nicer and I can´t tell you how much we appreciate it.

Next day we spent running errand... uck. we did laundry, found a hotel for the night (surprisingly took a very long time to get that nailed down) and that sort of thing. It was gloomy in the morning but cleared up into a beautiful afternoon and evening. Later on we went to Mont Martre with Emmanuel. It was gorgeous, of course, we wandered around for a couple hours enjoying the amazing views of paris and then headed back to our hotel to pack up and get ready for our flight to Lisbon the following day.

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Photos

me and apples at the country house
we had fresh fruit from the trees in the gardens at the house in Thomery. It was great. not to mention beautiful.

no jen the bike doesn´t go that way!!!
can you tell I don´t ride bikes very much? But even amy would have enjoyed this ride... maybe with a tandem.

at the lake with Emmanuel
this is where we stopped for our picnic lunch

said picnic lunch
looks like a still life, eh?

Seine from the woods
These were the views we were treated to along our ride. It was unbelievably gorgeous.

Adorable Town
This was the oldest looking town we´ve seen so far. it had walls outside it and big places for drawbridges and everything. Awesome.

Masa, Emmanuel and Me at Luxembourg Gardens
a beautiful park in Paris it was full of people in the late afternoon/evening light.

pyramid by night
the louvre all lit up was certainly something to see.

Comments

[Marelly]

The picknik sounds very good,!!.