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Paris to Beaune (1,368 kms)

Sep 15, 2011

Didn’t sleep well overnight. I had a really sore hip from too much walking yesterday and the nerves were building for getting out of Paris in spite of all the positive self-talk. I swear if the quick trips to the loo are going to be routine before departure each day I will be a mere shadow of my former self on my return!...not a wholly bad thing but a crappy way to do it…if you’ll pardon the pun.

Norm was determined to get an Iconic / Recognisable French shot of us with our bikes in front of the Eiffel Tower before we headed out of Paris. How hard could it be? We keyed in the address to the GPS and headed off and thankfully found the traffic not all that heavy or pushy. We parked the bikes and figured out where to stand to get the entire Tower in and started to eyeball passers-by to see who would do the picture taking being conscious all the time that we would likely be asked to move on at any time. The answer to the ‘how hard can it be?’ question was ‘apparently impossible’….even from the woman who proudly told us she had the same camera. End result is that the test one Norm took was the ONLY one with the whole Tower so have cropped and included that.



Nola standing her ground in front of the Tower

We had a great time in Paris. We loved everything we saw and found the people and communities we moved amongst to be very friendly and welcoming. We were relieved that the traffic was surprisingly light and although a bit weird on some streets and intersections, as in the dividing lines for lanes apparently being more a ‘suggestion’ rather than a ‘requirement’, didn’t feel unsafe and we were soon on the Motorway and heading south through magnificent sweeping vistas of farmland and forest on our way to Beaune.

We took a break at a roadhouse and waited for Sharon and Ken to catch up with their car then headed off together. We came straight to Beaune and wandered around the beautiful old walled city before we had a delicious dinner and came back to the hotel to fall into bed. We have two nights here so will explore more of the surrounding towns and countryside tomorrow. The old bodies decided today they hadn’t fully recovered from hanging on in gale force winds on our way from Calais to Paris so it will be good to have a quieter day tomorrow. The town is remarkably well preserved and feels a bit like stepping into an ever changing picture postcard.



Part of the Hospices De Beaune - Musee de l'Hotel Dieu which was both a magnificently well preserved building and also served a valuable purpose of being a world renowned and progressive Hospital from 1453 until 1971 when a new hospital was built to replace it. They retained the retirement homes only. We toured through much of the building including many of the wards / chapels, the kitchen and the pharmacy. Very impressive.

Bits and Bobs:

Sometimes it’s hard to maintain even a hint of femininity on the bike but check out the serious ‘Bike Bling’ I found in the window of the ‘Wedding Dress Couture’ shopfront close to the hotel! I didn’t arrange to have it shipped home….not sure how the sparkly bits would survive having bug guts washed off them and to be truthful it’s not really my style. Ah well.



Last nights’ accommodation:

Citadines St Germain Paris
53 Ter Quai Des Grands
Paris France 75006
http://www.citadines.com/en/france/paris/saint_germain_des_pres.html
A lovely Apartment Hotel on the banks of the Seine and a convenient distance to all the highlights of the city. Compact apartment type accommodation with direct internet access and beautifully comfortable bed…..ahhh!. Nicely maintained, quiet for sleeping and very friendly and helpful staff.




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