Aurevoir, France! À la prochaine!!

Posted July 22, 2014

Well it’s hard to believe but our trip is just about over. We had another busy day to end it all off. Amanda, Ben, and Ty went on a Segway tour of Paris. They had an amazing time and learned a tonne about the history around all of the landmarks. Sam and I went through the Catacombs of Paris. They are underground ossuaries that hold the remains of about six million people. It was a little spooky but very cool to see the thousands and thousands of bones and skulls.

After we met back at the apartment and had a little rest we jumped on the subway and headed back to the Jardin des Tuileries for Sam to go on the ferris wheel and swings. We then took one more walk down the Champs Elysées towards the Arc de Triomphe where we had dinner. After that we walked back to the Eiffel Tower to watch the sun go down, and the lights come on. What a spectacular way to finish it all off.

It has been an unbelievable three weeks. We have been very fortunate to see three very distinct parts of France and have learned many things about the French culture. In some ways I think we even understand my own father a little better now!! Having to speak French was also a great experience for all of us. It was great for us to get to use some of our second language. For anybody who enjoys biking I can’t imagine a better place to go – the drivers are very courteous and safe, and the country is so varied in its geography.
I think we all had a great time, but we are all excited to get back home and see our friends, and our pets. Thanks again for following us on our trip. Hope you enjoyed it as much as we did.

Bonne nuit, tout le monde!!!

Our Feet Hurt!!!

Posted July 21, 2014

Name an attraction in Paris and I am sure we at least walked past it today. We started off walking to the Louvre first thing this morning. On the way we passed over the Pont de la Concorde which had about a billion locks attached to it by romantic couples. We spent a bunch of time looking at some of the names.

When we got to the Louvre we had to wait in line for about 50 minutes to get in. It was a bit of a zoo inside so we concentrated on seeing a few masterpieces before getting worn out – Mona Lisa, Venus de Milo, etc… Unfortunately it was not a very peaceful environment to appreciate these. Mona Lisa was almost comical as you almost have to push your way close to it while avoiding the elbows of all of the selfie-taking idiots! Still, it was amazing to see. In the end we were almost more impressed by the building’s architecture than the works housed inside.

Next we walked through the Champs Elysées en route to the high end shopping area. The road through the Champs is being set up with bleachers for the end of the Tour de France. It would be so fun to still be here to see that. At this point Ty, Sam, and I split from Mandy and Ben to do more sight seeing while they hit the shops. Ty, Sam and I made it the Arc de Triomphe, before doubling back to go to the top of the Eiffel Tower.

Needless to say we were all beat by the time we met back at the apartment around 7:00. We had a quiet dinner in and watched some TV. Everybody is asleep now and I will soon be also!
Tomorrow Sam and I are going to do the catacombs, then the big ferris wheel near the Louvre. Mandy and the other boys are doing Paris by Segway. After dinner we will spend our last evening by the Eiffel Tower taking in all of the lights. It should be a great day to end an amazing trip!!
À demain, mes amis!!

Made it to Paris!!

Posted July 20, 2014

We made it to Paris by train today. We were sad to leave the Chartreuse mountains, but it is very exciting to be in Paris. The train ride was very beautiful and relaxing, going from the mountains to rolling countryside with lots of woodland. It was very cool to see all of the little French villages. After arriving at our apartment we walked to the Eiffel Tower which is about 1.5 km away. It was very impressive to see it with our own eyes after seeing it hundreds of times in movies and pictures.

We had a great dinner out and are just relaxing now. Ben and Amanda are going to go for a run a little later.
Tomorrow we are heading to the Louvre first thing, and then not sure what.
Hard to believe we only have three more days to go. It will be hard to leave but looking forward to talking to and seeing you all!!
Bonsoir. À demain!!

UPDATE: Amanda and Ben had a run past the Louvre, through the Champs Elysées, past the Arc de Triomphe, and back past the Eiffel Tower in the Parc de Champs de Mars. Ty, Sam and I went for a walk around a huge building which ending up being l’Église du Dome which is Napoleon’s Tomb. Both very cool ways to end the day!

Goodbye, le Sappey en Chartreuse, Hello Paris!!

Posted July 19, 2014

Today was our last in Grenoble. We are heading to the train station tomorrow morning to go to Paris for our last few days. We are really going to miss our little chalet and life in the mountains. It has been an amazing week of hiking, sights, and the Tour de France.

We went to Voiron today to the distillery where Chartreuse is made (Google it). The monastery we hiked by earlier in the week is where it was originally made 250 years ago. It is now made at the facility where we visited today, but by the same monks. Only the monks know the recipe (130 plants and herbs) and the amount of aging required to make it. The storage facility is a 164 m long cave, the longest such facility in the world. It was very interesting.

Tonight we walked up to the village for one of our best dinners yet! The boys had a humongous sunday to top it all off. It was a great way to finish the week off.
Hard to believe we will be standing by the Eiffel Tower tomorrow night.
Bonne nuit, mes amis!! À demain!

First Big Hike in the Chartreuse

Posted July 17, 2014

We’ve had another two great days here at the chalet. The weather has been great. It rained here all last week so we sure got lucky arriving this week. On Tuesday we drove down to Grenoble to go to the Grenoble Museum, only to find out that the museums close on Tuesdays. Instead, we walked around the downtown area. We took a 45-minute tourist “train” ride that explained much of the history of the area and pointed out all of the old landmarks. We found an amazing pastry shop and stopped in for a snack. After a bit of shopping we came back up to the chalet and hung around for the evening.

Yesterday we had an amazing hike up to the summit of Petit Som. The first part of the walk took us past le Couvent de la Grande Chartreuse. It is a huge working monastery nestled in the mountains. As we walked by, signs indicated it was a quiet zone so there was no talking until we got past it. Unfortunately the public is no longer allowed in to see what goes on inside. We did see a few monks coming and going, though.

The hike took us over 900 m up to the summit at 1772 m. The views were gorgeous. We could even see Mt Blanc in the distance. We decided to eat lunch on the summit before heading back down. The boys did amazing, and we did our best to keep up! After five hours of hiking we made it back to the car and headed home for showers and dinner (including Auntie Kim’s world famous European Cocktail Wieners)

After watching a movie we decided to call it a day. Tomorrow we hope to get in to the Grenoble museum, then come home and put a few last minute touches on our Tour de France signs for Friday!
Thanks for reading, everybody. Bonne journée tout le monde!

Chamechaude Hike and Tour de France

Posted July 18, 2014

Yesterday we went down to Grenoble and visited the Musée de Grenoble. The art collection there was very impressive. From antiquity to modern art, we saw many amazing pieces including Monet, Picasso, Renoir, Manet, any many more that we are too clueless to list. Ty picked a beret up as a souvenir after the museum, then we did some groceries and headed back to the chalet.

Today was awesome!! Maybe top of the list. We started off with a beautiful hike up Chamechaude. This is one of the more prominent peaks in the area and the one we wake up to every morning. We were in a bit of a time crunch to get back down by 1:30 so we didn’t stay too long at the peak.

Once we got back to the car we did a quick change of clothes and walked down a kilometer or so to Col de Palaquis where the Tour de France was going to come by. The atmosphere was incredible, and the excitement built until the first rider came through. There was a caravan that started coming through about an hour before the first rider arrived. Every five minutes these crazy sponsor vehicles would drive by and throw souvenirs to the crowd. The boys got hats, key chains, candy, laundry soap, and a bunch of other stuff. It was pretty cool. Then the first rider came followed by a couple more, followed by the peleton. It was a great spot to watch from as they came over the col and started their downhill. Each rider was given some food and drink as they went over the top, and we got a great chance to see them make adjustments and start speeding up for the downhill.  After it was over the mood was still very festive as everybody headed back to their cars or to the nearest village.

Tomorrow is our last day in Grenoble. Sunday morning we head back to Paris for a couple of days before heading home. Hard to believe it’s almost over….
Thanks again for reading. Bonne nuit, et à demain!!

Fist Day in the Chartreuse

Posted July 15, 2014

Had a great day in Grenoble visiting la Bastille on the French National Holiday. We took les bulles or boules up to the Bastille. They are bubble shaped gondolas that seat up to six people. While at the top we scoped out a few other places in Grenoble we might want to visit this week.

After groceries and a snack we did our first hike right from the chalet up to Fort du St-Eynard, which has since been converted into a restaurant and free museum. The views of Grenoble were amazing! It was only a short hike as we left the chalet at 5:30.

We are back now, cooking dinner and having showers. Looking forward to tomorrow, but no plans yet. Bonne nuit tout le monde!!

Goodbye Brittany

Posted July 15, 2014

The last few days have been very busy. Sorry that we haven’t posted anything! Four days ago was Juno Beach day. 

The day after that we went to the beach in Carnac. For those of you that are old enough, Johnny Carson used to do a bit called the Almighty Carnac who could supposedly read minds. It was very funny and the name came from the mysterious rocks in Carnac that are placed in a field. We saw the rocks on our way home.

The next day we drove 920 km from Dinan to le Sappey en Chartreuse which is just north of Grenoble in the Chartreuse mountains. To say it is gorgeous here is an understatement! Our chalet is nestled right in the mountains with an incredible view of le Chamechaud out of almost every window. 

We drove from 350 m elevation in Grenoble to about 1150 m to get to it. The road is a little narrow so there were about three or four locals on our tail by the time we got up.

That night after unpacking we went to a local restaurant for dinner then came back to watch the World Cup final. I think Sam was the only one who made it to the end without falling asleep, we were all so tired.
There is a lot of excitement in town as the Tour de France is coming through on Friday – probably no more than 200 m away from our front step. We are all looking forward to seeing it first hand. I’m not sure how they will negotiate these roads down to Grenoble. It will definitely be impressive to see!
The plan for today is to drive back down to Grenoble for some groceries and a little sightseeing. It is the national holiday here today so there should be some interesting stuff going on.
Thanks for reading. Talk to you later!

First Day Operating From Dinan

Posted July 10, 2014

Today was the first day we didn’t have to check out of a hotel, and we took full advantage – we didn’t leave the hotel until about 12:00.
On our way out of Dinan we saw a big market going on in the center of town so decided to stop and have a look. It was pretty cool but we didn’t make any purchases. After that we headed back towards Bazouges to the Parc des Grands Chênes. It is an outdoor adventure park with zip lines, rope bridges, tightropes, etc. There were five adult circuits and one child circuit. Ben, Ty, and I did three of the adult ones, while Sam tried his luck on the kid one, with Amanda’s help. It was good fun, and a bit of a workout.
On the way back to Dinan we stopped to see our second menhir, le Menhir du Champ-Dolent. This is the tallest menhir in Brittany (31 ft). Legend says that this menhir pushed out of the ground to separate two warring brothers locked in a deadly battle. There is also a legend that every time somebody dies the menhir sinks a tiny fraction back into the ground, and that the day it is fully back in the ground will be Judgement Day. Very interesting!!

No More Bikes…

Posted July 9, 2014

Not much to add today. We did our last bit of biking on our way to drop the bikes off this morning and pick up the car. After checking out of our hotel in St Malo we made our way to Dinan, which will be our base for the next four days. It was sad to let go of the bikes but it is also nice to be able to do groceries and eat in a bit more! Having all of our luggage back is also feeling a little weird. It was so nice to be travelling light when we were on the bikes.
We toured around Dinan on foot for a bit, then headed to a supermarket before checking in. The kids had a little swim at our new digs this evening and are just chilling before an early bed tonight. Not sure what the plan is tomorrow – might be a beach day, or might head out to Normandy. Will let you know tomorrow night!

Bonsoir!!

Cancale to St Malo – We Made It!!!

Posted July 8, 2014

We made it!!! We are back in St Malo after six days of great biking. Today was one of our shorter rides but lots of up and down. Our first stop was at Pointe du Grouin, at the north-eastern tip of Brittany. The views were gorgeous, in all directions. The coastline was all cliffs like what we picture Normandy will be like. We could also see England across the channel.

We stopped about halfway at a beach at the Pointe des Grandes Nez. The beach was over a kilometer long, and we counted about twelve people total. The kids enjoyed a short break before we kept moving.

Our third stop was at the north end of St Malo at the Rochers Sculptés. This is a bluff where a minister who suffered some type of stroke that rendered him deaf and mute, spent the last fifteen years of his life sculpting rocks. It was very interesting and amazing to see the amount of effort that was put into his work!

About ten minutes after we left there we rolled into the hotel where it all started. Yay!!! We did it! What an amazing experience!

After cleaning up we headed to the beach for a few hours and did some body surfing and relaxing on the beach. It was a very nice way to unwind and relax the muscles after a long trip. The kids sure enjoyed the down time.

We’ve cleaned up again and are going to head to dinner as soon as Amanda and I finish this bottle of rosé we are sharing. We are now on to the next phase of the trip and hope that you keep tagging along with us on our big adventure.

Beauvoir to Cancale

Posted July 8, 2014

We didn’t have access to WiFi last night so this entry is a day late:
Today ended up being our longest day because we went to Mt. St Michel first thing in the morning, which was an 8 km side-trip. Mt. St Michel was unbelievable. It is thought to date back to 708 when a small sanctuary was built to honour the Archangel, and grew from there. It has been an abbey, a military stronghold, a prison, and now a UNESCO world heritage sight. The views were stunning and the architecture was truly amazing.

Once we got back to Beauvoir, we changed, got lunch and headed for Cancale. The route took us through some agricultural land, through a few small villages and then along the coast around Baie St Michel for about 15 km. Riding beside the ocean was very scenic. We saw lots of oyster farms and seafood markets along the way.

Dinner tonight was at a seafood place which describes 95% of the restaurants here! Amanda and Ben had salmon, Sam and I had mussels, and Ty had steak!! We were all tired after the long ride so went home,watched a little Asterix and Obelix on TV, the boys did their journals, and we are all tucked in now.

I think we’re all a little sad that tomorrow is our last bike day, but we are looking forward to the next phase of the trip, and a few more creature comforts.

Bonne nuit, et à demain!

Bazouges-la-Pérouse to Beauvoir

Posted July 6, 2014

I think today was our favourite day by consensus. We had a beautiful ride through the countryside. We passed a fishing derby/BBQ. Someone getting out of their car saw us and yelled out “C’est le Tour de France!!! Allez-y!!” It gave us a good laugh and a bit of a burst of energy for the hill that was coming up.

We stopped in Sougéal in a park across from the church for a picnic lunch – fresh baguettes, camembert and Babybel cheese, and fresh peaches and tomatoes.

We had our first views of Mt. St Michel towards the end of the ride. It’s hard to understand how it was built. We are staying about 3 km from there tonight and will go for a visit early tomorrow on our way to Cancale.

The French people have been very kind to us so far. We are seeing with our own eyes how much they seem to enjoy life. Yesterday morning around 11:00 we rode past a little cafe patio and saw two ladies enjoying a glass of wine. No rush, and nowhere to go. The épiceries are a real meeting place in the morning also. Everybody goes every day because the bread doesn’t last more than a day, and there is no Wonder Bread at the grocery store. It’s all baked fresh every morning.


We’ve all cleaned up and are going to go look for a snack to get us through until dinner. Talk to you later!

Hédé-Bazouges to Bazouges-la-Pérouse

Posted July 5, 2014

We made good time today. Everybody was up and ready to go by 9:30. We hiked up to the épicerie to get fresh baguettes and some breakfast pastries, and hit the supermarket for some supplies. The weather forecast was remarkably accurate and it started raining around 12:00. The church in Combourg rang its bells for us as we rode through which we thought was very nice! (It was actually a wedding just getting out.) Le Chateau de Combourg was a beautiful site as we rode through town also.

We stopped to see this menhir on the side of the road. Ben reminded us and for those of you familiar with Astérix et Obélix, menhirs are what Obélix makes and gives as gifts.

We are now hanging out in our room relaxing waiting for the rain to stop so we can do a little exploring and then get dinner. Talk to everybody later.

Dinner at l’Auberge du Vieux Moulin

Posted July 4, 2014

We had our first fancy French meal tonight. Sam had pork, and the rest of us had white fish. Desert included creme brule, caramel waffle stick, and tiramisu. I had another beer instead of desert – a craft beer called Chat Malo.

We enjoyed it all and are getting ready for bed now. The kids are finishing up their journals then we will be turning in for the night. There will not be much partying in France tonight as les Bleus lost their big match against the Germans.
Bonsoir!! À demain mes amis!!

Dinan to Hédé-Bazouges

Posted July 4, 2014

What a day! We ended up sleeping in late and didn’t leave Dinan until around noon by the time we had breakfast and packed. The beginning of our route took us down a path where we had to do battle with some wild roses. A couple of kilometers later we ran into a dead end and had to battle the roses on the way back. The roses won both ways – we all have the cuts to prove it. Once that ordeal was over and we found an alternate route we made some good time. About two thirds of the way through our 40km we took a side trip to le Chateau de la Bourbansais. We liked the look of the place and decided to put an offer in.

When Ben got mugged by some lemurs on the property and we lost a banana we decided to pull the offer.

All in all it was a great ride. Tomorrow we will be getting wet but the kids have been warned. We are also done with bike paths and will mostly be on roads from here on out. It seems like the drivers here are much more considerate than in North America so we feel quite comfortable.

Thanks for following our trip. Hope everybody is doing well, and we’ll see you soon!!

Dinner in Dinan

Posted July 3, 2014

It only took us an hour of walking around to figure out that restaurants tend not to open until 7 p.m. in France. Good thing none of us were hungry… Oh well, a cold drink sitting on the patio helped us pass the next hour.

We all tried a French delicacy tonight – le Cheeseburger. I think it would be very popular in North America.  After dinner we walked around town a bit and took a few pictures.

Right now the boys are watching Goonies en francais while we are dozing. Off to Bazouges la Pérouse tomorrow. I think it will be our longest ride of the trip so good thing we’ll get a good rest tonight.

Bonne nuit tout le monde. À demain!!

St. Malo to Dinan

Posted July 3, 2014

We made it to our first stop today in great form – Mandy only had to tell one French policeman off!!
Everything seemed to go our way. We made it to the St Malo ferry just in time to get across to Dinard. We didn’t really get lost along the way, although we got separated from Amanda and Ty in the last few minutes. Cool heads prevailed and we all met up at the hotel.

We went off the route to look for water at St Salomon sur Rance. A very kind lady who was working on her garden filled our water bottles twice since the little corner store was closed for the afternoon. We had a little picnic there – baguette and camembert, and some biscuits for desert. Sam looked like a good little French boy carrying the baguette along the way!

Everyone is showering up now then we are going to get dinner and explore some of the shops and walk along the ramparts. Will try to post before bed. Thanks for following!

Made It!

Posted July 2, 2014

After almost 24 hours of travelling (by plane, train, and foot) we made it to St Malo tonight.

We checked in to our hotel, took some showers, and did some exploring. We found our first French bakery, ate at our first Crèperie, and spent some time at the beach.

French Pastries

Posted July 2, 2014

Here’s a look at the first bunch of pastries we picked up at the bakery tonight. They were more delicious than they look here!

Packed and Ready to Go

Posted July 1, 2014

We are all packed and ready to go! I think we did pretty well for five people and three weeks…
The boys are in bed but I am pretty sure not asleep. Hope we get some rest tonight – big day tomorrow!!

Bonne nuit!!

This is what we have packed (including carry-ons).

The Journey Begins…..

Posted June 23, 2014

Do you like Camembert cheese, or fresh croissants and lattes?  We do!!  Where better to taste these delicacies than on French soil.  We are packing up the clan and heading to Europe.  All five of us (yes we are leaving the cats at home), are heading to France to immerse ourselves in French culture, food and language.

The first leg of our journey begins on the West side of France in the Brittany region.  We are spending six days on bicycles, covering 185 total kilometres.  We will carry everything we need on our bikes, heading to a new hotel each day.  It will be exciting to see the countryside from the bike perspective – although by day five our butts may have something else to say about this!

After our bike journey we will stay in the West.  Our day treks will include Juno beach,  Castles, Cathedral of Notre Dame du Puy, the beach, cafes and creperies.  We will tour the local areas and enjoy the local markets and cuisine.

From the West we will drive East right across the country to the Grenoble region.  This area is at the foothills of the Alps.  We have rented a chalet for our base and we start our mountain adventure with Bastille Day celebrations (equivalent to Canada Day).  As luck would have it, the Tour de France takes place at the exact time we are visiting; double our luck as the tour actually passes by our chalet!!  We plan on hiking the area as well as taking a trip to the old (250 yrs) Chartreuse distillery.

The last few days of our trip will be spent in Paris.  We know we cannot possibly cover the entire city but we will visit the Louvre and take in some local treats.  The apartment we have rented looks down the street at the Eiffel tower – so exciting.

We hope you will take this journey with us and follow our adventure as we post pictures and commentary online.  I can’t decide if JM or the kids are more excited but jump aboard as we fly, train, bike, trek and drive through FRANCE!

France Trip - Moving Blog to Blogger

This blog was originally posted on another blogging platform.  In order to consolidate with our other blogs we have decided to move it here.  So, although the post dates will be from 2017, our trip was actually in in 2014.

Thanks for reading!!