Tuesday, September 3, 2019

PBP - After the ride

With PBP done and 8 days left in France before we returned home it was time for rest, recovery and beer!

When I first signed up for PBP and when Marcia decided to come, we intended to spend a few days in Rambouillet recovering then go into Paris for 5 days before heading home.

During the Herentals 1200K we rode through Reims, Orleans and Epernay (the Champagne region of France). I liked the brief glimpse of each of these well enough that I thought it'd be fun to return and spend more time. Besides, both Marcia and I had been to Paris a number of times so we'd be revisiting a bunch of places we'd already seen along with (hopefully) a few new ones.

A change in plan was in order. We decided we'd do a driving tour, hereinafter referred to as the Chateau, Cathedrals and Recovery Tour (CCR)! We extended our car rental and made plans to visit Chartres, Orleans, Fontainbleau and Reims driving secondary (non-"A") roads. Since this only accounted for 4 of the 5 days we had to spare we also made plans to spend a day in Paris visiting the Rodin Museum which neither of us had been to.

I won't bore you with narrative, instead I'll let the pictures tell the story. We had a great time!

Chateau Rambouillet


Food!


The Thinker

The Burghers of Calais

The Kiss

Study for "The Thinker"

Figure from "The Burghers of Calais"






The Gates of Hell


More food!


Streets of Orleans



Chartres Cathedral

Chartres Cathedral

Old Cars and people in period costumes

Chartres Cathedral

Orleans Cathedral

Chateau Fontainbleau

It's good being Emperor! (For a while)

Chapel at Fontainbleau

Fontainbleau at night

Reims Cathedral

Reims Cathedral

Government building in Reims

Epernay Moet & Chandon Tour