Earlier, we had a good lunch at the Bistrot de Breteuil with friends from Montréal who are finishing up a week's stay in Paris. A good time was had by all, I believe, and the food was more than "correct" — as we say in France.
Now I'm looking forward to seeing:
Senlis
Villers-Cotterêts
Soissons
Coucy-le-Château
Péronne
Laon
Reims
Châlons-en-Champagne
L'Epine
Troyes
Sens
Joigny
Pontigny
Auxerre
Varzy
Pouilly-sur-Loire
Sancerre
Bourges
Vierzon
That's a list of some of the places we will or might see on the coming week's travels out of Paris and then back around to the east and south. And here's an approximate itinerary on a Google map.
There will be many historic districts, houses, churches, châteaux, monuments, and landscapes to admire... and photograph. By the time you read this today, I'll be on the road, headed north out of Paris.
Have a great trip and we will be in the back seat enjoying the journey with you. Particularly revisting Senlis, Auxerre, Sancerre amongst some others.
ReplyDeleteStay safe on the road.
Thank you Ken and "le cher cousin" for introducing us to the bistrot. We really enjoyed the food and the company. We took the metro - Duroc since we know the way to get to it to St Lazare. Enjoy your trip and am waiting to read about it when I get home on Monday afternoon.
ReplyDeleteThat seems like a very interesting circuit. I've never been to Troyes, which I regret, as I was told that it is a very nice town. Save that other place on the backseat for me please!:)
ReplyDeleteMay I make a suggestion? After Auxerre take the old RN6 ( now the 606 I believe).This is a slight detour to the south east. You can take the opportunity to visit the little wine village of Irancy, approx 15km from Auxerre, just a few km off the RN6- lovely village with a nice little restaurant.Back on the RN head on towards Cravant,then on to Vermenton which has a cistercian abbey at Reigny, about 2km fom Vermenton on the RN 6heading south.Then on to Vezelay, about 25km from Vermenton. This is the real reason for the detour and this UNESCO site is extraordinary and must be seen.You can then loop back towards Clamecy and on to Varzy.
ReplyDeleteThis will be fun to read about. Do you have specific reasons for some of these destinations, or it's just that your route takes you through them? I think I can guess why you're going to Peronne.
ReplyDeleteI hope you'll be looking at the castle ruins at Coucy le Chateau. I recently finished The distant mirror (just before it finished me). Enguerrand de Coucy was the only historic figure of any decency in the book.
Looking forward to our trip with you! Your car will be quite crowded but I'm small. :)
ReplyDeleteBettyAnn
I agree about Vezelay. I've never been there, but I've seen it on the telly and the sculpture and so on looks fascinating.
ReplyDeleteLooks like a great trip! Looking forward to seeing pics of the chateaux, houses and all you experience.
ReplyDeleteYou don't know about those mosquito things they have over there? They're very affective. I used them in Lyon and never had a mosquito problem.
ReplyDeleteWow, can't wait to follow! We went to Senlis on our last trip. The church had some beautiful, modern replacement stained-glass windows for ones that were destroyed during WWII. There's a dedication plaque inside, too, for a priest from the church who died in a concentration camp after being caught helping Jews escape or hide from the Nazis.
ReplyDeleteI understand that Senlis was the scene of many royal coronations... though I had thought that St. Denis's Abbey was used for that?
VEZELAY is nothing short of marvelous if you like Romanesque (though the back is Gothic).
Yippee!
Judy
Have a great trip Ken, can't wait to hear all about it and see the photos
ReplyDeleteIs is on this trip that you are going to stop in Decize?
ReplyDeleteBonjour à CHM!
Bonjour Cousine, It was a pleasure to meet you and your husband. Hope you had a nice trip back home.
ReplyDeleteNadège, bonjour à vous aussi.
That back seat is getting awfully full. I know it's a seven-passenger car, but it's also loaded up with drawings, paintings (framed), and other treasures that CHM is donating to the museum in Péronne. I hope you all aren't to squeezed in back there!
ReplyDeleteWe are not going to Vézelay or Decize on this trip -- no time. But I do plant to go to both those places with Walt and our friend Cheryl in October.
Carolyn, the trip to Péronne is for a very specific reason, as you suspect. All the rest is just fun.
Starman, do you mean those things you plug into an electrical outlet? I think we have one at home in Saint-Aignan but I didn't think to bring it along. Here near Péronne, I can report, no mosquitoes are in evidence.
Susan, I've been to Vézelay a couple of times before, and I can attest to its beauty, especially when the weather is fine.
And The Beaver, it was a lot of fun meeting you in person. I hope you had a good trip back to America :^)
Bistrot de Breteuil. Mmmmmmmmmmm. We had dinner there on your recommendation years ago and enjoyed it thoroughly! Have a great trip.
ReplyDelete