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Post by frenchmystiquetour on Sept 10, 2010 7:55:37 GMT
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Post by frenchmystiquetour on Sept 10, 2010 8:00:43 GMT
Like most towns in the country, as soon as you move beyond the boundary of development you are in.......the middle of nowhere. Here I am arriving at the outskirts of Largny sur Automne where I encountered the aptly named Moulin de Largny sur Automne. The moulin was built in 1516, destroyed in 1532, rebuilt in 1645 and in near ruins again in the 19th century at which time it was being used as a scale to weigh beets. I have absolutely no idea how one turns a windmill into a device to weigh beets, or even where the idea would come from, but apparently there was some expert on doing just this in the old days. It was a ruin in 1973 when the owner of a stone quarry and some friends decided to undertake its restoration. New metal wind fans were added and to turn them a motor from a Peugeot 203 and some Renault and GMC truck parts were used. Good thing this town has a windmill because that's pretty much all there is to see. Similar to most other small towns I visit, the inhabitants were invisible and thus I have no pictures of them. Here, I'll prove it to you. Don't see anyone do ya? Ha! I told you so. Leaving Largny sur Automne I entered what I would describe as a beautiful forest. Other fancy pants writers would describe such a forest with all kinds of flowery moon in June type superlative language but what's the point when you've got a picture The forest broke to reveal a short stretch of a few attractive country homes.
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Post by frenchmystiquetour on Sept 10, 2010 8:03:33 GMT
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Post by frenchmystiquetour on Sept 10, 2010 8:06:49 GMT
Knowing about history is all fine and well but I wanted to get behind the walls to have a close up look at this pretty cool donjon and château. I rode this way and that way along the length of the wall looking for a gate or some sort of opening until I came to a sign directing me to follow a dirt trail to the bottom of the hill. All that pedaling uphill only to be redirected back down to the bottom was not what I was hoping for. It was all pointless anyway since the château didn't open until 2:00 in the afternoon and it was maybe around noon while I was there. This was the only picture I was able to get which adequately showed any portion of the donjon. The adjacent château was impossible to photograph. Aside from the photo of the top of the donjon I took from the village there didn't appear to be any other viewpoints from which to get an appropriate picture of the donjon so I just took off down the road to continue my journey. Good thing I turned to look over my shoulder one last time or I would have missed this. Turning back around and off I go. Next the map showed a ruin called Abbaye Royale Notre-Dame de Lieu-Restauré. What is left of it dates from the middle of the 16th century. It's open on weekends from April to October and the entry fee is 3€ and free for under 14.
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Post by frenchmystiquetour on Sept 10, 2010 8:08:32 GMT
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Post by frenchmystiquetour on Sept 10, 2010 8:11:02 GMT
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Post by frenchmystiquetour on Sept 10, 2010 8:14:20 GMT
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Post by frenchmystiquetour on Sept 10, 2010 8:16:52 GMT
The following is a series of photos I took riding through anonymous little towns and villages and stretches of countryside. I was starting to get hungry and since I was in the middle of nowhere that meant I was probably going to get hungrier. I should have gone to the supermarket or a boulangerie or pâtisserie in Villers-Cotterêts and bought some food to put in my backpack but I hate weighing myself down with extra stuff, even if that stuff is meant to prevent me from ending up in my present hungry state. If there was a restaurant around here it was after 2:00 so nothing would be open. This rarely happens in the country but at this exact moment I happened to be passing by some sort of food selling establishment. My increased expectations were lowered as I entered the building and saw a rather drab looking bulk food vending store, half of which was occupied with various cases of soda and water and the rest with mostly boxed dry goods. They had a meager shelf with a few offerings of packaged snack foods so I chose what looked to be the heartiest among the disappointing selections. Happy to have at least something to put in my stomach I left with my package of a dozen chocolate covered gaufres (waffles). No sooner had I left the building than I noticed a little mini-golf course with a crêpe stand so over I went to supplement my diet. If you've ever eaten a tire then you know what a crêpe from a mini-golf course tastes like. At least it had nutella inside. Not the most nutritious meal but I got my essential vitamins and minerals from a bottle of Orangina. Waffles were on the desert menu but since they were a year old they mostly crumbled between my fingers. Luckily I have good manners so I was eating over the package (much like I eat over the kitchen sink) to catch the crumbs in the plastic box, making it easy to tip it into my mouth to inhale the crumbs. Nutella crêpe, an Orangina and a dozen chocolate covered gaufres packed in my stomach and I was feeling better than ever and ready to go.
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Post by frenchmystiquetour on Sept 10, 2010 8:18:07 GMT
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Post by frenchmystiquetour on Sept 10, 2010 8:20:03 GMT
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Post by frenchmystiquetour on Sept 10, 2010 8:22:30 GMT
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Post by frenchmystiquetour on Sept 10, 2010 8:24:26 GMT
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Post by frenchmystiquetour on Sept 10, 2010 8:27:08 GMT
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Post by frenchmystiquetour on Sept 10, 2010 8:30:00 GMT
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Post by frenchmystiquetour on Sept 10, 2010 8:31:58 GMT
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Post by parisamsterdam on Sept 10, 2010 16:24:41 GMT
Thanks for sharing the ride with us.
You have to stop scaring away the residents of all the towns you pass through though! LOL
Rob
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Post by fumobici on Sept 10, 2010 16:50:17 GMT
Another stunning pictorial fusillade. There's just too much to comment on with any great specificity so just a few broad impressions:
Overpopulation certainly doesn't seem to be a real concern in the broad extra-urban spaces in France does it? As in most geographically large Western countries, outside of a few dozen urban areas, the vast majority of the places we live consist of open space- farms, fields and forest. It's easy to forget this when one spends almost all of one's time in one of the urban/suburban islands.
Those villages as picturesque as they often appear, also seem almost moribund. Although they charm us with their sleepy rural ambiance, try to imagine being a teenager in one of them! I would probably move to Paris at the first available opportunity if I were raised in one.
The other thing that as an American strikes me in Europe- and this never seems to lessen with exposure- is the sheer density of the architectural artifacts of the past to be found. One is physically confronted with the long history of the places in a depth that constantly makes what to an American would be the distant past seem close at hand. The past seems always to be peering over one's shoulder.
Thank you again for so generously sharing another magical day spent exploring these impressive places- places that most of us would probably never even be aware of without your help.
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Post by Deleted on Sept 10, 2010 16:56:02 GMT
Another fantastic ride, FMT! However, I am going to have to go back and examine it in greater detail for more comments. I would like to point out that for those who are not inclined to cycle through the spooky deserted French villages, you can go to Compiègne and see most of it in 40 minutes as I pointed out in my wildly popular ( ) thread on the subject.
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Post by frenchmystiquetour on Sept 10, 2010 21:31:28 GMT
Rob - I have no idea why I am such a human repellent but I'm obviously pretty good at it.
fumobici - The lack of population in the countryside in France reminds one of being in Ohio or some other midwestern state. And I agree, I don't think I would want to be a teenager in any of these villages. There's only so much cow-tipping one can engage in before it loses its thrill. I'm sure the teen population in these places must dream of the day when they turn 18 so they can move to, oh I don't know, Compiègne?
The depth of history in Europe is something that has attracted to me to it since I was 14 and took my first humanities course. Even though I've spent a bit of time traveling around Europe and have been living here for a year now the thrill of seeing old stuff hasn't worn off. Although I should say that native Americans have quite a long history of occupation in the present day U.S., they just didn't leave as big of a footprint on the landscape and most of what they did leave has been wiped out, except for central and south America and some various earthworks scattered throughout the U.S.
Thank you for being a consistent reader of my reports and for your in-depth and generous comments.
kerouac - I remember reading about your wild adventure in Compiègne when you first posted it but I had forgotten about it. I should have gone there and plagiarized some material before I posted this. Joan of Arc was handed over to the English in Compiègne, or something like that, by the way. When I'm not sure about a historical event I usually just make something up and hope no one fact checks me.
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Post by bixaorellana on Sept 11, 2010 3:05:21 GMT
Yet again, a wonderful bike ride and beautiful report from you, Fmt. The pictures of the open road running through fields, past hills and sheep really evoke the simultaneous peacefulness and exhilaration of a ride in the countryside. Hmm -- most of the missing people seem to be parked in front of the chateau in Villers-Cotterêts. Perhaps a roofing seminar? One thing that strikes me in this thread & others of entering and leaving towns in the countryside, is that the entrance always seems to be on a curve. And the buildings on those curves are always butted right up to the road and are old, so it's not as though they're new things built up on the outskirts. Do you suppose it had anything to do with superstition, or defense, or merely honoring ancient property lines that grew from cow paths or natural features? Another thing I always find of interest is the church architecture. The architecture of other buildings in the towns seems to be consistent with the period in which sections were built, and the various châteaux look properly imposing and aristocratic. But the churches! Many of them look as though they're patterned on dimly understood descriptions of churches, or were compromises based on differing tastes. Perhaps it's because they took so long to build, or that during periods of prosperity or pious lordship different bits were added to the original? Whatever, they're always interesting. Speaking of churchly subjects, that is a totally charming statue of St. Christopher. The carved water through which he's wading is a particularly wonderful detail. There is a much more sophisticated statue in the background, which I think is St. Ann. The way in which both statues are placed on mismatched pieces of old dressed stone is intriguing. And speaking of interesting statuary, the very alert, big eared dogs in Orrouy are fun. The Roman amphitheater and berm are extremely cool. What's the significance of the cut-outs in the berm, please? For that matter, why a berm? Would earthworks like that be for burial, for defense, for ... ? So much greenery and flowers, both cultivated and wild in this thread -- just beautiful. I think the tower on the big church in Compiègne illustrates my remarks about odd architectural features on churches. Joan of Arc was captured in Compiègne. Ignore the religious hyperbole in this link, as her part in military history and in the very weird political and religious machinations are well explained. The explanation is also most useful in watching this movie (#357), the script of which came from a transcript of her trial. I apologize for rambling on, but that's the beauty of great threads such as this. They lead the mind into interesting paths of speculation and looking for knowledge. Thanks!
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Post by Jazz on Sept 11, 2010 3:25:24 GMT
Merci, FMT, you are definitely not a ‘fancy-pants’! and, your words are evocative, ….’ If there was a restaurant around here it was after 2:00 so nothing would be open. This rarely happens in the country but at this exact moment I happened to be passing by some sort of food selling establishment….They had a meager shelf with a few offerings of packaged snack foods so I chose what looked to be the heartiest among the disappointing selections…. Happy to have at least something to put in my stomach I left with my package of a dozen chocolate covered gaufres (waffles). No sooner had I left the building than I noticed a little mini-golf course with a crêpe stand so over I went to supplement my diet. If you've ever eaten a tire then you know what a crêpe from a mini-golf course tastes like’…. ;D Your photos and words offer a wonderful sense of the day and I enjoy the feeling of ‘being there’, in villages that I may never visit. The days that you chose for your visit do seem perfect…hot yellow sun and clear blue skies. Of course, no one would take a bicycle trip on a day of impending rainstorms. This would offer a completely different, yet fascinating viewpoint. I am still intrigued by the people of these villages… where are they? (hmmm…you did see 2 people.) Thank you for this.
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Post by frenchmystiquetour on Sept 13, 2010 18:41:23 GMT
Hi Bixa and Jazz - Sorry I didn't respond earlier but I've got friends visiting from the States right now so I've been busy for the last few days. Bixa - I never thought about it before but I think it's just coincidence that I seem to take pictures of corners when I enter a village. Certainly some of the roads are straight when you enter these towns but for some reason I only photograph curvy roads. Yeah, there's always something different about all the churches. The same basic elements are there (tower on the outside, nave and apse on the inside) but always configured in a slightly different manner from church to church. I think your explanations probably make the most sense as to why this is so. In the small towns the most quaint areas and things of interest are always near the church, hence the reason I always take a picture of every village church. And, no matter how many times you see them they always make an impression on me (even after having been living here for a while) because they are so old. Most of the ones in my reports date from the 12th to 14th centuries and coming from a country where a building that is 300 years old seems ancient I never get tired of seeing old buildings. You know, I knew you were knowledgeable about religion or religious history as I read a post somewhere where Kerouac commented on your knowledge of things religious. Amazing you can recognize the biblical figures each statue represents. I was going to make a comment in my report about St. Christopher and merely reference it as "the statue where the guy has a baby clinging to his head". And those big eared dog statues, Ive seen that type of breed somewhere but I can't remember what it's called. Oh dear, the berm. Well I tried to make a joke but I'm afraid I just confused people instead. The berm is actually the amphitheater but I was being self deprecating and silly and pretending I didn't know it was an amphitheater by juxtaposing that with the phrase "clearly recognizable", because it is clearly recognizable as an amphitheater (not an earthen berm). I've got to try to remember I am not a professional comedian. I was aware of Joan of Arc's capture in Compiègne but that was part of the history that I didn't want to recount. But it's funny you sent me a link to the newadvent website. I have found so many interesting historical tidbits using newadvent. I even referenced it in the report where I provided a link to the history of the term "gothic". You are never rambling when you respond, Bixa. Your comments are always insightful and I enjoy reading and responding to them. jazz - I am certainly not nor will I ever be a "fancy pants" writer. I always did terribly in English class in high school and I don't think I will ever be confused with Shakespeare. Thanks for appreciating my goofiness. As you now know, I have built a device which controls the sun but I only use it on days when I go on bike rides. You know, I was just contacted by someone who read one of my bike reports and wanted some tips on biking in France. I traded a few e-mails and this person told me that they actually like biking in the rain. Not what I like to do but I guess there are rain loving bike riders. If there were actually people in these villages, then that would be intriguing. When you come to France, I'll be sure to prepare a special gaufre for you!
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Post by Deleted on Sept 13, 2010 19:30:11 GMT
Well, I finally got back to this thread to examine it in detail, and it is as informative and lovely as the others. Even driving a car, I love going through all of those small empty villages, but some people just don't get it. One thing that I did notice with great regret were the enormous contributions you could have made to my languishing weathervanes thread if you had been so inclined.
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