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Post by frenchmystiquetour on Feb 19, 2011 19:28:18 GMT
Many visitors to France say they are seeking an authentic French experience on their vacation. One where they will blend in with the locals and live like real French people. The problem for those visiting Paris is that real French people don't live there. Those people are known as Parisians. Real French people live outside of Paris but for the most part they do not confine themselves exclusively to well known touristic regions such as the Dordogne or Provence. The majority of them live in places no tourist will ever visit and since these places outnumber the places tourists do visit then I think they can claim the title to authenticity since they are in the majority. I live in just such an authentic place so we will start today's bike ride in my town of Saint-Maur-des-Fossés, which lies just southeast of Paris, about 10-12km from Ile de la Cité. The destination for today's ride is going to be Brie Comte Robert, which as its name implies is in the Brie region and is really the last large town in the suburbs before you enter rural, agricultural terrain. One reason I chose Brie Comte Robert as a destination is because it is on the boundary between the suburbs and rural plains. The other reason is because it was the subject of a rather funny sketch on an old French television program called Collaro Show. It was shown on Saturday nights and if you are American you could consider it the equivalent of the program Saturday Night Live (which is a comedy sketch program for you non-Americans). The tv sketch was simply called Brie Comte Robert and it was a spoof of the famous American tv program Dallas. Instead of ruling Dallas, the characters rule the small provincial town of Brie Comte Robert. I found a video clip of one of the sketches on the internet so you can watch it (in French). The theme music to Dallas was different in France so the theme music in the sketch is to the same tune as the French Dallas. Click on the link to watch: Comedy finished, let's start the ride looking down my street. My town has 7 or 8 villages and each has its own market street and shopping area. Here is my market street, which has delectable food stores that always make my mouth water when I pass by. I simply refer to it as The Street of Deliciousness. The town hall at the end of The Street of Deliciousness. I don't know if I consider my town to be a typical or atypical suburb but it has a reputation as a nice and sort of upscale place (although I am rather downscale myself). It has many nice neighborhoods with fine houses and lovely yards but I didn't take any pictures of those. I took a direct route down one of the main streets since the point is to show you what I see on the ride, whether pretty, ugly or just plain. This is a report about real, authentic France after all. Bikes are great to be riding when everyone else is stuck in traffic. You just scoot up that tiny lane on the right between the cars and the curb. Here I am arriving in one of the villages in town known as La Varenne. This is their market street and shopping area, which is larger than where I live. Here is the covered market hall for the twice weekly market. It's a pretty good sized market and the hall was newly built within the last few years. Moving along I arrive at the bridge that crosses the Marne river.
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Post by frenchmystiquetour on Feb 19, 2011 19:29:10 GMT
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Post by frenchmystiquetour on Feb 19, 2011 19:30:07 GMT
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Post by frenchmystiquetour on Feb 19, 2011 19:31:05 GMT
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Post by frenchmystiquetour on Feb 19, 2011 19:32:14 GMT
Here I am arriving in Marolles-en-Brie. It is a postcard image of a modern suburban utopia one could find anywhere on the planet where such mundane places exist. Manicured hedges bordering sidewalks which meander along the carefully laid out streets lined with rows of similar houses whose design comes from one of five or six standard floors plans offered by the developer. You have the option of adding a garage, or deck, or fireplace or maybe a few extra windows. Following my map I was looking for the voie verte (greenway) which ran through town. Here it is. Now, how do I find my way to its entrance? They did a nice job giving the town a greenway. If only they had given as much thought to making it easy to access. After pedaling around a few monotonous streets I spied an inconspicuous little path tucked between two houses and followed my instinct. Here I am atop the overpass in the previous photo. Like most places I bike to in the countryside the place was completely deserted. Here's the central shopping district. It's got a supermarket, a bank, a post office, a restaurant and a bar/tabac. Yet again, the presence of myself and my camera are responsible for the successful evacuation of an entire populace from what should be the liveliest place in town, except for those two fearless individuals on the left next to the building. Not all in town is as new as it first appears. The modern development I had been riding through was merely providing cover for the old village from which the new village had evolved. Another centuries old village complete with an 11th-12th century church. Archaeology dates human presence in Marolles to neolithic times but it is first noted in writing in the time of Charlemagne as he had several farms made there due to its position atop a large natural aquifer (the town still has 35 wells). It often surprises me when I search the websites for tiny towns like Marolles what an extensive history has been posted to the town website. Marolles is no exception. While its history is interesting it's full of all kinds of trivial details which probably hold no interest for the majority of you readers. Things like who held seigneurial rights at what period in time, what religious orders were established there, primary industries, one or two minor historic events and maybe an odd legend or two. The town sits on the edge of a large forest (Forêt de Notre Dame) and there are downloadable itineraries for themed walks through the nearby forest. You know, I think there's enough info on the town website to warrant providing you with the link in case you enjoy engaging yourself in the discovery of worthless places as much as I do. Here it is: www.mairie-marolles.fr/#Now let's take a little tour of the old town.
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Post by frenchmystiquetour on Feb 19, 2011 19:33:54 GMT
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Post by frenchmystiquetour on Feb 19, 2011 19:35:46 GMT
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Post by frenchmystiquetour on Feb 19, 2011 19:37:07 GMT
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Post by frenchmystiquetour on Feb 19, 2011 19:38:25 GMT
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Post by frenchmystiquetour on Feb 19, 2011 19:39:44 GMT
Reoriented, I pedaled onwards in the direction of the church steeple. Coming out of the industrial zone you can see the boundary between the old and new by looking at the left and right sides of this photo. There was even a bike lane. Which ran for a length of about 50 feet before disappearing. But no matter, since I had now arrived at the old downtown where the first thing you see are the fortified walls that surrounded the former medieval château. Brie Comte Robert was once the capital of the French Brie region. Archaeological digs in the industrial zone in 2008 revealed both a prehistoric settlement and a Gallo-Roman settlement. In 1136 Louis VI gave seigneurial rights to his son, Robert I, who built the castle to protect the road to Paris. Several personages linked to the crown took possession of the village over the centuries. During the civil revolt in the 17th century known as the Fronde several frondeurs took up residence in the town and when the town was seiged and partially burned they took refuge in the château. After their defeat the château was razed to prevent its use as a future refuge of rebels. A bunch of other minor historic events and details punctuate its history but none worth mentioning, like a ''Fêtes des cocus''. Let's go into the château. The château is undergoing renovation and there are signs posted detailing what is being done and noting its history and the various architectural details of the château. Here is a picture from one of the signs of what the château would have looked like in the 14th century. Another view of the château. The château is one of three classified historic monuments in town, the other two being the church and the Hôtel-Dieu. We'll look at these two monuments and then take a little cruise through town. Here is the church.
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Post by frenchmystiquetour on Feb 19, 2011 19:41:21 GMT
The church dates from the end of the 12th century. I think that's all you need to know. It's got some pretty cool gargoyles but they don't look very eroded from time so I'm doubting that they are original to the 12th century. Here's the third and final classified monument, the Hôtel-Dieu. Well, really all that is left is a portion of the facade although apparently some of the interior has been restored. It dates from the 12th century and served as temporary lodging for travelers coming to the local market. Time to have a look around town. And so it comes to an end, our visit to Brie Comte Robert and today's bike journey. But before you all leave I have one final lesson for you. I think most smart travelers prepare for their trips by buying the appropriate guidebooks, searching the travel forums and doing internet searches to learn all about what they want to see and do on their trip. This is all well and good but you are selling yourself short and missing out on a lot valuable and otherwise undiscoverable information if you do not pay a visit to the tourist office in whatever town you happen to be visiting. In addition to having lots of info on well known sites and attractions, which are also noted in guidebooks and such, there is a wealth of information that you will almost never find in a guidebook or in searching travel forums. Perhaps you might find some of it on the internet but I tend to doubt it. Even if it was available on the internet you would have to know what you were looking for because it would be buried within several links and sub-links. I ransacked the tourist office in Brie Comte Robert, much like all the other tourist offices I visit, and left with about 50 or 60 pamphlets and brochures for every kind of imaginable activity in this and nearby regions. I got 25 pamphlets outlining themed walks in various towns and villages around Paris (maps included), numerous brochures of walking, hiking and biking trails, info on culture and sporting events, local festivals etc., etc., etc. I'm sure the person who took inventory of brochures in the tourist office after my visit must have thought that a months worth of visitors had come by in one day. Here's a picture of what I got. Now that you have learned your final lesson you are free to go.
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Post by bjd on Feb 19, 2011 20:05:40 GMT
So, did you buy some cheese?
What day of the week was this? Although there were a few people in the last place, I can only assume that all the missing population is at work in Paris and its immediate suburbs.
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Post by frenchmystiquetour on Feb 19, 2011 20:31:24 GMT
Already have my Brie in the fridge. Actually I did this ride last Sunday. This accounts for the lack of people in the shopping center but certainly on a such a beautiful Sunday on the warmest day of the winter I think one would expect to see a few more people out and about......that is, if this were not the French countryside.
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Post by mich64 on Feb 19, 2011 20:57:51 GMT
I do envy your bike rides. But then again, I am extremely happy you share them. Thank you! Mich
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Post by frenchmystiquetour on Feb 19, 2011 21:11:26 GMT
Thanks mich64.
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Post by Lynn Booth on Feb 20, 2011 1:06:18 GMT
Lovely as usual. You take us to places we would never see. Why have TA deleted the post?
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Post by fumobici on Feb 20, 2011 1:22:46 GMT
Perfect as always, you have an uncanny knack for taking photos that give a real sense of the places you visit and then providing a perfect amount of written accompanying text explaining what we are seeing and a bit of historical context without getting into any unnecessary detail. I always look forward to enjoying these tour threads, thank you.
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Post by frenchmystiquetour on Feb 20, 2011 14:54:52 GMT
Lynn - This is the second time in a week I have had a trip report removed from TA. I believe there is someone who doesn't like me and is reporting my posts as abusive by hitting the magic button. The last time this happened I wrote to TA and they reinstated my post and sent me an apologetic e-mail. I have again written to TA and I feel my post will be back up in a day or two since it contains nothing offensive and has in no way violated TA guidelines. If you wouldn't mind writing to TA on my behalf perhaps this will let them know that I have the support of the TA community and they will look into taking action against my invisible enemy to prevent them continuing their intimidation and harassment of me. I am confident I will win this battle due to the support I have from the good TA posters such as you and others.
fumo - My writing will never rival that of Shakespeare but I think I've found my niche in writing photo essays. I'm a visual person and one thing that always bothers me in reading about travel is the inordinate amount of text devoted to descriptions of the places the writer is visiting. One picture is often worth a thousand words and better conveys the essence of what a person will experience and create a much more direct mental impression than words.
As for wordy historical explanations I think most people, when they vacation, are not seeking a history lesson. They want to have a good time and relax while still being able to absorb the ambiance of the places they visit by learning a bit about them. Thanks again, as usual, for reading and commenting.
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Post by bjd on Feb 20, 2011 15:14:41 GMT
Fmt, are the trip reports you post on TA the same as those here? I can't understand why on earth they should delete them. It indeed sounds as though you have a stalker.
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Post by Deleted on Feb 20, 2011 15:56:37 GMT
There are a number of such stalkers on TA, and I was deleted there yesterday as well. But I think that the word is out more and more on where to find the spectacular FMT photo reports and many people now come here spontaneously to look for them. It's basically just a question of misplaced loyalty, because none of the big travel sites allow photo posting like ProBoards does, and some of the diehard fans of those sites fear that people are being "stolen" by putting in links, rather than just understanding that many of the visitors here are only away from their main site for 5-15 minutes to look at photos they can't see over there. Childish really.
Anyway, this report of authentic France is as great as ever, but after that crack about Paris, I may have to have you reported for possible deletion, FMT! ;D
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Post by Jazz on Feb 20, 2011 16:36:53 GMT
Fmt, I’ve always been confused by TA and what they consider ‘acceptable’ and ‘deletable’. I agree with Kerouac. Given that the forum is limited and you cannot post photos, why deprive their members? It is odd how they think their readership can be 'seduced.' Last week I posted in support of the OP supporting your other deleted thread…(mildly, I thought) and ended up being deleted, as were all of the other supportive posts. The whole point of forums is to share information, isn’t it? I dislike the idea of the abuse button, if someone has a problem, he/she should have the courage to post openly. Your beautiful photo essays are created so generously that anyone reading could easily use them as a guide. This thread is once again, superb! You strike the perfect balance between text and photos. There is so much content, that I need time to absorb it all. Poor Parisians! ;D hmm, I don’t agree, but find the whole question of ‘authenticity’ worthy of a thread in itself. Thank you for taking the time to do this!
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Post by suzanne on Feb 20, 2011 17:31:52 GMT
This report was even better than the last one. I can't wait to show it to my husband.
As for TA. I think I've finally had enough. The site is getting less and less relevant. Or I'm becoming more and more jaded. LOL
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Post by frenchmystiquetour on Feb 20, 2011 18:13:23 GMT
Thanks again all. I've been trading e-mails with the moderators at TA and I am hopeful the situation will come to an amicable solution. It seems the problem lies in the fact that my user name here is also my business name, and, that when you click on my profile I give the link to my business website. I have asked that if I change my user name here and remove the link to my business site from my profile will I still be allowed to post my reports on TA. I'm waiting for a reply.
Jazz and kerouac - I think you understand that my remark about Parisians not being French was tongue in cheek. Besides, I like perpetuating stereotypes.
bjd - I don't post my trip reports on TA but rather I link to the Any Port site, which is where the problem (so they say) seems to lie.
suzanne - I was told by the TA folks that they have received multiple complaints against me. I think that is a half truth because I know many TA members have recently sent them messages in support of me. I suspect that the number of those who support me is greater than those against me but who knows.
Actually, I hope you will continue to post on TA. It would be one way to show the moderators, and my detractors, that the good posters like you and many others are in the majority and that in fact it is a few disgruntled individuals who have something against me. Keep posting and help me fight the good fight.
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Post by komsomol on Feb 20, 2011 18:30:09 GMT
You do good stuff, fmt -- keep it up no matter what.
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Post by bjd on Feb 20, 2011 19:08:19 GMT
Many visitors to France say they are seeking an authentic French experience on their vacation. One where they will blend in with the locals and live like real French people.
May I suggest a Saturday morning outing to the immediate outskirts of any French town or city. The visitors will be delighted by the sight of big stores, surrounded by large parking lots and fast-food restaurants. You could show them the clever way the French have devised to prevent shopping carts being left all over the place -- by having to insert a coin to get the cart out.
The visit could begin with a trip to Carrefour/Leclerc/Auchan or whichever large hypermarket is in charge of that particular "zone commerciale". A trip to the cheese counter, with its huge array of varieties, often placed temptingly close to the bread section, and the fruits and vegetables, will let the visitor choose his own picnic lunch (or morning snack, depending on the nationality and hence the ability to go without food for a certain length of time).
This could be followed up by a visit to Leroy-Merlin/Mr Bricolage/Castorama/Gedimat or any of a large variety of stores selling home improvement supplies. The visitor could be treated to the latest in bathroom supplies, floor tiles, power tools, curtains or other tchotchkes. This would be a perfect introduction to that famous "French touch", which makes living in France such a glamorous experience.
A little wander up and down the parking lot, trying to remember where the car (or minibus in this case) was left would work up an appetite for a hearty lunch. For a "real" French experience, this lunch has to last at least 3 hours.
If time allows before the closing hour of whatever cultural sight has been chosen for the afternoon's activity, those who wish may visit the museum or church of their choice. Those who prefer to stay outside, can be deposited in any small French town or village, to wander the streets in search of those elusive French people who all seem to be hiding.
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Post by frenchmystiquetour on Feb 20, 2011 19:25:04 GMT
bjd - You have very keen insight into "traditional" French life. I will also add that visitors might perhaps want to take one of those little shopping carriers with wheels to the supermarket with them. That way you can walk home with your groceries instead of using the car to transport them. This is what I do and I'm not even French, but it makes me feel very French.
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Post by patricklondon on Feb 21, 2011 12:17:26 GMT
So much in common with similar small towns and villages on the outskirts of London: "big box" shopping centres and light industry at the edges, an almost inexplicable absence of people moving around (oh well, I suppose they've got better things to do than act as extras in one's holiday snaps).
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Post by frenchmystiquetour on Feb 21, 2011 16:25:32 GMT
Hmmm, so the people are also missing in the villages around London? What is it about these rural villages that they all seem so evacuated? I guess that pattern of big box stores/light industry around towns and villages must be a similar planning/development model around much of Europe.
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Post by mich64 on Feb 21, 2011 17:05:13 GMT
I like to think they are all in the local pub. ;D Cheers! Mich
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Post by Deleted on Feb 21, 2011 17:58:02 GMT
No, they all have satellite dishes now.
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