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Post by lagatta on Jul 24, 2010 19:17:57 GMT
I'd read about the history of Provins recently; it is a place I want to visit. But I think I'll just take the train; not that I'd mind cycling but you have to have a full day at your disposal from Paris.
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Post by auntieannie on Jul 25, 2010 9:45:23 GMT
oooh, a cloudless Sunday in France. You can really feel how quiet it must be. Almost silent. bliss!
Thanks a lot! Looking forward to the pics from your holidays!
edited to say: could the green things you cannot identify be what the brits call "Kale" and that is cattle feed that is now very popular with health conscious humans?
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Post by cristina on Aug 2, 2010 3:13:32 GMT
FMT - I've really enjoyed your photo essay. I always find it remarkable to see agricultural areas within such close proximity to a major city, even in the US. I admire your fortitude in long distance cycling, too. I would be very happy to make it 7 or 8 kms on a bike.
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Post by frenchmystiquetour on Aug 2, 2010 14:01:16 GMT
lagatta - If you are into history I bet there'd be enough to keep you busy for a day in Provins. It's got something for the history buffs and the casual gawker alike.
auntiannie - It was such a quiet ride that between some of the towns I don't think I was passed by more than one or two cars. Kale is as good a guess as I can come up with.
cristina - Once you get beyond the sprawl of most cities in France (or any city in Europe for that matter) you are generally right into rural countryside. I'm from the east coast in the States and suburban sprawl eliminates any chance of agricultural vistas outside cities in that area.
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Post by bixaorellana on Aug 2, 2010 16:17:50 GMT
Fmt, I feel like such a dog! I read, looked at, and greatly enjoyed this beautiful and informative thread, then somehow neglected to comment upon it.
Oh well, that prompted me to look through it again, which is a most enjoyable experience. You really make us feel the wind through our hair and the joy of pedaling through the countryside. The last photo in #13 really captures that perfectly. The biggest treat for me was seeing all those sleepy towns quietly existing as they have for centuries. I also like the very plain, squatty churches, which somehow express antiquity in a way the fancier ones do not. The one in Foujou, with the plain stone buildings nearby, particularly has that feeling.
The pictures of fields are great, with all the different expanses of colors. Really, all of the photos are so good -- the one of the white horses is beyond lovely. I love the first one in #7, with St. Méry barely visible, the flashes of red flowers, and the rich gold of the fields. Ach -- I could go on and on!
Does the red slash through the name of a town mean you are exiting that town?
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Post by Deleted on Aug 2, 2010 16:36:47 GMT
Now all we need is the upcoming Brittany spectacular.
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Post by frenchmystiquetour on Aug 2, 2010 17:46:45 GMT
Bixa - It is I who feel like the dog for not leaving more comments on other people's posts. As a matter of fact, I was looking at your thread last night that you did about the traditional dancing in Mexico and all those gorgeous costumes/clothes that people were wearing and I enjoyed it so much. Then I felt speechless afterward and didn't know what to say that others hadn't already said. I really love traditional festivals of any sort and from any culture. That shared communal sense of pride and tradition that binds cultures together is so hard to find in modern life. It really takes you out of your reality for a while and, well, it's an awful lot of fun too. Sorry I left a comment for you on my post instead of yours. I'm just so focused on getting this new business of the ground that all my on-line efforts are focused in that direction. I hope to become a better contributor to this forum once I sense that the business is starting to work. BTW, yes, the red slash through a town name means you are leaving a town.
kerouac - I just uploaded all 743 pictures from my vacation into photobucket. Not that I will put them all in my report but I like having lots of options. It will take me at least a few days to put the whole report together but I'm hoping it should be ready by Friday.
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Post by bixaorellana on Aug 3, 2010 0:11:16 GMT
rare photo of FrenchMystiqueTour and BixaOrellana together ~Thanks, FMT, that's a lovely compliment and an insightful comment about what drives that kind of festival. I'm sure your business will take off. What a great niche to fill and it's obvious you're passionate about the biking, the landscape, and the history, all of which will communicate to your clients. Don't feel pressured, but ........ can't wait for the report!
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Post by komsomol on Aug 4, 2010 12:14:00 GMT
Really interesting trip through all those villages. Do they sell some kind of odometer that can tell you exactly how far you have gone on a bike, or do you have to just count the distances on the map?
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Post by frenchmystiquetour on Aug 4, 2010 16:10:41 GMT
Bixa - In the words of my former neighbor who found just about everything she saw cute and adorable, "Awwww...that's so cute!"
komsomol- There are odometers for bikes but I just guestimated my distance covered by looking at the map.
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Post by Jazz on Aug 10, 2010 16:51:45 GMT
FM, this is great! I have a feeling that you are very busy with your new business now, even trying to keep up with new clients! Thank you for taking the time to do this. A beautiful glimpse of a part of France that I have seen little of. Like Lagatta, I would probably take the train to Provins. Looking at your beautiful essay,it was immediately added to my shortlist of possible day trips from Paris, of about 25 ;D (have only done four) You can just ‘feel’ the day.
I can barely stand reading your’s and Kerouac’s essays on Paris and France, I just want to be there. Maybe next spring. Bonne chance!
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Post by frenchmystiquetour on Aug 11, 2010 1:24:31 GMT
Hi Jazz,
I'm busy but unfortunately not with new clients. I'm actually working on writing a trip report for my recent week long vacation to Brittany (among other things) as well as a few other little adventures. Using OpenOffice and combining pictures (there will be ?hundreds?) and writing I think I'm up to about 35 pages on the Brittany report with another day to still document. I hope to see you in the spring.
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Post by Deleted on Dec 19, 2010 9:06:24 GMT
I am so impressed with your trip report. Thank you for sharing your travels with us. I too, will take the train, but what a wonderful experience for you. I am intrigued about the business you are going into...is it in travel writing. If it is in guided tours count me in as your first customer.
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Post by frenchmystiquetour on Dec 19, 2010 13:06:11 GMT
Thank you queenbee. I've dabbled with the idea of seeing if I could get a few of my trip reports published but that wold be as a means to promote my business. My wife and I have a small private tour company called, surprisingly enough, French Mystique Tours. We offer a whole range of tour options but one of my specialties will be doing bike tours in the countryside near Paris. I've written several trip reports here on the forum about biking in the country near Paris and I've still got a few more to write (about biking to Fontainebleau and Chartres) so just let me know when you are coming and what trip you are interested in and we'll make it happen. Thanks so much for reading and I hope to see you in the future.
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Post by Deleted on Aug 24, 2012 20:56:27 GMT
Now that the weather is already shifting towards autumn, this kind of report consoles me when I think that next summer is never very far away....
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Post by tod2 on Aug 25, 2012 10:45:36 GMT
Thank you so much for bringing this 2010 post to the fore Kerouac! I wish I had read it before our day visit to Provins - we would have visited the 'new town' as well. Guess we could always go back? ;D
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Post by Pat on Feb 1, 2014 0:41:25 GMT
Thanks! I am researching the idea of visiting Province, and I enjoyed your photos and account very much.
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Post by bjd on Feb 1, 2014 8:43:27 GMT
Pat -- are you mixing up Provins (the town in the photos), Province (anywhere in France outside Paris) and Provence (an area in southern France very popular with tourists)?
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