Château seeing

It feels great to be back out on the bike, so far I've only done 40km but the weather is amazing and the bike paths are fun! Been lost so many times I can't count but I've seen some really cool stuff. Again, more then words can express and images can capture.
I made a new friend out on the road but he said I was making an ass of myself so I had to keep roll'n, oh well, such is life ;)
BTW, this region has great white wines. I am not a huge fan of white wines but they're good!






-nate

-Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Location:Route du Bûcher,Cheverny,France

Vauchē Choco Bar

Blois is an amazing city! The vibe here is very cool and very old. The history goes back to the 1200's. I can't wait to review the images. There's gonna be some keepers.
Blois reminds me of a small town in Italy called Luca. The kinda place you could own a vacation home, if not live.
I am sitting at this cafe called Vauchē, it's a chocolate bar. Holy hell this stuff should be illegal!!!! It's liquid crack. I didn't think you could really drink chocolate like this. I won't need dessert tonight. For that matter I should stick to a glass of wine for dinner. I don't really think this is part of a low fat low calorie diet. Just a guess...


-nate

-Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Location:Rue du Commerce,Blois,France

Off to Blois

Sitting on the train heading to Blois (pronounced Blah???). I am actually listening to music and relaxing and not trying to learn anymore French. I am done! I am a stupid tourist that can't speak French. I am just going to own it...
I hope the weather holds out. I need to get back on my bike. I am pretty sure that I've gained about 40lbs since I been in Paris, eat'n and drink'n vine. I just need to do some riding to round it all out.

-nate

-Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Location:On a train heading south...

6€ coffee

I just paid 6€ for a coffee. That is officially the most expressive coffee I've ever purchased. I had mentioned it to the waiter and he politely reminded me I am paying for the view. He's right... :)




-nate

-Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Location:Rue de Rivoli,Paris,France

The Louvre

Having lunch at Café des Initiés. I just finished checking out only a small part of the Louvre. I heard that if you spent 30 seconds in front of each piece of art that it would take 6 days to look at everything. After checking it out for a few hours I could easily see that being the case. A few observations and recommendations about the Louvre:
- There are 3 entrances, don't use the main one it will take you for ever to get in. You'll be exhausted before you start.
- Don't try and see everything.
- There is no better day of the week to go to the Louvre, expect Tuesday, they're closed.
- Put down the camera, really. Do you honestly think you are going to take a better picture then the museum did? You can buy a book for less the 20€ and see all the pieces. Look at the art think about the art. How does it make you feel?

One more thing, the Mona Lisa isn't in the same place that the movie The da Vinci Code would have you believe.

-nate

-Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Location:Rue du Louvre,Paris,France

Piss drunk in France....

Just finished a wine tasting called the Tour de France at Ôchateau wine bar, 6 French wines. I am toasted to say the least. I just ordered dinner and it comes with wine, really? Oh yeah, the big kicker, I have know idea where my hotel is. My iPad's cell service just stopped working. That means I've got to figure out where I am on a paper map, shit! This is getting interesting.

Side note - The chef is from LA. I come to France and I am eating at a SoCal chef's restaurant, go figure...


-nate

-Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Location:Rue du Louvre,Paris,France

First day in Paris

Where to begin? Walking 15k is a lot harder then riding 15k, holy hell! The bike is coming out tomorrow. Walking sucks!
I did a fun bike tour of a small part of the city and got a good idea of where I want to go back tomorrow. I forgot the adapter for the DSLR camera so I can't upload any of those photos. Just as well, I am on a mission to find new art for my walls and I figured there would be no better place then Paris to fine the inspiration for the images.
It's about 8:00 in the evening, I am having a glass of wine at Cafe Moceru trying to figure out what to do for dinner. It stays light till well after 9:00 it's no wonder everyone eats late. Sitting here I can see the appeal of the city. There is lots of history and swagger to this place.
I should have practice my French more. I'd say that's been the hardest part of the trip so far, that and everybody smokes. Don't they know it's bad for them? Everything I've heard about the French being mean or rude hasn't held true for me.
Well that's all for now.



-nate

-Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Location:Rue de Damrémont,Paris,France