88 Days

september 3, 2007 Monday

It's been a month since our last post. Is anyone still out there? Does anyone care? Does anyone even remember us? We left Aix by car (it was slightly traumatic for me, but I learned to deal with it) and stopped to look at this giant dam. Then the search for a hotel room began...

We wanted to stay in Moustiers near the Gorge du Verdon (the Grand Canyon of France) but it was a mob scene of tourists. We panicked and fled ... driving all through the incredible canyon. It was tough driving. The roads are narrow, windy and mountainous and the people around here drive like maniacs. Really fast maniacs. Susan couldn't take the pressure, so I had to do most of the driving, which seems ironic when you think about it.

Here's another gorge picture. Being here reminded me of that episode of the Flintstones where there is this tiny little stream and by it a sign that reads: Grand Canyon. Yes, pretty much everything reminds me of something I saw on TV.

Finally after literally driving all day we found a room at this hotel in Castellane (this never happened when we are on bikes!). Above, on top of the cliff, is a church. We hiked up. By the way, that's our car on the right.

This towel was hanging from the window in our hotel. Unfortunately, I never did find the lady with the big boobs. I think she was exaggerating.

As you know, France has a lot more history than the U.S. and things 300 or 400, or even 50 million, years are quite common, including this guy. Sorry to all you creationists out there who read our blog, but this pretty much rips all your arguments to shreds.

Boule was quite popular in Castellane and Susan got several nice shots.

Sorry, yet another castle: Entrevaux. They are everywhere and you are required to visit at least one a day. This one was: very old, on top of a mountain, made of stones, in partial ruin and quite spectacular. Come to think of it, they all are.

Here's a different-angle shot of the ruins of Bargeme. For a description of this castle, see above.

No, I didn't hit this car. It's another of the old roll-top Citroens that Susan is obsessed with. Really, I didn't hit this and this is NOT a photo for our insurance company. But I did hit a pole while trying to park and while dodging a car that was 2-feet into my lane as it rounded a blind corner (this happens 3.2 times per kilometer). I hit a large boulder on the side of the road and dented the hub cap. Don't worry, we had the full insurance so I could rip that car to shreds and they couldn't get any more money out of me. It was quite liberating knowing I was insured. Speaking of renting the car, it took us three companies in Aix before one said they had a bike rack for the back. I asked the lady three more times if she understood what I meant by bike rack and that they really had one (since the first two companies said they didn't). So, of course, when we went to rent the car two days later - no bike rack. No problem the same lady said, just jam them in the back...

As I said, the French are a bit fanatical on the roads. But, at least, they are very enthusiastic about it as this common street sign states. There were no "?-mark" signs. Here's another thing they do: draft. Yeah, just like in NASCAR they get about an inch behind your car and then, whether someone is coming in the opposite direction or not, slingshot past you, narrowly avoiding the oncoming traffic. It's quite exciting.

Here's a pretty picture in the town of Seillans.

And another from Seillans. Back to the driving: while I was riding my bike, ahead of me I witnessed a near accident. A girl ahead of me was riding a bike and the guy just behind her was flying and didn't want to slow down, despite the fact a car was coming toward him on the narrow, windy road. This is the norm. He swerved around the girl and swerved back, barely missing the other car, that had to swerve to the right and nearly off the road. The other guy started honking and yelling and the girl on the bike almost fell over. I rode as fast as I could and, prayers answered, the guy pulled into a restaurant. I waited until he got out and started yelling at him. He sort of shrugged: "What did I do? This is how we drive here." One driver at a time, I will teach these people to drive slower and more carefully.

This is the bark of a tree in Seillans. It doesn't have anything to do with driving.

This is the view from our room in Villecroze, where they fed the feral cats a big bucket of guts every day. All three are on their way to Bryan and Michelle. 

This is how we packed the bikes - and then we added the bags. It was a tight fit, but for those of you planning a  trip like ours: You can get 2 bikes and your bags in a Ford Focus. Right now we are in Paris, after spending almost two weeks on the beach. First we were at St. Maxime, where we beached it up and Susan - I swear this is true - got tan. I know, it's shocking - but true. Then, on to St. Pons where we met and stayed with my sister Deb, husband Ken, and their two kids. Susan got even more tan. Really, it's shocking - and quite lovely. Then we took the TGV train to Paris. We'll try to post a few more times before we leave on Friday and fill you in on our last week. It's strange (for me) and great (for Susan) to be off the bikes and back to civilization. I miss my bike a great deal: breaking up is hard to do. But, Deb and Ken took her home with them, so when I visit them we can have a joyous reunion. Final mileage: Steve - 2,250; Susan - 550.

september 5, 2007 wednesday

OK, let's recap our 2 weeks on the French Riviera. By the way, for those of you who have heard Susan utter her now-famous line - "I only swim in the Mediteranean" - it is still true and she did go in a few times, but then quickly got back to the tanning. And no, I can't show you pictures of a tan Susan.  A: I'm not a good enough photographer to capture it, B: You need to see her in person for the full, shocking effect. Then again, it will probably wear off  during the airplane rides home.  This is the beach at St. Maxime, where we stayed for 6 nights. I went for 5 great rides in the mountains above the coast, while Susan ... that's right, tanned it up.

This is the bouncey, bungy ride on the beach. "It mesmerized me," Susan was heard to say as she climbed out of the water.

From St. Maxime, we headed to a trailer park at the edge of Port Gramaud, where we met up with the crazy Coreys: Deb and Ken and the kids. The accommodations were a bit tight and effected my morning ritual, but we compensated by drinking more wine than normal and it was a lot of fun to see everyone. I still got to ride and, knowing the end was near, made the most of it. Here I am at the start of my very last ride (a 70-miler up in the mountains). Notice how skinny I look! It's from all the riding and, due to the value of the dollar, not having enough money for both of us to eat  dinner every night.

Then it was on to Nice, where Susan once again swam in the Mediteranean. For those of you not in on the joke, for some reason Susan was once describing one of our trips and actually said "I only swim in the Mediteranean." It sounded as snobby as you'd think, but what we think she meant was that the water in New Jersey is too cold for her. Then again, she is a bit snobby.

But she's also a great photographer - and here's a shot near the port in Nice where we think we saw the yacht of the King of Monaco.

This is me, headed for the beach. I know, it's strange to see me without a bike. Am I musing about my bike too much?

This is just to remind you where we are (yeah, still France). From Nice, after 3 great days, we took the TGV to...

Paris. We'll provide more details on Paris ("I only eat snails in Pris," Susan was heard to say) in our next post, hopefully tomorrow. And Susan wants to know why none of her stinking relatives have responded to our last post. Joyce, Tor, Linda, Wayne, what's the deal? Too busy to write? Everyone in my family, including the black sheep (Howard) have responded.

september 6, 2007 thursday

I needed to climb something, so we walked up the Eiffel Tower and started snapping away. It looks like it is leaning doesn't it - but we think (hope) it is an optical illusion.

Here's the view. It's not the same as from the top of Mount Ventoux, but it's OK  I guess.

Don't look down!

We also hung out at Notre Dame, which also looks like it is leaning. This is not an optical illusion!

After all this tourist stuff, we needed a rest and relaxed in Luxembourg Garden.

It was the 10-year anniversary of the murder, I mean accidental death, of Princess Di here in Paris. It was big news here and we visited the memorial.

This is our friend Peter outside his restaurant, which is our favorite in all of Paris. It's sort of the French version of a New York City Greek diner. And yes, one of the reasons we love it is because dinner is only 9 Euros. 9 Euros!!!  On a previous trip Peter was heard to utter, in several languages, "We are not snobs here." Nevertheless, Susan was allowed to eat here, we just didn't tell Peter, and his brother, George, that she only swims in the Mediterranean. They commented on her nice tan.

So, we made it through swarms of flies, flesh-eating mosquitoes and semi-poisonous wasps - only to get to Paris in time for the annual invasion of the giant killer spiders, whose giant webs are everywhere. I know what you're saying: how come I never heard of them? Do you think the French Tourist Board wants this info out?

Luckily, the French called in reinforcements, Captain America, to help them battle the spiders.  That's it from Paris, we leave tomorrow, but will have one more extra -special final post and after that, you can see the old-fashioned "film" photos Susan has been taking for the past 87 days on jojofoto. You can find the kink ...if you don't know it ...just to the right in the orange side bar.

september 7, 2007 friday

Like all bike trips, this one has sadly come to an end. Hang on a second, I have to wipe a tear from my eye while Susan cheers. Thanks for reading. If you learned anything about the history or culture of France, it was not by design. Feel free to read the past few posts from Paris, if you haven't already, or any posts from the last 88 days. And no, Susan has put her foot down and there will be no 88-day bike trip through Spain in 2008. As for 2009, I'm working on it, trust me, I'm working on it.

To see the "film" photos Susan took, click on her jojofoto blog. The link is to the right in the orange sidebar.