Sunday in the Park

We rented Velib bikes for 1euro 40 cents each for Sunday and rode for 3 - 4 hours through the Bois de Boulogne.  Took these 2 car pictures before we got on the bikes.

This one's for Henry - have we finally stumped you?

Couldn't resist taking this one - just another reason to have a Smart Car.

Riding though the bois we came across this nice little waterfall, and then a little further on, a lake with remote-controlled miniature boats.

The white boat even had little people on it!



Saturday in Montmartre

We took a 2 hour guided walking tour through Montmartre Saturday.  The Le Moulin de la Galette is the place where Renoir painted the Luncheon Party (not to be confused with the Boating Party).

This sculpture is next to the house of the Marcel Aymé who wrote about the man who was able to walk through walls, and now the little square is known as Le Passe-Muraille.

Just one roof with many chimneys.

We ended the tour at the Sacre Coeur.



Eclectic Post

After a soggy week in the middle of France, we got back to Paris and the sun has been shining ever since.  Yippee.

Riding the escalator to enter the Centre Pompidou, where we went to a Matisse exhibition.

On Friday we went to the last day of the Qualifiers for Roland Garros.  These balls are painted on the sidewalk showing the way from the metro station to the stadium.

Took this picture at 9:15 last night. Amazing what a northern latitude can do for daylight.

Think how nice it would be if we could easily recycle all our lightbulbs at the supermarket.



Some more pictures from the Auvergne region

Pretty flowers from the chateau where Lafayette grew up.

A cool fresco from the chateau in Villeneuve (the town where we stayed).

How lucky we were that there was a horse show going on in Issoire (nearby town).

This church was not too far from Lafayette's chateau.  It took 20 minutes to walk up to it.

The Tour passed through Issoire last year - I think this is now a permanent sculpture.

First Week in France

We arrived in France last Tuesday, stayed with a friend for a couple of nights in Paris and then took a train to Orléans, where we rented a car (a Twingo) and drove several hours further south to stay at another friend's house and do some sightseeing.  I'll post some more pics of this trip in a couple of days.

Cathredal of Sainte-Croix, Orléans. Loved the altar with a painting of Jeanne d'Arc and no cross.

This is our friend's house, in Villeneuve-Lembron in the Auvergne region.

Our Twingo is in the 12th century barn, turned garage.

The kitchen

A no longer used water box.

New York City, State College and Andover

Bart and I flew to New York last Monday (I know, but the internet rate at the hotel was ridiculuous and no access at Kate and James's house).  Bart had meetings Monday night and Tuesday, but Tuesday night we went to see The Book of Mormon and, O M Gosh, was it funny. Then Wednesday we went to the Frick Museum to see a Renoir exhibit and to Yankee Stadium (Yankees lost 4-1, but were ahead the whole game until the top of the ninth!).

On Thursday we drove to State College to visit Kate, James Kyle, and Liam. Went to Liam's pre-school, a couple of playgrounds and took a nice hike at Shaver's Creek Environmental Center.

Stopped by Jerod's in Andover, NJ on Sunday (no pics). We're flying out of Dulles Monday night.