Returning to PARIS

Yes, that's right. After only 6 months since returning home from France, we have booked for two weeks in Paris next April.
I turn 60 on April 1 (April Fool's day - I've heard all the jokes before) and Sue decided to take me to Paris rather than have a big party. Sounds good to me.

Leaping Leons French Fancies has come to an end with our return to Melbourne but if you are interested in following our "Melbourne our Home" blog, go to http://melbourneourhome.blogspot.com/
Not only will it cover Melbourne but also our bayside area where we live. It may cover the regional centres of Victoria with the occasional weekend away.
Generally it will offer an insight to history, food, wine, events and daily living.
Feedback and comparisons with your own living environment would be fun to share.
See you on Melbourne our Home.
Leon and Sue

Coming Home

As much as we love France, home is home - family, friends and our house. The journey home was an adventure in itself. Packing the night before, we wondered would our luggage meet Emirates weight requirements, had Sue bought too many gifts and what would I need to leave behind to accommodate them.
My beloved steed, the bike would need to be lightened - throw out the chain, some clothing and the many pieces of literature collected from our journey.
Waiting for Paris Shuttle, they were 15 minutes late. Not a problem because we factored in a one hour buffer zone. Over cautious - well maybe! Our flight departure time was delayed by two hours. That’s right two hours, you have to be joking. Where does that put us for our connecting flight in Dubai.
My mantra is, “Don’t stress over what you cannot control”. Buy a magazine, and enjoy over your favourite alcoholic drink.
OK, finally on the plane, even though I thought we were marched onto the municipal crèche. Can’t be too bad, this is the short leg and surely it can’t be worse on the 16 hr leg to OZ.
How wrong can I be. Arrived with 20 minutes to catch our connecting flight to Melbourne, we’re last off the plane and in the last bus being transported to the terminal. The Stewardess leading us (I’m sure she was a marathon runner in a previous life) arrived at the custom check in and the official said “No cannot do” just because he was male and our Stewardess wasn’t or he just had a power complex, so we were then led to an alternative check in with positive results.
Finally on the plane to discover that someone already had our seats, much shuffling of the seats and we are finally ready for the long haul to OZ.
Oh no!! Very unsettled babies and young children all as tired and unhappy as us.
I found the solution to the problem. Whack in the ear phones and crank up the Aussie heavy metal band AC/DC - preferable to several wailing infants.
I actually got several hours sleep.
The plane finally arrived in cold chilly Melbourne with a warm welcome from our two boys, Andrew and Mitchell joined by Mitch’s gorgeous girlfriend, Saskia.
We finally arrived back home and laid our heads on the pillow at 12.30 am Melbourne time after leaving Paris 38 hours previously.
I was up at 6.00 am the following morning - Monday and a holiday for the Queen’s Birthday long weekend to join my cycling friends for a 60k ride with two coffee stops along our usual training road, the cycling Mecca of Melbourne - Beach Road. This is about a 35k un-interrupted road of the most beautiful part of the whole world along Port Phillip Bay where we live. To us it is very similar to the same region it is named after in France, Menton near the border of Italy.

Even though the temperature was probably below double figures, it was a pleasure to be back home amongst familiar faces and scenery. Don’t get me wrong, we love France, the people we have met, the sights we have marvelled at, but we feel so fortunate to have been born here.
We’ll be back again some day but for us home is home.
Attached is one photo only for a special friend we met while in the Loire who showed us some kindness. He once had a Renault 4. I always wanted one but this miniature is all I have.
For those in France, this blog will continue possibly on a weekly basis - it will have a theme on MY MELBOURNE.
Thank you for reading about our indulgences.
Leon and Sue

Our last day in Paris

It’s a little weird, returning to the areas of our previous visits. In 2006 we stayed in the area of the Luxembourg gardens and in 2008 it was in Saint Germaine. Both are fairly Tourist inundated. Staying this year in the 11th, we have not heard an American accent, which has gotta be a plus in my mind.

As I write this I hear French voices from above our little outdoor garden. Children’s voices and laughter drift in and out while we watch the birds land in our garden looking for a feed. A radio can be heard somewhere in the background with the odd motor scooter whizzing up the street.
To say we have enjoyed our 4 weeks is an understatement. Being with the locals here sheds a different aspect on this trip. I’m not sure if I would call it a holiday as such - living a week at a time you actually meet people. Guided tours are not of for us - Today is Tuesday, it must be Barcelona - no, no, not for us.
OK!!! Get on with it Leon, she says…. Ok, what did we do on our last full day?
On the Metro with the locals to Grande Boulevards to see the covered passageways, one of which was Passage des Panoramas which the 1st street in Paris to have gas lighting in 1817.
I bought a little scale model of a DS Citroen similar to the car I owned in 1975.
From here we took off to Rue St-Andre des Arts where we stayed last year. Very touristy and busy, hordes of people and more Anglais than Francais again.
Lunch at a great little creperie in our old street and then wandered off to let Sue to do shopping. She didn’t buy anything, but I did, she is soooo indecisive.
I needed to see Arenes de Lutece, an amphitheatre built at the end of the 1st century. Restored in 1917, we saw young boys playing soccer within the historic arena.
Oh well - its time to pack the bike and the suit cases and return the great OZ down under.
Goodbye France and hope to see you again sometime.

Attached are just a few pics of the last 2 days in Paris in no particular order.

DRAWING TO THE END

With only one full day left to our month in France, I’m really not ready yet to come home. Paris has been an interesting experience this time. Living in the 11th which is outside the tourist districts has been an eye opener in many ways.
The 11th is a working class district with warts & all attached to it, yet colourful in many ways. People going to work, shopping and living life. Many having pride in their dress, yet little respect for their streets. Dog turds, cigarette butts and Macca bags litter the back streets.

After dinner tonight we sat outside the restaurant sipping a coffee and a Grand Marnier on Place Leon Blum.
The traffic consisting of bicycles, motor scooters, cars and buses zoomed thru the roundabout in an orderly chaos that has to be seen to be believed. I’ve ridden in this chaos in peak hour traffic and there’s a flow to it that actually seems safe. No less safe than riding in a cycling race with another 40 riders.

After a later than usual start this morning we planned a trip to Montmartre, the home of bohemia in the late 1800s and early 1900s. Home to artists such as Toulouse Lautrec, Salvador Dali and home to eroticism with the Moulin Rouge, the Can Can and ladies of the night.
We walked the streets of Montmartre passing erotic shops, artists selling their wares to finally La Basilique Du Sacre-Coeur at the very top of the hill. The view is extraordinary from this sacred point.

The white stone with the copper statues are quite impressive however even this sacred place of worship is geared to the tourist. Buskers and failed artists vie for your Euro. Strangely none of these artists with sketch pad asked if I wanted my portrait drawn but Ashley, our young and attractive companion was constantly harassed.

A visit to the Salvador Dali museum was something I missed on previous visits and finally on this trip I was not disappointed. I enjoyed not only his sculptures and his paintings but his humour and zest for life that was reflected in his work.

Travelling home on the Metro in the peak period is I guess the same in any large city but having not travelled by public transport at home very much makes me look at it in a different light. You see many sad or bored looking faces, unwilling to make eye contact with their ears plugged into ipods. It almost makes me want to get the whole carriage to do a sing-along of Waltzing Matilda.

I had my last ride on the bike tonight before packing it up to travel home. Its been a great way to integrate with the local scene. I've seen more of rural France and Parisienne life with my bum on the saddle.

Tomorrow will be a shopping day and packing for our flight home. Its been a great experience and gives a different outlook on life - but how fortunate are we to have been born in OZ.

For those who have been reading the blog here in France, I'll finish off with some news of Melbourne, our home over the week that we return.

Thanks to all those that made our trip memorable.

Carol and Mikee and their friends Catherine and Alan, Ken and Walt, Coco in Dijon, Vanessa here in Paris and our good friends Sophie and Leigh. Finally my track cycling friend Michel Briat who made me welcome amongst his circle.

My best day until tomorrow

What can I say - just another PERFECT Day in Paris. The morning started with a metro (underground) trip from Place Leon Blum to inner Paris. We wanted to wander the Marais and St Paul districts to relive some memories of our last trip. We also had Ashley with us to share the walk. We did however start with a tour of the Paris opera House opened in 1875.
The opulence of the place is mind boggling with ceiling frescos, gold statuesque chandeliers, and velvet covered seating. Although the auditorium was closed to the public, I managed to sneak up some spiral staircases high in the back stalls and grab a photo.


The Theatre National de L’Opera was the scene for Phantom of the Opera and one can imagine some of the scenes from the stage show after walking thru this magnificent building.
Across the road is Galleries Lafayette where they have all the designer labels although my designs were on the fabulous lunch they offer in their cafeteria. Reminiscent of the Myer Cafeteria, this one offers excellent meals at reasonable prices. I had grilled salmon, washed down with a carafe of Rose and Limencello and café/mocca ice cream - yummmmmmm.
After lunch it was up to the open top floor to survey the Paris skyline. All the famous landmarks are on view from this rooftop area. Not a cloud in the sky and visibility was as far as the eye could see.
The Eiffel Tower, Arc d’Triumph, Sacre Coeur Basilique all could be seen with the Opera house across the road.
After sunning ourselves on the rooftop, it was time
to move off to our favourite spot, the Marais, St
Paul which is a medieval centre within Paris. Best of all I met a bike shop owner with track bikes. He had been to OZ in Melbourne so we had a good talk until Sue found me and dragged me out to continue our walk.
Hotel Sens was the next stop, a favourite building of mine and one of the earliest existing places of royalty in Paris

Last on the walking tour was Place des Vosges, a favourite for Sue. This leafy square is an oasis of peace and tranquillity. With the sun beating down, the heavily planted and manicured trees offer a cool and shady place to view the activities of the locals. One of the apartments surrounding the square was the last place Jim Morrison of the Doors drew his last breath after a drug overdose.

With perfect weather, I had an opportunity to meet my friend Leigh for an afternoon ride in the parklands. Things got a bit competitive and the heart rate monitor told me to behave but it was great to enjoy dicing with the other French cyclists. After leaving the circuit, we took a deviation to the nearby velodrome to see if there was anything happening. This was the famous Jacques Anquetil velodrome named after the 5 times Tour de France winner. Eddy Merckx, another 5 times winner achieved one of his victories here also.
On arriving we saw many track cyclists warming up and after awhile one of them greeted me warmly.
It was Michel Briat who had raced the last two years in the World Masters Track Championships in Sydney that actually recognised me.
I was invited to ride around the Velodrome with him and was introduced to his many friends.
In appreciation, I gave him my Aussie cycling cap.

What a great day it has been.

Pics:

1 to 5 of the Opera House

6 - Ash sitting on the rooftop of Galleries Lafayette

7 to 9 - Place des Vosges

10 - Michel Briat and Leaping Leon

A Magic Day in Paris

Cold and chilly Melbourne is only another four days away. We have been spoilt with our stay in Paris to date with days in the mid to high 20s and we are yet to eat a meal indoors. This superb apartment has an outdoor garden where we eat. Tonight is still in the low 20s at 11.00 pm. I just walked Ashley, my son’s girlfriend home while wheeling my bike to ride home afterwards. I don’t believe this city with its attitude towards cyclists - so different to home. It truly is a cycling city.
But more of that later.
The previous day started with a walk thru the Du Pere Lachaise Cemetiere not far from our apartment. We were told by a very proud Frenchman who accosted us and took us on a small walk that this cemetery was actually larger than Monaco, and it seemed so by the amount of times we walked up and down and between graves, looking for famous people (and got lost).
Oscar Wilde’s tombstone was the most bizarre of all. Sculptured in an art deco style, it has hundreds of lipstick kisses on it by over enthusiastic fans. There are grave sites with wonderful sculptures that would take pride of place in any museum and there are grave sites long forgotten, yet require a moment in time to gaze upon.
Being a public holiday in France, my cycling friend Leigh took me to the Bois de Vincennes parklands to do a few laps (or more) and meet other cyclist who train there. A little tired from the 60K ride, I hopped in the shower then had a kip before getting ready to meet up with Leigh and Sophie for drinks and dinner.
We love our little garden here but to experience their sixth floor apartment not far from our place was a privilege.
A glass of wine and several French cheeses while viewing the Paris skyline, Eiffel Tower, etc in the late afternoon sun will be remembered for many long years.
Tomorrow we are off to the Paris Opera House, and the Marais district.

1st Full Day in Paris
This is our third visit to France and previously we have taken a few days in Paris to get over jet lag and then after travelling thru France, we take a week in Paris before returning home. We love the atmosphere of Paris and after spending so much time here it is becoming familiar - although we still get lost, it is all part of the adventure.
Our morning started with a visit to the market down on Boulevard Richard Lenoir near Place De La Bastille where we met a fellow Bayside Bandido cycling mate Marcus three years ago. Sue thought this was one of the better markets she has shopped at over out time in France. Our favourite was purchased - breast of Canard (Duck) along with white asparagus and some various smelly fromages. Yum, yum….
After shopping I threw on the lycra for a death defying ride in Paris to the Bois de Vincennes, a forest and parkland for the citizens of Paris to enjoy. On this Sunday they were out in their 1000s, enjoying a balmy spring day. Families on bikes, roller skates, horses or just walking. You can tell its spring with many young couples walking hand in hand.
The Park has a chateau, zoo, sports stadium, velodrome and hippodrome (horse racing course) as well as many soccer grounds with a huge forest within. On my ride a squirrel ran across my path and up into a tree - how good is that?
As per normal, I lost my way home and decided to ask advise from the local gendarmes who happened to be beside me on the road. So, in my usual suave manner, I said, “ G’day, can ya tell me which way to Bastille”. Strangely, they were not amused by my antics but never the less they did point me in the right direction (without a smile).
At the next set of lights, they were beside me again, and I said “ This way mate?”. With a nod and a stern look, he agreed. So I flicked him a thumbs up and took off home. The rural police have so much more humour than their Paris equivalents.
We made contact with my Son’s girlfriend Ashley and enjoyed a few wines and nibbles before she returned to her backpacker’s hotel for a well earned sleep after her long travel.

Tomorrow we plan to visit the grave sites of Oscar Wilde, Sarah Bernhardt, Maria Callas, Chopin, Stephane Grappelli, Modigliani, Edith Piaf, Rossini and of course, Doors lead singer Jim Morrison at the Cemetiere Du Pere Lachaise which is within walking distance from our apartment.

Ahhh, gay paree. We are here

Panic stations on Sue’s part. Time to leave the hotel in Lyon, organise a taxi, get to the station to catch the TGV. We had a morning expresso at the first Bistro when we arrived in Lyon and the same woman we met on our arrival was there. She and her husband own the bistro. When we arrived two days ago my elbow bleed over her table and she gave me a band aid. I returned with the same band aid attached to my elbow and said it would return to OZ with me. We all laughed. We exchanged email addresses and parted company. Our trip has been full of laughter and meeting noyce people.
Finally on the TGV to Paris and was bemused by a real life elderly Barbie Doll woman who decided to paint her finger nails (horrible smell) while reading gossip magazines. Yes I know, I’m a bitch….
Finally arrived at Gare de Lyon and started to recognise those old familiar sights from our previous three trips.
As I write this, I am sipping a coffee at our ground floor apartment with a relaxing courtyard garden. We were greeted by Vanessa, our neighbour. We are now settled and looking forward to our last week in France with excitement and a little sadness that we are drawing close to the end of our journey.

Our apartment is in the 11th Arrondisement, just up from Boulevard Voltaire on Place Leon Blum.

More news tomorrow - an early morning ride and then off to market, make contact with our friends Sophie and Leigh in Paris and meet our son, Andrew's girlfriend Ashley who arrives tomorrow.

Pics: 1 & 2 - Our apartment garden courtyard - very important for Aussies.
3 - Place Leon Blum

Lyon, Hmmmm! I’m not quite sure!

With only 2 two days in such a big city, its difficult to form an opinion with so many conflicting images.
Some beautiful - some very sad. I guess it’s the same in most large cities as opposed to the more regional and rural areas of France we enjoy so much and yet Lyon has given us some special moments such as today at lunch, but more about that later.
After catching the bus and then the funiculaire (the cable carriage) to the highest point of Lyon, we marvelled at the two Gallo-Roman theatres and the never ending view of the city sprawled below. The ancient amphitheatres were being set-up for Lyon’s festival of arts. Amongst the artists are names such as David Byrne (ex talking heads & Marianne Faithful).
With both the Saone and the Rhone winding below my viewpoint, how could you not marvel at the city’s beauty, yet close-up and personal it loses some its lustre.
After descending back down and into the old Lyon you find some of the homeless sleeping in bus stops, church steps and down narrow alleyways. In sections of the city, the gutters have litter of many days and the smokers of Lyon shed cigarette butts without thought. I saw one young female shop assistant having a cigarette outside her shop and just flick it on the pavement, still lit and walked straight back into the shop without a thought of littering her great city.
And yet, we met others who were very proud of their city and its history, willing to offer advice on the best attractions and places to eat. Others on seeing us confused with the city map in hand would ask if we needed assistance.
Today we stumbled on a perfect Lyonnais Bouchon bistro and were seated beside an elderly well dressed French couple. They warmly welcomed us to their table and with his limited English and Sue’s limited French, we entered conversation that shared a little of each others lives in different parts of the world.
On the other side of us were four people from the USA who joined in conversation and we discovered that they ate at the same restaurant as us in Bourg-en-Bresse the previous night. Incidentally, the food was great
but the conversation with “Pierre and Andrea” at the table will be long remembered.

Tomorrow late afternoon, we catch the TGV to Paris where we can unwind for a full week. I get to ride the bike, Sue gets to shop and cook: oops, don’t take that the wrong way. If you have been reading the blog, by now you know that cooking is Sue’s passion and quite frankly, better than some of the restaurants I’ve eaten in at home.

Autun to Bourg-en-Bresse, Vienne and Lyon.

There are times you wonder why you put a city or village on your list and not others along the way. The trip from Autun to Bourg-en-Bresse opened our eyes to the beautiful village of Cluny for a stop-over lunch break. The village had a really great feel about it. The 910 AD Abbey remains was its main feature and its streets are a delight to wander through.
Leaving Cluny, we travelled onto B-en-B via Macon which to us had no redeeming features but having tried their white wine recently I will now look up a bottle or two back home.
We probably should have stopped at Autun for a few hours and had two night in B-en-B where we had a great dinner of Frogs Legs (my 1st time) and the local famous chicken of the district.
Next overnight stop was Vienne on the river Rhone. Again we picked a village to break the drive and stumbled on the medieval hilltop village of Perouges. With a population of 900, the village has been the scene of several movies such as the three Musketeers and Monsieur Vincent. The streets are all paved from round river rocks and uncomfortable to walk on yet you still see fashion conscious women in high heels.
Only photos can describe the serenity of the village - it really was a special highlight of the day with our overnight stop, Vienne a very close second.
To us Vienne was special and would have been worth more than overnight stay. The locals seem to have a real pride in their special city with clean streets, leafy squares and a feeling of calmness. The hosts at our hotel were so helpful in recommending what sights to see and place to eat.
Our meal that night was at La Provence, a family owned restaurant hidden down a laneway. So helpful was our waitress, the daughter of the mother/father owners that Sue invited her to stay with us if/when she comes to Australia. They even swapped email addresses.
Vienne’s main features are its Roman remains which are beautifully presented.

The ancient foundations have been partly preserved as a children’s playground.
We left Vienne with the feeling that we needed to return one day for a longer stay. (a bit like Chinon in the Loire).
Our drive to Lyon would be our last drive before handing back Cyril Citroen. The 1.4L diesel has been a great little car and for those like statistics, it returned 4.7L/100k over 2800 kms.
The most stressful part of the journey to date was to come.
Find the drop off point for the car, catch a bus to the airport, catch another bus to Lyon and find our hotel while carrying a back pack, two suitcases and a bike bag.
Well here we are finally in Lyon after dinner and

looking forward to the sites this second biggest city after Paris can offer.