We had a lovely day today riding along the Voire Vert. We rode only a small portion of the 70+ km bike trail in the Burgandy region of France. After a quick breakfast at the local McDonald's (no egg mcmuffins over here people, only yogurt and regular muffins... and coffee with no cream) we found our way to one end of the Voire Vert (Green Way) and the bike rental place. The nice girl spoke no English, but with the help of the french-english dictionary we were able to rent 6 bikes, 4 helmets and 3 hours on the paved bike route through the wine country.
The big boys and Brian rode 27 km total while Edwin (on his very own bike!) Julia and I settled for 19 km. Not too shabby! The big boys and Brian went on and did this uphill climb to the longest "green" tunnel in the world (tunnel meant for walkers, roller bladers and bikers) at 1.5 km in length. The middle got down to a chilly 40 degrees. Though bats inhabit the tunnel, they didn't make an appearance to the boys. While they did this part of the ride, Julia and Edwin played at one of the playgrounds that dot the trail. Ed found more rocks (surprise!) and buried his legs in them.
It was a great morning spent - and worth the training that the kids and Brian do on their (almost) weekly bike rides to the mall at home.
For lunch we found a mall close by with a Walmart type store (nicer than the one in Italy, more expensive than the Walmart at home.) We found some shoes for Ed, as he has a tendency to wear his out quite quickly. Could be all that Fred Flintstone breaking he does on the bikes... We also found a fan for our stays in Germany and Austria, since we don't think that AC comes with the rooms. It's not like we had a lot of room to begin with in the car either. It just gets funnier and funnier a picture inside the car...
The trip to Paris was uneventful until we got right up to the city (where Aidan was first to spot the Eiffel tower.) Then insane, crazy traffic took hold of the city streets and motor ways. I have lived (and driven) in some of the most crowded cities in the world and I don't think I remember anything of this magnitude. It was awful. But eventually, we found the hotel which is fine. Not great, but no pit of despair and is blessedly air-conditioned (are you seeing a theme here?)
We had a long dinner tonight in the Republique (Hilary and Arden if you are reading, we are staying not far from that youth hostel we were in back in '91) We are split in 2 rooms of 3 people and Julia is with us tonight. "Mommy, are you going to be typing long - as late as last night?" Nope, I'm not. I'm off to bed too.
Paris awaits us in the morning.
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