McLaughlins Take France: Paris, Semi-Rebooted!

We are back to exploring Paris again! We had a great week within Paris and the surrounding 100 kilometers.

Paris continues to do well with the restrictions. Almost everyone wears a mask when out and about. Most stores require masks to enter, and even have hand sanitizer at the door that you must use. Security guards limit how many people can be in a store at one time. All the clothing stores have closed their dressing rooms so if you want to try on clothes you need to bring them home and do it. This has made for some interesting spring and summer shopping for Edy and Will. For Edy, I ended up bringing home 23 different items from H&M for her to try on. Luckily, we found 8 that worked!

The loot from H&M!

Lines like this are common as we wait for stores to open along the Champs-Elysee.

Later this week, we will hear about what we can expect in phase 2 of reopening. This week is an important week to watch the number of cases of Coronavirus, as it is the third week, post lockdown. If things look good, on June 2, they will begin the second phase of reopening. It might be that restaurants and cafes will open up. If they do, it may only be for outside sitting. I am hoping that means some of the smaller parks open as well, but since Paris is still in the red zone, it might not happen.

There is lots of talk about international borders opening up and when the French will be allowed to travel again. There is also discussions about quarantine, and how many days you need to stay in quarantine when you arrive from different countries. It feels odd to be here and not to be considered "foreign" since we stayed through the most difficult time of the pandemic. It feels like we have this pass that we know we will give up once we are back in the United States. We know that once we go back home, it will be difficult to come back over again anytime soon. This virus could effect travel for years.

We did several new things this week. First, we went out of town and did an incredible hike that a friend recommended. We started in Valmondois, went through fields and forests to get to Auvers-Sur-Oise, before going back along the River Oise to Valmondois and taking the train home. We got to see where many famous artists came to paint in Auvers-Sur-Oise. There were a few times during the hike that I could envision the impressionist painters out in the field painting. It was beautiful. We also saw where Vincent van Gogh lived while staying there, and was buried. Here are a few photos from that day.

We took RER H to get there.

This boy is hooked on history books! Can't go anywhere without one.

Photos from Valmondois.

A remembrance of soldiers from Valmondois that died in World War 1 and World War II.

I loved seeing the poppies all around the countryside.

Fields of wheat.

You can't tell, but they are blowing on blades of grass to make it whistle.

Heading into the Bois de Roi, following these markers.

A picnic lunch.

Auvers-Sur-Oise

All along the town, you would see these discs on the ground
leading you to important places Vincent van Gogh's visited.

Chateau de Lery in Auvers-Sur-Oise.

Auvers-Sur-Oise did an amazing job of sharing some of the famous art that was created here.

Looking for something cool on this hot day.

Can you spot the donkey in this photo?

Heading up to the famous church Vincent van Gogh painted,

Does this look familiar? We asked Edy to recreate it.

A French soldier, who died in World War I.

Vincent van Gogh and his brother, Theo.

So picturessque.

We were grateful to find a little outdoor stand open to quench our thirst, before we walked back to Valmondois.

We then followed this wooded path along the River Oise back home.

Because hiking isn't enough...

River Oise

Through the gates.

Back to Valmondois...

...where we hope this doesn't happen to anyone.

On Saturday, Jeff and the kids discovered that their favorite flea market is back open! This is the same flee market that Jeff bought Will's French WWI helmet. This time, Edy was the one who had the amazing find - a paint set that is over 100 years old. She has spent so much time cleaning and organizing it since she got it.

Edy exploring her new paint set. It dates back to 1902.

This is one happy Dad.

On Sunday, I decided that Jeff couldn't be the only one to brag about running back to Paris from Versailles, so I asked him to do it with me. It ended up only being 8 miles so I made him add a few more miles once we arrived back in Paris. We ended up running 11 that day! I usually hate running anything over 5, but this run was remarkable. It was so fun to be with Jeff and to run through two different forests - Meudon Forest and Park St. Cloud. Thanks to quarantine, I was in good enough shape to do it. This also takes the place of one of my goals while over here - to run a race in Paris. Since all races are canceled for the time being, I am counting this.

The sun was in my eyes for this photo! I wasn't really THAT scared to run it.

Versailles!

In case you wondered, it is EXCEPTIONALLY closed.

Then on Monday, we rented a car and explored a few cities that are within 100 kilometers of Paris. We first drove back through Versailles so the kids could see what the famous palace looks like without any tourists. We also visited a monument to General Lafayette and General Pershing.

Versailles

For all of you Hamilton fans, I love this quote under General JJ Pershing's monument, facing General Lafayette's Monument, in the town of Versailles. It reads "Lafayette nous voici" or "Lafayette Here We Are!"

We then headed to one of our favorite cities, Chartres. Jeff and I came here three years ago when we were planning our year abroad. Then Jeff and Will also visited it when the Tracy family was here. Finally, Jeff had a weekend here in January all by himself. Edy and I had yet to go this year. While the cathedral wasn't open, it was just nice to walk the quiet streets and soak up life in a small French village.

The drive into Chartres is spectacular, with the Notre Dame cathedral in the distance.

Chartres

This is the hallway inside the hotel Jeff stayed in. It was a former monastery.

Notre Dame

Just because...

Closed but still beautiful.

People used to make pilgrimages here. Here is a sign along the way.

Just an average Frenchman fishing.

Goodbye, Chartres.

We then headed to another small town in the Loir Valley called Chateaudum. This is not to be confused with the Loire Valley. This is an area along the Loir River, which is next to the Loire Valley but closer to Paris. Even with the chateau being closed, we enjoyed exploring a new town.

We spotted this windmill along the rode into Chateaudum.

Here is an example of the water towers in the French countryside.

The chateau at Chateaudum.

The remains fo the Abbey.

The buildings of Chateaudum were just beautiful.

Where the new meets the old...

This beauty is on her way to see the Loir River.

Looking up at the Chateau.

Part of the Loir River.

A fitting monument on Memorial Day - remembering those lost in war.

The chateau behind bars.

I love old doors.

We then headed for home via Etantes, where we explored the remains of Chateau d'Etampes and the one thing that always excites Will - a train station!

Will is always exploring.

Chateau d'Etampes - currently home of many birds.

Always posing for a picture.

While much was closed to us, on Monday, all three towns gave us a glimpse into what life is like in a small French towns. We realized that if we hadn't been restricted to 100 kilometers, we would have missed the opportunity to meander along these quiet streets. It made us appreciate the little things that we otherwise wouldn't have paid attention to, had we been rushing in and out of places of interest. But the best part of all, was that we were able to add three more dots onto our map once we got back to Paris.

3 more dots on our map.

A few other fun things we got to do this past week: We got to explore the canals of Paris with a friend. We rented LIME scooters and enjoyed the Rue de Rivoli which now has bike lanes for scooters and bikes. Will began the hard work of recycling his many creations as we get closer to going home. We witnessed May 20, 2020 at 20:20:20.