DAY TWENTY-THREE: A Long Ride in the Darkness, Followed By a French Food Classic - An Unbelievable Tour Around An Imaginary World - CycleBlaze

DAY TWENTY-THREE: A Long Ride in the Darkness, Followed By a French Food Classic

Italy to France

After all that Italian food with Team Anderson, I had heartburn most of the night.  It really upset my beauty sleep.  That's okay, because I wanted to get an early start anyway.  One thing for sure, though, is that I didn't expect my early start to begin at 2:00 a.m.

But 2:00 a.m. is when I stuffed all my stuff into my pannier for another day of bike riding.  Amongst that stuff, was another bit of stuff I didn't mention at the end of yesterday's post.

As we were leaving Chef G.'s Ristorante, Chef G. pulled me aside and handed me a heavy cast iron pot.  "Here dude, I know you're a Frenchman, so I made you one of my specialties.  I call it boeuf bourguignon."

"Wow, thank you, Chef G!" I exclaimed as I sniffed the intoxicating aroma.  I didn't tell him that I am only 1/4 French.  I didn't want to hurt his feelings.  

It LOOKED good too.
Heart 7 Comment 2
Jen RahnI'll be curious to see if Mr. Grumby comments on the presence of mushrooms.

This looks truly delicious!!
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1 year ago
Gregory GarceauTo Jen RahnHaven't heard anything yet from Ron about the 'shrooms. I bet there's a good story behind that. My dad claims he can't eat anything with mushrooms because he's allergic to them. Everybody in the family knows it's a fake allergy and he just doesn't like them.
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1 year ago

I only had to figure out how to strap the potful of deliciousness onto my bike for the long ride.  It was pretty heavy, but I knew it would be worth every one of its extra 15-pounds when I got to France.  The thought of re-heating it on my camp stove was serious motivation.  I bungee-corded it to my rear rack and headed into the dark, dark night.

I need to do more night riding. It was beautiful.
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I found ways to have a little fun too. I just hope I didn't scare any other bike tourists with my barking dog silhouette.
Heart 4 Comment 3
Bill ShaneyfeltWhat are school hours in Italy? Or was this already France?
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1 year ago
Jen RahnI can imagine the sound of this dog barking with its Italian or French accent.
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1 year ago
Gregory GarceauTo Jen RahnI'll try to reproduce the sound of its Italian bark: "Arfo, arfo, roofini, yapghetti, yapghetti, yapghetti, yapghetti."
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1 year ago
Somewhere in France, a half-hour before sunrise, the clouds turned pink.
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I enjoyed the living heck out of my all-night ride, but I enjoyed the living heck out of my arrival in Paris too.  What a city!  I could not believe I was in the land of 1/4 of my ancestors.  

I looked around for the famous Cathedral of Notre Dame.  The Catholic 1/4 of me demanded it.  The Lutheran 3/4 of me argued against it and reminded me of Martin Luther's Theses.  The 100% Church of the Great Outdoors part of me said, "do whatever you wanna do, dude."

I checked on my pot of boeuf bourguignon.  It was still attached to The Reckless Mr. Bing Bong.  That was a good thing.

Heart 4 Comment 0
I'm not sure, but I think this might be the Notre Dame Cathedral--home of the Fighting Irish. If not, at least it's a grand church of similar age.
Heart 4 Comment 4
Bill ShaneyfeltNice of them to post street signs in English for bike tourists!
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1 year ago
Ron SuchanekIt looks like the restoration efforts are coming along nicely!
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1 year ago
Gregory GarceauTo Bill ShaneyfeltI believe this was in the part of Paris known as "The English Quarter."
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1 year ago
Gregory GarceauTo Ron SuchanekYes, it's almost as good as new. The French are the most efficient cathedral craftsmen on the planet.
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1 year ago
The River Seine
Heart 5 Comment 2
Ron SuchanekI've heard that pictures can't do it justice.
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1 year ago
Gregory GarceauTo Ron SuchanekWeird--I got the same comment from a guy about my Eiffel Tower picture. But you're right, the Seine is too beautiful for pictures. All you can do stroll alongside it, write your novel while sipping wine or coffee in a little cafe, and pretend to be Hemingway, Fitzgerald, or Gertrude Stein. Ahh, Paris!
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1 year ago
I've heard the French have a reputation for being condescending to American tourists. I didn't find that to be true at all. When I asked a nice French couple for directions to the famous Eiffel Tower, they innocently rolled their eyes, pointed down the bike path, and said "Duh." There was no condescension at all.
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This is a picture of ME at the base of the Eiffel Tower. The big smile says it all--France is cool.
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Jen RahnI've always wondered what wrought-iron lattice looked like.

Impressive!
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1 year ago
Ron SuchanekI've heard that pictures can't do it justice.
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1 year ago
Gregory GarceauTo Ron SuchanekYou heard right. However, I think my excellent cell phone pictures have come closer to justice than any that of any so-called professional photographer.
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1 year ago
Ron SuchanekTo Gregory GarceauThere's clearly no doubt about that! Team Anderson and the Lellman-Browns are probably seething with jealousy.
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1 year ago
Gregory GarceauTo Ron SuchanekOh boy, I don't want to get into a feud with those guys. I got lucky with the Eiffel Tower picture, but that's the extent of my photography ingeniusness. Their photography is consistently brilliant everywhere they go
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1 year ago

I was disappointed that there was a little snow in Paris.  I thought I had left that behind when I escaped Antarctica.  As usual, I was in some kind of dream world.  Fortunately, I had not yet mailed all my winter gear and clothing back to Minnesota. 

I found a suitable campsite on the northern outskirts of Paris.  It had a nice shade tree and a glass picnic table for reheating and eating Chef G's Beouf Bourguignon.   

The pot put quite a strain on my gas stove. It took over two hours to heat it up. In the end, it tasted very good, but I've got a secret for you--"Boeuf Bourguignon" is just beef stew with a more pretentious name.
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Rate this entry's writing Heart 11
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Rachael AndersonYou certainly saw a different Paris then we saw last year.
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1 year ago
Nancy GrahamFantastic shot of the Eiffel Tower - and one with you in it as proof you were there was a nice touch for the skeptics. The other thing I really like about this day is the glass topped picnic table. You had to look high and higher for such a French outdoor furniture piece. You are a wonder in itself.
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1 year ago
Gregory GarceauTo Nancy GrahamNancy, you say the nicest things. My ego is now at an all-time high.
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1 year ago
Jen RahnMr. Grumby has been giggling about this tour daily, urging me to pull myself out of life's seriousnesses to check in on the joys of this Imaginary World.

As some famous person once said, "The view is pretty good when you pull your head out of your ass!" (I think it was Dan Harris)

Thank you!
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1 year ago
Gregory GarceauTo Jen RahnThank YOU, Mrs. Grumby. And I assure you that however much Mr. Grumby has been giggling, I've out-giggled him by a factor of 10 while writing this crazy stuff. It's like Dumb & Dumber have taken over my keyboard.
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1 year ago