EURO TRAVEL - K AND A

 INTERESTING CONVERSATIONS

 Along the road in France we met a number of people - fellow travelers, waiters, service people, friends we made 2 years ago on train platforms, etc.  Here are a couple of them.

These 2 Dutch father/son cyclists were riding through France to Spain together.  The son is 16 and they have taken several of these 1,000 to 2,000km rides together each year for the last couple of years.  The mother is American - no longer rides but waits patiently back at home.  She met her Dutch husband backpacking through India and China and they have explored the world on foot and bicycle.

I met them at breakfast and spoke with the father from across the room.  The son was glued to his tablet playing an American football video game.  His father expressed zero knowledge about American football and his son retorted "You don't know ANYTHING!"  He was not too thrilled at the prospect of a full day on the bike, but his father said he was actually quiet good once he got on the bike.  Their bikes were identical - an inexpensive, rugged, model with saddle bags.  Their average ride was about 60 to 70 miles or 100 to 120km per day.  Their cycling "bible" laid out the routes and noted everything a cyclist needed to travel across Europe - bike shops for repairs, every aspect. 

The father was very articulate - no Dutch accent (married to an American).  We had a good chat about their trip ending up in Spain, other rides they had done, etc.  So after breakfast they were off through the Loire valley already 1,000km into their journey. 

Next, we met these kids and their Mom and Dad from Alsace - visiting the chateaux at Amboise and Chenonceaux.  The kids, Salome and Gabriel - 8yrs. and 6yrs. old respectively were delightful - Amanda met them on the restaurant street below the 80ft stone wall of the Amboise chateau after dinner.

We had a nice chat with the 2 of them before bidding them good night (Amanda was happy to speak French to them without intimidation!)

The next day, we were starting our visit of Chenonceaux - our favorite chateau in the Loire valley and GUESS WHO comes running up to Amanda??  Gabriel and Salome greeted us like new grandparents and so with their Dad and real grandma, we kind of toured the chateau together.  Gabriel was counting the "tampons" in the floor tiles - royal seals made in the tiles.  Gabriel was at 112.  In each room he tallied up the count.  By the time we left the interior to explore the gardens he was up over 1,200.

So Gabriel and I played in the garden, darting in and out of the fountain sprays for children, sliding on the gravel and generally behaving like a couple of 6 yr olds. 

It was invigorating.  His sister always was around with a huge smile that lit up the space even outside in the sun.  We had a round of cold drinks with their parents and discussed their region of Alsace.  By the time we said our good-byes Amanda and I were convinced that Strasbourg and Alsace Lorraine should be on our agenda.

Later in the Bordeaux area we met Philippe and Marie, a couple from Paris.  They were coming off the golf course at the Chateau des Vigiers.  We briefly talked golf, decided to dine together and the next day we had dinner together in the Bistro.   They were both from the Alsace region originally and after discussions about the Great Globe, his engineering background (automotive electronics), life in Paris, backgrounds of the 4 of us (connection to ballet on Philippe's side), we again were convinced that Strasbourg would have to be our next destination.

Heading toward Strasbourg we overnighted in Dijon
- you know, the mustard capital.  Lovely city which I walked extensively through pedestrian only area.  Got in the middle of an Anti-Vaccine march from the Hotel de Ville (mayor's office).  The next morning leaving the hotel, we met another couple - Dutch departing on their bike ride.  I asked if they were from Amsterdam (I meant to ask from Holland).  They quickly corrected me - from the northern province.  The Dutch are very proud of their region of the Netherlands (includes the region called Holland - rather than explain it every time to foreigners they just say HOLLAND.)  In 10 minutes we discussed agricultural practices (monocultures in France - vineyards, wheat, corn, sunflowers),

Vines, sunflowers everywhere

politics (they thanked us for our new President - the last one was scary for Europeans), European history, and cycling through France.

A brief discussion on autocracies and downfalls of democracies ensued before we had to bid them "adieu" and watch them peddle away. The Dutch are some of the most enthusiastic cyclists for vacations!

In Strasbourg we met up with a Russian girl we met 2 years ago in St. Omer, France on the train platform.  Now she is married to a Frenchman David, who is a good example of people from Alsace - with German names and family experience as well as French.  They gave us the view of living in Strasbourg on low wages - but happy as optimistic 20 somethings.   The problems of getting her husband to travel with her back to Russia to meet the parents, the state of Russian vacation sites in the south of Russia, etc., etc.  Again, we got plenty of good tips on things to see in Strasbourg.

Tomorrow we catch up on our photographic journey through the Loire, our stay in the Bordeaux area and obviously a visit to Strasbourg - home of the European Parliament, La Petite France, and a culture blended between French and German influences.

CIAO