To Joigny

September 6, 1993

The first section of the tour, in France: 6 cycling days, plus the train from Paris to Fontainbleu

Well, it wasn't 6 AM when the jackhammer outside our window woke us up after all - it just gets light later here. It was almost 9. We were very surprised to find ourselves almost too late for petit dejeuner. We were done and ready to leave our hotel by about 9:30.

Today went far toward dispelling yesterday's initial anxieties. We managed all critical communications well, didn't get lost, understood directions (sort of), and had a wonderful ride. The first 60 km, until we reached Sens and the Yonne River, were through a lovely succession of small villages scattered about 5 km apart. Gradual or no hills, mild, little traffic, a modest headwind - really a very lovely ride.

Almost all of the houses are stone or masonry, with wood sills and shutters, tile roofs, graced with flower boxes or faced with ivy. They blend pleasantly into the landscape. The fields are much farther along in the season and dried out than those at home. Corn is a major crop, as are sunflowers - large fields of bent, dried yellow-brown heads make me wish we'd been here a month ago to see them in their prime.

We arrived at Sens about 2 PM. I don't know which impressed me more - the magnificent cathedral with its flying buttresses, gargoyles, colorful tile roof and stained glass; or the many blocks of narrow, car-free streets crammed with tourists and colorful storefronts - with even narrower, more mysterious side alleys abutting them.

After perhaps two hours, we crossed back over the Yonne, and after two stops for directions to insure we were still on the right road we headed south along a somewhat busier road through a series of smallish towns to Joigny. This town is in a lovely setting, straddling the river and connected by a lovely arched bridge, rising steeply on the east bank to a pair of stone churches rising above a colorful layer of stone and tile houses.

We arrived around 6, after the information center had already closed, and futzed around searching for a hotel. The first three or four were all closed. We were beginning to consider a modern and expensive-looking option when we decided to cross the river and found the Escargot Hotel. The place was a bargain - for $25 we got a quite satisfactory room three steep flights up, with a shower and a safe place for the bikes. I felt silly verifying that the price was only $25.

For dinner we wandered down the waterfront to a café, where I had beef bourguignon, while Rachael was disappointed by a coq a vin that she misordered - she thought she was ordering chicken (ed: twenty five years later, Rachael still talks about this awful first meal in France). A coffee ice cream and whipped cream dessert helped her get over it though. Afterwards we sat on the bank by the river watching the reflections and awaiting nightfall.

Today's ride: 95 km (59 miles)
Total: 95 km (59 miles)

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