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.

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.

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.

Somewhere in France, a half-hour before sunrise, the clouds turned pink.

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.

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.

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.

This is a picture of ME at the base of the Eiffel Tower. The big smile says it all--France is cool.

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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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