Idling About and a Short Trip to Burgundy

May 1, 2024 to May 8, 2024

I spent most of this past week idling about in Paris, doing errands and being my best French self by participating in French holidays. May is a month of holidays in France, and it all starts on May 1, also known as Fête de Travail, Labor Day, or International Workers Day. I spent the day enjoying two great French traditions - a bouquet of Muguet de Bois and the Fete de Travail celebration/demonstration at Place de la Republique. It was all very French – and I loved it.

My neighborhood was full of small stands selling bouquets of Muguet de Bois, many sponsored/staffed by community service organizations

I passed by Notre Dame on my way to Place de la République and caught my first glimpse of the recently completed spire.

A small phalanx of paddy wagons lined up near La Place de la République, site of the Fête de Travail celebration and parade

Police formed a line at the head of the parade and then turned around and dispersed at 2 pm, the official start of the parade

The burning of the Olympic rings at the head of parade drew a moderate amount of cheering from the participants.

Both Vivien George and I got a little spruced up this week - me at my neighborhood hair salon and she at a local bike store. I’d been chagrined at the closure of L’Hirondelle, the LBS that has taken such good care of Vivien George over the last several years. The nearest alternative was Cyclable, one of a network of 79 bicycle stores in France and Switzerland. As chronicled by the Grampies, the Cyclable store in Orleans had done an outstanding job in reviving Steve’s bike. And I can vouch for their store in Paris 15 – personable and professional. I left knowing that I’d found an excellent replacement for an trusted group of bike mechanics.

The week ended with a visit from my niece Katherine and her new husband Trevor, who stopped by for one night on their way back to Dallas after a two week vacation in the south of France. We spent the afternoon wandering the neighborhood and then enjoyed some traditional French dining at the Café de Commerce, one of the great French brasseries whose lineage dates to the Parisian bouillons of the 19th century.

A fit Vivien George with Alex and Zac of Cyclable in Paris 15

Following closely on the heels of Fete de Travail are Victory Day (May 8) and Ascension Day (May 9), which this year fall on a Wednesday and Thursday. Consequently, many if not most French extend the holiday break through the weekend. My friends Carla and Alex were spending the week at their house in the medieval village of Noyers, in Burgundy, and they invited me to join them for a couple of days before I left on my next bike tour.

Alex and I took the train from Paris to the nearby town of Vermenton where Carla picked us up in a small electric rental - a 1hr, 15 min rental for a total cost of €9.25. We made it to Noyers in time for Carla’s afternoon work calls and while Alex spent the afternoon preparing the evening barbecue, I took a hike up the hill to the old Noyers castle, the Château de Noyers-sur-Serein.

Largely forgotten for centuries, the ruins of the once formidable castle sit in a wooded hillside above the medieval village. In 1998, a group of volunteers formed The Forgotten Heritage - Association of the Old Castle of Noyers for the purposes of bringing new life to the castle. In addition to restoration of the two towers, projects include the development of signed walking paths and promotion of cultural activities. The latter includes sponsoring the annual Gargouillosium, a contest where 20 sculptors from all over France are allotted three days to create gargoyles from designated stones.

Not much had changed since I last visited the castle in 2015, some new signage and explanatory placards on current and past activities. I followed the walking trails to the viewpoints overlooking the town, the made my way down the hill and along the river, arriving back at Carla’s just as Alex was putting the sausages and ribs on the grill.

At the edge of town, on the way to the castle

The handrails were rickety, or non-existent

Restoration of the tower and castle wall are one of the projects of the Forgotten Heritage Association. Another is sponsoring the annual Gargouillosium that takes place in the large open area. The concrete benches on the lower left were made for festival goers to watch the sculptors at work

A view of Noyers from the castle grounds.

A section of town along the Serein River

A closer look at some of the timbered houses of Noyers

Heading back, between the river and the old walls of Noyers

Victory day commemorates the end of World War II in Europe – it was on May 8, 1945 that Germany unconditionally surrendered to the Allied forces. It is a day celebrated throughout Europe and is a national holiday in France. Carla was off work and the big project for the day was cutting down a small diseased and dying tree. Mr. Natural always advised to get the right tool for the job, so Carla and Alex had borrowed a small battery-operated chain saw. Small being the operative word.

I’d been around a fair amount of tree cutting in my past – a woodstove was the primary heat source when I was in graduate school and we had our own woodlot to source the fuel. Many weekends were spent chopping down and trimming trees, cutting and hauling logs, and splitting wood. Today I left all the cutting and trimming to Alex, but I had lots advice that he took with good cheer. We were a merry crew, and soon all the bits were bagged and loaded into the truck. Carla and I made a quick trip to the Wednesday market for sheeps-milk yogurt and then it was off to Auxerre to put me on the train back to Paris.

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Rachael AndersonI got behind on journals but it looks like you’re making the most of your time back in Paris!
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