Paris Rendezvous

We got on a TGV fast train...and the that thing flew!!! My GPS had us going up to 185 mph! Talk about a cool way to get around the county. Wish we could do this back home! Even with the train going so fast it took about 5 hours to get from Paris to Morzine. It was a great time for us to catch up on everything.

After the train ride we were picked up at the station by Sara who’s one of our hosts in Morzine. We had a laugh trying to get all the luggage into the car but we managed. Here’s the sign coming into Morzine.

Here’s one of the views outside the chalet (Chalet la Musardiere). Great views all the way around.

Getting Started

Ok…so why did we pick this place to go to…was it the weather? Nope. Was it the location? Partly. Was it the fun stuff to do? Absolutely! Morzine is home to some outstanding mountain biking. They have everything from cross country to DOWNHILL!

Here’s our bikes getting loaded up by Sara and Guy. Santa Cruz Heckler for Cynthia and a Bullit for Kevin.

Cynthia outside the lift office. Yes, I said lift office! Our first ride was to be at Les Gets, the home of the world cup downhill championships!

On The Trail

Our grins kept coming! We just couldn’t stop!

Here’s a great spot that just stopped us in our tracks. It had a great view.

This was one of our guides (Jess) with Cynthia at the same place.

On The Trail

Yes, Kevin drew first blood. Did a nice tumble in a deep rut and caught the only thorn bush on that part of the trail!

Riding down the trail…with that silly grin!

Cynthia was tearing up the trails too!

We had to watch out for a couple killer cows hanging around. This one kept her eyes on us as if to say “Come a little closer little biker!”

More of the grins! Our faces hurt at the end of the day from smiling and laughing so much.

A view from the trail.

The Hydro- Electric Generating Station

Built in 1901 to supply electricity to the done of Long. It still works!

Monster Trout

We visited a fish farm on Sunday morning. Ethan you would have loved the to go fishing in these "ponds". There were some monster fish!

Hiking a Terry

We spent the afternoon hiking up a terry. Terry is the correct name for the mountains of coal rubbish that was dumped into huge piles, forming little mountains.

Wilson Rotary Flag exchange

We had dinner with several clubs on the Opel coast.

Family Visit - Decamps

Luc, Dorothia, Henri, Marc, Caroline, Florence. Their cute chapel built in the front of their house. They had all the work commissioned as a thanksgiving for a blessed life.

More beautiful architecture - Gargoyles

Beret demonstration - Thanks Angela

We had time to do a little quick shopping. The vendor

demonstrated the proper way to wear a beret.

Cauldron Aircraft Museum

We noticed some grumbling from the audience when we spoke of the Wright Brothers. It took a few presentations before we figured out that there was controvesy about the first flight - for the record: the Wright Brothers had the first machine powered flight. Can you image how many horses it would take to cross the Atlantic - smile.

From Wikipedia:

The Caudron Airplane Company (Société des avions Caudron) was a French aircraft company founded in 1909 by brothers Gaston Caudron (1882-1915) and René Caudron (1884-1959). It was one of the earliest aircraft manufacturers in France and produced planes for the military in both World War I and World War II. The company was acquired by Renault in 1933.

Abbaye De Valloires - another beautiful organ.

The Abbaye De Valloires - beautiful..

If you look carefully you can see the sculpture that hangs from the ceiling. It's paper mache.

In the "Marsh"

We toured the canals of in a pontoon. This area, St. Omer, is know for their cauliflower, and settled by Monks in the 6th century. We had lunch on site.

Inside St Omer Cathedral - Organ

Barry this one is for you. This picture doesn't do the organ justice. The sculptures at the bottom are life sized. The organ still works.

http://www.theotherside.co.uk/tm-heritage/visit/visit-stomer-cathedral.htm

Artist and Gallery Visits

On Friday and Saturday I was able to visit a two Galleries. The first was an antique shop and gallery - like Wilson

The second was an artist studio and gallery. Thierry Carton - He just finished up a show in NYC, but would be interested in Wilson.....

Soccer Game

Friday we attended a championship soccer game between Lens and Boulogne. There were around 40,000 people in attendance.

Everyone told us this was one of the best games in France because the fans were so loyal. They had a cheerleader that waved flags, lead the chants and songs. It was great fun! Unfortunately our team lost 0-1

What a RIDE!

My Friend Max took me for a ride in this beauty - over 100 MPH!

I was a little nervous to say the least -

Actually I was white knuckling it!

La Coupole - Saint -Omer

Today we visited the La Coupole - which is a dome bunker that housed the manufacturing of the V1 and V2 missiles.
http://www.lacoupole-france.com