Montargis, France
Yet another Venice of the north
France: Montargis the Venice of the Gâtinais
Montargis is the second largest city in the Loiret, after Orléans. Due to its numerous canals and bridges, Montargis sometimes bills itself as the Venice of the Gâtinais. Though quite modern, it retains a medieval charm in its downtown area.
This video shows why this attractive town has the predicate Venice of the Gâtinais.
Life is short: Meet someone on Tinder, Quit your job, Sell your apartment, Buy a boat and go sail the world!!!
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This week, by popular demand, the episode is in French! (With English subtitles, of course).
We make an escale in Bretagne, near Quimper, at Port-la_forêt, where we meet up with my family.
After recovering from our trip at the World’s best crêperie in Sainte Marine, we tackle maintenance projects and repairs.
It starts with the electric cable, that I dropped in the water after trying to take a nice picture of our boat.
Next, we dip the GoPro under the boat to figure out what is stuck in our propeller. The image resulting clearly shows a big bunch of seaweeds stuck in the propeller.
We unpack and install our new Genoa, that our favorite sailmaker in Sweden made and shipped to my mom’s.
Finally, we take the TGV from Quimper to Paris, where Ryan and I catch our respective flights to Stockholm and North Dakota. I take the opportunity to give you a quick tour of the French capital!
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** GEAR **
⛵️Our boat: Polar Seal, 2007 Beneteau Oceanis 40, owners version (2 cabins layout)
City Centre, Auxerre, France
Video of the City Centre and shopping area in Auxerre, France.
Dramatic 2,000 Year Old Cahors, France
Cahors has an ultra-dramatic location, contained on three sides within a U-shaped bend in the River Lot. It is the chief city of the Lot and was founded 2,000 years ago by the Romans.
Today Cahors is perhaps best known as a famous wine center. Wander around the narrow streets in the old section with medieval houses, Baroque doorways, and Secret Gardens then sit down in a cafe or along the Lot River to watch the world go by.
Avant Première avec Sidonie Lemeux-Fraitot Chargée des collections du Musée Girodet
Guy Boyer reçoit dans l'émission Avant-première Sidonie Lemeux-Fraitot chargée des collections du Musée Girodet à l'occasion du Salon du Dessin qui commence le 22 mars 2017. Le salon consacre une exposition à un ensemble de dessins préparatoires à la fameuse « Scène de déluge » de Girodet. L'évènement sera l'occasion du lancement d'une vaste campagne de mécénat participatif en faveur du Musée Girodet de Montargis, dont des centaines d'œuvres ont été submergées par les inondations de mai 2016.
Interview : Guy Boyer, coordination : Élodie de Dreux-Brézé
I Don't Care For the RER Trains/Paris, France
There are various RER (reseau éxpresse régionnale, I think that stands for -- regional express network) trains running in and around Paris, France. They have letters of the alphabet to designate them, and in the City itself, they interface with the métro system. Perhaps you've noticed them here, or ridden them.
There has been an electronic pass (NAVIGO) out for quite some time now, but since I don't commute or travel much, I still buy physical tickets. Your métro/bus/tramway tickets do not work on the RER system. At certain points in Paris proper they do, but not much. I take the RER B line sometimes, and it's run by the SNCF on one side of Gare du Nord, and the RATP on the other. The drivers must change there. It's an inherent glitch, if you know what I mean. There are often delays and cancellations throughout the system.
The RER system has a reputation for being unsafe, and that could be, but mostly, I find them uncomfortable and not user-friendly. The stations are rarely accessible, the platforms are usually exposed to the weather, for your long trips good luck finding a train with a toilet, the human vendors are rare and tend to be indifferent or badly informed, and the machines do not make it clear how you can save money by perhaps buying round-trip tickets, or ten-packs of tickets (carnets) for a nice discount if you take that trip fairly often. I just don't like any of the RERs.
I was trying to get from up near CDG-Roissy Airport to Stade de France in Saint-Denis, and traffic everywhere had been a mess all day, on the roads, everything, everywhere, starting in the morning. This is not all that unusual for Paris on a Friday, and if it rains, forget about it, you are talking major delays. There'd been a serious accident on the RER B line, so there were lots of delays, cancellations, computer screens which are frequently out of order anyway, and so on. I was trying to find a train from Aulnay-Sous-Bois here, and eventually got one to Le Bourget, where I had to change trains again. It's likely I could have taken a bus toward Saint-Denis from Aulnay, or even Le Bourget, but I only had two tickets on me, and I wasn't sure how to do that, nor was I thrilled about the intermittant rain (I'd chosen a Spring hat for the day -- straw).
So, this is what it was like. About four hours of commuting time for three hours of work. Not worth it, but I've been unemployed or underemployed here for 13 years now, so I do as much as I can to keep my hand in. You wouldn't want to end up on the benefits system here in France -- it's mighty slim pickings, and not worth the hassle. About a third of the French who qualify won't take it -- too proud. They don't have food stamps here, by the way (gleaning is legal, however).
Since I bought only one set of round-trip tickets, that cost me just under five euros. It's really not good value for your money. Always keep your ticket on you or validate your NAVIGO pass -- you might be asked to show proof that you paid for your journey.
Believe it or not or believe it, I really like France and consider myself darn lucky I came over here from the USA nearly 20 years ago. Overall, it's a much better quality of life than I had in Ohio or New York. You have to take the good with the bad in life.
copyright 2013 Lisa B. Falour, B.S., M.B.A. all rights reserved
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