Snapshots of France: Week 1

As I'm sitting to write a post about our first week in France, I'm a bit overwhelmed about where to begin and what to include. There's been a week packed of delicious food, incredible views, challenging runs and hikes, interesting historical sites, and precious time with family. So I won't even try to mention all of the wonderful things, but here is just a taste:

When we arrived in Paris, we had already been awake for over 24 hours, but we still had to stay up and about for another half-day to beat jet-lag. We were still very excited to be there and see Mom and Dad Garris!

Paris was a whirlwind; we had scarcely been there two hours when some one asked us, "Vous etes de Paris?" "Non." We were hardly qualified to give directions! We had a wonderful lunch/dinner (what do you call the 6th meal you've eaten since you last slept?) and Nathan vowed that from now on, whenever given the option between poulet (chicken) and canard (duck), he would choose le canard because it was so good. We summitted Arc de Triomphe (spectacular views of Paris without the crowds of the Eiffel Tower), sleepwalked through many other sites and subway rides, and finally went to bed!

The next day was more relaxed, and we had a delightful lunch with Ari, a friend and roommate of mine from Duke. Ari had lived in Paris for the past year with her husband Max (congrats you two!) and so she could make a good recommendation for lunch...yummy! It was great to catch up with Ari, and we sandwiched lunch with touring the outside and inside of Notre Dame. Notre Dame was spectacular:
but there were also other little treasures to be found in the crevices of the streets of Paris, such as what I remember to be called the Eglise de Saint Severin, which we enjoyed touring more peacefully without the herds of tourists:

And, of course, we took the obligatory picture with the Eiffel Tower background:

While Paris was fun, we are not city folk, so we boarded the train to Clermont-Ferrrand in the countryside of Auvergne. France is, of course, known for its cheese around the world, and Auvergne is known for its cheese even within France. We selected no fewer than 6 types of cheese at the grocery store, 4 of which were from Auvergne, and most of which we have already polished off in meals that revolved entirely around the fromage.

Clermont lies in the valley of a chain of extinct volcanos, (puys). Thus, it is within a short drive, and sometimes even walking distance of a number of great trails. First we climbed Puy de Pariou with several classes of schoolchildren on field trips, and a couple days later we hiked up Puy de Dome, an even more popular tourist spot and home of ruins of a 2nd century Roman temple and less scenic weather station. There were several folks running up the Puy de Dome trail, which is a very steep and challenging path! One man even started back in town, running twice as long up the mountain to include what we drove to reach the parking lot. If only more folks in the states were so active and adventerous! Here we are on top of Puy de Pariou with Puy de Dome behind us:
We've also been able to visit two castles so far: Chateau Murol and Chateau Rocher. Murol has been restored in places, and several rooms are set up to demonstrate life as it once was there. It was fun to imagine!
As we entered the chateau, we were greeted by the delighted squeals of about a hundred French children. We had arrived at the chateau just as a group of chevaliers (knights) were doing a reenactment. They had fun showing off their armors and weapons and we had fun watching them and the kids' reactions.
We also enjoyed touring the little village of Charroux, selected as one of "Les Plus Beaux Villages en France." We ate in the cafe, shopped at the candlestore, mustard shop, soap store (with soap with a toy in the middle pour les enfants!) and painter's store. We even stumbled upon an adventure race that came through the village, with racers arriving on mountain bike and then scrambling around the town on foot, searching for markers. It was hard not to give them hints, but we did cheer "Allez, allez!"

We achieved our goal of running 30 miles during the week, with 2 runs up to Parc Montjuzet, which Nathan frequented when he lived here before, a run around Lac Chambond in a thunderstorm, a run uphill through the town of Royat and then up a mountain on trail (we can still feel that one in our legs) and then a run on the Tour de Puy de Dome trail here:

Does this sound like a lot of running, hiking, and walking? Indeed it is, and thus we have been able to eat like kings while we've been here. My favorite restaurant has been the Auberge de Mazayes:

A simplified version of my meal there; an aperatif (a mix of champagne and juice I believe, with very light cheese crackers/bread "to tempt the tongue," un vin rouge (red wine), cauliflower soup, pounti pruneaux (tasted like it had spinach, sausage, cheese, prunes, stuffing), canard (with potatoes, cured ham, and yummy sauce), selection of cheeses, and finally fondant aux chocolats. I'm still full. Nathan's entree (more like an appetizer in France) was my absolute favorite (melted St. Nectair cheese!)

I also had a wonderful Cherve Chaud salad at an Auberge at the base of Puy de Dome. The toast on top has olive oil, melted goat cheese, herbs, and honey.

We have lots more pictures of food, but I don't want to taunt too much.

If you're wondering why we suddenly have pictures on our blog, it's because we've been spending the week with our own photographer, Dad Garris! We're so grateful to have pictures!

Tomorrow we're off to Chamonix (and Mont Blanc) for a few days of even more fun. Thanks for reading!

-Jordan