October Friends

Fran, Jacqui's sister, with Alan and Cyane in Central Park.

Gini in Kutztown.

Eileen in the Rodale Garden.

Sheila and Alan in front of the Dakota in New York.

Neil and Rachel's Wedding; October 3, 2009

Choosing flowers above and final bouquet below.

Lots to celebrate and many people did.

Nice Pictures of People in New York

Many of the wonderful human interactions happen in and around the parks.
Above, walkers on the Bow Bridge in Central Park.

Jim, above, walks his dogs around the Sheep Meadow, while others relax on the lawn.

The streets of New York are alive, even at night.

Parts of Broadway have been closed around 35th St, see below, to encourage pedestrian traffic.

Huntingdon, PA House Rehab

Alan is installing new floors after having put in dry wall. He first levels the existing boards, then puts down luan 1/4 " subfloor, and then lays down Ikea laminate flooring (no glue or nails).

You can see the new walls being painted and the new floor below.

Marina, left, and Alan, right, host Claire for breakfast.

The house is surrounded on three sides by a cemetary with great views.

Summer 2009 Trip Summary

Dates:  June 10 to September 10, 2009  (Alan actually started 2 weeks earlier)

We left Brussels on June 13 and arrived in Switzerland on July 4.

We spent two months inside Switzerland.  See chronology below.

Countries:  Belgium, France, Switzerland

Distance:  About 1,700 kilometers bicycled; 1,000 from Brussels to Switzerland and about 700 km inside Switzerland.  250  kilometers hiked.  Went from sea level up to 2,912 meters.

Expense:  Averaged overall about $100 per day.  

We stayed with friends, youth hostels, campgrounds, and Swiss mountain huts.  

With friends, the average cost was about $80/day; on the road we spent about $150/day.

Photos:  If you scroll down in this blog and look for "Older Posts" button in the lower right you can work your way to entries going back in time.  You may have to hit the Older Posts button successively, or you can choose a date from the menu on the right.

Chronology:

13 & 14 June:  Travel from Brussels down the Maas/Meuse River thru Namur, Dinant, Givet

15 - 24 June:  Rent an old house in Haulme, on the Semoy River east of Montherme

25 - 26 June:  Bicycle south from Haulme, generally along the Meuse River visiting Verdun

27 & 28 June:  Stay in Nancy, Alsace

29 & 30 June:  Bike east along the Marne Canal thru Lorraine and into the Rhine region

1 July:  Stay in Strasbourg

2 & 3 July:  Bike south along the Rhine toward Basel

4 & 5 July:  Stay in Basel, Switzerland

6 & 7 July:  Bike southeast from Basel over the Jura Hills and along the Aar River to Zurich

7 - 11 July:  Stay in Zurich with Monica and Andres

12 - 17 July:  Bicycle loop route from Zurich thru: Filzbach, Braunwald, Seelisberg, Luzerne

18 & 19 July:  Zurich

20 - 23 July:  Train trip to Gimmelwald, with hike to Gspaltenhornhut

24 - 31 July:  Zurich

1 - 8 August:  Bicycle trip south over high mountain passes to Locarno Film Festival thru:

  Alpnachstad, Innertkirchen, Hospental, Bellinzona, Locarno, San Bernadino, Hinterrhein Valley.  

9 - 13 August:  Visit in Churwalden with hike to Arrosa

14 - 18 August:  Bike to Frauenkirch and visit in the Davos area

19 - 24 August:  Train trip to Vorderrhein Valley with hikes to Terri hut, Capanna Bovarina, and from Vals to Lanta Hut.

26 - 29 August:  Zurich

30 August - 5 Sept:  Paris, stay in rental apartment in the Fifth Arondissement

5 - 9 Sept:  Stay with relatives in the Fifteenth Arondissement

10 Sept:  Fly Paris to JFK

French Empire Style

The Church of the Madelaine, above, was started as a monument. Construction was started during the Emporer Napolean's reign.
Below, the gate of the Tuileries garden next to the Louvre has many reminders of French Empire style. That is pronounced Em-peer!

Classical allusions in the statuary.

Rectilinear planning lines interrupt the trees in rows and the statuary.

Note the classical arch and the Louvre in the distance.

Paris Belle Streets

The florist shop above was as beautiful as a painting.
People gathered at the neighborhood cafe below on a warm sunny September afternoon.

Art Nouveau makes the subway entrance above and the bread shop below quite beautiful.

Wide open plazas invite families on a Sunday morning.

Paris Streets Can be Hard

Boulevard vistas and uniform facades, above, were created by Baron Hausmann in the 19th Century. Washington DC was modeled on Hausmann's Paris. Today Paris (and DC) have car traffic that has to negotiate the diagonal boulevards.
Paris, below, has a weekly roller blade event that closes streets as the thousands of participants roll past.

There are quite a number of homeless people evident on Paris streets, despite generous social services. The two ladies below are doing their wash in water running in the street gutter.

The wide boulevards are also inviting for walkers with their dogs.

Visiting With Bob and Ann in Paris

Bob and Ann have been coming to Paris for the month of September for 38 years.

They were great tour guides full of helpful information.

Below, Bob takes Alan and Cyane on a tour of the super upscale Fauchand food emporium.
Everything was bathed in a pink glow.

We liked the bottles of Petrus wine for 6,000 Euros a bottle.

Bob and Ann's apartment, below, in the Fourth Arondissement.

Paris: Our Apartment for a Week in the Fifth

Alan found an apartment to rent for a week in Paris.
The Fifth Arondissement is next to the Sorbonne and the Pantheon.
Lots of movie theaters, students, street life, good places to buy food, and watch the sky.

Alan really enjoyed buying the Pariscope weekly to map out movie schedules.