more photos

random france

one more week

not a ton of time left, but plenty of sun in the forecast and things to keep us busy.




the california coach looks like a nice way to roll


this one is for Zeus

fire and wine

it is day 16/28 (i think). just past the halfway point and the trip has been a great success, regarding the quality of friends, france in general, climbing and the weather. the forecast looks great for the next week and i may have discovered some exercises that subdue the rather intense pain eminating from my elbows and biceps after a bit of climbing.

the other day we visited an old 'medieval' town






probably a little too much of the below... maybe next time getting a gite without wireless is the way to go.

more resting and dirty diapers

le rest day

two days ago we took a day off from climbing (almost) and checked out the town of fontainebleau. this is the namesake of the climbing area and the largest urban area within our region. if you are curious, we are staying in la chapelle la reine. it was nice and the weather continues to be outstanding. we have just doubled our numbers as the kearney family showed up last night from gothenburg. they will be staying with us for two weeks at the gite making for a top notch cast of characters..

le gite

our two bedroom apartment complete with wood burning stove. it was built before the french revolution (1789) and provides a nice combination of old country charm and new world comfort (WIFI). you can also see our gloriously expensive rental car in the bottom shot.

le jet lag

after a tumultous week wrapping up (almost) piles of work, i finally boarded the plane for paris on thursday. a couple of things i have learned about traveling to paris:

1. have a plan for meeting people, saying you will meet at the car rental counter will not suffice. mostly because there are 4+ counters for each place.
2. use the same travel service for plane and car rental. otherwise you may start your car reservation on the same day you left the states, or one day earlier than you arrive in paris. at that point, you will pay 4x your original reservation price to get a car on the spot.

beyond that and some other drama driving around the big city, we made it to our little Gite and were pleasantly surprised with the accomodations. the climbing so far is beyond comparison and we have met up with some old friends from the states. my french is completely worthless but it is almost more fun to go to the market, point at something, hold out some money and let them take what they need. the people have been nothing but friendly and energetic.

i feel like i am in an old world war 2 movie driving around through these old french villages. having a hard time uploading photos...