Pffftt, Hills on a bicyclette, and a "cadeaux"

looking up!
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Sunday, September 16.

Today I rented a bike for the rest of the week. Lo Ca Cycle is on Rue Jean-Jaques-Rousseau (02-47-57-00-28). The 21 speed touring bikes are brand new, and rent by the half day, full day or more. Three days for me was 37 euros. The man I rented from spoke no english, but just as we in america speak LOUDER to a foreigner, he just got more animated with his french to me. My bike came with a pump (little man shows the pumping action and makes an air sound, pffftt), a can of air (demonstration of putting can to tire, a twist and a push of a button...another pffftt), and a removable wire basket that hangs off the side of the rear tire area. Again, I have to say the french are so ingenious. The basket comes with a flip up handle so I can take it with me and use as a shopping basket. Back to the little french man, who is linking circles on a map to show me circuits I can ride on day un, day deaux, day trois, and the distances, which are all about 35km (about 25 miles). I'm sure he is telling me more, but I just smile and nod.

just as we in america speak LOUDER to foreigners, he just got more animated in his French to me

the church of St Denis
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It is already mid afternoon, so I decide I may try to ride just to Chenonceau, which sits on the River Cher, and is about 8 miles (an hour ride). The little man forgot to tell me the first two miles are straight uphill! Also, there are no bike trails here per se, you ride on the skinny road with the cars, and occasionally a painted bike on the street indicates you are going the right way. Sometimes there are directional signs, sometimes not. As I said before, the French only tell you half of what you need to know! This may take longer than I think. I turn back around and thoroughly enjoy the coast downhill!

Pagode de Chantaloupe
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I end up at La Place St Denis in town and decide instead to ride to the Pagode De Chantaloupe, a 44m high pagoda tower built on the site of a mini chateau that was destroyed in the 1800's. I cut through the parking lot of the beautiful old St Denis church to avoid traffic, and ride up another hill. There is a raised asphalt sidewalk, and I ride on that, never passing a single pedestrian. The road widens and levels out, and after 15-20 minutes I am there. This is a nice ride, but I wouldn't recommend it for children or people with lousy balance!

the stairway to heaven
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After paying my entry fee (6 euros, but the ticket says "etudiante". Am I given a reduction because it's Sunday? Because I certainly don't look like a student...Well, she also gives me literature in french only. Maybe she's not paying attention), I walk down a long path that leads to the tower. There is a gift shop and cafe with red metal tables and chairs outside in the garden, and an informational movie, in French only. I skip that. The path takes you past all sorts of ancient games which you are encouraged to play. This is great for adults and kids, and very hands on. I didn't know the ancient French loved playing so much. There are labyrinths to roll your ball through, and one standing board with holes that you guide your ball through with right and left pulley ropes, very subtle movements. There are hoop toss games, bowling pins, and puzzles. Mom! There is the precursor to skee-ball, where you roll the ball up a ramp to land in holes to gain points. You can flip disks into cups and play an air hockey type game , launching your "man" with a elastic band through a slot. It's a beautiful day, and people are playing games at the edge of a manmade half moon shaped lake filled with ducks and a single black swan, the silhouette of an exotic leaning tower of Pisa type structure vaulting straight up into the sky. Really an amazing moment.

looking up at the 7 layer cake
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Built by the Duke of Choiseul, a minister of Louis XV, the tower was a monument to his supportive friends who visited after he screwed up and was exiled in disgrace to his home here on the property.( It can't have been THAT bad to live here, they called it "little Versailles"). I guess in 1775 everything Chinese was the rage, and the" Pagode" is at once French and oriental in architecture. A winding stairway takes you all the way to the top, like walking up through a seven layer cake. The railings are filigreed, the windows are tall and slender with opening french doors on each level and a balcony that wraps around so you can step outside. The walls are marble, some floor tiles remain, and mind you, this is all basically an outdoor structure, not made to live in. I stop going outside on the narrow balconies around level 4...you are really high, and you can view miles in all directions. Down looks particularly far. At the top you can see what must have been the long reflection pool that led to the old house, flanked by two carriage trails and dotted with benches on which to sit and ponder the meaning of life. Too bad there's no water in that pool anymore. No body has said what destroyed the house, and I don't know how to ask. I stay until they close at 7, and have a beer at the cafe before I leave. Just when I think my French is getting good, the server brings me an ice tea. That does NOT sound like biere.

single file please, and be sure to duck!
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I take a shortcut on the way home, past a "sports school" and a hospital, and there is no traffic on these streets. You can't really get lost here, eventually you will see the castle in the air to guide you home. I am just in time for dinner (they serve most nights until 9:30 pm, but I get shut out at Le Parvi. It's full). I guess dinner out on Sunday night beneath a low lighted castle with candle-lanterns on the parapet walls is a popular idea. I make reservations for another night, and find a smaller bistro around the corner with outside tables in a garden by a creek. The food is just OK, but the ambiance is  very soothing and quiet. The sound of rushing water, laughter and the clink of glasses..Nice. My dinner is salmon and skate cooked in foil, and the chef brings it out himself, presenting it to me..."madame, un cadeaux." (a present for me!). The server brings me rose' wine when I have asked for white. Actually it's pretty good, so I drink it. New experiences are good things.

beautiful windows in the tower
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I walk my bike home under the stars and leave it in the hallway downstairs.

Good Night.