The greatest reward and luxury of travel, is to be able to experience everyday things as if for the first time, to be in a position in which almost nothing is so familiar it is taken for granted. ~ Bill Bryson
We are in France on a house sit near Paris. This is our first venture out from the home where we are staying in La Celle St Cloud, and to get to know the area, we decided to take a walk to the Seine.
As you do when you're in Paris.
So off we headed, got totally confused when the road went one way and seemed to fork off, so we decided to come home again to check google maps. Ah Ms Google Maps I love you... off we headed again, more decisively this time, our destination... Bougival Bridge.
You are leaving La Celle St Cloud.
Seems like we're headed in the right direction now. We figured if we got lost then all we needed to do was to hop on a bus to come home again.
I don't know if you have ever read Bill Bryson or not, but if you have read any of his travel books, you will be aware of the walks he does and the adventures his walks take him on. I was thinking of him on this walk, he's encouraged me to be braver in unfamiliar territory, to venture out and see where you end up. If had been on a bus or in a car, we'd have missed most of this beautiful area.
It's the little things you see on a walk, that encourage you to explore... something grabs your attention from a side street and you walk to see it, only to find a great little restaurant hidden there, with the best food you have ever eaten.
Right now most of the little shops are shuttered, closed down for the summer season for the month of August. This was one of the few shops we saw open as we passed by.
Or, perhaps you see a water fountain, a fountain older than the country you come from.
The Seine River from Bougival Bridge
We were ready for lunch but everything was shuttered that we could see, so we headed back up the road to see what we could find... memo to self, bring water on your walk next time.
We stopped off at the fruit stall and thought we'd sit for a while at the side of the road, but soon afterwards found La Basilic Rouge... hungry and ready for a stop, we headed into this calm inviting place de delight. The waiter was good natured with our lack of language and brought us delightful lunches - best salad I've ever had.
Soon it was time to head back to take Hudson for his evening walk.
A lovely street to wander up and wonder if Jules ever lived here...
Love the fire hydrants
