Day 66: Reims to Paris

Number of tie wraps: 50 (final count)

Countdown: 8585 miles down, 0 to go. We’re in Paris!

Proof that we are really in Paris!

Proof that we are really in Paris! (Eileen Bjorkman photo)

We arrived at our hotel in Paris this afternoon at 2:10, officially ending Leg 1 of the World Auto Tour. Congratulations to Jennifer Quam (who guessed 35 tie wraps) for winning the tie wrap award! I’ll let you sort the prize out with John.

In 1908, the German Protos was the first car to arrive in Paris, but the Thomas was declared the official winner when it came into town four days later on July 30 due to the 30 day penalty assessed to the Protos (15 days for using the train in the U.S. and 15 days for the Thomas to drive to and from Alaska). When the Thomas first entered Paris, George Schuster was almost arrested for not having a headlight, but a bicyclist offered his headlamp. When they couldn’t remove the light from the bicycle, bystanders simply lifted the bicycle into the Thomas between the two front seats and the problem was solved. The Thomas then proceeded to the Grand Hotel for a dinner reception. Click here for the original New York Times article about the Protos arrival in Paris, and click here for the original New York Times article about the Thomas arrival in Paris.

Our arrival into Paris was much less dramatic. We had a short, but wet, drive over from Reims, as you can see from the photo below of a bystander in Paris taking a picture of the Roadster as we passed by. No one was shouting, “Vive le car Americain!” as we passed by as they did for the Thomas in 1908!

Wet arrival into Paris

Wet arrival into Paris (Eileen Bjorkman photo)

Our hotel is very close to the Eiffel Tower, and I even have “une petite” view, as described by the hotel receptionist when I checked into my room.

View of the Eiffel Tower from my hotel room

View of the Eiffel Tower from my hotel room (Eileen Bjorkman photo)

The rainy weather limited our sightseeing this afternoon to a few views of the tower and the Seine River, but we still have tomorrow! We’re also hoping to get a photo op with the cars and the tower before John, Luke and Leo depart for Leg 2 of the tour and tomorrow evening we have a celebratory dinner at a traditional French restaurant. So stayed tuned for more pictures!

I fly back to Seattle on Tuesday, but I plan to continue blogging about the trip as Luke sends me updates.

Day 65: Chimay, Belgium to Reims, France

Number of tie wraps: 50 (holding steady)

Countdown: 8496 miles down, 89 to go

Before we left Chimay today, the Roadster was treated to a professional photography session by Steev’Art. You can see the entire collection at the Steev’Art facebook page. Many thanks to our hosts for setting up the session and for the terrific hospitality the past two days in Chimay.

 

Roadster photo op in Chimay

Roadster photo op in Chimay (Eileen Bjorkman photo)

France announced our arrival the same way as Belgium two days ago — a chirp on my cell phone! I guess this is the modern version of border control in Europe. After taking a few minor detours for GPS errors, we arrived in the small town of Betheny, which is located just outside our destination for this evening, Reims.

 

We're not lost any more!

We’re not lost any more! (Eileen Bjorkman photo)

In 1909, one year after the 1908 New York to Paris race, the city of Reims hosted the world’s first air race. The meet was actually held in the nearby village of Betheny, which had (and still has) wide open spaces for the slow aircraft of the day to use. The stands used for the race have been replaced by a sports complex named after Louis Bleriot (Stade Louis Bleriot), a famous French aviator who participated in the races.

 

Site of the world's first air race, just outside Reims, France

Site of the world’s first air race, just outside Reims, France (Eileen BJorkman photo)

Sign for sports fields now at the site of the world's first air race in 1909

Sign for sports fields now at the site of the world’s first air race in 1909 (Eileen Bjorkman photo)

Before we found Stade Louis Bleriot, we took a wrong turn and stumbled over the gem in the photo below. We found this at the end of a house in a residential area and it depicts the year of the race (1909) as well as some of the race participants and sponsors, including Glenn Curtis, Louis Bleriot, Hugh Farman, Gordon Bennett, and the Wright Brothers.

 

Surprise monument in Betheny to 1909 air race

Surprise monument in Betheny to 1909 air race (Eileen Bjorkman photo)

After a picnic lunch, we arrived at our hotel in Reims about 2:30. At the Cathedral, a five minute walk from the hotel, Karen and I found some pictures of Reims from 1908, which show what Reims would have looked like when the original 1908 racers drove through.

 

Reims in 1908, picture from Cathedral

Reims in 1908, picture from Cathedral (Eileen Bjorkman photo)

Reims in 1908, picture from Cathedral

Reims in 1908, picture from Cathedral (Eileen Bjorkman photo)

Karen and I went out again after dinner to see the “Dream of Colors,” a lighting display on the outside of the cathedral. The 25 minute show began at 11 p.m. and included different lighting effects on the cathedral figures accompanied by music. The still photo below doesn’t really do a good job of conveying the show, so I took some video that will be posted in the next couple of days.

"Dream of Colors" at the cathedral in Reims

“Dream of Colors” at the cathedral in Reims (Eileen Bjorkman photo)

Tomorrow is our last day on the road! We have a short 143 km drive to Paris tomorrow.

Day 63: Cologne, Germany to Chimay, Belgium

Number of tie wraps: 50 (holding steady)

Countdown: 8419 miles down, 166 to go

It was too foggy for a river cruise in Cologne, but before we left we took a short walking tour of the city center that included the magnificent cathedral, which is on the list of “Top Ten Things to See in Germany.” We all agreed that if we had seen this cathedral first, the others we’ve visited would have disappointed. This one was worth the wait, although the photos below don’t really do it justice.

 

Interior of the Cologne Cathedral

Interior of the Cologne Cathedral (Eileen Bjorkman photo)

Example of stained glass window at Cologne Cathedral

Example of stained glass window at Cologne Cathedral (Eileen Bjorkman photo)

 

We hit the road about 11 a.m. after attaching our newly acquired Germany colors to the cars to show our football allegiances during Sunday’s World Cup final.

 

German flag on the Roadster

German flag on the Roadster (Eileen Bjorkman photo)

German colors on the Envoy

German colors on the Envoy (Eileen Bjorkman photo)

 

We didn’t have any major rain during the drive, but fog and mist limited our roadside sightseeing, and I didn’t even notice we had crossed into Belgium until my cell phone blipped a text message welcoming me to Bel Proximus. About 1 o’clock, we exited the highway and drove into the small town of Eupen. We weren’t sure why Eupen had been included on our itinerary, but we figured that once we arrived in town it would be obvious. Eupen was a pretty Belgian town, but not seeing any major tourist attractions, we stopped at a local eatery for some famous Belgian fries, which we kept warm by resting them on the Roadster hood. The people who sold us the fries couldn’t think of any reason why we might want to visit Eupen either!

 

Frites place in Eupen, Belgium

Frites place in Eupen, Belgium (Eileen Bjorkman photo)

Savoring the frites

Savoring the frites (Eileen Bjorkman photo)

 

Refreshed with fries, we drove on to Chimay via a winding and picturesque country road.

 

The road to Chimay

The road to Chimay (Eileen Bjorkman photo)

Sample of the scenery on the way to Chimay

Sample of the scenery on the way to Chimay (Eileen Bjorkman photo)

 

With only about 3,000 people, Chimay is the smallest town we’ve visited during our trip. We’re staying at a beautiful bed and breakfast, Le Petit Chapitre, that dates to the 18th century, comes complete with two cats, and is located on the town square within walking distance of everything we might need — pubs, restaurants, post office, laundromat, store with batteries and potato chips, a nice church and even a castle, which we plan to visit during our day off.

 

La Petite Chapitre Bed and Breakfast in Chimay

La Petite Chapitre Bed and Breakfast in Chimay (Eileen Bjorkman photo)

Calico cat at Le Petit Chapitre

Calico cat at Le Petit Chapitre (Eileen Bjorkman photo)

 

Best of all, we discovered Chimay beer! The beer is brewed by Trappist Monks, and there are four kinds: red, white, blue, and gold. The gold is a special beer that the monks originally kept for themselves, but they now allow a handful of people, including Le Petit Chapitre, to sell very small quantities. Click here for more information about Chimay beer.

We walked to a tavern across the street from our B&B to sample the red, white and blue beers and after dinner we raided our mini-bars to check out the gold. The beer was some of the best we have ever tasted in one of the best settings we can imagine, so our hats are off to Mir for setting us up here!

 

Red Chimay

Red Chimay (Eileen Bjorkman photo)

Gold Chimay

Gold Chimay (Eileen Bjorkman photo)

 

After a day of errands and relaxation in Chimay, we’ll head to Rheims on Saturday, a short drive of 124 km, and then it’s on to Paris!