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 64: Chimay, Belgium

Number of tie wraps: 50 (holding steady)

Countdown: 8419 miles down, 166 to go

Quote of the day: “The tour is only in French.”

We enjoyed a relaxing day in Chimay that included plenty of Belgian food, beer, chocolates, and local sights. For lunch, Luke and Karen ordered fondue, and dipping those pieces of toasted bread into the cheese proved to be harder than it looks. More than one piece of bread slipped off the fork and took a cheese bath before being rescued.

 

Luke demonstrates the proper way to eat fondue

Luke demonstrates the proper way to eat fondue

 

After lunch, several of us toured the Chateau de Chimay, a small castle that has played an outsized role in the history of Chimay, which we learned about in a 20-minute 3-D movie that depicted various scenes from the 1,000+ history of the castle. This castle is different from many “tourist castles” in that a royal family still lives in it — Princess Elisabeth, her son Prince Phillipe, and his wife Princess Francoise. Our innkeepers were guests at the royal wedding when it took place several years ago.

Luke demonstrates proper wear of the 3-D movie glasses

Luke demonstrates proper wear of the 3-D movie glasses

 

The castle houses the sort of elegant objects you would expect, but it also had an unusual art exhibit by Koen Vanmechelen as part of the Cosmopolitan Chicken project, which interbreeds chickens from around the world with the goal to produce a globally diverse chicken. I’m still not sure I understand the significance of that goal, but I think you’ll have to agree that the project has produced some interesting artwork, including the “chog” in the second picture below.

A ball of chickens

A ball of chickens

I'm not sure what to call this -- a chog?

I’m not sure what to call this — a chog?

 

After the tour, we ran back to the town square to catch a tram tour of Chimay and the nearby village of Virelles. After we bought our tickets and settled into our seats, the tram driver said, “The tour is only in French. Is this okay?” We figured we’d at least see some interesting sights, but we hadn’t counted on the tram taking off onto some dirt roads that bounced us around so much we thought we were back in Siberia. However, we did manage to pick up some of the flavor of the local culture.

The tram for our tour

The tram for our tour

One of the many sights we saw during the tram tour

One of the many sights we saw during the tram tour

 

After the tram tour, Karen and I picked up some chocolates from a local store (8 euros for 250 grams of chocolate that would have probably cost $40 in the US) and then met Simon, the other housecat at our bed and breakfast.

Buying a stash of Belgian chocolates -- you can't go wrong with these!

Buying a stash of Belgian chocolates — you can’t go wrong with these!

Simon, one of our roommates

Simon, one of our roommates

 

About 6:30 we ate some chocolates and then wandered back to the town square to take in a free folk music concert and try out some Troll beer.

Free folk music concert

Free folk music concert

Glass for Troll beer

Glass for Troll beer

 

We called it an early night after meeting another Chimay kitty and having a quick bite to eat at a local pub.

 

Yet another Chimay kitty

Yet another Chimay kitty

 

I’ll leave you with the view from my window of the church at night. Tomorrow we drive to Rheims, France, the location of the first-ever air race!

View from my room

View from my room