To Fontainebleau and Beyond

To Fontainebleau and Beyond

Having said our sad Goodbyes to Andy and Danielle in Paris, we hopped aboard a train bound for Fontainebleau. We had heard that the town and surrounding villages were worth a look.

There is an amazingly grand 12th century Chateau at Fontainebleau, but you're not going to see it here. Although our hotel was literally next door and we saw a fair amount of the outside and grounds, we seem to have forgotten to take any photos!

The weather turned beautiful the day we arrived. So we decided to spend the second day riding to a few nearby villages instead of waiting in line to see the inside of the Chateau.

We thought that we would just rent a couple of bikes for the morning and have a quick ride through the Forest of Fontainebleau to see Barbizon. We wound up having so much fun that we kept the bikes all day. This allowed us to also visit several villages near the banks of the River Seine: Thomery, Veneux-les-Sablons and Moret-sur-Loing.

Not quite the fancy rides that we had in the Loire valley, but good enough. Here I am adjusting the bikes as we set off through the forest to Barbizon.

"Through the forest" turned out to be all too true! It seems that the nice woman at the bike shop thought that we were interested in a mountain bike tour. We quickly abandoned the trails in favor of isolated, small roads.

We just loved these roads! Many sections, like this one were closed to car traffic.

We had a wonderful ride through the forest. The woods are a bit hilly and offer opportunities for hiking, climbing and picnicing.
Too soon, we emerged from the quiet woods and arrived in Barbizon. Here is Mary Anne in front of the Tourist Information Office.

Here is the local town hall, or Mairie.

A shop that sells umbrellas.

Barbizon has a short one-road district of shops and restaurants surrounded by lots of expensive houses. Here is one.

Here is another.

We had an early lunch at this Creperie before heading back to Fontainebleau to renew our bike rentals for the afternoon.

We headed east through the Chateau's park towards the River Seine. After a steep descent on an ancient abandoned cobblestone road in the forest, we came to a small road running along the river. It took us from village to village until we reached our goal: Moret-sur-Loing.

Moret-sur-Loing, surrounded by an old town wall, was packed with French people just starting to enjoy their annual August holidays.

Here is one corner of the central village square.

Now we're looking 90 degrees to the right of the last photo, towards another gate through the town wall.

Just outside of the wall, lies the River Loing. Nice, eh?

I suppose that a Realtor would call this room above the alley "cozy."

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	Not quite the fancy rides that we had in the Loire valley, but good enough. Here I am adjusting the bikes as we set off through the forest to Barbizon.
	"Through the forest" turned out to be all too true! It seems that the nice woman at the bike shop thought that we were interested in a mountain bike tour. We quickly abandoned the trails in favor of isolated, small roads.
	We just loved these roads! Many sections, like this one were closed to car traffic.
	We had a wonderful ride through the forest. The woods are a bit hilly and offer opportunities for hiking, climbing and picnicing. Too soon, we emerged from the quiet woods and arrived in Barbizon. Here is Mary Anne in front of the Tourist Information Office.
	Here is the local town hall, or Mairie.
	A shop that sells umbrellas.
	Barbizon has a short one-road district of shops and restaurants surrounded by lots of expensive houses. Here is one.
	Here is another.
	We had an early lunch at this Creperie before heading back to Fontainebleau to renew our bike rentals for the afternoon.
	We headed east through the Chateau's park towards the River Seine. After a steep descent on an ancient abandoned cobblestone road in the forest, we came to a small road running along the river. It took us from village to village until we reached our goal: Moret-sur-Loing.
	Moret-sur-Loing, surrounded by an old town wall, was packed with French people just starting to enjoy their annual August holidays.
	Here is one corner of the central village square.
	Now we're looking 90 degrees to the right of the last photo, towards another gate through the town wall.
	Just outside of the wall, lies the River Loing. Nice, eh?
	I suppose that a Realtor would call this room above the alley "cozy."