During the US portion of my road trip I would work each rest day.  However, in Europe I spent my days enjoying the sites, instead working at night allowing me to be on the same work schedule as my firm’s Salt Lake City office.  Some of my favorite rest day activities included:

1) Paris.

I climbed A LOT in Fontainebleau (I took perhaps 5 rest days over the 3 weeks) as it was the main reason for this trip.  I had previously, in 2003, taken a “tourist” trip to explore numerous European cities, so didn’t feel badly with my focus mainly being on climbing.  That being said, I did spend a handful of days in Paris, visiting either my previous favorite sites or seeking out the ones I missed during my earlier trip.  I must admit… I LOVE PARIS! Love, love, love it. I feel like it would be an optimal city to inhabit (and I truly hope to live there one day) as it is chock full of culture and fabulous restaurants, it is a large city providing a wide range of employment, plus is a mere hour  from Fontainebleau.

I fell in love with the Notre Dame cathedral on my previous European trip and so ensured I hit it up again on this trip.  It was the perfect time to visit as the tulips were in full bloom and just simply beautiful.

“Graffiti” in Marais, the art district of Paris.

Though touristy, I must admit that I love the Place du Tetre with all of it’s artists and the adjacent winding streets of Montmarte.

I visited the Picasso museum and loved every minute of it, especially the very obvious evolution of Picasso’s work over his lifetime.  This piece, Three Women and Their Toilets, was one of my favorites as it was a wall size mural made of wood and brightly colored wall paper.

I love self portraits, with this one being one of my all time favorites. =) Me in front of the Picasso museum.

I enjoyed relaxing at the Jardin du Luxemborg by watching a family play Bacci ball on a lazy Sunday afternoon.

This vintage Vespa seemed a necessary piece in front of this Montmarte hipster cafe.

2) The Fontainebleau Castle.

The castle in Fontainebleau is magnificent with parts of the chateaux being used as early as the 12th century. I had arrived late on both the days I visited and so walked only around the gardens. Now that I look through some of the online galleries, I think I need to go back and walk through the grandiose interior. 

3) Exploring the Neighboring Villages.

One day I rode Helen’s bike into La Chappelle Reine to the local grocery store, ATAC. (Yes, the name of the store is pronounced the same as the word “attack” to which Guillaume stated it was not because of potential danger but rather to their aggressive prices. Ha ha!) I quickly learned that it had been quite a long time since I had ridden a bike, and also that the store was quite a bit further than anticipated.  Ha! Yet the view was spectacular. This picture was taken while riding down the street. =)

This house was located in Le Vaudoue near Guillaume’s house and was one of my favorite sights to see each morn.

On my first trip to Bas Cuvier, one of the most popular crags, I temporarily got lost in Barbizon. It was a great place to get lost, being a quaint village known to previously house many Impressionist artists.  I personally loved the lilacs that would hang from the buildings.

4) Meeting New People and Learning about Different Cultures.

I met this crew of Germans on one of my first days, actually the day when I was bouldering at Le Diplodocus.  They invited Guilluame and I to join them at their gite for dinner … which soon evolved into lots of drinking and music.  It was an excellent time!  In this video Guillaume is playing one of my all time favorite songs “The Girl from Ipanema”.  He soon learned that he should have never let me know that he knew this song on the guitar as I requested it daily. =)  Guillaume also teased my friendly nature and started putting in requests of which culture he would like me to meet next so that he could also befriend them when he later joined me at the crag.  He would joke that I would walk to the boulder fields and say, “Hey, I’m Rachel. Would you be my friend and spot me?”  HA HA! =)  

5) Other Sites of Interest

A site I did not visit, but heard was worth the stop is Chartres Cathedral.  It is a UNESCO World Heritage Site due to its fine example of French gothic architecture and heard from my Finnish friends that the stained glass windows were amazing.  

If interested in business, the MBA school Insead is located in Fontainebleau.  It is a school I have always considered attending and so spent some time walking around the campus.