Col De La Madone – Armstrong Testing Ground

I am currently holidaying in Nice in the South of France, alongside my favourite bike. It’s become something of a tradition for me over the last few years, an escape of sorts, whereby I pack up the bike and pick a location in France where I can try out some new cycling ground, preferably an area which includes one or two famous climbs. This year, the location is Nice (as discussed in my previous post).

Nice is quite a popular spot for cycling enthusiasts, with amateurs of all ages and abilities taking to the roads on all sorts of bikes. It’s also a popular training ground for the pros, with the likes of Team Ineos often seen riding about on these roads and using the mountains for training rides. The roads are quite good in the general area and the coast road from Nice all the way around to Ventimiglia provides both a beautiful and undulating ride, with the option at many stages to turn left off the coast road and head directly up into the Pyrenees mountains.

With a number of challenging climbs available so nearby in the Pyrenees mountains, I felt it incumbent on me to look some of these climbs up, just to see what data was involved and to toy with the idea of maybe trying one out. Among the climbs which I came across was the infamous Col de la Madone (de Gorbio) which begins just outside Menton before the Italian border. This climb is approximately 12.5km long, if you start it from the turn off just after/before Menton on the coast road and although it has never actually featured in the Tour de France, it has a strong association with French cycling and the Tour, primarily because of the notorious Lance Armstrong.

The story goes that Lance used to train on this climb in preparation for the Tour with Dr Michele Ferrari waiting at top for him to take his blood lactate levels upon his arrival. (He doesn’t include this tit bit of information in the interview below, naturally…) If Lance made it up in a “good time”, he knew whether or not he would win the Tour. If Lance was able to maintain 6.8 watts/kg, he knew he could win.

Of course, Lance wasn’t the first to use this climb as a testing ground for the Tour and it continues to be used by pros as a training ground. You only need to take a glance at Strava to see all the big names that regularly take on this climb – Froome, Kwiato, Bardet, Barguil… it goes on and on. So, of course, I wanted to have a go and a go, I had!

I began my ride towards the climb from my base in Nice and took the coast road all the way towards Menton. Just as you head out of Menton, you then take a left turn onto a minor road which heads directly northward and you immediately begin to climb.

Some nice surface at the beginning but it is steep!

The first section is steep – 3km averaging out at 6% – but the first 2km gets up to over 14% in places and plays between 8-10% for a lot of it. The 3rd km gives you a reprieve and drops down to 4-5%, which is a nice break and gives you a chance to take a few photos if that’s your jam.

The road kicks up again after 3km and it more or less stays that way until 8.6 km into the climb – although there are moments where the gradient drops down to 4-5% which feels like a glorious break from some of the steeper sections. So it’s not an all out slog the entire time, which I felt the Aubisque was last year. That being said, it certainly challenging and as I say, there are times when the grade kicks up to 13-14%. You just have to ride through these patches and remember that intermittent reprieves are on the way!

As you continue up this climb, you quickly begin to notice just how high up you’ve suddenly gotten. If you look out (again, at the stunning views), you can see the massive motorway down below suddenly appearing tiny on the landscape and you are way, way above it. It’s very cool, but not for those who don’t do heights so well!

As you tick down the kilometres one at a time, you start to near towards a village called Saint Agnes which is built into the side of the top of a mountain. That’s what you are aiming for. You reach the entrance to this village at about 8.6km and then swing a left turn onto a more minor road again and there you continue into the last leg of the climb.

The village of Saint Agnes, built into the side of the mountain.

2.4km from here to the top. This last section was fine for a while, but it did seem to go on a lot longer than 2.4 km for me – yes it was the end of a 12.5km climb so I was tired but I swear that little dot on my Garmin elevation screen was just not moving at all!! That being said, I have to say that I got into the climb and I still felt able to keep going at this stage and finish the climb strongly, which is something I would not have been able to do last year for sure. Not so long ago, I would have been grinding and grinding, with no pleasure in it at all.

Up, up, up!

Today, I started out feeling tired and doubting that I had any climbing legs, but once I got going and shook out the fatigue, I found I was able for the long climb and its challenges. It was pretty deadly (as they’d say in certain parts of Dublin!)

So I didn’t break any records and Lance’s disgustingly fast records are safe from me, for now. But it just goes to show what you can do when you’ve put in some good training and go into these things with the right mind set – that I’m here to enjoy it and have a good time. I pocketed another big climb and I took away a feeling of being absolutely chuffed with myself.

Oh and I can’t leave it without mentioning the descent on the way back to Nice via La Turbie. Absolutely class! There’s a bit more climbing out of La Turbie and then a bit of flat, but once you get past this and start heading back towards Eze and Nice, there are no more hairpins or dangerous turns and the road is a bit quieter so you can go all hammer time. Brilliant.

If you find yourself in the area, I’d highly recommend it as a climb to do.

P.S – I really want to tell you as well, while I’m here, that I did have the best ham salad baguette when I got back and had my shower. I nipped across to the boulangerie and bought a proper french baguette and some ham (not in the boulangerie…) and voila – the perfect lunch. Who doesn’t love France?!

 

A Nice Cycling Adventure – The French Riviera

It’s that time of the year again when I pack a bag, throw my bike over my shoulder and head to France for some cycling fun. This year – Nice, Cote d’Azur on the South East Coast of France.

The french Riviera is famously regarded as the holidaying location of the elite and has been so for many, many years. Although there is certainly still a strong presence of this, as evidence by the high price of food and accommodation, the sheer amount of designer shops (Louis Vuitton is beneath my apartment building…) and the common sightings of Ferraris, Porsches and supercars, it appears that the area has in more recent times, also become a holiday destination for the  common person. Amid the Gucci, Versace and Karl Lagerfeld onslaught, there are plenty of tourists and locals trailing around the boardwalk, armed to the gills with inflatable rings, picnic baskets and Lays crisps. It’s a real mixed bag, clearly thriving and asbolutely bustling with people and activity. A happening place, you might say.

I’ve wanted to visit this region of France for a long time, having seen so many pictures and movies based here but it always put me off that it was that bit more expensive to visit. I decided to stay at a small flat which I found through Airbnb and while it is small, it’s very cute. More importantly, it’s clean, quiet and has a wonderful air con system! Accommodation and food etc, is generally more expensive than other parts of France I have visited but I would still 100% recommend visiting Nice and the general area.

Three reasons to visit – It is absolutely stunning, the food is great and it is a cracking cycling spot. My first day here, I took a spin along the seafront from Nice heading eastwards towards the Italian border. The road takes you all along the seafront, going up and down with a few testy climbs, through villages and towns and each corner you turn reveals another stunning vista of the bay. There aren’t enough words to accurately describe just how beautiful the views are – you just need to see them.

I’ve taken a few different routes so far – including a long spin through Monaco, Menton and on across the Italian border to Ventimiglia. That was fun, just to be able to say I did two countries in one day and pass back and forth across the border. Another day, I headed up a climb to a town called La Turbie, and yesterday I took a different approach to La Turbie and continued climbing northwards past this town toward the historical town of La Peile.

Another day I headed westwards from Nice along the coast and visited Antibes and Cannes. Antibes is beautiful and there was a huge market there on Sunday when I passed through it. It seemed like a lovely spot to visit and it’s definitely worth a visit. Cannes was very disappointing – very commercialised and forgettable. If you are thinking of visiting the area, I’d skip Cannes and visit Antibes instead. The Cap d’Antibes in particular is absolutely beautiful.

It’s just blindingly blue sky competing with sparkling blue sea views, and a stream of turning corner after corner of stunning vistas – a touch of heaven!

As ever, the bike has been so great at allowing me to visit so many villages and towns that I otherwise would never have experienced. I also definitely got some incredible views of Nice and the Bay of Angels from the heights of the mountains that I just wouldn’t have ever seen if I didn’t have the bike. What can I say?? The bike it just the best way to get around and explore a new place. I can’t recommend it enough.

I took this near the top of the climb from La Turbie heading into La Peile, an historic village nestled at the top of the mountains.

On the cycling side of things, the roads in the area are generally good and there are some serious climbs to challenge yourself on. Even if you don’t go looking for it, the road along the seafront is itself characterised by a number of significant ascents/descents so if you’re considering trying out cycling in the area, keep in mind that this is not an easy or flat cycling territory. Although it is quite flat towards Cannes – the road has an insane amount of traffic lights every 50m or so for the first while and it’s all main road so it’s not particularly nice and to be frank, it completely put me off ever going back in that direction. I also had a headwind on the way back, which made it even more painful… Not my bag TBH.

The view from Antibes looking toward Cannes.

I’ve a few other rides in mind for the rest of my time here in Nice. First up, is the famous Col de la Madone, which has featured in the Tour de France on many occasions. It looks long and brutal so I may not make it all the way but as it’s in the area, I think it would be a waste not to at least give it a go and have the experience. I’m also thinking of doing a one way spin to San Remo and coming back via the train. As another well known cycling destination, it would be cool to see it and also… one could grab an Italian coffee and gelato while in the neighbourhood!

A tour a l’heure!

 

 

 

Trip to Pau: Tour De France Holiday

Freshly back from my recent trip to the south of France to follow the Tour de France as it made its way from the Pyrenees across to the Alps, I posted last time about my general Tour de France experience. I’m not going to plague you with lots of posts about the trip but I did think it would be helpful to run a few posts about the places I stayed in, particularly as there are not too many guidebooks or tourist information of any kind about either Pau or Rodez.

And it is the holiday season, after all…

I was naked of information on my trip, but you needn’t be. Or at least, you could be bikini-clad after this… not promising anything mind you 😉

First off, and ahem, most importantly…

Good Boulangeries

You think when you go to France there will be bakeries on every corner. True but also just not true. They seem to be one of those kinds of things – you seem to see them all the time when you’re not looking but then when you want one, you can’t find a single one.

Now, Pau does have a few excellent boulangeries so I would like share this valuable intel. The ones I would recommend are:

1. Brioche Doree – Avenue de Lattre (Just off Boulevard des Pyrenees)

This was the best croissant I sampled while in Pau and also, probably overall during my entire south of France excursion. It was slightly more expensive (at 1.20) but I grabbed a coffee and croissant deal for 2 euro which I was pretty damn impressed with given that you wouldn’t get either a coffee or a croissant of this quality for less than 2 euro in Ireland. You can also sit outside and enjoy your brekkie if you like. Or you can do what I did and wander the half a minute down to the Boulevard des Pyrenees and enjoy your breakfast while admiring the stunning views into the mountains.

2. Boulangerie at corner of Rue Cazaubon Norbet and Rue de Camot 

If you happen to be staying anywhere around Rue de Camot, this is a great, traditional, small bakery and they do excellent bread and croissants – again for pennies. This place was half a minute from where I was staying so it was my go-to. However, if you don’t get here before 10:30am, don’t bother. The croissants will be gone.

3. Le Pain Pascal – At the corner of Rue de Liege and Rue Bayard

Good croissants, bread and some gorgeous other baked goods, including fruit tarts and patisseries. Again, you need to get here early for there croissants or you’ll be leaving empty handed. Or with hands full of french patisserie… Up to you, really.

Getting to Pau

Pau is a place I probably never would have visited (or even heard of, if I’m honest) if it hadn’t been selected by the Tour de France organisers as the finish/ start point of a stage of the race. It’s a small french town in the South, not exactly used to the same flow of people as say, Paris.

Impressively, however, you will find that Pau is very accessible. There is a solid train station and a regular train service, with trains travelling from Biarritz, Toulouse, Paris and most other large cities in France – the train service in France is generally excellent. I have found that you can pretty much make up whatever route you like and the rain service will work with you to help plan your trip. Unlike the Irish rail system, the french trains are brilliantly well run, very regular and the system operates wonderfully. I accept that I have limited experience, but I have always found it a good experience.

The train station is located 5 minutes walking distance from the Boulevard de Pyrenees and the main town area. I would however, point out that there is a breath-taking climb from the train station up to the town – don’t be shocked when you emerge from the station and see what’s facing you. Either embrace it and heave ho….or take the funicular. Your call.

Pau also has its own airport, if you’re less into trains and more into the easy-get-me-there-quick options. It’s not far from the town and there is a shuttle bus that leaves from the airport every hour. On return to the airport, the shuttle bus departs from the train station again every hour, from 7.05 am onward and tickets cost a massive 1.50 euros.

What to do in Pau

Pau is a beautiful old french town perched on top of a hill with stunning views of the Pyrenees mountains. If you like to cycle, I’d recommend bringing your bike as you’re so close to the mountains that you’ll find once you leave the town, you’re into the mountains within about 15 minutes.

Needless to say, the climbs are good and the views are worth the effort.

Pau is a what you might call “a big town” – small enough to be able to walk around to everything but big enough that there you won’t find yourself always eating in the same restaurant or drinking coffee from the same place every day. By day three, I had got my bearings and knew my way around pretty well. There is a big shopping area, if you like to shop and there is generally a nice buzz about the town, full of people and a nice atmosphere.

In terms of what to expect from Pau as a destination, it’s a pretty, relaxed, quaint French town and somewhere to chill out for a few days. Bring your “ready to relax” hat, a book and pick up some great local wine, cheese and fresh bread from the town and you’ll be well set to recharge the batteries.

Bon chance!

A Day at the Greatest Cycling Event on Earth: Tour de France

A day’s stage of the Tour de France looks a bit like an instalment of the Hunger Games -an unsympathetic game of elimination in which 198 riders start together and ride progressively faster for 150-plus kilometres until a combination of tired bodies, nasty crashes and mechanical mishaps leaves one small group of riders out in front.

The finale inevitably involves either a flat all-out sprint or an unfathomably steep climb up some ridiculous mountain, where the roads narrow and the riders enter a human tunnel of overexcited fans who lose all sense of self-control, screaming and running around the riders like they’ve completely lost their minds.

The riders battle through the crowds, fighting fatigue and their own mental demons, wrestling with each other as the tension rises and team rivalries start to spill over. Bodies are forced to the absolute max, as riders begin to drop off one by one, ultimately leaving one rider who can grind it out to the line pushing past everyone else, pushing past all the pain, fatigue and aching limbs to say screw you all, I am the strongest today. I am the strongest despite the ultimate test of hell you just put me through.

Fail to make the time cut, don’t bother coming back tomorrow. If you do, you get to go home, rest up and come back tomorrow and do it all again. And every other day after that for the next 23 days.

It’s the toughest endurance event on earth, without question. My own feelings on the Tour de France have always been that if you make it onto a Tour de France team and finish the three weeks, that in itself is a massive achievement. Putting aside placement or any thoughts of winning stages or, dare I say, one of the coveted jerseys. Just finishing the race – is HUGE.

This is a race with no sympathy. No room for moaners, wusses or posers. This race will weed out the weak and spit out the pretenders. It’s part of what makes this race truly great. It’s the hardest and the best of cyclists, competing against each other on some of the world’s toughest climbs across the French Alps, Pyrenees and Massive Centrale.

Brutal.

I’ve wanted to go to the Tour de France ever since I read David Walsh’s book on Lance Armstrong – Seven Deadly Sins. Not for the reasons you might think! David wrote about driving around following the tour as a journalist from place to place, day after day and just being apart of the tour story. Feeling the drama as it unfolded around the French countryside.

This year, I went.

I didn’t follow the tour for the full three weeks, because of work… and other boring reasons. I followed it for a week. I greeted the tour as if came into Pau, witnessing Marcel Kittel soar to victory in a sprint victory, before then moving eastwards to Rodez and Laissac. It was magic. The atmosphere in the french towns on the day the race was due to arrive was fantastic – pure joy and like the biggest parade you could imagine. Old and young come out, all day to line the streets and raise the atmosphere.

What You Can Expect Spectating at The Tour…

You will stand for four-five hours under a hot sun if you want a good spot next to the barriers at the finish line… and you will only see the cyclists for five seconds (ish). If you’re clever, you pick a spot along the route with some sharp corners or on a climb where the riders are forced to slow. That way, it takes much longer for the riders to move past you and you get to see them for longer. Also, these spots are much less populated so you don’t need to arrive here until maybe 30 minutes before the peloton is due to arrive.

You will get close enough to the cyclists after the race to hug them!

It’s good craic waiting for the race to arrive so don’t be put off by the long wait time. You can chat to the other people waiting and get to hear lots of good stories. There’s also the caravan which always arrives ahead of the peloton, which is basically a big parade. The finish line area also has lots of big screens showing the actual race, which you can watch as you wait. If you’re the chilled variety and are not fussed about being right next to the barriers, you can also bring a fold up chair, your book and a picnic and just sit at the side of the road and chill out until the race is about to arrive.

The boys doing their cool-down bit. Bora’s Bodnar was THE break of the day, having been in the break from the beginning and then going solo from 25km from the line, he so nearly managed to hold off the peleton only to eventually be caught in the last 400m. Hate that!

My experience of being apart of the Tour de France was fantastic and I loved it. The atmosphere was definitely worth travelling for and is something special that I will always remember. And as for the south of France, in general, I’m happy to report that it was beautiful, relaxing and thoroughly enjoyable. In fact, I’m already thinking I may be making this trip an annual event.

Tomorrow, Chris Froome will ride his bike from Montegron to Paris with a glass of champagne in hand, tipping his hat to his fourth Tour de France victory. This will be the fourth time he has proven himself to be the toughest, grittiest, strongest cyclist in the world.

Or just the most stubborn.

Making Your World Bigger

I live in a small world.

I get up, put my cycling gear on and head out the door to work in Dublin. I do my work day, mostly in the office in the city centre and sometimes out and about around the country. At the end of the day, it’s back into the cycling gear, train home, make dinner, watch some TV and bed. Gym one or two evenings a week and I also venture out to the Dublin suburbs to stay with my Grandad one or two evenings too.

At weekends, I’m also pretty boring – long cycles around Kildare, Meath, Laois or out towards the Wicklow mountains. Then it’s food, meeting up with friends for coffee around Kildare or doing something nice with my cousin and my little goddaughter. I drink about 5 times a year and go out on the town even less than that. I love a good night out and getting my dance on, but the opportunities are few and far between these days with most of my friends (who I would do these things with!) having moved away or emigrated.

But I’m also the kind of person who is quite happy in myself and mostly content in my own company – reading, cooking, going to the cinema, following sports, whatever. I’ve always been good at keeping myself entertained and finding something to do.

I love my little world. It reassures me in many ways and I feel lucky to have somewhere I feel safe and somewhere I can call home.

But lately, I have started to feel like my world is too small and I have this itch to break out and blow it wide open – run in every direction and see where it takes me – let it tear me down, re-design me and build me back up, one foreign brick at a time.

Breaking Out

I was lucky enough to be given a last minute opportunity at work to go to Scotland for a week to take part in a work-related course. I jumped at it – to my surprise more than anyone else’s… I am such a person of routine – I make the same things for dinners, for lunches and supper – I do much the same things every day of the week – but when given the opportunity to drop it all and have a whole week of newness and the unknown, I didn’t even hesitate.

Funky building in a park in Hamilton where I went for a wee walk

I had a great week in Scotland, despite a wee bit of rain 😉

Big building in Hamilton, Scotland where I was for the week

I met loads of great people with incredible experience, who were a joy to meet and get to know.

I didn’t take any pics as I was driving, but this cool looking island could be seen all along the coastal drive and it was amazing looking!

I saw a whole new country with stunningly beautiful scenery.

I felt free.

This trip reminded me of what life is about and what my soul really wants. I forget this. I forget because the day-to-day needs and foggery gets in the way, clouds my view and makes me forget. It forces my soul to submit, conform and behave.

But I don’t want to conform anymore.

I want to be bold, break out and live in the big, big world around me.

Tomrrow, I go to the south of France to see the Tour de France in person. First stop Biarritz, then on to Pau, Toulouse and Rodez. I can’t wait. Sun, tiny villages in the south of France, pro cyclists up close (and hopefully personal) and pure unadulterated freedom.

Freedom to roam, freedom to discover and freedom to just be me. Away from everything I know, all the crap and away from my little world into a much, much bigger one.

Surviving Christmas Shopping

Christmas shopping is not for the faint-hearted or weak-willed.

No, no my friends. This is the time for the battle-hardened shopper, likely to have been in training for months, to take centre stage. To come into their own. And ultimately, to utterly outshine, as you’ve never before seen, the novice.

If you think shopping is not a sport, prepare to be amazed.

There are techniques and strategies the expert shopper could teach you that would rock your world and as anyone who has ever gone Christmas shopping knows, you can most certainly win or lose.

Enter the arena with no list, no strategy, no time-plan and at the wrong time of the day… and you’ll more than likely end up curled in a fetal position in the corner of some coffee shop with a sad few bags, teetering on tears, wishing you could Sabrina-the-Teenage-witch yourself back home. I’ve been that sad person. Trauma is the only word I can use to describe it.

You do not want to be traumatised.

I’m not an expert shopper but I do come from a family of said experts who have ingrained certain fundamentals in me that I feel I should pass on in the spirit of Christmas giving. Happy shopping and best of luck!

1. The Early Bird Catches the Worm. Go early. If you can, get into town before the shops even open. There are many benefits.

Parking – This will give you a chance to find a nice parking spot without having to drive around for ages looking for a space or having to park miles away, which can induce further trauma at the end of the day when you’re lugging back all those shopping bags.

Quiet Shops – Uh, how much nicer is it to have some actual space inside shops to let you walk around and look at things without bumping into people at every turn…

Empty Streets – Have you seen Grafton Street on Christmas week? Looking at it even makes me panic. Shopping takes twice as long when the streets are busy, constantly having to weave in and around other people, or push past all the tourists and people “soaking up the atmosphere”… I like a soak as much as the next person, but only once the shopping is done 😉

Grafton St. at Christmas is utterly charming… not so much when it’s heaving. Get there early.

Get in early, get everything done and then you can sit and chill with a coffee watching the world go by. THEN you can soak and enjoy it all.

2. Make a List – Just like Santa does. Make a list of people you want to buy for, the presents you think you’re going to get them and the shops you need to hit for these particular items. This will save a big chunk of time and aimless wandering, which you can use later to enjoy properly.

Don’t waste your day fretting and clueless.

3. Bring a Wing Man – Christmas shopping can be daunting and overwhelming. So many presents to buy, so many shops to go to and just SO MANY PEOPLE to push your way past. At some stage, you might find yourself crumbling and losing the will to live. A good wing-man to keep up your spirits and inject a bit of fun or some light banter is the perfect antidote.

Not to be underestimated.

4. Coffee Breaks – Essential. Caffeine for an extra kick, sugar from a good snack and fuel for the soul is exactly what’s needed to keep you going when the energy levels start to flag.

Making time for coffee is a solid investment, guaranteed to generate a good return.

My thing is usually to have coffee when I first get into the city (after point 1) and have parked the car – talk strategy with my Mum and review the shopping lists and plan. We then get as much done as possible before stopping again around lunchtime for a gingerbread latte and muffin. Nutrition aside, this does wonders for my soul.

5. Don’t Lost the Run of Yourself – Wandering around the shops, it can be so easy to find yourself picking up extra bits and pieces for people, which soon add up. It can seem like a nice idea at the time but if you have list with presents for everyone on it, then stick to it. The presents you’ve already put thought into are likely to be far better than anything you pick up off the cuff.

Stand firm.

6. Wrapping Paper – This isn’t an essential, just a handy tip. Check your storeroom or attic (or wherever it is that you keep all your Christmas crap) before you hit the shops. You might find that you already have a few rolls of wrapping paper leftover from last year. I always do.

Just a few rules to help you on your way. Not too many, just enough to remember 😉

HAPPY CHRISTMAS SHOPPING!!!!!!!!!!!

 

Eating Paris & Recovery

So I’ve been mindful lately that I tend to neglect the foodie part of this blog and seen as I was in Paris last week for the marathon, I thought it would be an opportune moment to indulge in a bit of gastronomy. And to let you have a look, of course.

When in Paris…

Paris is nothing if not a foodie mecca. There are more boulangeries, cafes and restaurants than you could possible imagine. I did some research online about possible restaurants we could eat in and boulangeries where we could find some nice bread but this turned out to be completely unnecessary. There were boulangeries on every corner and every single one was stocked with the most incredible homemade baguettes, breads and patisseries. If anything, the selection was somewhat overwhelming, making the decision as to which place to buy from and which pastries to choose a most difficult one! If you’re planning a trip to Paris, do not be afraid mes amis – it seems that you cannot lose.

The first couple of days of my stay in Paris required a bit of every fibre of discipline in my being to hold off on baguettes, pastry and rich, delicious, butter-soaked french food. Marathon running and rich food do not go together and in hindsight, with the weather conditions proving so uncomfortable on the day of the race, I was so glad that I had been careful with food beforehand, as the combination of the two would likely have resulted in gastro disaster. I stuck to simple sandwiches and pre-made meals that I brought with me, along with the usual fruit, yogurts and granola bars.

After the marathon on Sunday, I was free to eat Paris. I like to think I did my best.

I’m nothing if not a trier.

Croissants for breakfast on the morning after the marathon, along with Nespresso coffee made by yours truly with the able assistance of a Nespresso coffee maker in my hotel room. So good – I’d never used one before but wow – I found it hard to restrain myself from drinking these bad boys back to back. Obviously, having this handsome devil in my room determined that I would be the host for breakfast every morning for the remainder of our stay.

My delayed revelation of coffee pods & Nespresso. What wonderful little things they are.

After walking miles and miles on Monday around Pere Lachaise, Notre Dame, Saint Chapel and Conciergerie, stopping for lunch along the Seine was essential. Papa went for a crepe with smoked salmon and cream cheese (ably assisted by Mama!) while I happily filled my very happy face with a classic baguette with ham, cheese and salad. Good job.

Like Paris, beautiful and intimidating but inevitably seductive and delicious! 🙂 🙂 🙂

 

On Monday and Tuesday evenings, after our adventures touring Paris, we chose to have dinner in local places, short walks away from the hotel, which was nice as it meant we could just walk home afterwards without the need for metro or any more hectic activity.

Les Amis Des Messina, Rue de Faubourg-St Antoine

Scrummy pasta in an unknown but delicious garlicky sauce. (Apologies for poor lighting in pic)

I’m often criticised by a lot of people as being overly rigid when it comes to food and diet when I’m in training for an event. I love them but I don’t agree – I like what I eat and I like routine – it’s just part of who I am. I eat a lot and I understand that training for a big event like a marathon or triathlon takes a huge toll on the body so for me, eating well and healthily is important. I don’t want to get injured and not be able to participate in events, and I also want to improve and become stronger as a runner and triathlete. So I eat good food that I hope nourishes my body and helps build me up. And if I appear to be rigid to others, then so be it. However, after a big event like a marathon, I relax. I drink and eat stuff I don’t normally do and I have a bit of fun with it all. Paris was no different- I just had a different playground for the first few days 😉

Mi-cuit chocolate at Les Enfants Perdus. That’s chocolate fondant to you and me. Direct translation is “half-baked”. Rightly so.

Every evening, I drank wine and I ate dessert. Chocolate fondants every night, seen as you ask. With ice-cream and a double espresso. The french, it seems, are masters of the chocolate fondant and who am I to argue. R.E.S.P.E.C.T.

L’Atmosphere beside Canal St.Martin. Good food, great service (again) & perfect last supper.

Merci Paris. Until next time…

Le Grand Epicerie is a must visit for foodies. Think Selfridges food hall in London, but with Parisian perfection. No words, my friends. There are no words.