Thursday, February 4, 2010

Yet Another Walk in the Woods


I didn't expect to get any sympathy yesterday and I sure didn't get any. But I had a great walk in the woods from St. Nom La Breteche to St. Germain en Laye with wonderful company. The trains were scarcely running but the turnstiles were open and the ride was free. Although the trail was quite muddy, the weather gods conspired to give us a day considerably less chilly than Tuesday. The rain was fleeting and we found a nice sheltered spot for lunch; under the tree, the pine needles were scarcely damp.

The highlight of the walk came at the end and began with short steep uphill to this amazing circle of trees.



We turned to the right and there was a long promenade poised on the edge of a cliff looking to the east. The promenade stretched over a kilometer, from the forest to the chateau and the town.



What once were farms with orchards, pastures, and vineyards to feed the court when they were ensconsed at the chateau is now a mix of fields, housing, highways, railways, and all manner of urban civilization. We had a grand view of La Défense with the bonus of the ever present Eiffel Tower and the Tour Montparnasse in the distance.

8 comments:

Suburban Princess said...

Looks like a beautiful way to spend the day!

debbie in toronto said...

wow....that's amazing...love the views....and thanks for sharing the pictures...

I think we are a little winter weary and cranky these days.

Anne in Oxfordshire said...

Hi Anne

Love the photo of the circle of trees...you had a great walk, I would of joined you if I lived near you. :-) Such a great view over Paris, oh yes i can see the Eiffel tower :-)

Belle de Ville said...

That circle of trees is just amazing. It's wonderful to be able to live in a large city like Paris and to have some amount of country side and forrest nearby.

Duchesse said...

I'm glad the walk cheered you up some:)

And I hope you have central heating in your Paris apartment. There's nothing worse than being colder indoors than outdoors!

Starman said...

That's an ambitious walk. I, too, like the circle of trees. Is there a significance to them?

Anne said...

Starman: The gardens and terrace were laid out by Le Nôtre, the same fellow who designed the gardens at Versailles, in the mid 17th century so perhaps the concept for the trees came from him.

Emilie said...

indeed anne! we seem to scope out many of the same versions of paris...(lovely versions they are...)

http://emiliejohnson.blogspot.com/2008/02/my-circle-of-trees.html

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