# Commencer Français



## Art853 (May 30, 2003)

à Paris








































































































































achat des cartes IGN.FR - Portail









Paris Est


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## Art853 (May 30, 2003)

*à Toulouse*

Paris Austerlitz



























Toulouse













































Food photo. The diner arrived before the photographer.









Newroz or Kurdish National Day celebration on Sunday evening































































Canal du Midi


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## T0mi (Mar 2, 2011)

Très jolies photos. Je suis née près de Paris et je l'ai toujours trouvé moche et surévaluée. Vos photos la rendent plus belle que mon expérience.


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## Art853 (May 30, 2003)

Merci beaucoup! J'aime Paris.


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## Art853 (May 30, 2003)

*Canal du Midi*























































Ville de Castelnaudary

















































































Canal du Midi - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia


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## Art853 (May 30, 2003)

*Carcassonne*













































































































Cité de Carcassonne - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia


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## Mapei (Feb 3, 2004)

You have some classic photos in there.


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## MB1 (Jan 27, 2004)

C'est hot!

C'est bon!


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## Art853 (May 30, 2003)

Thank you. 

Here is a soundtrack to go with the trip report. Courtesy of a woman in Toulouse.

ProleteR is a band from Toulouse


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## Salsa_Lover (Jul 6, 2008)

il n'y a pas que Paris, toute la France est belle


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## sometimerider (Sep 21, 2007)

Very nice - and unusual time of year to do this.

Did you take a canal cruise, ride along the canal (and stay on land), or what?


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## Art853 (May 30, 2003)

Yesterday evening I went to Le musée des Beaux-arts. They have a retrospective by Jean Pidoux. I really like his paintings. He was born in 1929 and lives a few blocks away from what I understand. Maybe I will see if he wants to have petite déjeuner avec moi. 

Des maisons et des arbres









La douleur









Reminded me of this photo of George Hincapie from Paris Roubaix 2002.










It was voted French sports photograph of the year.
Cycling - Classical education offers punishment - NYTimes.com

Cascassonne is quiet in the evenings this time of year. There are two kebab places, two small bars and a few small restaurants. I was going to a Tapas restaurant and bar that seems to be one of the few places with people in it in the evening. I walked by a Vietnamese restaurant. It looked like a nice place. The owner was sitting in the restaurant waiting for customers talking with a friend. She was sitting in the empty restaurant last night also. I decided to eat there. A French guy came out of the kitchen. We talked about clean energy and politics for a while. Interesting guy and he liked the region. Many years ago he walked from Paris to Morocco. Great dinner. 



















After dinner I walked over to the Hotel Terminus. It is the hotel in the last photo in the set above.






































Salsa_Lover said:


> il n'y a pas que Paris, toute la France est belle


Oui. Je conviens.



sometimerider said:


> Very nice - and unusual time of year to do this.
> 
> Did you take a canal cruise, ride along the canal (and stay on land), or what?


Winter is the new spring. The weather in Paris was warm most days. Lately it has cooled off and there is some light rain. I'm cycling along the Canal du Midi. Today I will ride to Narbonne and then ride along the Canal de la Robine. I hope to get as far as Port la Nouvelle on the Mediterranian. It should be interesting since one map I have has the Robine canal route going over a body of water, L'étang de l'Ayrolle. 

From there I will ride into España along the coast. The first goal being Girona and then Barcelona. If people know of places I should see or ride please let me know. I have three guide books but not cycling guidebooks. Searching this forum has been very helpful.

Rain makes it wet. Light rain makes it not so wet. Ciao!


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## Chico2000 (Jul 7, 2011)

Beautiful shots.:thumbsup:


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## weltyed (Feb 6, 2004)

things in toulouse still a bit crazy?


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## orbit (Feb 7, 2007)

Simply magic photos, thanks for sharing.


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## Mr. Versatile (Nov 24, 2005)

Great post with great pics. The photos look uncommonly clear & noise free. Mind telling what you used?


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## Art853 (May 30, 2003)

Hello from Banyuls sur Mer!

A few photos from the plage where I'm sitting and the sunrise this morning. I rode down the Canal du Midi and Canal de la Robine to the Mediterranean Sea. I'll post more photos from the past few days later. It was interesting being next to the Mediterranean and being able to see snow in the Pyrenees. 




























A quiet Sunday morning (daylight savings time change today) and some cyclists out for a ride.









Very sad events in Toulouse. I was unaware of the attack at the time and didn't learn about it until I reached Carcassonne. I started riding to the start of the Canal du Midi about 11 am,a couple of hours after the attack. Looking back through the photos I took in Toulouse Monday late morning I see people talking on the street. I thought nothing of it at the time but now realize they may be talking about more serious events than normal morning conversation.

I will be riding into España today! I've heard Girona has big Easter celebrations so I will probably head there. I met a British couple cycling from Barcelona to Narbonne and gave them a map I received from a tourist office. They gave me a guidebook to the Costa Brava. That was kind of them. The region is rich in wildlife and cultural history. Thanks for the compliments on the photos.


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## scirocco (Dec 7, 2010)

Superbe, merci.


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## SantaCruz (Mar 22, 2002)

Absolutely wonderful post(s)........... just needs a French bicycle for the stunning French atmosphere.


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## Art853 (May 30, 2003)

Photos from Canal du Midi and Canal de la Robine





































Narbonne













































Port la Nouvelle



























Near Port Leucate


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## Art853 (May 30, 2003)

Collioure



























Port Vendres









Banyuls sur Mer









Sunrise


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## scorchedearth (Mar 22, 2012)

Belles photos. J'adore France!


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## 55x11 (Apr 24, 2006)

scorchedearth said:


> Belles photos. J'adore France!


amazing photos. what camera/lenses do you use?


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## Art853 (May 30, 2003)

Je vous remercie. 

I was informed in Carcassonne that Jean Pidoux passed away about a month ago. He lived in the center of Carcassonne and he was able to see the exhibition dedicated to his work at Le musée des Beaux-arts.

Petit-déjeuner in Banyuls sur Mer


















A wildfire was burning in the hills above the town. Firetrucks were arriving from other locations throughout the day.


















Riding toward Cerbère



























Firefighters staged between towns.




































Cerbère



























Au revior France. Hola España!


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## jd3 (Oct 8, 2004)

Wow, what a trip.


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## Art853 (May 30, 2003)

France is amazing for cycling. Drivers give cyclists room when they pass and pass with care. It's easy to be in a great mood. Plus friendly people, great scenery and mountains, small towns, farmer's markets to visit and camp grounds. In many places there is public water in the town center making it easy to refill water bottles. 

I set out on this part of the trip without a detailed map of the area. My map of Spain and Portugal happened to include Toulouse and the Canal du Midi. I thought I would just follow the canals and that should be fine. The tourist information centers often had place mat sized maps to give out of the region with the canal trails on them and some regional bicycle route maps along with knowledge of the cycling routes in the area.

Cycling into España
http://forums.roadbikereview.com/co...eports/espa%F1-mar-mediterr%E1neo-276929.html


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## undies (Oct 13, 2005)

What a wonderful photo essay. I really enjoy your street photos.


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