Domaine de Chantilly was the princely home of the Princes of Conde and later in the 19th century the Duke and Duchesse of Aumale. 

We were following the ‘G’ routes on the GPS and it plunged us deep into the Forest of Chantilly on the same equestrian paths the dukes and duchesses rode and where they are still used today for training.
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We came upon the Grand Stables, a masterpiece of the 18^th century architecture. The Princes of Chantilly invited their prestigious guest to dine under the dome of the unique monument, now the theater for spectacular equestrian shows.

We were given tickets for a big equestrian show on the weekend days ahead, but we must move on.

The Hippodrome had a 1 1/2km circular track with passages through the forest with meadows of horses then  leading off into little villages with stone houses each with it’s own church or Englese.

 

Just as we got the the river L’Oise and across a bridge it started to rain. We ducked into an Auberge du Port. It was an ancient old place but so elegant and being lunch time we sat down for the  Plat d Jour. 

 

The ceilings were wood beams but sagging from the years. The appetizer was a choice of two, tomatoes, watercress, motzarella, pickles and capers salad. Or as Steve got, slices of cold meats. The the main dish was French fries with a cut of pork in a nice sauce. Desert, chocolate mousse and Steve got cheese.  With an espresso and tea it all came for 12Euros each.

 
And we never failed to order the ‘caraf d’eau’ which is free and just plain ice water.

We are on a NE route from Paris taking us right through the middle of several forests each with it’s own remarkable domains, castles or chateaux. We left Forest du Chantilly for the Forest du Champagne on our way to Pierrefonds the next day following the River L’Oise to the River Aisne on designated bike routes.

 

 

These routes took us back out into the wheat fields where an abundance of red poppies would line the edges of the agricultural areas often times taking over.

Steve found that the GPS gives us the ‘straight as the bird flies’ number of kilometers not the ziz sagging around we do on the bike paths and forests.  This day we ended with 74km but it is still our first week so not really as fit as we would like.  

 

We eventually got onto a bike trail along the L’Oise that went past industrial areas with huge barges passing us on the river. Sometimes the trail turned to gravel or mud and we slide over puddles not knowing the depth as we entered and also deep gravel that put us at a stand still . This was especially hard on our bodies and nerves. 
Sometimes it even got a bit creepy.

 

 

Then we would break out into a nice paved part along the river where swans were swimming along side, here coming into Pont-Sainte-Maxence.

  We crossed a bridge and immediately saw the barge Arran once again and once again they were in the middle of lunch.  He waved hello then headed back to an Italian Pizza Place that was having a Plat du Jour and tables full of sports men. Everyone was so friendly and enjoying the one big noon meal of the day.

We had a great meal of lasagna and salad with coffee which in France is a strong espresso in a demitasse cup. I loved the gray and silver curtains with red flowers on the tables.  It always amazes me that the inside decor is so different from the old historical outside.  Never mind it always gives me a lift to get off the bike and sit down to some fine dining in a pleasant atmosphere. 

 

 

In the afternoon we were back on the bike trails that started off as a small two lane road beside the L’Oise river but then fell away into trails through red poppie fields and people walking beautiful dogs connecting to the Trans ‘Oise Voie Verte or Green Way.

Whenever we could we would get back onto the trails that often do not connect but would suddenly appear. 

 

These trails were also often used for other means and we found that the dogs of France are all very well cared for, loved and……pampered.

Here we followed what looked like a rail way paved over and was littered with skittering rabbits across our path, the sound of thousands of frogs and loud bird twittering.

 

Many of these nice routes lead right into larger town.  Here in  Champangie  we came upon many barges lined up along the wall in the river. Arran was there now having just arrived from where we saw them at lunchtime. We rode up a third time this time asking them if lunch was ready.

We carried on to find several  barges we knew from the rally including  Roger and Louise the Canadians on the barge The River. We sat and talked a while getting more info on what to buy and where to go to follow the smaller barges.

It was a lot like coming into a new anchorage with s/v Ariel and finding all our friends there then conversing about where the best anchorages were further on.  We also discovered that the speed of the barges and our speed were very much alike.  Due to the locks, the waiting and the ‘best anchorages’ we kept meeting up.

 

Then we took off to the tourist office but as we were leaving and headed off over a cobblestone area that slowed us down, we were chased down by a Pedi Taxi.   Steve had left his  handle bar bag with all his credit cards, money and passport on the sidewalk at the tourist office.  
Gotta love those bikers.

 

The next hour till 7PM we rode through the Forest de Compiegne where paved trails and equestrian dirt paths took off into the forest. We had a beautiful ride with the sun light shining through the ferns and trees and arched over the trails. But we were so exhausted coming so far on this 74km day, the last part was hard to enjoy.

Finally we came out in the small village of Pierrefonds and there before our eyes on the hill over the village was an enormous stone castle like days of old. 

We were in for a great surprise!

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