Travel presentation on England and France
The Men’s Group of The First Congregational Church, Wiscasset will have its monthly meeting on Tuesday, Oct. 29, at noon in Fellowship Hall, at which time Paul Dodson will present a slideshow of the trip he and his wife, Elizabeth, made in May of this year. The community is welcome to this event which is a bring-your-own brown bag lunch affair.
Paul and Elizabeth’s travels took them first to England and Cornwall’s South West Coast Path, which they trekked from B&B to B&B between Mevagissy and Looe. Described as “walking at its most diverse, most spectacular and delicious,” the South West Coast Path is the only hike in the United Kingdom to make it into the highly respected guide book, “Great Adventures” (Lonely Planet, October 2012), and one of 12 hikes across the globe at that.
Cornwall’s boasting of the sheer variety of the path means that there are plenty of gentle stretches as well as dramatic headlands, steep coastal valleys, sheltered estuaries, busy harbors, intimate coves, moorlands and sandy beaches. (This was the second Coast Path walk for the couple who, three years ago, hiked the Northern section of Cornwall’s Coast Path, and on that trip included trails in UK’s Lakes District in their walking itinerary.)
Upon leaving England, Paul and Elizabeth joined friends in Carcassonne, a fortified medieval walled city in southwestern France, and embarked on a self guided barge trip down the Canal du Midi in the Languedoc region to Narbonne near the Mediterranean.
Along the canal they transited aqueducts, maneuvered through 43 locks, and stopped here and there to explore quaint villages and family operated wine cellars. In Narbonne there was more ancient history to savor for a few days, before heading to Paris, some 500 miles away and reached in only five hours by way of the high speed TGV train.
It being Elizabeth’s first time visiting Paris, Paul led the way to must-see attractions as well as making sure there was ample opportunity for them both to experience the local scene from their rental studio flat across from the16th century cathedral, St. Eustache, and around the corner from Rue Montorgueil, a street lined with restaurants, cafes, bakeries, fish stores, cheese shops, wine shops, produce stands and flower shops. Rue Montorgueil is the place for Parisians to socialize while doing daily shopping.
Details of the trip’s itinerary were planned by Mr. Dodson.
Event Date
Address
United States