Running in France

Running

I think every runner trying to improve speed and distance must struggle a bit with vacation.  Trying to find a balance so that any running during vacation doesn't impede your ability to have a good time.  I also didn't want my running to ruin the vacation for my wife.  

The last two vacations I erred on the side of not running, and had to make up the loss in progress upon my return home.  This time we were going to France.

My plan was to fit as many 6 mile runs in during our 2 weeks in this wonderful European destination.  As we were going on a river cruise I thought that finding routes would be relatively easy - just stay near the river.  My plan worked out fairly well.

I even discovered parts of France that my tours never showed us.

I limited myself to ~6 miles, because an hour early in the morning was all the time I could spare, and all the running I could do without having water with me.

Our "Hotel Manager" on the ship was a runner and shared some routes with me.  I ran along the Saone, the Rhone, and the Seine rivers.  At our final destination of Nice, I got to run along the Mediterranean sea.

I've read that it takes a couple of weeks of not running to see any significant loss.  My recent return has demonstrated a loss of endurance, but not too much on speed.  So I just need to work on my distance for the next few weeks in preparation for the water to wine half marathon.  Of course I will also continue to work on speed also.

Culinary

France is fairly famous for its cooking.  I made sure to try several examples as we worked our way from Paris to Nice.  France is also famous for its wine and an integral part of the meal.

 One of the dishes I was most keen to try in France was their terrines, since I have been experimenting with them of late.

 We saw several examples of elegant "presentation."  I wasn't overly impressed, since I am all about the taste.

 One of my favorite dishes - Beef Bourguignon.

 We took a pastry lesson while in Lyon.

 Fish with teeth!

 Found an Italian restaurant in Nice and had Beef tagliatelle.  Nice has a long history of being Italian, and only became a permanent part of France after 1860.

 Squid ink with my Risotto?!

 My wife's bucket of Mussels was quite memorable.

Having traveled to Italy and France, I have to say that overall Italian cooking is more to my taste.