Beauvais

May 26, 2016:

Today we rode to our Warm Showers accommodations in Beauvais. Finally, the riding was relatively uneventful. And we even had some pretty good weather: overcast, but no rain. Hurray!

Arriving in the heart of Beauvais, we experienced our first accident. Mark, negotiating a tight curve on a narrow sidewalk, lost his balance and fell over. Luckily, he was barely moving and only suffered some bruises and a tiny bit of road rash. Considering how heavy our bicycles are (90+ pounds), he could have been seriously hurt. Instead, he was just shaken up, and luckily, we were just a few kilometers from Patrick and Marie’s house.

Before going to their house, we stopped at the cathedral in the center of town. We each took turns guarding the bikes while the other ran in to check out Beauvais’ main attraction, the Cathedral of Saint Peter of Beauvais and happened to catch a children’s choir practicing inside.

Inside the imposing but uncompleted Cathedral of Saint Peter of Beauvais
Inside the imposing but uncompleted Cathedral of Saint Peter of Beauvais
Famous astronomic clock inside the cathedral
Famous astronomic clock inside the cathedral
Close up of clock
Close up of clock

Shortly after, we were warmly welcomed into Patrick and Marie’s house.

Patrick's house
House number plaque out front of Patrick and Marie’s house

They live near the city center in a gorgeous house with exposed oak beams, and warm, solid wood trim and built-in cabinetry and paneling. Marie has very tasteful needlepoint that she created hanging throughout the house. The decor could easily slip into kitsch country kitchen, but under her tasteful eye, remains elegant. Too bad our photos of their beautiful interior didn’t turn out, but here are some of the exterior:

Patrick and Marie’s beautiful house
Patrick and Marie’s beautiful house

Patrick's houseMarie and Patrick are, collectively, a French version of Martha Stewart. As soon as we wheeled our bicycles into the garage, they immediately took our drink order, showed us to the shower, and offered to do a load of laundry for us.

Patrick and Marie pulled out all the stops for us. As soon as we were clean, they offered us our drinks and panettone, and we enjoyed a very pleasurable afternoon of conversation with the help of Google Translate. Both Marie and Patrick are retired. Marie was a nurse, and Patrick had the world’s best job: ice cream taster at the local Nestle plant! Despite taste testing ice cream for decades, he’s very trim and does not suffer from diabetes. I think he won the genetic lottery, don’t you?

They have two beautiful backyard chickens, one of which still produces eggs. Patrick makes his own Comte cheese, and Marie makes homemade organic yogurt every day. One of their main hobbies is organic gardening in a community garden a few kilometers away. We enjoyed the delicious fruits of their labor throughout our visit.

One of their backyard chickens
One of their backyard chickens
A gorgeous (and delicious!) cheese plate. Was this the third or the fourth course? So many delectable dishes we lost track.
A gorgeous (and delicious!) cheese plate. Was this the third or the fourth course? So many delectable dishes we lost track.

For 24 hours, Patrick and Marie dropped everything in their lives so they could wait on us hand and foot. And they’re not even cyclists! Well, they enjoy toodling about on their bikes, but they’re not cycle tourists. And yet, they seemed to anticipate our every need. We are so honored to have been hosted by them. We hope one day to be able to return the favor.

Patrick, Marie, and Mark squinting into the morning sun as we're preparing to leave Beauvais
Patrick, Marie, and Mark squinting into the morning sun as we prepare to leave Beauvais
4
1

6 thoughts on “Beauvais”

  1. Wow—you guys scored on this one! Patrick and Marie are amazing!! I’m sorta envious of their lifestyle—-chickens, organic garden, cheese makers, tasteful decorators—and best of all, very gracious hosts. I’m sure they enjoyed your company and much as you did theirs. Happy cycling on your next leg!!

    1. Agreed! I want to be Patrick and Marie when I grow up…except that I can barely keep house plants alive.

  2. What a lovely couple you stayed with! It’s great that you meet some more friends and enjoyed some home comforts. I loved hearing about your stay with them and seeing the photos.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *