From the Inside Out

I made an upgrade on my bike today. We took it to the cycling shop to fix a problem with the back wheel. While we were there, I decided to move from toe clips to clipless pedals which allow a cleat on the bike shoe to lock into a receptacle on the pedal. It’s similar to bindings used on snow skis. With these pedals, I can step on the pedal and simply “clip in” rather than fumble with the toe cage and strap. It’s also supposed to make my pedal stroke more efficient.

At first, it was nerve racking because once you’re clipped in, if you can’t get the shoe to release when you want to stop, you’re in trouble. If that happens, a crash or topple will occur — and hitting the pavement is painful even at slow speeds.

I awkwardly clipped in with Gary’s help and took a few small practice runs. Gary made adjustments to the cleats to get the positioning perfect. Each time it got easier, but I still felt clumsy. Undeterred, we moved forward with our ride.

It was a gorgeous January day — temps in the 70s and sunny. The only downside was that it was windy. Wind and bikes don’t match well. In fact, I hate the wind when I’m riding. It kills! But I digress…back to the new pedals and shoes. About halfway through our 15-mile ride, I started to feel more comfortable. Clipping in became easier. I became less scared of messing up and crashing painfully onto the pavement.

Instead of worrying about flipping the toe clips to the right position and getting my feet in there every time I start off, I can now just clip in — fast and easy. Once connected to the bike, my strokes become more powerful, more efficient. I’m working together with the bike and there’s no power loss when pedaling. It’s sort of like a zen moment — I’m one with the bike..haha!

It’s funny, but experimenting with the clipless pedals made me stop and think…what if we would do the same with Jesus? When we “clip in” to Him, our lives are more powerful, more connected, more efficient. Sure, it’s scary when you let go and put your trust in something other than yourself, but it’s also beneficial. You stop fumbling around trying to figure out how to do things on your own. The more you “clip in” to God, the easier it becomes. You can trust Him to lead you. You can trust Him to keep you from crashing and to make your life stronger and more enjoyable…just like my bike ride.

We woke up at 6 am on Thursday to catch an early flight to London Heathrow airport and to begin our long journey back to Dallas. Since we were gaining back the time we lost on the trip to Nice, we were looking at a 31-hour day with much of that time spent on an airplane or in an airport.

We got to the Nice airport with plenty of time to spare so we ate breakfast and watched the sun rise over the runways.

In London, we had a 3-hour layover so we grabbed lunch at Friday’s and then walked through the airport shops. Heathrow has a plethora of shops and restaurants — it’s amazing. They have Chanel, Burberry, Harrod’s, Omega, Swarovski, duty-free shops, and electronics stores. It’s like a mini shopping mall.

The flight from London to Dallas was uneventful. It was 9 hours of napping, reading, and watching shows on the iPod. After landing, we went through passport control. The lines were long at least we were off the plane and back home.

By the time we got to the luggage area. All the bags were already on the carousel…or so we thought. We found two of our bags, but were missing the other two. With no more bags coming out, we went to file our “missing bag” claims.

I hate it when that happens.

As we finished filing our claims, one of the baggage handlers came up and said there were more bags still downstairs. They had experienced a jam and were working to get the bags up to the baggage claim area. Since we weren’t in a hurry, we waited around hoping our bags would make it up. Eventually, they did.

Delighted, we grabbed our bags, went through customs and then headed home.

First stop….Mom’s house for the dogs.

Second stop…Mexican food!!!

J’aime Tex Mex…it’s good to be home.

Today was our last full day in Nice. We’ll be leaving for the airport early on Thursday morning for a return flight that will have us arriving in Dallas by the evening (we gain back the seven hours we lost on the trip out here). It’s a long flight, but after all the miles and miles and miles that we’ve walked on this trip, I think we’re ready to sit for a while…haha!

Speaking of walking, we walked all over Nice today. My feet were killing me by the end of the day, but it was worth it. We visited the Chagall Museum and checked out the collection of paintings they have there. Most of the artwork on display depicts settings from the Old Testament and each one tells an interesting story. The colors are bold and compelling — they really pop out at you. Also, it was neat to see how his artwork looks different when you are standing up close versus far away.

After the Chagall Museum, we trekked upwards and onwards (more uphill walking) to the Nice Archeology Museum (Musee de Archeologie) which sits beside the site of a 3rd century Roman town called Cemenelum. Here you can see the remains of Roman baths from the 3rd century and a Roman Coliseum.

Outside of the archeological site sits the Matisse museum and a lovely public park. Tired from all the walking, we sat down and watched the locals play a few games of Boules, which is similar to Bocce Ball and a favorite pastime of those who live in the French Riviera. After resting and enjoying the warmth of the sun, we decided to brave the 45 minute walk back down the hill.

Once back in familiar territory, we went to Vieux Nice (Old Nice) and did some shopping in the stores that line the old streets.

Taking a break from the shopping, we stopped at a cafe that was making crepes out front. We couldn’t leave France without sampling some of the crepes so we placed our orders and watched as they made them in front of us.

Then…more shopping! We toured through some of the high end shops in Place Messena before going back to our hotel room with our new souvenirs from Nice.

Finally, we ended the day with a good Italian dinner and afterwards stopped at a small dessert and coffee shop to enjoy some glace. Boy, they really know how to make it in France!! It was awesome by the way.

I’m sad that we have to leave tomorrow, but I’m glad that we had the opportunity to visit this amazing place. I have much more respect for the French people and their culture after being here. France is a great country with wonderful people.

Hopefully, we’ll be blessed enough to return one day.

Merci et au revoir, Nice!

NOTE: If you want to see more pictures from today, check out the new pictures added to the Nice ‘09 album in the photos section of the blog.

Tuesday proved to be a beautiful day in the French Riviera. The rain was gone and sunny, warm skies greeted us this morning. First, we visited the Russian Orthodox Cathedral in Nice which was built in 1912 and was the first Orthodox Russian Cathedral outside of Russia.

Afterwards, we hopped on the train to Cannes and spent most of the day there. Cannes is a beautiful city, and it’s one of the most famous on the French Riviera because it hosts the annual Cannes Film Festival. During the festival, celebrities flock to the city to promote their films, but we didn’t see any during our visit. We did see some great sights though…check out the pics below and in the Cannes Album.

First glimpse of Cannes

Having fun outside the Cannes Film Festival Building, Palais des Festivals et des Congrès. They had these cut-outs set-up near the mini walk of fame with celebrity handprints in stone

Yeah…baby!

Looking back towards the La Croisette waterfront avenue

Chapel of St Anne at La Suquet, the old town of Cannes

On top of the hill in La Suquet

View of the harbor from the Castle watchtower

Posing for the camera…yeah, it was a bit windy up there.

The tower on which we were standing in the previous photos. You can see everything from here.

Shops in the pedestrian area of Cannes — filled with clothing stores, pastry and chocolate shops.

The forecast for Nice was cloudy and rainy today, so Gary and I toured through a 19th century Italian Villa this morning, then jumped on a train to get away from the rain and see the French countryside and Alps. The Chermin de Fer de Provence is a narrow gauge train that travels from Nice to Digne. It follows the white waters of Asse de Moriez and offers scenic views the entire way.

Self portrait on the train

One of the train stops looking out the window

The river we followed…it had the most amazing blue, but it’s hard to see in this pic

Mountains and snow!!

We stopped about halfway to Digne at Entrevaux. It’s a “fairy tale” Medieval village with a citadel perched on top of a large rock outcropping. This place has charm and character. If you travel to the French Riviera, don’t miss it — it’s outstanding! What was even better was that we were the only tourists in the village (one of the advantages of traveling in the off season).

Entrevaux

Port Royale entrance

Entrevaux was fortified in 1690 and it became of the strongest military sites in the Franco-Savoy border. Even the 17th century cathedral was incorporated into the turreted ramparts. When you see the pictures, you’ll see why it was so hard to breach. The citadel sits 440 feet above the village and is only accessible via a very steep, zig zag path.

The citadel

It was a very long, steep climb to the top!!!

Taking a break from the climb

At the top

Gary in one of the prisons, giving his best prisoner impersonation

We had a great day again. For new pictures from yesterday and for pictures from today, check out the updated pictures in the Nice album and Entrevaux album.