Running while traveling

I write a silly running blog, so when Lindsey asked me to guest-post on her blog, my immediate thought was, "I have to make this work as a cross-post!." However, I then suffered from a bout of blogger's block, so I have to give a nod to my fellow guest blogger, Ursina, for coming up with this subject and Runners World for sending out a timely "Running while Traveling" email.

Some of my best travel experiences have come at times when I've combined physical activity, be it running, hiking or biking, with discovering a new place. But as I'll be traveling a little bit at the end of the summer while training for a marathon (admittedly domestically, I'm not a jet-setter like my dear blog-host), I will focus on running and leave hiking and biking for another day. 

Lindsey's friend Kate has done a great job of covering Lyon, the city in France where I studied abroad. Part of what made my experience in Lyon special was getting to know the city through long runs to the Parc Tete d'Or or along the Rhone river. While running in a new city isn't without its downsides (older French ladies who quite ostentatiously turn their noses up at women wearing shorts come to mind), it is a great way to get to know parts of the city a bit further than walking distance.

The other advantage of running in a new place is that you get the chance to discover parts of the city like a native. I live in NYC and still discover parts of Central Park or the running paths along the city's rivers that I hadn't previously known about. However, there are risks to just setting off on a run in one random direction in an unfamiliar city - the key to running in someplace unfamiliar is to plan ahead.

Runners World has a tool called "RouteFinder" in which one can plug in a city and find running routes that other runners have loaded into the system. While the international routes are a bit thin (I looked at Paris and Dublin), they still offer a decent range of distances and the ability to map. http://www.runnersworld.com/route/routefinder.html

MapMyRun has tools to track running distance and has a community feature where you can see runs that other runners post. http://www.mapmyrun.com/routes/

RunThePlanet has tons of routes, including places to run in Antartica, if you're into that. http://www.runtheplanet.com/runningroutes/

My next bout of travel running will occur in Newport Beach, CA, where I've already discovered a few great runs (pictured).

Peace,

Julie

thanks so much to Julie for the post... and be sure to check out her running blog, Feet Don't Fail Me Now at http://feetdontfail.tumblr.com/

Rocks for Jocks and Critical Film Studies in Lyon

So let me just start by saying that between Blogger shutting down at the end of last week and my own internet failing for several days this week, I have been a very bad blogger. So bad, in fact, that I failed to notice that the internet/Blogger swallowed entire posts whole last week, including another excellent escape to France with our friend, Kate. So suspend all disbelief, ignore time, and forget that K has just wrapped her second week of a brand spanking new dream job in the Big Apple- we are going back to Lyon.
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As is my gracious host Lindsey, I am an unimaginable archaeology geek. It's what I did in college. It's what I did after college. I've written stories about it, I might even someday write a book about it. It's my hands-down favorite thing to think about. Lyon: got it. Here are some pics from my first stop upon arriving in town, the Gallo-Roman ruins. I spent all day here Tuesday, and loved every second of it. I even tolerated French children on field trips. And less than full sun. But it was magical. The walk itself to get there was epic, not unlike urban hiking, but I think I might go back tomorrow.

So I love rocks. But my second love (which happens to encompass my so-called day-job) is film and television. So another pilgrimage here was to the Lumiere Museum, the house and collection where the Lumiere Brothers lived. They are the inventors of cinema and the house was filled with the first cinematography cameras and photographs and even screenings of the first-ever films. A very cool, very nerdy mecca. On the way over there I was listening to one of my podcasts about some atrocious movie out today and it was really wonderful, to think how "far" exactly storytelling has come.

only Lyon

Lyon is 100% the undiscovered gem of France. The city surrounds two rivers, the Rhone and the Saone, that create a little middle piece of the city. My friend lives just a few blocks from the Rhone and it's super easy to get everywhere on foot. It's much smaller and more manageable than Paris, and not quite as in-your-face charming, but feels like a city where people actually live. The river banks and parks along the water make it absolutely gorgeous. Great shopping, farmer's markets aplenty on the banks of the Rhone, and their "central park" is to die for. More to come!

 

 (this post brought to you by my friend & guest blogger Kate. For more of Kate's travels in France, check out her posts from Paris, Fountainebleau, and Avallon!)

au revoir Paris, bonjour Burgundy

Guest-blogger, friend, kindred spirit (my dad called that one), Kate, leaves the City of Light for the Burgundy region of France...

Avallon is undiscovered. It's small, dangerously charming. I couldn't find a thing about it before I went but I very much recommend. An old walled-in town center, several places for food and coffee, surrounded by farms and forests.

On the train from Beaune to Lyon. Like Amtrak, only a positive experience.

Also, this has nothing to do with France but I think it applies aptly to the lives of both Lindsey and myself. My boyfriend sent it to me while I'm away, which I hope informs the world as to what kind of man I have found. That is all. 

jet-setting to France (life is rough): meet guest blogger Kate

Hope everyone had a fantastic weekend--or a fantastic Easter weekend if that's your thing.  Mine was dotted with a mix of gluttony, hot yoga, unpredictable weather, retail therapy, and visits from far-away friends-- all in all a superb spring weekend.  I have a lot to accomplish over the next few days, and I'm starting to realize that time is going to start flying by with an abundance of good company and exciting events on the horizon.

Without further adieu, I would like to introduce you to Kate, a friend of mine who will be contributing a bit to my little project over the coming weeks.  With wishes of bon voyage over the weekend, she has already taken off and touched down in France.  I'd like to imagine that she is drinking vin rouge and practicing bad French at this very moment.  That's my girl!
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(not kidding about the hole)

"Bonjour! I'm Kate and I'll be guest-posting for Lindsey while I'm jet-setting. By jet-setting I mean one trip from New York to Paris to Lyon to New York for a total of two weeks. Lindsey and I met here (see photo), in a hole in the ground in Greece while on an archaeological dig. We wore headbands, sweat a lot, and unearthed all kinds of interesting things, including arrow heads, boar skulls, and a shared love of travel.

the one time we didn't wear headbands

I'm also doing some travel writing while I'm over there, and can meanwhile give some tips on how to "become" a travel writer. I don't by any stretch fancy myself that, but it's more along the lines of how to finagle your way into doing travel writing. It is the dream job, right? I'll be writing a pieces for both Elle Magazine and Fodor's, so wish me luck.

I'll be wearing a fanny pack. And comfortable shoes and a t-shirt. What have I learned from living in Manhattan all these years? New York seems like a fashionable place with fashionable people wearing fashionable things, but in truth, unless you're dying on the sidewalk no one cares about what you look like. I imagine an enormous city like Paris is the same. I have packed some dresses, but we'll save those for nighttime.

   I'm staying with friends from college - Go Quakers! - in both Paris and Lyon. In between the 2 cities I'm going to pop by a few vineyards (my piece for Elle is a super cheesy bit about how a gal with a boxed-wine-and-two-buck-Chuck palate navigates the wineries of fancy old France) and as of now I'm not 100% sure where I'm staying while in the countryside. But we'll cross that bridge when we come to it. AKA, I will panic and maybe use AirBnB. 

That's all for now! Nice to meet you. Thanks, Lydia, I mean, Lindsey."
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I, for one, am tres excited about Kate's upcoming contributions to Litterulae Mundano, and I plan on using all kinds of bad Franglais to celebrate.

K doesn't know (yet) that I used this. She really wasn't kidding about the headbands. Or the sweat.  (Sweat bands?)  If this doesn't pique your interest, there's probably something very wrong with you.