I like to have in my blog a nostalgic road warrior trips that I have been taken since September 1990, I know have written plenty on the City of Meaux in my blog but little on the road trips there, and like to have it for me and maybe helpful to you, Meaux is a very sentimental City for me as this is the native town of my dear late wife Martine, and the first town I saw after Paris briefly in 1972, Every trip we stop by dear Meaux, Seine et Marne dept 77 of the Île de France region of my belle France, We came for family visit essentially, but indulge always in its magnificent monumental buildings and great culinary delights, I like to have this part of the road trips in my blog, Thanks for reading me since November 26 ,2010. Hope you enjoy the post as I,
My very first visit to Meaux was around September 10 1990 just before my birthday when came to meet the family of my girlfriend and later wife Martine, First stop was grandmother’s Fourré house in Meaux, 36 rue de Noefort, an emblematic building ever since, I landed at Roissy CDG airport and guess what took the bus !! The bus line 20 from Roissypôle to the gare de Meaux train station where my girlfriend picked me up.
Second time around to host the reception with her family after our marriage in Daytona Beach, Florida and our first home in Ormond by the Sea was in around March 10 1991, and this time with my mom Gladys in tow we rented a Hertz car at Roissy CDG terminal 2 to make my first road warrior trip to Meaux ! We went out on the N104 la Francilienne road quickly moved into the D212 road direction Claye-Souilly to hook up with the N 3 road direction Meaux, this once entering the City becomes the D603 road ,you go around the Marne river bend direction Vareddes on Avenue du Maréchal Foch to the trafic light with Avenue de la République which we made a left turn into it, You go to the next trafic light that is sort of a circle but in triangular shape and make a sharp left into rue Noefort, Always in my mind.
We made several trips like this until we moved to France, my parents,my 3 boys and us included in 2003, We eventually settled in Versailles and continue the trips to grandma house and mother house in Chambry not far from Meaux about 5 km, From Versailles we took the D10 towards the Orangerie and then the D91 past Parc Balbi into the N12 and then the A86 direction Créteil to hook up with the A4 (autoroute de l’Est) direction Disneyland, Metz, Nancy ; past Disneyland continue direction Reims ,Metz, Nancy until exit with Meaux on the A140 road take this one straight to Meaux and get on the right lane Meaux on the D360 where you will see the splendid view of the St Etienne Cathedral and go to City center , take the bridge Pont Foch over the Marne river on the D336 direction Vareddes bear slight left into Avenue du Maréchal Foch which is the D603 road ,on next trafic light make a left into Avenue de la République ,and on the next trafic light sort of a circle but in triangular shape and make a sharp left into rue Noefort, to pick up grandma Fourré and then go to mom Yvette house in Chambry , From rue Noefort we went back to the circle but instead took rue Croix Saint Loup to Avenue du Maréchal Joffre or the D2450 road past the cemetery where Dad Pierre is buried as well as Grandpa Georges past the wonderful Musée de la Grande Guerre or WWI museum which by here the road becomes the route de Vareddes past a trafic circle into the D405 road ,and you see a small sign of Chambry on the road Chemin de Dampleger (wheat fields!) ,this take you to Chambry to take right the road D140 Rue de Meaux, rue de la ville past the bakery or boulangerie and the Church St Pierre St Paul continue into Rue d’Ortheuil and mom’s house on the right side.
I know the town without any gps or google help and proved it again again, so proud to do this with the family as we took bets and they lost always lol ! Here began my French history , and many wonderful trips and family gatherings, and as the saying goes, the rest is history and a beautiful one indeed falling short due to her cancer that took my dear late wife Martine on April 30, 2018 . Sad indeed and still hurts soothe only by the fact she gave me 3 wonderful good boys who are sticking with me thru hell and back and even greatly helped with their grandfather Elio, my Dad , until his passing January 7, 2023 in Pluvigner, My mom Gladys passed away in Versailles on December 27 2007, We are alone but strongly together, life goes on is short make the best of it while you can.
I continue to visit Chambry as grandma Fourré (of my wife) passed away while we were still living in Florida USA, We came back for grandmother Yvette and the sisters and brother of mom Martine Even thus on November 19, 2019 mamà, grandmother my mother in law Yvette passed away in Chambry as well, I made a nostalgic sentimental trip with my sons and tag along my Dad Elio and dog Rex (chosen by Martine and she gave him his name from a police series in Europe,,,she loved to watch).
I took the old fashion road , the one from Paris took first to meet my wife; now coming from the Morbihan dept 56 it was the N165 to the N166 to past Rennes and then the A84 to the exit at Fougéres to get on the N12 all the way to Versailles by the N186 , did a brief tour of my beloved city in my old neighborhood , had a walk with my dog Rex, and then kept going on the D985 by Villa d’Avray all the way thru my old job hunt at Suresnes crossing the Pont de Suresnes into the allée de longchamp in the Bois de Boulogne, to the boulevard Périphérique (BP) into the Porte Maillot and follow the BP all the way to the Porte de Pantin to take the old reliable and slow N3. The road taken to visit my then girlfriend and first time taken it since then !! Just for my boys to see it ! It took us 10 hours to reach Chambry !! It has been crowded with so many intersections and trafic light almost every 100 meters awful nowdays.
As an anecdote, when we came to Paris with Martine to see the City from her family towns we took the N3 and went all the way to just oustide Paris parking for free by the Church of Pantin to hook up with the metro Pantin line 5. Lately, the space has brought a paying parking they call it Yespark – Parking Pantin – Eglise Pommiers. No longer free of course, and the area has become a bit shady, It will just stayed in my memories the times we parked there in our romantic trips to Paris.
Nowdays, we have been a couple times more to visit family in Chambry, the father in law Déde that I knew as father, the 3 sisters , one brother and sometimes the other brother from the Nord meet there in family gatherings, The trip is long nowdays with toll road takes about 6 hours by car, but still a lot cheaper than in public transport, We go north from us to hook up with the N24 direction Rennes, go around the beltway N136 to hook up with the N157 direction Laval connect with the A81 direction Mayenne / Le Mans, here take the A 11 (autoroute de l’Océan) direction Chartres to connect with the A10 (autoroute de l’Aquitaine) at Saint Arnoult en Yvelines toll booths direction Massy-Palaiseau stay on it to connect by Antony with the road A6b hook up the A86 direction Créteil ,and into the A4 (Autoroute de l’Est) direction Disneyland, Reims, Metz, Nancy past Disneyland continue until exit for Meaux on the A140 continue straight into hook up with the N330 past Crégy les Meaux into the right on the D405 next trafic circle take right on the D38 and quickly right into the D140 direction Chambry and into City center by the Church St Pierre St Paul on rue d’Ortheuil to family house, voilà !! the road warrior is here so have no fears lol !!
The Meaux tourist office on how to reach the City : https://www.meaux-marne-ourcq.com/sejourner/comment-venir/
The Meaux tourist office on the monuments of the fallen in and around Chambry :https://www.meaux-marne-ourcq.com/?recherche=chambry
The city of Meaux on train ride and heritage: https://www.ville-meaux.fr/?id=822
The good infotrafic info on the whole of France zoom in the map for Paris area: https://www.infotrafic.com/home
The great Sytadin for trafic around Paris and Île de France region: http://www.sytadin.fr/
There you go folks, another dandy trip to a wonderful area that always brings lots of good memories, As said, Meaux /Chambry is special and will continue to be for me. Hope you enjoy this rather personal post as I. And remember ,happy travels, good health, and many cheers to all !!!
Paris1972-Versailles2003 
Leave a Reply