The others - day 32 (Pontorson to Paris CDG) - FINAL BLOG!

I cannot get over our good fortune 're the weather. First day in over two weeks of riding to dawn very wet and miserable! Our host offered to drive us to the Gare (train station) as a taxi wouldn't take on such a short trip but we would be well and truly soaked if we tried to walk it. Train arrived on time (10.47) and off we set towards Granville (!!!) Through the farmlands of Normandie. Hard to imagine the battles that occurred on this land in 1944 as it all looks so beautiful now. Had to change at Granville and instead of a TGV it was another RER (regional) train which still moved very quickly again through beautiful undulating farmland and forests and typical French villages. We arrived in Paris on exact time at 3.05 and then had to find the shuttle bus to Charles de Gaul airport. Managed the fairly long walk to the shuttle pick-up and paid our E36 for the ride. Took a while for the bus to arrive and then we set out on a very slow drive through the congested Paris traffic via Care de Lyon to pickup more passengers. No doubt about the beauty of Paris - tree lined streets, wide boulevards beautiful buildings and green parks with occasional glimpses of the Eiffel Tower - but a slow crawl in the traffic. Even when we eventually entered the motorway the traffic was at a standstill as far as you could see - should be renamed the "shufflebus" we decided. We eventually arrived at CIG at 5.15 having travelled since 10 this morning without eating! There was no foodservice on the RER which I found quite surprising and we weren't prepared for that. So we eventually booked into the Citizen M airport hotel same as last week and had a really good flat white (!!!!) and tarts for a much needed afternoon tea. Dinner tonight a very good lamb curry. Plane leaves here at 2 tomorrow afternoon for Hong Kong so easy sleep in with late breakfast to prepare for the home flight marathon. Arriving Brisbane about 12.30 Thursday morning. Fabulous trip. What next? Certainly China in April!

The others - day 31 (Pontorson)

We had a slightly earlier breakfast this morning to get to Mont St Michel as early as possible. It is a very easy .5 hr ride to the bike parking area and then another half hour walk to the Mont itself via a wooden walkway. You have the option of taking a free shuttle bus but we decided the walk would be good. Beat the crowds and wandered through the village and upwards towards the Abbey for 11.15 Mass. Plan went slightly awry as when we got to the Abbey with the intention of confirming a tour time from our pre-booked ticket we were met by a HUGE crowd and eventually informed by a guide that, due to a music festival, there were no guided tours of the Abbey today! So much for our E20 online tickets! We could, however, still return at about 11 to go to the Mass. So we went and had a reasonable quality E6.50 latte and then headed back to another huge que and general confusion as there were concert goers, Mass attendees and passing traffic all together wondering which group was which. We eventually get moving and ended up with front seats for the Mass. All in French of course so couldn't understand anything except the general order of the service we much as we know. Bishop gave a long address in French but the chanting by the nuns and monks and the organ music was very good. No hymn singing but the sung responses by the mainly French congregation were beautiful. The nuns had all the children help with the offertory and bringing up candles and they were really great with the kids. Had a good look at the organ afterwards - quite a beautuful and powerful instrument - have a recording on the phone. Took our time just wandering around the myriad of pathways around the mountain and came across gardens, cemeteries, parks and some extraordinary buildings and flying foxes to transport things up the side of this amazing complex. Lovely crepes for lunch and finally headed home about 4. Great and memorable day! Pontorson is very quiet and we were a bit worried about our dinner to fight as everything was seemingly closed but our host recommended a little place and it turned out fine- had a really good final foi gras and we both ordered ".leg of lamb" thinking we would have some nice roasted lamb but what did we each get? - a LEG of lamb! No dessert tonight! Almost finished the trip. It has been absolutely fabulous - so much variety, unexpected surprises, some crises, wonderful people, great riding, magnificent countryside, unreal towns and architecture. One of our best trips. France (for the fifth time actually) ? - what can you say? - magnificent scenery, food here is an art form - even the most humble little cafe or restaurant will treat you go amazing food; the language is again music to the ears, the children are beautiful; there are no ugly French policewomen either; they are very loyal to French carmakers; their trains are fabulous and run on time; they are very arrogant and proud of their country but tbey have reason to be. A fabulous trip but as always it will be good to go be home! It's a beautiful world!

The others- Day 30 (Pontorson)

With two days in Pontorson we had to toss up which day we would use to visit Mont Saint Michel and because it was advised that Sunday sung Mass is something really special and the weather didn't look too bad and the forecast was for some rain but in the afternoon we decided to do a casual cycle along the coast East of the Mont and hopefully reach a museum in Avranches which shows the manuscripts produced by the monks on Mont Saint Michel. We got the cycle map from the tourist office and headed off and had a very good, scenic and fairly easy ride to Beauvour where the map showed the cycle path going South West. Only problem was that there were no signs in the village to show which road led to the cycle path. Had a bit of morning tea at a cafe which gave you a cup to get your coffee at a machine (!!!?) But no one knew the road/cycle path we were after. Eventually decided from the map to head for Mount Saint Michel and use a main road East from there to access the cycleways. Plan worked fine and had a few Km of lovely rural riding when the skies opened up and it poured! On with the wet weather gear and continued for a bit but when we reached Huisnnes-le-Mer we decided that it wasn't worth continuing as the rain was all around us and was showing no signs of ending. As we back-tracked to Mont Michel of course it started to clear so we stopped along the huge boardwalk leading out to the Abbey and enjoyed out bagette which we purchased earlier. Back home to dry out shoes etc and headed downtown for a coffee and bite to eat Found a little cafe around the corner for a quick simple meal tonight - ended up with more Cancale oysters and a very nice steak, salmon and creme brule! Looking forward to a special day tomorrow. .

The others - day 29 (San Malo to Pontorson)

Sad to leave beautiful San Malo this morning but the weather was looking pretty good, if a little dull and cool and see set off after a good breakfast. Beautiful ride through the countryside with lots of healthy looking crops in fertile farmland and diverted to a little coastal village called Canacale which is famous for - OYSTERS! The tide goes way out here and exposes the rocks where the oysters are harvested. Little tent shops along the foreshore where the sellers offer plates of freshly shuked oysters do who are we not to take up the offer? Pretty easy at Euro 7.50 A dozen and we are them on a seat near the beach. Absolutely beautiful oysters which were in huge shells but the oysters were thinner than ours but were on each side of the shell. Bit of a climb out of Canacale but soon resumed easy level cycling along cycleways with the sea on our left - through numerous quaint villages. Stopped along the seafront for a beautiful "crepe cappuccino" for lunch and then continued along the coastline bikeways. Just as we got Mont st Michel firmly in our sights the dire tions to Pontiorson became very ambiguous and we ended up pretty well lost at which time it decided to rain fairly heavily! Got the wet weather gear tops on and then it pretty well stopped but remained threatening. Pulled up a fellow on a motorscooter who sent us in the right direction then found another country Frenchman who smelt like a winery but gave us a very animated description of how to turn left, go straight through two big roundabouts Ang get to Pontorson. Surprisingly his directions worked a d we got here about 5.30 having travelled 74 km instead of the planned 61! Lovely B&B in the middle of town and a terrific meal with the most reasonable but top quality foi gras and stewed beef and lamb for dinner. We'llprobably do a rude along the coast tomorrow (weather permitting) and head to Mont st Michel on Sunday when the monks is Dave a sung mass at 11.15.. That is the plan at this stage anyway.

The others- Day 28 (st Malo)

Apologies- internet stopped last night so couldn't finish/send blog.. two to read now! The decision was made to leave the bikes in the garage for the day and spend our time exploring San Malo and areas around. The day dawned cloudy but once again it became clearer as the day went on and ended up bright and sunny. Very cold first up though with quite a strong wind. Good breakfast at the hotel and then left for a walk around the wall of this amazing city. San Malo is famous for Being the home of the "Corsairs" who were privateers or basically pirates who controlled the English Channel and also frequented the Caribbean on pirate raids making rum a distinct local delicacy which features in restaurant menus. The walk around the wall took about an hour and a half with beautiful views of both the town itself and out to the surrounding rocky islands. After a coffee in a cafe near the wall we set out to walk to the neighbouring town of Saint Servan which was actually the original settlement in the first century but as they kept on being raided by just about everybody they decided to shift to the more rocky area of San Malo where a fortress could be built. Had a nice relaxed day wandering around the town of San Servan. Lovely shops, beautiful foreshore and parks. Had an interesting museum on all the early voyages around Cape Horn from Magellan to Cook, Drake etc all housed in a 14th century tower. On the headland there remains the German defense structures from WW2 with all the evidence of the American attacks on them and their eventual defeat. Back home where it began to drizzle a bit but clear for dinner at about 7. Went to a seafood restaurant and had z a set menu which was absolutely beautiful - three courses. Off to Pontorson and Mont San Michel tomorrow!

The others- Day 27 (Dinan to St Malo)

No doubt about it - we are being very lucky with the weather. Rain and plenty of it was forecast for today and sure enough, as we prepared to leave the hotel after breakfast the drizzle started out of heavy skies so o went the wet weather coats. However, almost immediately tge drizzle stopped and soon we we riding in fins but quite cool weather for tge rest of tge day! Had a bit more of a look around the old centre of Dinan which really is worth seeing with buildings dating back centuries and so much history all around. As we passed through one of the old town gates in the wall we turned down a steep street leading to the port and found an even more incredible streetscape which just kept revealing more amazing old timbered buildings as we turned each corner. The old port is also quite beautiful and had a nice coffee at a quayside cafe before rejoicing our bikeway beside the canal for a while. Eventually climbed away from the canal and estuary and wound our way through farmland with lots of corn crops, modern estates and traditional villages mostly still on bikeways. Stopped at a modern shopping mall for a bite of lunch and glass of wine before continuing on to reach Dinard about 2 to catch the ferry just over the estuary to St Malo. Only snag of the day was that the ferries are now running to off-season timetable and the next ferry was not until 4.50! Long wait with not much to do but eventually we arrived at St Malo and booked into a great little family hotel right in the middle of town. They recommended a little typical French restaurant almost next door so after a bit of preliminary exploring we went for dinner. Following the obligatory foie gras Elizabeth had scallops and I had a HUGE lamb shank. As always they produce flavours you have never experienced before. Two options tomorrow- we can catch the ferry back over the estuary and do a ride through the countryside or explore St Malo and given our experience with the ferry today we are leaning towards the local option. Stay tuned!

The others - day 26 (Dinge to Dinan)

Now neither of the above two places are on the normal tourist routes but both will remain in our memories for ever - Dinge because of the wonderful Fabienne at Les Clos der Anges (The House of Angels) sho looked after us in the most extraordinary and hospitable ways possible and Dinan because of its surprising and exotic architecture and history. In spite of the fact that she was supposed to be leaving for a holiday this morning, Fabienne was up early, visited the bakery and proceeded to present us with the most amazing candlelight breakfast you could imagine! Bowls of fruit, beautiful breads, meats and cheeses, yoghurt home made of course, jams the same all served with "est voila". She certainly saved a pretty terrible situation. Set off with my maps downloaded onto the phone so had to stop frequently to read but we actually did the whole ride today without a deviation! Absolutely beautiful and level ride through changing forests and farmland with everything from geese to goats to cattle to corn. Again heavy rain was predicted but while some of the bikeway was quite wet, we did not actually go through any rain heavy enough to warrant wet weather gear. Amazingly lucky. Internet here is excruciatingly slow so I won't download too many photos but the scenery has been superb. Dinan is incredible. Dating back to 1100s in its archive cure it is a world heritage site and is just amazing to walk around - everything is clean and well looked after. Dinner tonight was at a little restaurant where after the obligatory foie gras (the best we've had!) I cooked duck on a hot rock and Elizabeth had beautiful prawns. The duck was absolutely beautiful with a honey sauce and mushrooms. Yum! So we survived the omission of a guide document quite well actually but we do t want to make a habit of it. Tomorrow we have another easy day with circa 2 hour ride to St Malo.

The others - day 25 (Rennes to Dinge)

Main lesson from today? Never book a cycling tour with Macs Adventures! More on that later but as far as the days ride itself went beautifully. Weather forecast was for +10mm rain but luckily it just stayed cloudy but cool the whole day - just great for cycling. The route just followed the canal from almost in the centre of Rennes all the way to Hede where the ride officially to usher for the day but we then had to go an extra 10k to our accommodation in Dinge. So what went wrong? Story goes like this: We were supposed to be given our bikes at the hotel in Rennes at 9.00am. Waited in the foyer until 9.30 when I was about to ring the contact and in came our bike delivered. Followed him over the road to get the bikes out of the van and as he was adjusting the handlebars, the head set screw snapped. Oh dear I'll have to go and get another headset - meet me back here in an hour. Got a map from the hotel and went for a walk around Rennes for the next hour which was in fact very interesting and we picked up some bread, ham and cheese for a picnic lunch. Finally got our bikes at about 11 and headed for the "starting point" as per instructions. Problem was that no-one in town knew the place in question so by the time we sorted that out it was about midday! After that we enjoyed the beautiful and flat ride adjacent to the canal and through the gorgeous countryside and forests. Beautiful ride. Things got a bit difficult when we reached Hede and found we had no instructions for the extra journey to Dinge except to say "Di he is another 10k on from Hede" No problem, we'll have a cup of coffee and just ask. No-one in Hede knew the way to Dinge! Impossible ! Finally a girl came up with her iPhone and found it and after some more false starts and frustrating phone calls which only gave us French speaking answers we got on hopefully the right road. We finally got to Dinge and then had to ask the chemist for final directions. Got to the lovely B&B to be told by the wonderful owner that the first she knew about us coming was when our luggage got delivered in the afternoon!! Problem was she was actually on holidays and was not having guests! She rang Mac adventures and gave them a huge serve and we will have to pay cash for the nights accommodation and be reimbursed by Macs. No restaurant or pub in this tiny village so off to the general store to buy some food for dinner and then back home to clean up. Thought we'd better take a look at tomorrow's rude only to discover they have not given us the instructions for this section! The lady here has been just wonderful and is a real character and has saved the day really. She will get us breakfast in the morning but is then off straight away on her holiday with her daughter. I have managed to download some maps to get us to Dinan tomorrow but wait for tomorrow's blog to see if we succeed or just wander around France! Complete failure by the tour company and we won't be using them again I'm afraid.

The others - day 24 (Paris to Rennes) - pronounced Rrrren!

Supposed to be a ordinary old travel day today but travel always throws up unexpected adventures and incidents that live long in the memory - today was one of those. CITIZEN M hotel at get airport was very interesting as I said yesterday. Lovely breakfast from the 24/7 kitchen, booked ourselves out on the computer and set off late in the morning to catch the TGV to Rennes straight from the airport. It was blowing, cold and raining so a good day for travel (except on a bike!) We decided to book the return TGV for next Monday while we had time and there are machines plus office at cdg airport so off we went to do that. Ma hine didnt want to work so reluctantly lined up at the booking desk- didnt have to wait too long though. Explained to the lady that I wanted tickets from Pontsoran back to cdg next Monday 7th. Now some may remember my French train booking story from a few years ago - " there are verks on the track" - well guess what? The lady looked at the computer and uttered the immortal words - "i'm very sorry sir, you cannot return here next Monday as there will be verks on the tracks!!!" She found my response of giggling a bit surprising but was very good at her job and continued with tbe advice that she would look at what else could be done. After some checking on tbe computer she then added to my amusement by announcing "It's ok we can detour by Granville!" It does sound grander in French - gronveele - but the spelling is the same! Now it means that we go all the way to Paris and then catch a shuttle bus back to the airport so hope our shuttle experience is better than the last effort. Had a beautiful train trip of 3.5 hours to Rennes and took a taxi to the hotel in tbe middle of town. Had a bit of a worry when the ride instructions were not in the room but found they had booked us two rooms! Instructions don't seem as good as those from Girolibero but we'll see how it goes. Rennes is a surprise packet. Beautiful town centre with grand opera house and huge square plus an old part of town which dates back to middle ages -13th and 14th centuries - amazing. Riding tomorrow - it will be good to be back in action again.

The others - day 23 (Lecce to Paris)

Travel always throws up interesting circumstances! We had booked our cab for 6.30 this morning to go from the hotel in Lecce to the bus station for the 6.55 shuttle to Brindisi airport. Up at 5.30 and were lucky to find the breakfast room open as they have been accommodating some Cabinieri (police) and they were having an early breakfast. Easy carbide (apart from the rough road) to the bus station where the cab driver left us with the instruction "stay right at this spot as this is where the shuttle will pick you up" - stood there with some other travellers, luggage etc and exactly at 6.55 a bus pulled in - are you the airoporto shuttle? No. Another bus came in behind. Are you the aeroporto shuttle? Driver nodded and put our luggage in the luggage compartment. Joined the line and got to the driver and presented money. ??? - no no not aeroporto- lady sitting in front row informed us this was the bus to Naples and that the airport shuttle had just left! Driver went to get our luggage back out of compartment and same lady emerged from the bus and spoke (animated Italian of course) to the driver who then put our luggage back and signalled for us to get on board. Explained in sign language that he would meet the shuttle bus near Brindisi and we would swap. More animated conversation by driver on his mobile and we were off with applause from all the passengers! Sure enough, rapid detour into a servo just outside Brindisi and "arrivaderci" and " molto grazie" to driver and passengers and we were on the shuttle! Still not sure how that all happened but again human kindness and helpful people saved the day! Got on-time flight from Brindisi to Rome where we had a three hour transit but enjoyed a really nice panini with pork etc for lunch. Plane to Paris was tgen delayed an hour so we had a FOUR hour wait time but finally got off on what I think was the most beautiful flight I've experienced - right up the Italian coast and then across the Italian/Swiss Alps which still had snow on the high points. Across Switzerland with its lakes and villages end mountains - absolutely spectacular flight. Arrived in Paris at 4.30, transferred to terminal 3 by auto shuttle and bought our tgv tickets for the trip to Rennes tomorrow from a machine! So clever. Also found our way to the citizen m hotel which has check-in via a computer and everything in the room is run from an iPad. Where are you Claire and Jessie and Tom? Actually had a really good (late) dinner - all ordered and delivered high tech of course - curried lamb and a chicken/potato dish plus cab sad- very good. All the serendipitous nature of travel - that's what makes it such fun! Unfortunately o photos from todzy as my camera was in tge overhead locker whilst we flew over the alps but got a couple on tge phone to show later. A couple from the ride-

The others- Day 22 (Lecce)

Today and tomorrow are "rest days" to give a bit of recovery time between rides and it has been great to just have a late breakfast and take leisurely strolls around the ancient town of Lecce with its Cathedral which dates back to 1144 and a Roman amphitheatre. To add the fun today was their youth environment demonstration so there were thousands of students in town and they marched through the central streets at 10.30. Interesting. They hold a pretty good quality demo here - all dressed in designer gear, iPhones to their ear or taking selfies and they spent their time both before and after the march in the town cafes having coffee and then pizzas etc afterwards - took us ages to get served for lunch! Lecce is a great place to spend a couple of casual days as there is something different and interesting around every corner. The old city area alone has 20 churches! Mostly baroque but each different. Time in Italy is sadly coming to an end. Some impressions of Italy: * the language is beautiful - to listen to Italian conversation is extraordinary - musical, emotional, so much expression goes into it. You can just stop, listen and enjoy! *there are no ugly Italian policewoman. *unfortunately in many areas they treat their beautiful countryside like a rubbish tip. We have never seen so much roadside rubbish. The demonstrators this morning could do a great deal for their environment just by going out and picking up tons of rubbish - plastic bottles for a start. *there is a mixture of very wealthy and very poor in coexistence. The economy is not good judging by the number of derelict buildings and closed businesses. Larger centres have lots of rundown areas. *the emergency service sirens are designed to leave your ears ringing as they pass by. *Italian drivers go by their own rules. They park where they like and take absolutely no notice of speed signs anywhere. Having said that we did not have one pass us too close on the bikes and all were courteous and patient - never a problem We have to be up early in the morning to fly to Paris. Spent some time today repairing my port from the Eqyptair handling/lost time so it will hopefully get everything home in one piece!

The others - day 21 (Otranto to Lecce)

We have done it! 400k of riding some of the toughest roads we've ever encountered with some significant climbs thrown in for good measure! Final day of the Italian ride started in Otranto which is a smaller town absolutely stunning in its setting beside the Adriatic Sea. Magnificent cathedral and other magnificent architecture. It was described as the easiest days ride of the trip and it was certainly flatter and the roads were smoother. Stopped of at the Torre del Orso which is a large Waterhole connected to the ocean which is a popular swimming and diving spot. A bit further on stopped for a Tapas lunch before continuing through a hiking reserve where we rode in an avenue of gum trees! Afternoon tea we joined a group of 6 Norwegians who have been riding together for 12 years. Reached Lecce about 4 so good timing. Went I to town for a quick look around before tea and came across a great little concert being performed in a little art gallery - a treasured moment with beautiful music. Back to the hotel for a good dinner and then sleep. Two days rest here before heading for Paris!

The others - day 20 ( Santa Maria di Leuca to Otranto)

Amazing day. Beautiful weather and a terrific ride starting at S L di Leuca and ending I this terrific little town of Otranto. Started out with a big climb out of SO do Leuca and had quite a few "challenging" climbs along the way with a 52 km total for the day represented a good challenging ride. Basically skirted the beautiful Adriatic Sea - SO blue it is almost unbelievable. Little towns along the way with some beautiful little bays, grotto and swimming holes. Stopped for lunch in Castro and at little stops along the way for coffees etc. Ran into Michelle a couple of times as well plus a group of German cyclists whom we keep seeing ever since Matera even though they are not on our ride! Arrived in Otranto about 4.30 and easily found our lovely hotel. Usual scrub up after a hard day's ride, glass of our Limoncello and then off to tour the old town. Absolutely a surprise packet this one. Beautiful harbour, lovely streets and shops, incredible cathedral with the whole (huge) floor covered in a mosaic of the tree of life. Stunning.dinner in a great little restaurant recommended by the hotel - pasta and gnocchi which more than filled us up! Last day tomorrow. It has been an amazing ride - will summarise and comment in the next blog.

The others - day 19 (Gallipoli to San Maria Leuca)

Big point today was reaching the "heel of Italy" at San Maria Leuca but took a bit of getting to of course.we left Gallipoli at about 9 after a great breakfast in the dining room right on the edge of the sea. BEAUTIFUL. Headed along the coast and the guidebook indicated that all we needed to was keep to the coast road all the way. All went well until we came to a barricade across the road with "Tutti traffico Distoglieri" sign. No idea where to just closed! So helpful. Had to divert and fry to keep the sea on our right but ended up on a major highway heading at least in the right direction. Called in to a service station and managed to get directions in spite of neither having each other's language and eventually got back to the planned route. Beautiful ride along the coast. Michelle caught up to us so we shared a lovely lunch and then she continued on to another place for a swim while we kept to the planned route. We eventually reached the official heel of Italy just before reaching San Maria Leuca which is a lovely little town right on the water. Usual shower and change of clothes after a long warm day on the bikes and headed down town where we eventually ended up at a lovely Pizzeria and enjoyed the first pizza we've had in Italy! Must beautiful. We picked the right p,ace as they were flat out all night. FABULOUS!