Check in here for our progress, or lack thereof, as we attempt to cross the Pyranees then France on our tandem. The first post will hopefully appear on 24th July.
We slept on our bed with no covers in our static caravan. Not because it was hot. In fact, it was cold. But the ferocious staff only gave us one sheet and two pillow cases. It's an odd feeling, going to bed fully clothed in your 'day' clothes but without the security of a sheet. Just a sheet. That's all you need as a barrier between you and the outside world. In spite of such an extreme bed situation, we slept. Every now and again, we would wake up and find something else to put on but we slept. Because we had passed no shops for miles the previous day, we had no food or drinks so when the alarm went off at 7am, we had no choice but to have a drink of water (no alternative beverages being available), get into our wet, cold clothes (we had washed them the night before) load up the tandem and go. But not before the lady in white appeared and demanded €10 with menaces for kindly lending us the inadequate bedding. It wasn't the easiest first few miles. No breakfast, n...
Incense. This, mingled with cigarette smoke was a constant presence whilst we stayed in the air bnb near Bayonne. It was an interesting experience all round. The whole of Bayonne was populated with people wearing white T shirts and red neckerchiefs. In the end, I asked our host why. It turned out that there was a festival for the whole weekend in Bayonne. I learnt that it was to involve much singing, dancing and drinking but my French comprehension didn't stretch to the reason for looking like a cross between sailors and cheerleaders. However, the other guests in this house were young. It doesn't matter how much we like to think that we're 'down with the kids', we just aren't. The revellers returned at regular intervals throughout the night, ranging from the considerate to the 'too anebriated to care'. There was never more than a two hour gap and we completed the sequence by getting up at 7am. incessant. The day was how I hoped it would be. One, giant b...
We awoke in our minimalist room. Quite chic. Modern clean lines an all that. And perhaps too comfortable as we needed the jump leads to get going this morning. Once we had pulled ourselves and our meagre belongings together, we made our way to the 'real' hotel because we had been told that we were allowed a cup of coffee in the morning from its hallowed corridors. We went from the sublime to the ridiculous. The upholstery on the very comfy sofas was a combination of orange, red, blue and purple. And that was without taking all the other colours used in the room into account. If the bedrooms were decorated similarly, then we would have been lucky to get any sleep! After one and a half coffees each, we set forth through Chatellerault. It is impressive. We crossed a mighty bridge crossing what I think was the Vienne (but I'm open to suggestions) and the ends of the bridge were guarded by fortified turrets. At one end the turrets were also guarding a boulangerie which was ...
Comments
Post a Comment