July 21 - In recent days we have left the Loire Valley for the Atlantic Coast. The former proved exactly as was described to us in terms of the gorgeous chateaux and villages, but after the more challenging rides of Switzerland, the French landscape in this particular region seemed rather bland. We are eager to see what else France has in store.
So we boarded a train in Blois, destination: Nantes. No particular reason to go to Nantes save for a good starting point to get in a couple of long riding days en route to La Rochelle, a spot that has been recommended to us by many people (e.g. Alice from Tours, Sarah & Steve from Guelph, and Nathalie & Christian who we met at the Loire gites).
Nantes is an interesting city in itself: nothing touristy about it but rather it is a bustling urban centre that has an interesting mix of people (most very attractive, stylishly dressed and still very friendly). Peter and I took in some fabulous people-watching while enjoying a couple of drinks (Muscadet is the local fave white wine here and it is spectacular) before enjoying a seafood-fest - we are into moules et frite (mussels and fries) these days and we're looking forward to more and more seafood as the coast approaches.
And by the way, we have heard remarks from a number of you about the extent to which Peter and I are getting along. Seems that the one time we wrote about having a challenging day has had numerous people talk about the challenges of traveling together. Yet other than that one day Peter and I have been getting along well and we are wonderful travel companions. Rest assured that the "off moments" are happily few and far between (but those "off" moments are interesting to blog about!). Certainly traveling brings out so many sides of one's personality that it can make or break a relationship (no doubt). Happily there is no sign of breakage!
Today we changed up our routine by (gasp!) getting out on our bikes (breakfast finished, bikes packed, rarin' to go) by 8:15am from Nantes. It was really great to be up earlier than our usual 10am departure times thus far (I used to be a morning person but somehow have found it really difficult to open up my eyes any time before 8am). And we put all of our faith into our Garmin (GPS unit), which easily and with little (read no) stress guided us through the city and into the more diverse and interesting landscape of France.
Beyond the urban and suburban scenes, we finally passed through what I had always imagined the French countryside to look like: rolling hills of vineyards under sunny skies followed by patches of grazing land for dairy cows (sans the Swiss cow bell accessories), and accented by stunningly old villages of concrete and stone houses with colourful shutters and gardens (and oddly few people around).
And it was a monumental day for me as we managed to cycle 100km (yes, that is 100km!) with all of our gear. Over five hours on the bikes, burning some 2600 calories for me and 3400 for Peter (yes we can eat whatever we want). I am so excited and proud of myself! Who knew I had it in me?! And I am (we are) not really overly spent or exhausted. A very exciting day, made even more interesting when the front derailleur (thingee attached to the pedal that changes the big ring of gears) on Peter's bike broke off, meaning that he could only cycle in one of his three big rings (the bottom one generally used for climbing mountains). Yikes. But somehow luck was on our side - within ten minutes at our destination (La Roche sur Yon), we had identified and cycled to a bike shop (that manufactures and sold bikes: Arcade), and within a couple of hours the bike was fixed and we had even managed to secure a hotel room using their phone. Whew. That could have been a really bad scene.
July 22 - Aujourd'hui, now avons bicycle grand distance encore. Par the fin du jour, nous avons covert 90 kms. Alors, en deux jours consecutif, nous avons cycle 190 kms. Fantastique!
Aussi, il y avait deux fois quand Alice a passe Pierre a la velo sur un montagne (sacre bleu!).
Hier, quand nous etais a le magazin pour velo, un gens a suggester aller a un place avec des canals ou nous pouvons faire le canoeing, appeller 'Le Venice Vertes'. Alors, nous avons decide d'y aller et alors passer la nuit dans une chambre d'hote en la ville Maillezais.
July 23 - We woke up this morning expecting the rains to be continuing, but it was cloudy and dry. So we decided to rent a canoe and boat through the canals (described in the brochure as "at the heaart of an exceptionally rich nature area, harvested by man" - by monks, hundreds of years ago, to be exact). We could barely see the water for all the little green plants (seaweed-like, but more leafy). The shades of green were totally awesome!
After relaxing for the afternoon, we wandered over to the village's touristic/historic highlight, the Abbaye from the 900s. There was some gregorian chanting and the ruins were spectacular.
Then it was off to the L'Auberge d'Abbaye for some regional cuisine: four courses of the most divine food yet (here is a sampling of what we had... escargot in creamy mushroom sauce, fresh green salad, white-fish, eel and frogs legs (after some debate as to whether or not these were actually fitting within our "vegetarian" label), dreamy cheese and bread, follow up with chocolate mousse and the lightest of yummy cheesecakes). Wow. But Alice still has the heeby-jeebies from the eel and frogs, and has decided to take them out of the "vegetarian" category and place them firmly (slimily) and absolutely into meat (and stuff that she really does not care for). Oh and the regional wine here has been superb: Mareuil.
July 24 - We completed our journey today, from Maillezais through La Rochelle to a small island on the Atlantic, Ile-de-Re. The ride was a tough one - 75 kilometers of wind, broken up roads and emotional tumult (on Alice's part - never again do we ride without a coffee first!!).
We arrived in time to enjoy the town we are in which we are staying - La Flotte. It is a lovely seaside resort(ish) village, with the smell of the ocean, perfumed tourists, and our slighty soiled clothing all around us (tomorrow we launder!!). The chambre d'hote in which we are staying is a higher-end one run by Jean-Pierre and his partner, Christian. Quite refined with a sense of taste and decor we have not yet experienced in France. We wandered a bit, caught up on emails and banking, and hung out. Alice stayed in our lovely room for the evening, while Peter wandered about the night markets and had a late dinner.
Views from our Chambres d'Hotes:
Last part of the ride - the bridge to Ile-de-Re
Views from our Chambres d'Hotes:
Our arrival here signaled the end of a three-day biking journey of which we are quite proud. We travelled over 260 kms in three days, at speeds, ove hilly landscape and with an ease that is new to us. We are now looking forward to longer jaunts from here on in, with a confidence we have not yet had.
July 25 - We woke to a beautiful warm day, perfect for our seaside location. A lovely start to the day with Jean-Pierre's meticulous, candle-lit and classical-music-accompanied breakfast, complete with freshly squeezed juice of carrots, orange, papaya and tumeric, homemade nutella and jams, fresh breads, creamy cheeses and rich coffee. We spent the day happily going to the local market, having our laundry done (Wheee!) and biking to the lovely larger town on the island, St-Martin-de-Re. Alice managed to find two new fetching outfits and Peter bought a new shirt. After three weeks on the road, we were pleased to buy some new clothes and dress up a bit. Tonight We are going to a dinner/dance in the village square and will partake in some more seafood and other tourist activities. Although only here for a short 36 hours, we feel refreshed, relaxed and happy.
During our weekend we have had thoughts of our Guelph friends taking in the annual Hillside Festival: Happy Hillside everyone!
Happily we had our own Happy Re-side as Peter and I took in an outdoor "fete" complete with moules et frites (of course), cheese, pineault (cognac with grape juice) and vin rose. The entertainment was a rather hokey band playing everything from French nationalist songs to Duffy (?!). We were seated at the "rowdy table" (okay, perhaps we were the ones to make it so) and a great group of people (Carole & Sean from La Rochelle and Frederique and her Mom from Toulouse). We all took in the cheesiness of the band and Peter and I launched in to our own rendition of what we thought were the lyrics of "The Ballad de les Champs Elysee"... at first the table looked at us in stunned silence and then laughed hysterically and chose to join in with our version. It was a classic moment and we still do not know what the actual lyrics were! It was a lovely way to end our time on Ils-de-Re.
St-Martin-de-Re
Tomorrow we head back to the mainland and on toward Bordeaux, about 200 kilometers away.
Nantes to Ile-de-Re grading:
- weather (A) – except for the rain-out on one day, perfect for biking, though still a bit cool. The best weather of the trip came on the best day possible, during our break on Ile-de-Re.
- landscape (A+) - hilly and diverse. Great!
- cycling challenge (moderate to hard) - hilly and far and fast. Our best yet!
- physical and emotional response (A-) even though Peter's bike broke down, some how lost his helmet and Alice pouted for a half day...we did great and met the challenge we set for ourselves.
- our relationship (A) Steady and holding (still))
- food (A+) - Outstanding experience of regional food, though Alice still has the creeps from the eel and frogs' legs...
- accommodations (A) Beautiful gites in Maillezais and luxury in Ile-de-Re
- other people – (C) mostly stuck to ourselves... (A) after our Re-side evening!
- entertainment – (B+) lovely locale and market and weather and food and music.
Overall Grade: A
Pierre et Alice
Hi Alice and Peter, wow, great writing and just awesome recounts of your experieces. And Alice, congrats on your first 100 km, the first of many to come I'm sure. Your travels remind me very much of ours. Very cool. Elizabeth
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