One thing I forgot to mention yesterday is that one of the reasons I chose to couchsurf over at Adrian’s place is that he is also a cycle tourist. In August he just completed 12 days of touring across Slovenia….meeting more cycle tourers really wets my appetite to get back on the bike again and again.
After thanking Adrian for his hospitality (great cooking) I made my way to the harbour area of La Seyne sur Mer – found a cafe – Rudy’s, and had a coffee…but this was the best value coffee of the trip so far. For 1.40euro I got an espresso, a small pain au chocolat, and an orange juice! All I ordered was an espresso, so I thought for sure they were just trying to rip off the tourist, but no….1euro40….nice and sweet.
Todays ride continued along the coast. It was hot today! Unbelievable… I started riding in long trousers, a morino wool top, t-shirt, and a fleece and by the end of the day all I was wearing was bike shorts and a light weight wicking shirt! Awesome. I feels so good to ride in the sun and not have to wear gloves.
The landscape is beautiful…again, I will draw comparisons to Croatia…although there seems to be more vegatation here…and one thing that is very different is the bike paths. Something Croatia has yet to discover. There are bike paths everywhere here…so even though the roads may be hairy, often you can find a tarmacked path dedicated to cyclists.
aaahhh yes, speaking of cyclists…there were tons of them out today….I mean tons…flying by on their lightweight racers – groups of old men on bikes….sometimes in 2’s, 3’s, or 4’s, but often in groups of 8 or more. Old men on bikes….everywhere.
For lunch I found what I thought was a suitable place….
And had a picnic…
I brought a tiny camera tripod with me, so I will start using it…no need to bore you with pictures of my bike all the time…I can now bore you with pictures of me!
During the trip I went through St-Tropez…nice village, but one look at the prices on the restaurants the shops around town was enough to convince me that I don’t belong there.
I’m going to be spending quite a bit of time in Nice…maybe a 4 or 5 day stop. Have a look around, but a tourist, and plan then next part of my trip – once I leave Nice I will be entering Italy….and I’m told that couchsurfing there is a little more challenging…but who knows, if the weather holds I may start camping finally!
Tonight I am being hosted by Erik near Sainte-Maxime. It is quite a treat to be here and very generous of him as his brother, sister-in-law and nephew are visiting from Peru. For dinner we had roasted red pepper soup and stuffed courgettes, washed down a two bottles of wine. The house is fantastic and boasts one of the best views of all the couchsurfers I’ve stayed with. Nestled high above the Mediterranean the view takes in miles of sea and the surrounding community. Absolutely sublime.
116km Bicycle Today
2352km to Date
