September 2014

1st September 2014. Today started foggy with the peaks of the mountains obscured from view.

Far bank of the Mosel lined with vineyards

We decided we would cycle to Bernkastel Kues and set off before the sun had chance to melt the fog away. The route mainly followed the path of the river but occasionally steered us through a vineyard or a local village, twisting and turning through side streets before returning to the river. It was a very pleasant ride through some stunning scenery with little change in the gradient making it a very easy ride. The sun didn't take long to burn away the fog and we soon had to stop to remove our jackets.

Bernkastel Kues

Bernkastel Kues was an unexpected delight with some very pretty half-timbered buildings and lots of flowers decorating the town. After exploring the town we stopped at a café that had the most appealing range of cakes you could imagine. We both selected a suitably calorific piece of gateau, Glynn opting for Black Forest while I opted for a raspberry cream concoction. After sating our hunger we set off again, heading for the other side of the river. We decided to put some effort in to the return journey with the aim of getting back in an hour. We followed the river for a short way before the route took us back on the other bank and we stepped up the pace realising it was going to be tight to make it back in an hour. We got back to the village in exactly 60 minutes but Glynn said it didn't count as it took us a further 2 minutes to reach the Aire. We had cycled 52kms which meant we were only 203kms short of our target. An afternoon of sunbathing and reading was on the agenda!!

3rd September 2014. Yesterday we spent the day relaxing before moving on again and ended up driving through Trier in rush hour after a detour took us almost in to the centre of town.

Fog slowly rising above the vineyards

We decided it didn't appeal to us to cycle in to the town and instead opted to head in to Luxembourg this morning, a day or two ahead of schedule. After taking advantage of the incredibly cheap fuel (€1.18 per ltr) and brandy (€7.99 per ltr) at a garage just inside the border we found a lovely campsite on the edge of Luxembourg City and spent the rest of the morning sitting out enjoying the sun.

Grand Ducal Palace, Luxembourg

After lunch we cycled in to the City which was only 10kms following the cycle path, an easy ride until we reached the City which is set on top of a very steep hill. After exploring the city centre, some of it on foot as the gradients were too steep for us, we decided to head back via the road (mainly because we couldn't remember where the cycle route was). After a healthy 22kms we arrived back and were soon chilling in the loungers enjoying the last of the day's sun.

5th September 2014. Today we headed in to Belgium and stopped at a lovely little village called Han-sur-Lesse. We cycled to Rochefort via the road which was incredibly hilly and felt a bit dangerous with huge logging trucks flying past a bit too close for comfort. We decided to head back via an old train line which was now tarmaced and a designated cycle path. Just like our first day in Germany the signs left a bit to be desired and we ended up way past our town before we eventually found our way back on to the road. The last few kilometres were tough, not helped by a detour I took to get us off the main road which turned into a gravel path with lots of loose stones. I was cycling way too fast on a steep downhill when my front wheel hit a ditch and I nearly went flying.

oh good, a game of football!!

 I managed to regain control luckily but it was a scary moment and I wisely decided to ride a bit slower on the downhills. In spite of the fact it had only been 8kms to Rochefort we ended up cycling 32kms by the time we found our way back. Definitely time for a well deserved glass of wine! Glynn was delighted to discover a local football match taking place on a pitch behind the Aire so he spent an enjoyable hour or so watching the game.

6th September 2014. Today we decided to head back to France. Belgian motorways are the worst I have ever come across. The road surface was so poor that Herman shook like he was having a fit. The crockery and cutlery were bouncing up and down like a Mexican wave and I fully expected to find all the cutlery in the wrong trays when we reached our destination.

Arc de Triomphe

It was a relief to get back to France, not least because I hadn't been able to pick up a FON network in Belgium so we'd not had any wifi and I was keen to check out a campsite that did coach trips to Paris. I hadn't planned on visiting Paris but suddenly decided it might be nice as we would be able to enjoy the city without having to drive anywhere near it in Herman. We stopped at a lovely little town called Bertry which was in the middle of a fun run event. Crowds of people lined the streets cheering the runners on.

La Madeleine

It was the first time I had seen a town where the entire centre was wired for sound with speakers up high on every lamp post. Accordion music and French singers could be heard all over the town centre so there was no escaping it! It wasn't so bad for me as I used to play in an accordion band when I was a teenager so I like the sound but poor Glynn looked less than impressed at the choice of music. I must admit that after trying several French radio stations on this trip we have given up and been listening to my IPod when we are travelling as the music is not to our taste.

Paris Opera

We headed back and as I was able to pick up a good FON network from the Aire we sent messages to family and friends before playing Rummikub. Glynn put up a valiant battle but I eventually won 2-1 taking the total to 19-7.

8th September 2014. Yesterday we drove to Berny-Rivière where there is a very large campsite with indoor and outdoor pools, 3 lakes for fishing and various other amenities to keep you amused. We were here purely for the convenience of the coach trip to Paris which was €21 each and so it was to the sound of my alarm clock that we got up at 6.45am to make sure we got on the coach on time.

Notre Dame

After a 90 minute journey we were dropped off near the Arc de Triomphe, free to explore until the return trip at 6.45pm. We wandered up the Champs Elysées and stopped for coffee while we planned where to go. We decided to get a hop on/hop off bus for €29 each (a bit expensive I thought but well worth it!!) and stay on it for the full circuit before then deciding which stops we wanted to explore further. We were lucky to get the back seats on the top floor of the open topped bus which gave us unrestricted views of the monuments as we drove past. The complete circuit took two and half hours and it was incredible.

Guess where we are!!

I don't know why I had never thought to visit Paris before but for me it was on a par with Rome and Florence, two of my favourite cities. My camera barely got time to rest there was so much to photograph. After completing the circuit we stayed on the bus until it reached Trocadero again. We sat by the fountains looking across at the Eiffel Tower while we ate our packed lunch and then wandered across the bridge to get a closer look. The weather was glorious and after admiring the

Stunning mural on the Grand Palais

Tower we went for a stroll along the Seine before heading back to the Champs Elysées to look at some of the shops and visit the Arc de Triomphe. It had been a fantastic day, one of the highlights of the trip, and all too soon it was time to head back to the coach. 

9th September 2014. This morning we drove to Beauvais as we are now working our way towards the Normandy coast to start heading towards Calais and home in 10 days.

Well that was a lot quicker than usual!!

We did a short ride of 7kms exploring the area and Glynn noticed his front tyre was a bit low on pressure. A tell-tale green blob of gel showed that he'd had another puncture but the new inner tube had sealed itself and Glynn was delighted that all he had to do was pump it up rather than patch the tube. After dinner we played Rummikub and much to Glynn's delight he beat me 3-0 making the score 19-10. Annoyingly he has pinched my trick of holding back from laying all his sets too soon making it harder to get out.

10th September 2014. This morning we drove to La Mailleraye sur Seine and the Aire was right on the bank of the river with fantastic views.

The Abbey at Jumiéges

 After lunch we cycled along the river edge to Heurteaville where there was a free ferry to the other side of the river. We took the ferry which took less than 5 minutes and headed off to see the ruins of the old Abbey at Jumiéges. We stopped for a beer in the town and an old guy started chatting non stop to us. We eventually got chance to explain we didn't understand much French and after acknowledging what we'd said he carried on, albeit at a slightly slower speed. The gist of the conversation was that he'd had cataracts and hadn't been able to see for a very long time but had now been operated on, he'd lost a lot of weight and he had 3 dogs although I couldn't swear to that being the correct translation. He finished his beer, jumped on his moped and weaved his way up the road. I am unsure whether this was because of the beer or impaired vision!!

11th September 2014. Bad hair day!! Having gone so long without a trim my hair is a disaster at the back because it is normally cut short and has grown so much it has lost its shape. I have been trying to hang on until I get home but I decided to bite the bullet and see what the local hairdresser could do. After all I was going to have to start using them unless I planned on flying my hairdresser out to wherever we are every 6 weeks!!

Lovely Aire beside the Seine

 The lady spoke no English so a customer who spoke a little bit of English helped translate. Have you ever tried explaining in sign language that you don't need the whole wash and blow dry package because once she has cut my hair it will not curl properly until I go home and wash it again as using a brush or comb makes my fair frizzy. It was like a game of charades!! I then tried to explain that my hair is much longer when wet and she was not to take more than a millimetre or two off my fringe or it would spring up when dry exposing my forehead. Trust me when I say that it is not a good look on me when my fringe is halfway up my forehead.

Traffic on the river!

I gathered the interpretation was going well until I realised they thought I wanted the hairdresser to come to the Motorhome to cut my hair. How on earth they came to that conclusion I don't know. At this point I should have backed out the door and made my excuses but unfortunately I didn't, a decision I later came to regret! It was obvious that things had got lost in translation when the first thing she did was wash my hair. The trim took an hour as she stopped halfway through washing it when a couple came in to have a chat, she then had to stop twice while cutting my hair to answer the phone and take bookings and finally a couple came in with a box of dresses for sale so she stopped to look through them, holding them up against herself and looking in the mirror.

Glynn loving the donkeys along the cycle path

I suppose I should be grateful it wasn't near lunch time as I wouldn't have been surprised if she had left me there half trimmed and gone off on a 2 hour lunch break that seems to be the norm in France. When she held up a heated curling brush and indicated she'd like her to use it I quickly declined so she dried my hair with a hairdryer. I suppose I should be grateful for small mercies as at least my fringe wasn't too short but that is where my gratitude ends!! She had trimmed the back of my hair but carried on too far round cutting off a lot of the longer hair from the sides so I felt like I was left with 2 little strips of hair at the sides. Telling a hairdresser you do not like what they have done is incredibly hard but even more so with the language barrier so I did what most of us probably do and smiled, saying "trés bon". I paid the €26.50 fee (no tip) and made a sharp exit. I hurried back to Herman so I could wash my frizzy hair to see what I could do with it. When I had done it Glynn said it looked nice but bless him he always thinks I look nice. There is only one thing for it, Glynn will have to learn how to trim the back of my hair as that's the only bit that needs to be done regularly!! I can't print his answer to my suggestion but suffice to say I am working on him!! 

What do you mean I'm not a chicken!!

There were 3 resident chickens and a duck at the Aire. The duck appeared to have an identity crisis as while the chickens spent all day wandering from van to van hoping for scraps the duck followed behind copying everything they did. It was really funny to watch.

As if the day hasn't been exciting enough with my trip to the hairdresser Glynn decided to up the ante!! We have a nice routine, I cook and he clears up afterwards. Today he was happily washing up and had put the kettle on to make a cup of tea.

You need a new tea towel dear!!

The next thing I know there are flames shooting up from the tea towel which the daft bugger had placed next to the gas hob. Glynn reacted quickly and threw it out of the door before trying to stamp on it to put out the flames, not easy in bare feet! He had done a similar thing a few weeks ago but spotted his mistake just as the tea towel was starting to scorch, this time the tea towel was a definite write off!! In spite of my jokes in previous posts about upping the wine intake to counteract our weight loss from all the cycling we actually make a point of not drinking on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Sundays as it would be too easy to slip in the habit of drinking every day. Rules are made to be broken and I decided that in spite of it being a Thursday it was definitely wine o'clock. 

13th September 2014. Today was a special day, my son jumped out of a plane at 13,000 feet to raise money for his mate Scott who needs a heart operation.

Lisa will you marry me? yes or no

In some ways it was a relief I was not at home to see it as I'm sure it would have scared me to death. To make the day even more special Darryl had a little surprise up his sleeve which he was able to carry out with the help of his friends. When he landed he dropped on to one knee and proposed to his lovely girlfriend Lisa. His mates all had placards which read "Lisa will you marry me, yes or no" and were jumping up and down in excitement.

She said yes!!!

Luckily she said yes or that would have been pretty embarrassing!! Unbeknownst to Lisa they had snuck in our house after they had left that morning and had decorated it in the theme of Las Vegas which is where they plan on getting married. They had a wonderful Vegas themed party that evening to celebrate. Guess I had better start looking for a hat!! 

16th September 2014. 2000kms!!! We have spent the last few days gradually working our way along the Normandy coast, stopping overnight at Fecamp, Veulettes sur Mer, Dieppe and Le Tréport. The weather has been fantastic and we have had some lovely cycle rides along the coast roads. The coastline is mainly cliffs and each town sits low, nestled at the base of the cliff edge which means a steep drop in to the towns and a tough climb out the other side. Glynn has had 2 further punctures, the only sign being the tell tale blob of green gel where the hole has sealed itself. He is delighted that all he had to do is check his tyre pressure rather than repairing inner tubes. We were just 35kms short of reaching 2000kms so we cycled in to town and cheated slightly by taking the Funicular up to the cliff edge.

Spectacular view from the top

We had discovered the Funicular the day before, it's free of charge and takes you up through the cliff face to the top where there are spectacular views looking down on the harbour. We got off at the top and headed along the coast road. It was a tough ride with lots of steep hills that really tested my lungs. You would think that after cycling nearly 2000kms I would be fit but my lungs felt like I had just smoked 20 cigarettes every time we climbed a steep hill. I was determined not to get off and push and to be fair I think it would have been just as hard to do that as it was to cycle up them. We dropped down at high speed into the beautiful coastal towns and climbed slowly out the other side. When we got back I checked my Garmin and our total was 1998kms. After lunch we cycled back in to town to pick up a wifi network so I could check my emails. We left our bikes at the seafront and did some window shopping before climbing up to the higher part of town. I picked up a FON network so we sat on some steps while I checked for messages. Glynn suddenly jumped up and was rubbing his head. "I think a bird has just shit on my head" he said. Trying not to laugh too loudly I confirmed that there was a tell-tale line of bird shit down his back so he had guessed correctly. We walked back to get the bikes, me chuckling to myself and Glynn with an indignant look on his face! When we got back to the Aire we had totalled 2002kms. We were both chuffed to bits and celebrated with a cuppa as it was a Tuesday so therefore an alcohol free day. 

17th September 2014. Today we drove to a lovely Aire at Berck.

The seals

It was just off a huge sandy beach, a welcome change from the stony beaches of the last few towns we had visited. Glynn declared it a bike free day so after lunch we strolled down to the beach and walked out to the edge of a rocky promenade. It was a beautiful hot sunny day with a clear blue sky. The tide was out and there were several sandbanks. The sea was a gorgeous colour and I took a few photographs before I noticed the collection of large grey objects on a nearby sandbank. It was a seal colony. They lay basking in the sunshine, occasionally lifting their heads to look around before resuming their sunbathing. After admiring the seals and taking a few photos we carried on our walk along the beach and arrived back at the Aire 2 hours later.

Beautiful beach at Berck

A lot of people seemed to be heading towards the beach so after a coffee break we walked back too. As the tide was coming in a few of the seals had lost their dry resting place as it was reclaimed by the sea and they were now swimming just off the shore. Alongside lots of other spectators we watched the seals as they swam around, diving below the surface before popping their heads out of the water and looking around. It was a great way to end a fantastic day and we headed back to cook dinner and crack open a nice bottle of wine. 

18th September 2014. We decided to head to Gravelines for our last 2 nights as the location was excellent for a early start to the Eurotunnel. Glynn filled up with diesel en-route and (luckily) we decided to stop at Boulogne. I commented that I could smell diesel and when I looked I realised the fuel cap was missing. "Where's the fuel cap Glynn?" "Ooops" he replied. We abandoned our plans to see Boulogne and headed back to the petrol station, thankfully it was only about 6 miles!! The fuel cap was still by the pump and we were soon heading back in the right direction, Glynn looking sheepish while I practised my best look of disdain. A quick stop at Calais for essential supplies (wine!!) and we were soon parked up at the lovely Aire at Gravelines facing the marina. We sat outside and chilled in the sun for the rest of the day.

19th September 2014. Our last day of this trip and what a great day it was. Good weather, good food, good company and good wine!! We went for a ride before lunch and when we returned we got chatting to a lovely couple, Jane and Pete, who were also travelling back to the UK the next day. After lunch we cycled to the beach, one of the biggest expanses of sand I have seen. The tide was out and we walked along the jetty for half an hour before we reached the sea. In spite of it being a lovely warm sunny day there was a fog rolling in, obscuring the sun and turning it cooler. We then decided a beer would go down nicely and headed back. We bumped in to Jane & Pete and the 4 of us headed to a bar where we enjoyed a lovely hour chatting about the places we had all been and swapping information about good Aires to stay on.

We don't often eat what I call junk food but Glynn decided he wanted to end our trip with a pizza dinner so I made some garlic bread (with more garlic than is good for you if you are expecting company later!!)and we enjoyed a lovely big pizza and lots of garlic buttered baguette. Jane and Pete had gone out to a restaurant but joined us when they got back and we enjoyed a very relaxed last evening with more information swapping and, unsurprisingly, some nice French wine. It transpired that they were going to be at Lincoln motorhome show the following weekend which is where we would be too so we arranged to meet up again.

20th September 2014. We were up bright and early as we were booked on the 9.50am train. We had been warned the check in was slower than normal because of extra security checks so we allowed plenty of time and all too soon we were back in the UK. Glynn was a bit worried he would forget to drive on the left after so long away but I reminded him every now and again to hug the kerb and we arrived home unscathed. Darryl and Lisa were having a cocktail party and had asked me to cook one of my giant paellas so our first night back was spent drinking cocktails, eating paella and having a great time catching up with all the news, not least of which was hearing about Darryl's parachute jump and subsequent proposal.

The last four and half months have been amazing. A lot of people were shocked when we first announced our plan to give up work and tour Europe in a motorhome. Everyone has been very supportive and full of encouragement, commenting on how brave they thought we were and wishing they could do it too. I must say that so far it has exceeded our expectations. I can't put in to words how incredible it feels each day exploring new areas, meeting new people and just feeling so chilled out. The cycling has been brilliant and our total distance was 2012 kms. We will spend the next 8 weeks in the UK to give us time to get Herman mot'd and serviced, apply for our Indian visas and catch up with all our family and friends. Most importantly we will be buying Glynn new tyres for his bike in the hope it will minimise the number of punctures he gets!! We will spend 3 months in Goa from 18th November to 18th February and when we return our plan is to head down to Southern Spain initially. Where we go from there who knows, it will depend on the weather mainly and what recommendations we get from fellow travellers. All we know is that it is very exciting and we have absolutely no regrets about giving up work and grabbing this opportunity. I won't write blog posts while we are in Goa as we will be just be chilling and reading mainly, as well as continuing to learn to speak French and Spanish using my Duolingo app (Google it if you don't know what it is, it's brilliant!!). I will however use the time to update the financial tab with a breakdown of what it cost us during this trip and show a price comparison of the supermarkets in France. We also plan on doing some research while we are away on places to visit so it is all very exciting. It has been really lovely to receive messages through my blog from people we have never met, some just to say how much they have enjoyed the blog whilst others have been inspired by what we are doing and are now making their own plans. It feels incredible to think that something I have written has the potential to inspire others to change their course. If you have any questions on anything we have done or plan on doing please feel free to message me through the link on the blog and I will happily answer your questions if I can.  

The Seine flowing through Paris

Eiffel tower

Bernkastel Kues

Luxembourg

Kite festival at Dieppe

Fecamp beach

Misty sunrise over the Seine at La Mailleraye

The Porta Nigra, Trier

August 2014

2nd August 2014. We spent the first day of August just chilling and enjoying the sunshine and today we set off for Bourges. There was a large Aire on the edge of the town centre so we parked up before cycling into the old part of town.

Bourges Cathedral

 We spent a very enjoyable hour exploring the city admiring the lovely Cathedral and many other historical buildings that all looked very well preserved. We went back to make lunch and decided that we would move on rather than spend the night at Bourges as there was nothing further we wanted to see and it was still only early afternoon. We drove to St Amand Montrond where there was a choice of 2 Aires. The one by the canal was pretty but the pitches were sloping sideways and it was almost full. We headed to the other Aire which was much larger and was adjacent to Lake Virlay. The majority of the Aire was tarmaced and as a storm was due we felt this was a better option rather than risk getting stuck on soggy ground. There were also several shops and a supermarket close by so we took the opportunity to stock up the cupboards and fill the fuel tank.

Bourges

French petrol stations seem to drop their fuel prices at random times for a day or 2 and we were lucky that this was one of those times. Diesel was €1.25 and at the current rate we're getting on our credit card this equates to about £1 per litre (2 days later it had gone back up to €1.31).

3rd August 2014. After stopping at Tourist Info to get a map of the Canal de Berry we decided to cycle along its path as it meandered towards Ainay-le-Vieil. We had only followed the path for about 8 kms when we noticed the weather seemed to be closing in. As we had no wifi at the Aire I hadn't been able to check today's weather forecast and as we had left the roof vents open we decided to err on the side of caution and head back. It was a good decision as we hadn't been back long when there was a terrific thunderstorm that turned the Aire into a mini lake. Several motorhomes were struggling to get off the grass and onto the Tarmac areas before they sunk too far in to the ground so we had definitely made a wise decision in choosing the solid ground to park on. Within half an hour we were back to glorious sunshine so it didn't take long for the majority of the surface water to disappear. We decided against venturing back to the Canal as the path would probably be boggy and opted to cycle a couple of laps round Lake Virlay instead. Although we hadn't managed to do the ride we had planned we had still notched up 23kms so we were happy with that. 

While I was prepping dinner Glynn filled up the water tank and when I next went to switch the tap on there was no water. I could hear the pump working although it sounded different. We had only been discussing a few days earlier that we ought to have a spare water pump just in case as it would be a nightmare if it failed. My heart sunk as I had visions of cold showers courtesy of buckets of water!! We lifted up the access hatch to the water tank and Glynn could see straight away that a pipe had come off. It took him less than a minute to lift the pump and re-fix the pipe. We both breathed a sigh of relief when the taps worked again and we agreed that we would definitely ensure we got a spare pump as that had been a scary moment. 

After dinner we decided to play a couple of games of Trivial Pursuit. The first game Glynn flew ahead, filing his tiles quickly and answering the final question with ease. The second game I did much better and I managed to get all 6 tiles ahead of Glynn and even managed to land on the centre square quite quickly. "What was Andy Green the first to do on land almost exactly 50 years after Chuck Yeager was first to do it in the air?" I had no idea who Andy Green was nor did I have Chuck Yeager on speed dial so I had to think logically. "Break the sound barrier" I said with some confidence as it seemed the only plausible answer and was rewarded with a smile from Glynn as he declared it a draw before packing the game away. Just after we had gone to bed another thunderstorm arrived. I am not fazed by thunder or lightning but this storm actually made me a bit nervous. There was a roll of thunder that seemed to go on and on rolling around directly overhead. I have never heard a single roll of thunder last so long and accompanied by huge streaks of lightning and torrential rain it was actually a bit scary. We gave up on trying to sleep and decided to read while we waited for the worst of the storm to pass. 

5th August 2014. Yesterday we left early to do the short journey to our next planned stop which was at Sancoins, just 40kms away.

I don't have another puncture, I'm servicing the bikes

The Aire was along the bank of the canal and was clearly popular as we only just managed to get a place along the canal edge. The setting was idyllic and we enjoyed a lovely stroll along the canal before sitting in the sun watching a group of lads fishing on the opposite bank. It turned out to be quite entertaining when one of them pulled up his line to find he had caught a frog. Their antics as they tried to release it were hilarious as the frog kept leaping out of their hands before they could remove the hook.

Today we set off to ride the canal path but owing to all the recent rain it was very muddy so when we reached a road we decided to take it. This turned out to be a lucky decision for one little puppy!! As we cycled along I thought I heard a dog barking from the ditch. I called Glynn to stop and we went back to look. We couldn't see anything as the ditch was deep and full of grass and undergrowth but we could hear the frantic barking of a dog. Glynn eventually spotted a movement and all we could make out was that it was a white dog. We guessed he may have been hit by a car and was probably injured. The dog had gone silent when he heard us but eventually started whimpering and I was anxious to help him. We decided to cycle back to Tourist Info' in the town to ask them to get help but as we got back to the village the first business we passed was a Veterinary Practice. Result! In our pigeon French we managed to explain to the vet what we had found and where the dog was and he indicated that he would go and check it out as soon as he had finished with his customers. Happy that the dog would now be rescued we set off again. We could hear the dog barking as we approached and he went quiet as soon as he heard us. We stayed with him for a while, talking to him trying to reassure him and confident that the vet wouldn't be too long we set off on our ride. When we got back about 90 minutes later we decided to go and check out the ditch just to make sure the dog had been rescued. I was livid when I heard the dog's frantic barking before we even reached the ditch. We cycled straight back to the vet's only to be informed he was out on home visits. I tried to indicate that this wasn't good enough and I think the receptionist said she would remind him but she spoke very little English so I wasn't sure. She could see I was angry and concerned. We then went to Tourist Info as I wasn't prepared to leave things as they were. The lady in TI called the police for advice and they advised her to call the Vet. She then called the receptionist we had spoken to who confirmed the vet was aware and was now trying to find the dog. We assumed she must have called him after our second visit so we shot back to the lane in case he couldn't find him. We actually passed the vet heading back in to town but carried on to check the ditch just in case. We were relieved to find the dog had gone. We agreed we would call in at the Vet's in the morning to check on the dog before we moved on to a new location. 

We spent the rest of the day just chilling in the sun, watching the fishermen on the edge of the canal and after dinner we decided to have another game of Rummikub. Glynn put up a valiant battle and managed to hold me to a 1-1 draw much to his delight. 

6th August 2014. Our first port of call was the Vet's to check on the dog.

Aprémont sur Allièr

We were able to ascertain that the dog was fine but our French and the Vet's English prevented us from actually going into any detail on his injuries. We set off for Nevers delighted that the dog would make a full recovery and happy that we had played a role in his rescue. En route we stopped at a delightful little medieval village called Aprémont sur Allièr which is listed as one of the most beautiful villages in France. The description was indeed accurate and we enjoyed a leisurely stroll along the river admiring the beautiful flower decked houses before carrying on our journey. 

Nevers was a disappointment to me, I just didn't 'get' it.

Aprémont sur Allièr

The lovely cathedral had the most hideous contemporary stained glass windows which seemed completely out of place in a building of such magnificence. The original windows had been destroyed in a bombing raid during the Second World War when Allied forces missed their target of the marshalling yard at Nevers railway and dropped 3 bombs on the Cathedral by mistake.

It cost €7.1 million and has taken 30 years to replace the windows and at the risk of upsetting the 5 designers responsible I thought the effect was awful. I didn't even bother to take any photos initially but then decided I must include some in my blog so you would see what I was moaning about. You can make your own mind up but I hated them. The other attraction that perplexed me was the Ducal Palace. Absolutely beautiful to look at but inside there was a glass walled

aquarium, a display of designers clothes and pottery, some odd pieces of furniture and a modern racing bike amongst the things on display. What was that all about? The palace itself was a lovely building so it was still worth a visit for that reason.

7th August 2014. After spending the night on the Aire at St Benin D'Azy we set off for Autun. We stopped for a break at Château-Chinon only to discover there is no Château!! The

Ducal Palace

scenery en route was stunning. After the very English looking countryside we had passed through in the centre of France the scenery had become more mountainous again with stunning forests of pine and beautiful valleys. Autun was a delight with lots of reminders of its Roman origins evident in the stunning cathedral, the Roman gateways and the remnants of the Amphitheatre which was once able to seat 20,000 spectators. 

8th August 2014. Autun was small enough to be able to walk around easily in a day which was just as well as although the Aire was in a lovely location on the edge of town next to a lake it was also next to a main road.

Autun

Any thought of sleeping after 6am went out of the window as the noise of the traffic acted like an early morning alarm that couldn't be switched off!! We decided to move on and headed to Nolay. In addition to the lovely pine forests we were now seeing more vineyards again, evidence that we were entering another wine region. As soon as we had settled on the Aire we set off on our bikes. We followed a lovely wide cycle path to Santenay and then carried on along the canal path to St Leger sur Dhuene admiring the vineyards on one side of us and the barges on the other. As we were heading back Glynn was in front so I didn't see anything on the path until he swerved to the left and called out to me. Just as I swerved to the right I registered that it was a snake and whereas Glynn was heading round it's tail end I was now hurtling towards its head. I did what any self-respecting girl would do in the circumstances and lifted both feet as high as I could and screamed as I rode past. I would like to say I missed his head by a millimetre but I would be lying as, in addition to lifting my feet, I also closed my eyes so I actually have no idea how close I got to the snake. Suffice to say it was closer than I was happy with. I suppose I should consider myself fortunate that I didn't end up in the canal after closing my eyes.

Just a bit further along the canal path we came to a junction where there was a wine cave so we decided to stop. I was surprised to find I was shaking a bit after the close call with the snake so it seemed appropriate to calm my nerves trying the local wines. The lady was clearly keen on her wines and I got the impression she was delighted to invite us to try them as it gave her an excuse to taste them with us and she got herself a glass too. We tried the 3 reds she recommended which were lovely and as I am also keen on dry white wine I then sampled 3 whites that she recommended. Feeling decidedly more relaxed we advised her we would be back the next day with the motorhome to buy some wine and we continued our journey back at a slightly slower and more chilled pace, all thoughts of the snake forgotten.

9th August 2014. Yesterday we had discovered a brand new Aire at St Leger so we headed there first thing before setting off on our bikes again. The beauty of canal paths is they tend to be fairly flat so we hadn't realised just how hilly the region was. We soon found out when we set off for Givry. As there was no cycle path to Givry we followed the back roads and we had barely left the village before we climbed 150 metres in a very short distance. The route continued to climb and drop including one very short but incredibly steep section that almost beat me. The 40kms we had done the day before were a doddle compared with the 34kms we did today but we had a great ride which included the obligatory stops at a couple of wine caves!! Well it would be rude not to!! 

11th August 2014. After spending a couple of hours yesterday exploring the lovely town of Beaune we carried on to a France Passion site at Premeaux Prissey, a lovely vineyard where we were invited to park on a large grassed area at the back of the chateau.

The grounds of the château we stayed on

The rain seems to have been following us for days with brief periods of lovely sunshine immediately followed by torrential rain and thunderstorms. It rained so much last night we were relieved this morning to find we hadn't sunk into the field. We started today with wine tasting down in the cellar. Now I don't know about others but drinking wine at 10am, albeit only small samples, renders me pretty useless for the rest of the day. The vintner was a great chap who delighted in working us through his wine list. As Glynn was driving he made good use of the spit bucket. Now I know it was only 10am but if someone is kindly offering me a taste of their Premier Cru at more than €30 a bottle I figured the least I can do is swallow. We left there a short while later clutching our purchases and set off the short distance to Gaugy Fromagerie. I had read about it on the internet and Glynn was keen to try their highly acclaimed Epoisses cheese, a favourite with Napoleon, which had been awarded AOC status. We got there quite close to lunch time which meant we didn't have time to watch how the cheeses were made unfortunately. Almost without exception everywhere shuts down for a 2 hour lunch break in France, even some cafés and bars!! We purchased their tasting platter, a bargain at €5 each, and were given a selection of 6 cheeses, a basket of granary bread and a glass of red wine. I know you're probably questioning my wisdom at partaking in yet more wine when I still felt a bit squiffy but seriously you have to try it, Epoisses cheese is just made to be tasted with wine!!!

Dijon

What can I say, there are some days when you just have to break the rules and today was definitely one of them. We were given an explanation of the various cheeses and shown which order to eat them in starting with the mildest first. We are both big fans of cheese and have tried a fair few varieties on our travels but nothing that matched these. We were in cheese heaven!! Needless to say we walked back to Herman with a lighter wallet but a lovely bag containing our purchases. 

A short while later we were happily parked up on an Aire at Marsannay La Côte which was only 7kms from the centre of Dijon. Now it may surprise you, it certainly did me, but we then got our bikes out and cycled in to Dijon. Luckily there were no hills so it was an easy ride and we enjoyed a couple of hours admiring some of the stunning architecture before returning to relax for the rest of the day. It came as no surprise when

I asked Glynn what he wanted for dinner and he immediately said "cheese salad". 

Dijon

14th August 2014. Glynn's birthday. We have had several discussions over the last few days as to whether we should return to the South of France in search of the sun and spend a month just chilling. In the end we decided to stick with our current plan and just hope the weather improves. Today made us query our decision as it turned out to be our coldest day so far with temperatures barely reaching 14°. As you will know if you read June's blog I gave Glynn his birthday present early, a Kindle Paperwhite, to stop him keep pinching my IPad to read books on and Darryl and Lisa sent him some puncture proof inner tubes because of all the punctures he was getting. The funny thing is that since then he hasn't had another puncture so still hasn't used them. I took the Kindle back this morning and wished him a happy birthday before giving it back to him!! I was tempted to hide it as he is constantly taking the mickey when I am struggling to read my iPad in the sun and insists on showing me how easy it is to see his screen in full sun. Guess what he's buying me for my birthday???

Gerardmer Lake

We are still gradually heading towards Germany and today we set off for the ski resort of Gerardmer although we were certainly not hoping to find any snow. The scenery was stunning as we headed in to mountains that were covered with huge forests of pine. It was still raining on and off and the clouds had sunk under their weight and were obscuring the peaks in places. As we climbed higher we were suddenly in the clouds and visibility dropped to almost nothing. As we drove down the other side and out of the clouds we could see the beautiful lake at Gerardmer and lovely chalet style houses adorning the hills. As luck would have it there was a big music event taking place in the town which culminated that night in a firework display set to music. The fireworks had been set up across the lake on pontoons and luckily the rain, which had fallen on and off throughout the evening, stopped 10 minutes before the display started. It was an incredible display, perfectly in time with the music and a lovely way to end the day. I told Glynn I had especially requested the fireworks for his birthday but funnily enough he didn't believe me!! 

17th August 2014. We spent the last 3 days at the beautiful town of Kayserberg nestled in a valley surrounded by mountains and vineyards.

Stunning mural at Kayserberg

The town itself was an absolute delight with stunning half-timbered buildings decorated with flower displays hanging from window boxes. It was a really pretty town and a delight to explore. There were several wine caves and as we are still collecting wines to give to Darryl and Lisa for their Christmas present we opted to do some more wine tasting. As it turned out this region is not renowned for red wine as they predominately produce Reisling. Glynn tried some of the reds available but they were not on a par with the red wines we had tried in other regions however I tried some of the white wines and found a lovely Reisling that was worthy of adding to our collection. 

Kayserberg

Overlooking the town is a lovely tower but it involves a steep climb to reach it. I persuaded Glynn that the views over the valley would be worth it and we made our way up to the tower. In spite of all the cycling the climb was a killer on my thigh muscles as it clearly uses completely different muscles to climb as it does to cycle. Once we reached the tower Glynn opted to enjoy the view from there while I carried on and climbed the 100 steps to the top of the tower.

Amazing view from the tower

At the time the views were worth it but I did question my wisdom in the following days when my thigh muscles felt like they'd been hit by a baseball bat. Glynn found it hilarious watching me struggle to bend down because of the pain it caused me.

During our stay we enjoyed a ride in to Colmar. The route took us on cycle paths that passed through many of the vineyards and orchards. We enjoyed a lovely ride but our first thoughts when we got to Colmar were that it looked tired and drab and like a concrete jungle. Luckily we carried on in to the centre as it transformed into a interesting town with some stunning architecture and this is where you could see the history in the beautiful buildings and narrow streets. 

Colmar

18th August 2014. One of those days!! I got up really excited today. We were finally going to enter Germany, one of the few countries in Europe I had yet to visit. It is a country I have wanted to see for a long time and I was especially excited about spending time in the Black Forest, even more so after recently reading "Tents and Tents Stability", a Kindle book I downloaded from Amazon. It's about a guy that backpacks through Germany for 5 weeks staying in each of the 16 states and sampling the cheese and beer of each area on his trip. His description of some of the places he visited left me in doubt I needed to visit the country. After driving in to Colmar to fill up on fuel and food we set off for the border. Glynn commented that something didn't sound right and pulled over. He looked under the Motorhome and said "ah! that would be because the exhaust has snapped in half"!! I couldn't believe it. My heart sunk but I was determined not to get stressed about it. After searching on our sat nav we found a Fiat garage 3kms away and headed there. Luckily the exhaust wasn't too loud and we didn't notice anyone giving us a second glance. The garage advised us it would take them at least 3 days to get the replacement pipe and suggested we carried on and tried to find another garage. After a quick discussion we decided to chance it and carry on in to Germany. There was a Fiat garage at Freiberg so we reset the sat nav and set off carefully. Less than an hour later we arrived at the garage and they were really helpful suggesting we visit a Fiat/Scania garage nearby that dealt in large vehicles. Following their directions we arrived at the next garage in no time. It was now 12.45pm so Glynn commented that they had probably just started their 2 hour lunch break, forgetting that we were no longer in France. We spoke to a guy, who later turned out to be the boss, and he explained that they were very busy and short staffed.

Bay 9!!

He advised us that the mechanics came back from lunch at 1pm and he would see what they could do. The job would take about an hour and they probably had the part in stock. We decided to sit in the Motorhome and have lunch while we waited to see if they could help us. I had barely finished filling rolls and making a cup of tea when a mechanic knocked on the door and asked us to drive round to Bay 9. Forty minutes later it was done. Now that's what I call service. Less than 1 hour after arriving without an appointment we were ready to drive off with the new pipe in place and the best bit was the bill which was only €129 for 40 minutes labour and the parts. Result!! They hadn't even rounded the labour up to a full hour like they did in France when we had the roof leak fixed. We thanked them for their excellent service and set off the short distance to our next planned stop at Emmendingen, noticeably more relaxed than we had been all morning. We couldn't believe it when we wandered in to town after parking up on the stellplatz (the German equivalent of a French Aire) and discovered a hive of activity as various stalls and a stage were being set up ready for a wine/beer festival that evening with live music. We realised the day was going to end a whole lot better than it had started!! Just for the record the garage was August Wisser at Gundelfingen, some well deserved publicity for first class service.

19th August 2014. After so much mixed weather we were delighted to find today was a lovely sunny day so we decided to cycle in to Freiberg. Germany has some excellent cycle paths but sometimes the signs, or lack of them, leave a bit to be desired!! After a couple of wrong turns, caused by lack of signs we eventually arrived at Freiberg, a journey which was 23kms on the way there and only 17kms on the way back owing to the lack of signs at a couple of junctions!! The other funny thing was the distances shown on the signs, we would pass a sign saying 10kms to Emmendingen and then the next sign would say 12kms!! Work that one out. After a relaxing afternoon sitting in the sun we finished the evening by playing Rummikub. Glynn has really improved and become quite a tactical player and it was a good battle which culminated in a 3-2 win to me bringing our score to 16-5. We haven't played Trivial Pursuit lately as we keep getting the same questions come up but my dear sister Cheryl had managed to pick us up a new set of question cards from a boot sale so once we have those I will try and improve my score which currently stands at 6-3 to Glynn.

Gaishöll waterfall

21st August 2014. We have spent 2 days on a lovely stellplatz at Sasbachwalden, a beautiful town in the Black Forest and everything I had envisaged a Black Forest town would be like. The stellplatz was based behind a winery so it goes without saying that we had to try their wines. One of their red wines was so lovely that in addition to buying a bottle to add to our collection for Darryl and Lisa we bought an extra bottle for ourselves. 

We explored the town on foot,

making the steep climb up to Gaishöll waterfall where we saw a stag and some deer grazing in a field. We cycled the area, which was quite hilly but a lovely ride and then we did the only other thing that had to be done!! We visited the local bakery and bought 2 pieces of a Black Forest gateau. We sat outside in the sun with a cup of coffee and our cake. It was absolutely lovely but had so much fresh cream that I felt sick after eating it as I felt so full. 

Sasbachwalden

25th August 2014. Over the last few days we have gradually been making our way towards Koblenz ready to travel down the Mosel river before heading in to Luxembourg. Our route north has roughly followed the course of the Rhine stopping overnight at Gernsbach, Germersheim and Gau Algesheim. We have done some fantastic rides along the edge of the Rhine each day and today we crossed the river using the transport ferry so that we could cycle the far bank from Winkel to Rudesheim before taking another ferry back and cycling to Bingen.

Real Black Forest gateau!

After a few sunny days the rain is scheduled to return for a few days but we are hoping that it will be short lived. The temperature has dropped considerably in the last couple of days and when we set off for our ride this morning I was wearing my arm and leg warmers as well my waterproof jacket and gloves. This time last week I was cycling in shorts and a little cycling vest whereas today it took 10kms of cycling before we started to even feel warm. What happened to August being one of the hottest months!! 

The Rhine

26th August 2014. We awoke to awful weather, cold with lots of rain, so it seemed a good day to move on. We made an early start and headed to Braubach as it was ideally placed for cycling in to Koblenz. The Aire at Braubach was right on the edge of the Rhine with stunning views and a castle set high atop a mountain overlooking the Aire. Shortly after we arrived the weather seemed to clear so we decided to get the bikes out. We cycled the 16kms to Koblenz and the weather alternated between sunshine and showers. We weren't too bothered about the showers as they were fairly short lived each time but as we arrived in Koblenz the rain suddenly began to fall heavily so we took shelter in a cafe waiting for it to pass.

The view from Braubach Aire

Any excuse for more lovely German gateau!! When the rain seemed to slow a bit we headed off to the old town and German Corner where the Rhine meets the Mosel. We managed to take a couple of pictures but the rain was becoming torrential. We sheltered under a bridge but after half an hour we realised that we were going to be cycling home in the rain as it showed no signs of letting up. I was so annoyed as there were some stunning buildings dying to photographed. Glynn promised we would come back next time we visited Germany but we would make sure it was when the sun was shining!!

Koblenz

We headed back at a good pace, keen to get home as quickly as possible. The beauty of riding a mountain bike with no mudguards in the rain is that the front wheel sends spray right up your nose while the back wheel sends muddy spray right up your back!! As Glynn was in front I was also getting sprayed in the face from his rear wheel so I had to drop further back. Surprisingly, in spite of the rain I quite enjoyed the ride but by the time we got back we were absolutely soaked to the skin. We had managed to add a very wet 32kms to our total so far. We waited for the rain to stop before attempting to load the bikes in the garage. As we were strapping them in Glynn heard a noise and realised it was air hissing out of his front tyre..... he finally was going to get to use his new puncture proof inner tubes!! How lucky that we hadn't had to stop in the pouring rain to fix it.

Installing the new puncture proof inner tube!!

31st August. We have spent the last 5 days gradually working our way down the Mosel river. It is absolutely stunning with beautiful villages dotted along both sides of the river. There are acres and acres of vineyards that grow from the steepest slopes of the mountain sides. We watched a small vineyard tractor defying gravity, driving between the rows of vines on one of the very steep slopes. A small crowd of walkers and cyclists had stopped to watch in awe as it seemed impossible that the tractor wouldn't tip over and fall off the side of the mountain. Lovely tarmaced cycle paths follow both banks of the river and we have enjoyed some great rides following the river in one direction before crossing to the other side and cycling back.

The view of Cochom as we cycled along the Mosel

At times the cycle path leaves the bank of the Mosel and crosses through the middle of a vineyard so that when you look up you are surrounded by vines with mountains on both sides also filled with vines. It is pretty spectacular cycling through this area and we have loved every minute of it.

I learnt a useful lesson on one of the rides....don't laugh out loud whilst cycling at speed!! Glynn was having one of his humorous moments when we cycled past a couple sitting on a bench. He said "Germans like their moustaches don't they!" After a brief pause he added "and even some of the men have them too".

Almost ready for harvesting

As I burst out laughing a fly (at least I'm hoping it was nothing more exciting than that!!) hit the back of my throat, too far for me to try and spit it out. Trying not to gag I hurriedly drank lots of water to wash it down, hoping that if it was still alive after the initial impact I had just drowned it. Glynn was sympathetic as usual and muttered some comment about the size of my mouth for which he will suffer later!! As we set off again I was trying to cycle with my mouth closed but when you suffer from hay fever it's not easy to breath through your nose and still get enough oxygen. I could still feel where the insect had hit my throat making it feel like it was still there which wasn't very pleasant. 

Last night we had another 2 games of Rummikub and much to Glynn's delight he held me to a draw with him winning the first game with ease. That means the score now stands at 17-6 but I can see the gap diminishing with time now that he has mastered the game.

Today it's raining which is the first poor weather we've had since the day in Koblenz although the weather is set to improve if the forecasts are to be believed. We will spend another few days working our way towards Trier before heading in to Luxembourg and then on to Belgium. Time seems to be passing very quickly now and we only have 3 weeks left of this trip. I was very excited about visiting Germany and it has surpassed my expectations. We have obviously only seen a tiny amount but what we have seen has been amazing so we will definitely be back, maybe the Romantic Route and East Germany next time ending with a visit to Lake Constance

We have cycled over 100kms along the Mosel bringing our total to 1745 Kms. I never had a target amount of distance I wanted to cover at the start, it was just about having the opportunity to enjoy the wonderful scenery and keep fit doing something we love. As the total has increased I would now like to make it to 2000kms before we go home which I think is going to be an easy target providing the weather is fairly kind to us. 

Marsannay la Côte

Cycling through the vineyards close to the Mosel

Kayserberg Castle

Half-timbered houses in Freiberg

Freiberg

Freiberg

Freiberg

German Corner in Koblenz where the Rhine meets the Mosel

One of the castles sitting high above the Mosel

Koblenz