French Riviera

After a great visit with family in Pontivy, we took a long journey south to the French Riviera.

We had originally planned to bike to Vannes and stay overnight, catching a train at 8:30am the next morning, but my (Jodie) back tire had other plans - we ended up having to stay over an extra night in Pontivy in order to replace my tire, which chose that moment to show its complete lack of interest in riding another 60 km. We tried valiantly to make it to the train the next morning, getting up at 5:20am and leaving on our bikes at 6, but sadly just missed the train - that said, we managed 60 km by 9:20am, not a small feat! Because we missed the train, we couldn't make it to Avignon with our bikes, so we decided to go to Nice instead since it was a good place to enter into Italy.

Nice is very much like LA in some ways - flashy, lots of money, and lots of palm trees. In other places, the old town is very quaint and charming.

The beaches are great too, although in Nice they are very rocky.



The Cote D'Azur is a tough place to leave, and we have spent the past few days enjoying some great cycling and some time on the beach. Nice is a city I've stayed in before, so I've enjoyed being somewhere that's familiar.

I've also enjoyed the chance to again experience the most delicious sandwich that has ever been invented (a Pan Bagnat, which involves a tuna, lettuce, anchovies, olives, peppers, onions, radishes, and a healthy splash of olive oil - see left).

We've also been able to enjoy some amazing scenery. Yesterday we biked along the coast from St. Raphael to Cannes, and experienced some of the best sights yet. The cliffs along the coast in that area are a striking red, and the ocean is a very deep blue. Needless to say, it was really a breathtaking ride.









A bit of ambiguity exists as to our next step - we will either be heading west to Avignon and Barcelona, or east into Italy. Stay tuned!