September 10, 2016
Day 5 - Agen to Meilhan-sur-Garonne: Water everywhere and shade from the sun
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Another lovely breakfast, and back onto the road. Our first stop was another bridge carrying the canal over the Garonne river. Again, lots of walkers, runners, and bikers were out enjoying the early morning sun.
The canal seems a bit more industrial here. We saw the only evidence of commercial use of the canal (grain silos with chutes for loading barges) and the canal was wider with fewer trees in places.
In general though, we were still shaded by the magnificent plane trees.
We took a coffee break in Buzet, in a little cafe attached to a marina.
Lunch was in Lagruere, again at a little restaurant along the canal. Another magnificent meal! The daily menu was the only option. We applied our new strategy for eating lunch in France. One of us orders the "entree, plat", while the other orders the "plat, desert". We then split the entree and desert, with each of us getting the main dish.
Even with this strategy, we gained weight on this tour!
As the day wore on, we were entertained by groups of rowers, using the canal for practice. Some of them looked more professional than others.
We stayed at a "Chamber d'Hote" in Meilhan-sur-Garonne. It's called "Gite Au Jardin" and is run by Loic, who was a charming host. The gite is just off the canal path and includes a full kitchen. The gite is bike-friendly and tandem-friendly - Loic put our bike into his garage for the night. Breakfast is included, too!
Since we were in such a small town, we were worried about finding food. But Loic did some research for us and found that the "Restaurant du Tertre" in the village was open. (The full name is "Restaurant du Tertre: les Petits Plats d'Envi Plus") So we hiked up the hillside from the gite to the town and had ANOTHER wonderful meal on a beautiful deck overlooking the Garonne river.
Have we mentioned that you eat really well in this country?
Today's ride: 69 km (43 miles)
Total: 315 km (196 miles)
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