Another blue sky morning and, even better, today is a visit day with no change of campsite, so we can relax over breakfast. My dawdling and suggestions of second coffees drive Ann crazy as she is full of morning vim and keen to get going. Eventually our energies mesh, we have eaten and head off.
The posters claim Beziers is the oldest city in France, but I have read of other cities that claim that honour. I suppose there are variations in how one defines oldest or city, but however it is measured, Beziers is old. The Roman bridge heading into town is beautifully restored as a cycling and pedestrian bridge. The cathedral atop the hill shows a massive fortified wall and towers, evidence of more combative eras. Once we climb up to the old city, the Romanesque churches, narrow alleys and crumbling facades add to the medieval atmosphere.
After our scrumptious meal in Minerve, Steve searched on the web and found another Meilleur Restaurant in Beziers that serves only fish. We love fish so we has to go, except that it wasn't in Beziers but in Villeneuve Béziers, which is a good 25 minute bike ride from downtown, not counting detours for getting lost and road construction. When we finally arrived we were glad to have made a reservation as the only empty table there was ours. Delicious hardly begins to describe the meal- and it was plentiful. The appetizers alone were all we needed for lunch but then came the main course, swordfish for Steve and dorade for Ann, and deserts too! We waddled out at 3pm.
Steve has been looking to upgrade to a more solid front panniers rack, but so far the bike shops have been sold out. A map search showed that not far from the restaurant was a mega Decathlon sports store which surely would have a good selection in stock. Although it looked close on the map, there were two autoroutes between us and the mega mall which involved a significant detour and a scary stretch of highway. And this Decathalon was also sold out of front racks. Has everyone in France taken up cycle touring?
Back at camp we ate a light salad for supper, read our books and, feeling very contented, crawled into our sleeping bags under an almost full moon. Tomorrow we will get to the Mediterranean!
Austere and awe-inspiring interior of Church of Madeline. It brought to mind an anthem we sand in the choir: "Surely the presence of the Lord is in this place..."
Saint Nazaire and Saint Celse Cathedral was built over the ruins of a Roman temple in 1209. It was destroyed during a crusade and rebuilt in a gothic style in 1215.
1 year ago