October 2, 2015
To Aix en Provence: Not a good decision
As five o'clock approached and we returned to the Maison du Peintre en Provence who should we see also approaching it but a couple on a tandem. They too were staying there and were Miles and Anne from Manchester who were having a week's holiday touring Provence, We had a lovely time talking to them particularly over breakfast. Miles was clearly a very accomplished cyclist and the two of them had been up Mount Ventoux earlier in the week - no mean fete on a tandem. It is really strange how few touring cyclists we have seen.
The Maison du Peintre en Provence is a most beautiful but somewhat weird place. Madam who runs it is an artist and is completely devoted to her cats. This means that when we were being let in yesterday with our bikes she would only let us in one at a time then shut the doors firmly until the bike was parked and she could let the next person in - we gathered that this was in case one of the cats got out the door. The room was glorious with beautiful antique furniture and the very best of fittings - looking out the window we looked out over the old tiled roofs and watched more liberated cats exploring them. Breakfast was part of the deal and was served with extreme elegance and perfectly polished old silver and fine antique china. No credit cards were accepted and she never did sort out the fact that we were not a foursome travelling together.
The weather forecast was shocking for today and tomorrow with heavy rain in the offing. We therefore made what we now think was rather a foolish change of plans. Aix en Provence was only about 35km away so we decided we would go there instead of our original plan as not only was it close but it would be a good place to hole up for a day. Well the rain only turned out to be light and the road for over half the way was really busy and there was a huge amount of climbing until the last 8km. Aix itself seemed to us a massive and confusing town and we had trouble of course finding our hotel. We have decided to stay here for another night and we will then be able to make our escape on Sunday when at least there will be fewer trucks.
Today's ride: 42 km (26 miles)
Total: 3,128 km (1,942 miles)
| Rate this entry's writing | Heart | 0 |
| Comment on this entry | Comment | 0 |