TOURS to BREHEMONT

SATURDAY, 18th MAY, 2019.

All  our wishing and hoping was to no avail....there was heavy rain through the night and in the early morning, which didn't bode well for our first day of cycling the Loire.

We donned raincoats and set off in the rain, negotiated our way through lovely Tours, teamed up briefly with a couple of French lady cyclists who were travelling in our direction, and were very pleased when we reached the cycle path after negotiating the traffic, pedestrians and traffic lights.

The rain eased to an on/off drizzle which lasted almost all day, not enough to be a problem but just enough to be a nuisance, but despite the weather, we are enjoying ourselves and loving being in France.

We lost our companions along the way, they were going further and faster than us today and we're in no hurry, stopping to take the obligatory photos, for a snack at a small market at Savonnieres, followed by coffee at a cafe in the village, and another coffee later on, with crepes, at Villandry, but as we had spent a few hours on a previous visit at the 'modest' (by Loire standards) chateau surrounded by one of the most spectacular gardens in France, we just admired it from the cycle path as we passed by.

Most of the route today was on a cycle path, a little on a quiet road

and some on marked bike lanes through traffic....I'm still not liking riding through traffic but think I'm getting better at it....slowly!

On reaching Brehemont we found that our room wasn't ready so we left our bags and went back the short distance to the cycle shop we had passed on our way in

and had beer and an interesting conversation with the shop owner who spoke very good English, had spent nine years in England and was very entertaining and informative.

LE MANS to TOURS

FRIDAY, 17th MAY, 2019.

Mike managed to procure a couple of bolts this morning and was able to mend my bike stand most satisfactorily and after a lazy breakfast and showers, we packed and left our accommodation to ride back into town for a wander around before catching our train to Tours.

There was a large market in progress in front of the cathedral

and after locking up the bikes we made our way past the many stalls where all sorts of knick knacks could be bought, then crossed the road/tram line to where the fruit, vegetables, fish, cheeses, breads and meats were on sale,

climbed the stone steps to the cathedral entrance and went in to have a look around before heading to the railway station.
Today's train ride from Le mans to Tours was just an hour long, a pleasant journey through lush farmlands and on our arrival in Tours, we again locked up the bikes and went for a wander through the town, stopping for a snack lunch before heading off to find our hotel.  When we did find it, our room wasn't ready so we left our bags and headed back along the Loire, stopping at a bar for a beer or two, then visited another bar in a side street boasting several bars/cafes before returning to the hotel.

We paid a visit to the next door supermarket and bought our breakfast supplies for tomorrow morning, hoping that the grey clouds hovering overhead would disappear before the morning, but they began to drop their load before we returned to the hotel.

PLYMOUTH, U.K. to LE MANS, FRANCE.

THURSDAY, 16th MAY, 2019.

Yesterday afternoon, because there was traffic chaos due to roadworks in all directions in Bridgwater, Roy opted to go via the Quantock Hills,  (a decision we were happy to go along with as we always enjoy the gorgeous scenery) joining the M5 at Taunton for the run into Plymouth.

We made good time, arriving in Plymouth at 6.30pm, unloaded the bikes and found that my bike stand has broken as Mike's did last year (a fault with our otherwise excellent bikes) so will need to be fixed as soon as possible.  Mike M and Roy left to return home and we waited in the reception area where we treated ourselves to a bowl of hot chips and a coffee from the cafe.  (We'd had a late lunch, a delicious chicken casserole cooked by Mike M so just needed a snack).

Our ferry arrived in port at about 8pm, we watched it dock

and then joined the queue to board.  A quiet beer each as we left England and shortly after our departure, we made our way to our cabin and quickly succumbed to the land of nod.

This morning, the wake up alarm sounded at 7am....time to rise, shower and dress and make our way to the cafe for a cup of hot tea before disembarking at 8am.  We didn't go into the town of Roscoff, we'll be going back to England from there in 6 weeks so will have a look around then, but quickly found the cycle path and began our bike ride. 

Our route to Morlaix was at times on quiet roads,

on narrow tracks, up and down hills, (most of which we were able to negotiate but a couple which were really, really steep necessitating getting off and pushing) and past fields of onions, potatoes, cauliflowers, artichokes, beans and some crops we were unable to identify.

Our first stop was for coffee and croissants at St Pol de Leon,

a lovely old town which we immediately liked and we stopped several times along the way to take the obligatory photos.  On one such stop, we encountered a young French couple, cycling around with their toddler in a baby trailer and were delighted when we managed to coax a shy grin, albeit brief, from the little one.  It may have been a misunderstanding due to language difficulties but we thought they said they were heading to Norway!

The River Penze was a series of mud flats but the town of Penze is picturesque.

We arrived in Morlaix at midday and bought a filled roll from a patisserie, found a bench on which to sit while we ate it, followed by a Portugese tart and an apple tart, and chatted to a friendly Frenchman who had stopped to look at the bikes.  He told us that he was on a walking tour of Brittany, had been on the road for three weeks, is 79 years old and lives in Vannes.  He was happy to practise his English on us and we were happy to talk to him....in fact, everyone we've spoken to today has been extremely friendly and helpful.

It was another major climb from the town to the railway station but we managed to get there with just one rest stop on the way, it was a bit of a struggle getting the bikes on the train as there were a couple of steps up from the platform, the door was not terribly wide and there were another couple of steps into the carriage where the bikes are permitted to travel. 

The journey was interesting, pretty farmlands along the way and we managed to take a couple of photos from the speeding train, reaching Le Mans after an almost 3 hour journey.

From the station, we rode through traffic, which I must say was very courteous, up yet another hill to our accommodation, a lovely studio apartment.  We didn't feel like going into town for an evening meal so visited the local supermarket to buy ready made meals to microwave, along with small bottles of beer and wine.

And now, we are well and truly ready for bed.  It's been a most enjoyable day, though a long one and we're ready for some shuteye.  It's good to be back on the bikes!

SOMERSET

WEDNESDAY, 15th MAY, 2019.

For the last few days, we have been enjoying the company of our friends, reacquainting ourselves with the bikes, been on a couple of short rides through the gorgeous Somerset countryside and on Monday, had a lovely birthday lunch at Paisley's Cafe/Farmshop with Marion, Mike and Sally, sitting in the sunshine where we could admire the view.

This morning, we packed the pannier bags in readiness for the ferry ride tonight from Plymouth  to Roscoff, Brittany where we are due to arrive tomorrow morning.
Mike's friend Roy has generously offered to transport us, and bikes, to Plymouth later today for the overnight trip....tomorrow we will begin our own little "le tour de France".

LONDON to SOMERSET

SATURDAY, 11th MAY,2019

After breakfast in the hotel, we left our bags in reception and strolled to Paddington Station,

a short walk away and bought lunch from Sainsbury's to take on the coach trip to Somerset.  It was cold and grey with occasional drizzle but nothing too serious.

An uber drive to Victoria Coach Station cost us 8 pounds, we were early so had coffee while waiting and chatted to Jennifer, a lovely lady who sat nearby, until it was time to board the coach.  When we booked our tickets in February we reserved two seats for 2 pounds each and were glad we did as we had more leg room than others.  The tickets cost 5 pounds each, plus a1 pound booking fee so for a total of 15 pounds we travelled from London to Somerset, had quite a comfortable journey and were
very happy that we'd saved money and had choices by booking ahead.

Signs on the M4 indicated a long delay between two of the motorway junctions so we deviated on to the A4 to avoid the delays, making good time and passing through pretty countryside and villages until returning to the M4, arriving at our destination about twenty minutes later than the predicted e.t.a. to be met by Marion and Mike and whisked off to be wined and dined, a happy reunion.  It's always lovely to catch up with old friends..

SINGAPORE to LONDON

FRIDAY, 10th MAY.

There was thunder, lightning and some rain through the night but by the time we left the hotel at 6.45am, it had cleared and we had a fast taxi ride to Changi airport.

After checking in, we walked across the pedestrian bridge to the recently opened Jewel, a dome covered rainforest and waterfall.

We didn't have a lot of time to spare so spent only 30 to 45 minutes there and wished we'd had a little longer....we were very impressed.

We arrived at Heathrow in the late afternoon and reached our hotel in Paddington a little after 5pm, checked in and strolled to the nearby Monkey Puzzle pub where we sat in the dwindling afternoon sunshine sipping beer, wine and sharing a 'Monkey' Board

before returning to the hotel to sleep.

PERTH TO SINGAPORE

SINGAPORE : THURSDAY, 9th May, 2019.

There was a minor hiccup on the way to the airport yesterday when Mike realised he'd left his wallet behind, requiring a return home to collect it.  Fortunately, we'd not gone too far and had some time up our sleeves so still made it in plenty of time.  On our arrival at the airport, we were greeted by an alarm which sounded on and off for about ten  minutes, with a voice informing us that an incident had occurred and an investigation was in process.  The all clear had been given by the time we checked in
and we were on our way.

There's not much to be said about the flight, it's a necessary evil which must be endured in order to reach other parts of the world and we arrived safely in Singapore at around midday, soon after settling into our hotel which is small, clean, comfortable and in a good location for easy access to underground trains as well as having plenty of eating options nearby.

Although we planned to have a lazy time in Singapore, we've somehow managed to do a lot of walking, enjoying being here again after several years and noticing the many changes since our earlier visits.  There are many new, modern buildings but we were pleased to note that there are still quite a number of the older buildings remaining throughout the city.

Tomorrow morning we will leave for London, it will be a long day and we're worn out so we're looking forward to a good night's sleep.