St Malo to Nice

Thursday, August 17, 2017

Inner Journey

Inner and outer Journeys…

What can one write about and extremely rewarding Journey pedaling from St Malo to Nice when a very good Book "France en Velo" already describes in great detail the route and things you can see on the way, and when Saddle Skeddadle's notes provides additional magnificent details?

When an excellent description of the "outer" journey is already available, what I feel one is able to share is the "inner journey".
Below I share some aspects of my inner journey, thoughts, feeling, sounds and smells, thoughts and surprises you may be able to experience along the route.


Water above and water below. Clouds are the rivers above


A curious seagul


Sunset on the beach


a Sculpture park at the Hotel in Arville



The hotel in Arville


Paris, St Malo, Didier

In this Blog I share with you some pictures of a bicycle journey across France. The ride was organized and supported by Saddle Skeddadle. Below I post the route's description taken from their website:

"Skedaddle’s “Channel to Med” odyssey takes us from Brittany’s St Malo shoreline and doesn’t stop until we reach the glamour and warm Mediterranean waters of Nice on the French Riviera. Our journey of more than 950 miles takes us through no fewer than 19 of France’s regional départements as we ride in some of the country’s most striking and dramatic landscapes, discovering the true heart of rural France.Passing through a patchwork of subtle and striking changes in terrain and landscape this is a route of two distinct halves. We begin by hugging the Brittany coastline, momentarily flirting with Normandy and seeing the iconic Mont St-Michel before heading south to the banks of France’s longest river, the Loire. After crossing the wheat fields and grazing land of Poitou-Charentes, we reach the rolling hills of the Dordogne. On leaving the Dordogne we turn a corner. The terrain changes as hills become ever more prominent, slowly giving way to mountainous terrain and steep-sided valleys; there is also a change in climate and terroir. The route hugs the banks of the Lot River, picking a gentle route into the mountains and occasionally propelling us up its valley sides, before we reach its source and the northern edge of the wild and wooded Cévennes. The route then plunges down into the fruit and vineyard choked Ardèche département before following the famous gorge of the same name to the Rhône valley, and luckily for us a taste of the world-renowned wines of Châteauneuf-du-Pape. Crossing the Rhône announces our arrival in Provence. The towering shape of Mont Ventoux on the skyline, hot sun, lavender fields and blue-shuttered cafés, combine to make you feel as if you are in a separate country entirely. After an exhilarating descent to the Mediterranean coast we cruise along the Promenade des Anglais for a celebratory dip in the Med."

In this Blog I share pictures of unexpected views and a few observations along the way.

As I rode, I observed several words suggesting a French world view. These words are:

Liberté, Egalite, Fraternite,
Bon Vivant,
L'art de Vivre
Gourmand...
Comments on these words will be found in posterior entries.

My trip started in Paris, and from there I traveled by train to St. malo...


Riding around Paris. The Louvre


The Bois de Vincennes in Paris


Sunset view from hotel room in Paris.


Bicycle ride in the Vicinity of St Malo


View from the road on first day of bike ride going from 
St Malo - Arville


View of first night Hotel in Didier

Day 3 - St Didier to Avrillé   

A castle on the way...


Dreams of days past...


Rivers and waterways all over the place



Daily routine. Stop for coffee on the way, usually after pedaling 30 to 40 kilometers.




Nature and wildlife to see and enjoy


Completion of second pedaling day.

Day 4 Avrille – Fontevreaud L’Abbaye

Humble Castle and powerful bicycle

Group Photo stop


The river Loire



Day 5 - Fontevreaud l’Abbaye - Parthenay




At the end of the pedaling day's journey, a sign posted in a wall at the hotel advises that
"We need to sleep in order to give enough space to our dreams"


Day 6 - Parthenay - L’Isle Jourdain


At our hotel. Relaxing dreams and nutritious dinner




Our daily gourmet lunch prepared by our guides
(Everything is delicious when you are hungry)


Our daily coffee stop



Day 7 - L’Isle Jourdain – Brantome

Getting ready to depart our last night's hotel



















Our daily open air Gourmet lunches 





We arrived early and had plenty of time to take pictures in our scenic day's destination