France with Beast 1: Avignon

The streets were very quiet by the time we settled in Avignon. Luckily, you can't go to get bread in this beauty town without seeing the sights. Here is the amazing Palais des Papes. A Gothic fortress/palace for Western Christianity during the 14th century. 

Our first night in Avignon, we discovered our hosts had Netflix on a large screen! We watched Elizabeth: The Golden Ages which led to 1001 questions and some good discussion for our excursion the next day.

The Pont D'Avignon did not disappoint. The Rhone river, flowing from Lake Geneva down to the Med, by Lyon and then Avignon, was still and shiny - hard to imagine it blowing through the bridge during a flood. 

 
Our air bnb flat was perfect, and the hosts were so sweet, offering to let us stay for free if we felt we needed to hunker down there. Instead, we picked up the necessary supplies and headed into the more rural area of Provence for our isolation stint. This was a change from our original bike touring trip that we had planned, but considering the circumstances, and the warm and sunny forecast, we were pretty pumped.

Our taxi driver practiced excellent social distancing and took all the necessary precautions, and took it upon himself to follow up with us during our travels to make sure we were safe. Very kind.

The medicine was "just in case".
The nail polish was for home spa days.
And the hand sanitizer - well that was a massive score!

As with Montpellier, we will need to return to Avignon one day when we can loiter in the cafes and better experience the buzz.

France with Beast 1: Nîmes

We traveled by train from Montpellier to Nîmes.

Nîmes is called the most roman city outside Italy. One can see why- only moments on foot from the train station, we stumbled across this ancient and magnificent arena.

Alas, it was only an afternoon visit, and then we were off to Avignon by bus. But not before receiving some valuable advice from a man experiencing homelessness -and extraordinary drunkenness- who shared right up in our faces (um, hello, social distancing!), all in French:

"Who are you? What are you doing here? Head to Monaco. That is the only safe place to be. Jump the border there. I know the way. Who are you. Are you fucking Germans? You fucking Germans! [swigs from wine bottle, brushes bottom of feet off on his jeans] Monaco for 24 days is what I say. Then it will all be over. Go there now. That's where I will be. You, you fucking Germans!"

Confession. When on the bus I checked for wifi to see if I could research a bit about Monaco. Such are the times - unraveling every day with news about the Coronavirus and rules for containing its spread. We had only earlier that morning taken seriously some advice that Shark overheard from a distressed woman on the phone while at the London airport (no one but no one can leave France for 21 days, I think it was). Making travel plans during a pandemic based on eavesdropping, so why not take a nugget of intel from this pro Monaco and (possibly) anti German chap seriously!?  

One other tale that makes me a bad mom for sharing. On our bus ride to Avignon, Savvy was asking about Monaco and why it might be an ideal place to camp out. I explained where it was - the posh little bit of land on the Med. Savvy recognised it at last, "Ohhhhhhh. Mon."

What?

It turns out, Savvy had done very well in Geography last term. The countries of Europe and South America all needed to be placed on a computer-based map, in French. Savvy aced her test.
But she aced the "test" and the "test" only, by learning the first three letters of each country.

So we then had a comical discussion about the health crisis in Ita. How it was spreading to Esp, and Fra was not far behind. We only skimmed over Cro, Tur, Lit and Lat. Sue, Nor and other such northern countries were a bit better off at the moment. We got truly stuck when it came to Netherlands (Pays-Bas, in French) but if you stick to the rule (first 3 letters only), she really knows her stuff!

As for Nîmes, we will be back!
As for heading to Mon...the idea didn't seem half bad, actually!

France with Beast 1: Montpellier + Requin

We arrived in Montpellier, greeted by the Shark at the train station. We walked through this most beautiful city to her lovely flat. There, awaiting us, was a surprise: an ash+sav birthday treat! A cake (a full one...I was too slow with the camera), wine, and a biking adventure for the following day. Little did we know at the time how special the cake would be, as now we are home and see the full impact of the coronavirus, we appreciate that Savvy will be spending her 13th birthday in quarantine!

Thank you, Shark!

The bike ride to Palavas-les-Flots in the Mediterranean Sea was splendid! The bike route from Montpellier was top notch. Savvy and I still break out into hysterics when we remember Shark being charged by a black stallion. 

Shark assured us this white tower in the background was special. Voted the most beautiful in the world, if I remember correctly. I think no, pas tres jolie!

 On our way home, we pedaled through some of Montpellier's beautiful parks.

 
Despite tired legs, we made it out for a mini walk to some of Shark's favourite spots later that night.

  

And then a tasty shark-cooked curry which lasted two glorious nights!

I don't remembering things getting so silly, but I guess they did!!!


The next day, social distancing was in full effect. Thankfully, boulangeries are an essential service!

 
  To sum up our beautiful and funny Auntie Shark, a few more pictures :

One last night in Montpellier, when Savvy schooled me at le Monopoly, checking in with le Requin regularly to make sure her flights were on track (they were!) and then we were off on our next adventure!

France with Beast 1: Bayeux, Normandy (D-Day Beaches)

The travel to Bayeux was smooth with only a short walk from the train station into town. We checked in to our flat, dropped off our packs, and went for a walk. 

We finished the afternoon tour of the town and went to a very neat museum. The museum is centered on an 11th century 70 metre long embroidered tapestry that shows the events leading up to the Norman conquest of England, wish end with the Battle of Hastings. That tapestry wraps around the whole building to complete a massive loop. Amazing.

We had a nice night chilling in our flat which was huge on the Hygge factor for sure. One funny thing - the listing boasted of a "Magnifique vue sur la cathédrale".

The view was indeed splendid. But also... 

...very small. Can you spot the window with the view?

No matter. Who needs a view when eating pasta with butter? 

After a lovely Mac Ride chat with our bike rental guy, we got an early start so we could tour the D-Day Beaches. 

First stop, Alamanche-les-Bains (Gold Beach). This spot still has a number of pieces out at sea used by soldiers for bringing tanks etc on shore.
 
Un petit chocolat chaud.

Next up, Longues-sur-Mer to see many bunkers still standing.

We could go on a trail up by the road to get to the fishing village recommended for lunch. Or we could go off-road. We chose the latter. Ok, I chose the latter, and Savvy complied.

This was some of my finest navigating. Stunning scenery, even if there was a bit of walking, hike-a-biking and mud skidding required.

 
We made it to Port-en-Bessin for easily the best fish and chips I have ever had. Savvy's well deserved Orangina.

After riding about 8km toward a particular landmark, we had a decision to make. Keep heading home, or turn to ride the extra 25km to complete the loop to Saint-Laurent-Sur-Mer, Omaha Beach. We decided yes to Omaha, even though the headwind going there was fierce. 

We play many, many word games along the way. 

It got to the point playing 20 questions, where we were guessing each other's answer in one or two questions only. 

If you are reading this, then chances are you were one of the people at the heart of our games. That includes Scout, Benny, Rocket, Louie, Joey, Moose... 

At last:

 
 The way home was a touch easier since we had the wind at our backs.

Completely knackered after the big ride (79km with more than 5km off road!!!) and the emotions of the day, we tucked into a gourmet meal. For Savvy, that is...pasta with butter.

 

One last tour of the village the next day, including an emergency shop at la librairie for some French books (I left my kindle on the first of 3 planes we took to get here. Bugger!). 

And then we were off to Montpellier!