Day 2: Cows, Trees & Dykes...

It just cracked us up that we were told to bring our bikes through the front lobby of a 5-star hotel to the storage room. After a wonderful buffet breakfast, we set off across the middle of Holland on the LF4. It was a bit like hashing, looking for the next sign at each intersection and trying to determine exactly which way the route went. Today we saw much less water, although we occasionally followed the Rhine River, but saw many more cows, trees and dykes. In Wateringen, we hit our first hills and my inhaler came in handy (seems I actually do have exercise-induced asthma). The woods were lovely, but the hills definitely slowed the pace. We skipped lunch and pushed through the 55 miles to Arnhem in search for an early dinner. Over margaritas at a surprisingly good Mexican restaurant, Jimmy came up with a brainstorm to cycle through the Champagne region of France rather than the hills of Germany. Getting there was a bit complicated, so we only made it as far as Utrecht and went back to the Karel V for another night.

Day 1: Our Cycling Adventure...

Just two days after we returned from France, the girls flew to California for 2.5 weeks with my parents. Jimmy and I had planned to spend two weeks cycling to Berlin, but two obstacles got in the way--we only had one week since Jimmy had to get back to work and I’d miscalculated how far Berlin was (600 miles instead of 600 kilometers!) So we set off the day after the girls left to see just how far we could get. As you can see, Jimmy was the pack mule so I wouldn’t be weighted down.
We set off after work at 4pm. The 40-mile route was very pretty along canals much of the way to Utrecht. This was the only place we’d pre-booked a hotel because we knew we’d be arriving at night. We got a great deal at the 5-star Karel V Grand. Had a wonderful dinner at a small restaurant at the canal’s edge.

More Rocks in Carnac...

On our way to the train station in Rennes, we took a short detour to visit the Neolithic alignments in Carnac. Scientists believe they were erected between 5000BC and 3000BC by communities who raised livestock and farmed. The site we visited near the visitor center consists of 1,050 stones in rows. It remains a mystery exactly what this site was, but it is believed to be sacred burial architecture.

Big Rocks...

Brittany has several Neolithic megalith sites. Of course, the idea that ancient man with no modern tools managed to cut, move and place these huge stones is pretty amazing. I wonder if modern man will ever figure out what ancient man was up to.

A Walled City in Brittany...

After a stop for ice cream and a walk in a harbor town very reminiscent of New England, we went to our final destination of the day, the walled town of Concarneau. This small medieval enclave on an island was filled with tourist shops and restaurants. Finding a restaurant for our large group proved challenging, so we split up so we could finally enjoy some crepes. Afterwards, we walked along a portion of the wall.
In the two hours (as shown by the tower clock) that we were within the city walls, the tide had gone out. Of course, our mudruckers couldn’t resist doing a quick check for treasures along the sea-floor. Jimmy found a green piece of glass that turned out to be from an absinthe bottle from around 1915; we hope to have it made into a necklace for me.

Sightseeing in Brittany...

Curt’s family was visiting from the West Coast (his parents live very near my parents), so we tagged along while he and Veronique showed them around the area. It was a busy day with multiple stops. Having four cars in convoy made the driving challenging at times, but the weather was perfect and there was lots of lovely places to see.
This is Locronan, which is considered one of France’s most beautiful villages. We wandered around inside St. Ronan Church and its cemetery where we were surprised to see for rent signs on graves (apparently, if your family stops paying, you’re dug up). We had a picnic lunch, then drove to a park for a nice walk along a river.

More Wedding Celebrations...

The next day, we were invited to Veronique’s family’s vacation home about an hour north of Vannes. There we had another feast, although us girls skipped the main course served straight from the whole roasted pig. For entertainment, they had Curt kneel on the ground and placed a sheet over his head with a traditional Bretagne striped shirt sewed onto it. One of his nephews then stood behind him and placed his arms through the sleeves. It was hilarious as the hands tried to connect with the mouth to feed Curt yogurt, then brush his teeth.
We took a long walk past corn fields and many pastures to the coast, which was beautiful. After lunch, Jimmy played bocce with a bunch of the older guests. That evening we switched hotels to the very nice Castel Braz, along the river in picturesque Pont-Aven.