Having AC made all of the difference in a good night's sleep. We went to breakfast at 7:30. I am not a coffee drinker. If I get coffee, then Jacinto can drink both, and come close to his morning quota. I've figured out that I have to sit and eat yogurt very slowly while he drinks coffee. Then we both eat our food. Today wasn't much of a breakfast. 12 E. One of the worst values of the trip. We had a prepackaged yogurt, no fruit/meat/cheese. We did get eggs. Two huge croissants. I ate mine with jam. When I went back to the room, I ate a banana to fill the corners.
It was warm at breakfast on the terrace in the shade. It was even warmer when we left at 9 AM. The good thing was the flat terrain meant we could keep up our speed, and get a breeze. I really didn't feel too hot as long as we were moving. The road was frequently shaded by plane trees. Jacinto pointed out that whenever there were plane trees, the roadway was usually narrower, and bottle necked the cars.
It was a fast ride today. We stopped in Uzes at the grocery at mile 20 for ice. That was 3 E well spent. It's a detriment to not be able to understand people. My bicycle was an attraction at the grocery. Two retirement age couples stopped and made admiring sounding comments about my bike. The only thing I got out of it was one word - siesta. I miss casual contact with people.
Outside of Uzes we were routed on a paved (hurray!) bike path. That took us to the Pont du Gard, which we were routed past! I called Jacinto back, and told him this was one of my most important things to see for the trip. We had to go. I don't know how our route only went past. Two buses disgorged school students at the round about instead of the official parking lot. We competed with them briefly for bike path space, and then got on the roadway. I'm sure the approaching buses appreciated us. We were routing just by the phone, because our official route didn't turn. I took us the long way by accident, but we were soon within sight of the aquaduct.
Truth? I was expecting this to be a trip highlight. Instead, it's not even a top three. I really wanted to ride my bike across, but I followed the directions and walked. We didn't linger long. It was too hot to stay stationary. I was envious of the many people swimming in the river below.
The bike path continued after the aqueduct. I was amazed that it went almost the entire distance to Beaucaire. It was lovely, riding side by side, talking about the day. The path ended at a bridge. We had to hike a bike down to the big road, which had semi trucks, and other fast traffic. It was acceptable riding, as we had a shoulder and were only on the big road for a mile or so. Our Logis hotel was easy to find. I was happy we didn't have to wander around, but I do rather miss the charming stone villages with the streets that are so hard to navigate. This could be any town, anywhere. If I'm in France, I want the old villages!
We were able to get in our room an hour early. It was a trudge up to the third floor. Our room was the smallest of the trip. Now that it is evening, we've decided the AC is weak. Jacinto is wondering if they have a fan to supplement.
We had a 6 PM dinner reservation. They wanted to sit us on the terrace. No thank you! Their back dining room was full of a middle school age group of typically noisy kids. We ended up sitting in the bar area, in the AC. The other people that came for dinner sat on the terrace. I bet they were sad about that choice. Our dinner was a bust. It was expensive, and had too small of servings. I ordered roasted duck, and could have easily eaten two dinners. It came with two skimpy slices of duck breast. These touring cyclists like quantity!
We've checked out our day tomorrow. The big draw and the reason for the short riding day is to give time to walk the ramparts at Aigues-Mortes. It's going to be far too hot to do that during the day. I'd like to go after dinner, as we did in Tossa and Carcassonne. Here they charge an admission, and quit letting people in at 6:15. Now I'm not sure what we are going to do. 8 PM is the perfect time for me.
Jacinto made a grocery run for snacks yesterday. We made a big dent in them today. We ate almost an entire jar of pickles. Jacinto has already let me know that he doesn't mind carrying all of the groceries while it's flat, but when we start climbing again, we need to minimize the snacks. I'd better eat another banana!
Do you think it’s a done French thing to fill a croissant with scrambled eggs? This was another case of our asking for eggs the night before and we were the only breakfast people who received eggs. Our companions appeared to be hikers.
Our depart photo from El Patio Hotel. I think we were in a bad part of town. There were weeds everywhere, buildings were in disrepair, and there was some graffiti.
I spent the winter anticipating this moment. It was a disappointment. I wanted to ride my bicycle across, but was dutiful and walked my bike, as per the signs.
Jacinto carried the pickles, I brought the tortilla chips. We drank two carafes of water in short order. It was 92 degrees and 64% humidity when we arrived.
We both got sucked in by cheesecake ice cream. After the fact I googled paulova- meringue in English. I think it was all sugar. Now my stomach hurts. We didn’t identify anything we would call cheesecake like. I’m not ordering that again. It was an 80 E dinner. McDonald’s was better. Oh well.
Today's ride: 42 miles (68 km) Total: 477 miles (768 km)
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Scott AndersonI would really plan on walking the walls. Get there about a half hour before they close the gate, and take your time. Once you're in, I'm not sure how long you've got but I think it's later. By that time it shouldn't be too hot, there will likely be a breeze, and the sun should be low enough to show off the colors in the salt lagoons. Reply to this comment 2 weeks ago
