Having arrived so late and being so completely lost the night before, we woke up to appreciate where we are and have decided to stay for a day of rest and relaxation. Not having stayed at a Westotel before, we didn't know that they are always situated on the outskirts of a city. We spent some time in the town centre going in circles with the help of friendly locals who clearly didn't know where we should be and upon phoning the hotel, they also couldn't figure it out. Finally, we realized that we were actually standing on a cliff above the hotel.
Normally the 4 star Westotel would be out of our price range but they had cut the rate nearly in half for our late arrival. A beautiful pool and sauna, a comfortable suite with a frig and eating area - sounds good.
The only problem with the hotel is that the wifi is completely unreliable. As we were behind several days in our journal, emails, research, etc - we were relieved that MacDonald's is only a 3 min. walk away. The MacD's are comfortably furnished and the staff don't mind how long you stay and use their wifi. A good thing. As well, at every table there is an electrical plug to charge your computer.
After having been so lost, Mary Ellen was quite concerned how to find the Eurovelo 1 route to take us to Nantes when we leave. Well, ironically, it runs directly in front of the hotel. As we stepped out of the gates to go for a walk, there it was! If only we had known, we wouldn't have gotten lost and would have arrived a few hours sooner the night before.
A day of swimming, Olympics, sauna, and just staying put was a welcome and enjoyable thing to do. But we are very excited to move on and reach Nantes to start riding the Loire Valley.
A few thoughts on riding the canals - we found it to be a wonderful experience. The scenery was beautiful and we saw many interesting boats. The flat terrain and plentiful picnic spots by the numerous locks make it a good trip for families as well. At times we missed being on the road and riding through villages - but there are many villages easily accessible from the canal route. The signage was very good and we enjoyed seeing a different side of how the French live - and they do love to spend time socializing, fishing, picnicing and camping by the canal. Another time, we might consider doing the complete route from St Malo south or the complete Nantes-Brest route. But ultimately for us, we enjoy a mixture of secondary roads and canal.
At times the condition of the trail varied - particularly south of Rennes.
Having ridden from Dieppe through Normandy and northern Britanny without seeing many touring cyclists, we enjoyed seeing and visiting with the many fully loaded cyclists along the canal.