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26: August 22nd, 2001 Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer, France, Arles, France Distance of the day: 55 km / 34.1 mi Total distance traveled: 1371.3 km / 850.2 mi |
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We decided it was probably better to get going or we would never leave..so we headed towards Arles. The ride to Arles was different then the ride from Arles. We went around the Camargue this time, through the nature reserve. It was a beautiful ride, with the sea on one side and the march filled with Flamingos on the other. The road, on the other hand, was adventurous. It was a dirt track interspersed with huge craters and rocks. It was hard to enjoy the scenery when you had to concentrate on the road. Puncturing a tire or breaking another spoke in the middle of nowhere wasn't very appealing. It felt like we were mountain biking in some out of the way area. We made it through the nature reserve to be greeted by our old friend, the wind. The wind was against us almost non stop the whole way to Arles. Oh joy. We arrived in Arles in the afternoon and booked two nights at the hotel du Musee, a quaint hotel housed in a building from the 15th and 16th century. Very Cute. We showered and set out to explore a bit of the city. Alres is a roman city, with traces of Ancient Rome everywhere. We wandered around, trying to orientate ourselves, while checking out the shops (we bought two Beautiful table cloths) and ended up have dinner at the famous cafe where Van Gogh painted on of his many famous paintings of the city. |
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27: August 23rd, 2001 |
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28: August 24th, 2001 Arles, France to Avignon, France Bike break down: train day Total distance traveled: 1371.3 km / 850.2 mi |
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We headed out about 9:30am and didn't get more then a few streets when my chain broke (great). We walked to the nearest bike shop and found it was closed. We sat for a while debating as to whether we should take the train to Avignon (20 min's) and decided to go to the Decathlon to get my bike fixed. We got to the Decathlon at 11 and hung around for an hour waiting for my bike to be fixed. The guy who worked in the bike department was fabulous. My French is limited, and bike vocabulary almost non-existent. When he asked me in French if I spoke English, I could have kissed him! He fixed my bike and we headed to the train station. Better safe then sorry we decided. We took the train from Arles to Avignon. At the station we went straight into town to find a hotel and ended up staying at a small hotel downtown off the main square, on the main shopping street. Since it was Friday morning and our train didn't leave until Saturday afternoon, we checked into the hotel, stowed our stuff and hit the streets and the sites. Avignon is known for art and culture. In the 14th century Pope Clement V and his court left Rome and set up in Avignon. From 1309-1377 the Holy See was based in the city under seven French-born popes. We started our day in front of the palais du pape by taking one of the tourist trains that go around town and hit the most popular tourist sites. It was a good way for us to get an overview of the city and see what we wanted to visit later. We spent most of Friday checking out the shops and getting our last minute souvenirs for friends and family. Since we didn't have much farther to go on the bikes (from the hotel to the train station) we could buy some gifts for friends and family. We spent the afternoon and early evening wandering through the streets within the walls of the medieval city.
For dinner we sat on a terrace in a courtyard. It was our last night and we wanted to savor the moment. We had done it, we had cycled almost 1300 kilometers in under 3 weeks. The worst thing that happened on the trip was the 'camera incident' as it shall forever be known. The best thing was probably the whole trip. We sat outside, watching it get dark and enjoyed the wine, the weather and the food
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29: August 25th, 2001 Avignon, France Train Day Total distance traveled: 1371.3 km / 850.2 mi |
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Our train for Maastricht didn't leave Avignon station until 18h, so we technically still had a whole day. We checked out of our hotel room and stored our bags and bikes in the lobby and went back into town to see some of the historical sites. We went to the Pope's palace and the Bridge of Avignon (made famous by a song called 'Sur la pont d'Avignon'). We walked up to a park set on a hill top with an incredible view of the city and the surrounding countryside. It was afternoon and felt like it was a million degrees outside.
At 18h we made it to the station and waited with a group of other cyclists to be lead around the platform to the train. Some of the couples we had already met along the way, some we hadn't yet seen, but all were Dutch and heading home after their adventure in France.
The train ride back wasn't too bad. We had booked a 4 person couchette, which we shared with another Dutch couple from Amsterdam. The couchette was air conditioned and we drinks and dinner service in our compartment. At night the beds were pulled down for us and made up. I think it was much more comfortable then the bus and I'm glad we opted for it. |
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30: August 26th, 2001 Amsterdam, The Netherlands Train Day Total distance traveled: 1371.3 km / 850.2 mi |
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We arrived in Maastricht the next morning and were delayed there for a few hours before we got to Den Bosch and caught a train to Amsterdam. Being home was strange. We didn't have to pitch our tent every evening and break it down every day. We had more cooking options then 1 burner and two pots and the bathrooms didn't include 1000 mosquito's or frogs on the walls. The showers here are free and have a virtually unlimited supply of hot water. The laundry doesn't have to be done by hand and dries quickly in the dryer, a s opposed to the wash line. Best of all…our beds don't need to be blown up and unrolled every day and there are no rocks on the ground to sleep on. We enjoyed our trip and what we had accomplished, but we were glad to be home. |
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Copyright 2001-2002 Maarten
& Lori Lens-FitzGerald
