It was a chilly start. On went our warm layers and gloves as we realised we were cycling from 550m up a gentle climb up through endless lavender fields to over 1000m. Even though the lavender had been cut we could still smell it everywhere. Same with the wild thyme and rosemary. Wouldn’t it be amazing to visit Provence with the lavender in full flower? The whole landscape would be purple. We’re now in the Alpes province and the architecture has become distinctly Provence. We really can’t believe we’re actually in the south of France.
Decisions!
We are getting really excited about nearing Nice. And rather sad to finish. so now we have the logistics to get back to Portsmouth with nothing booked. All the Nice to St Malo fast trains are fully booked or the bike spaces are booked. Neil favours the local TER trains all the way where we don’t have to book the bikes. It’s a bit of a free for all – first come gets the bike space. It also involves changing trains at Marseilles, Lyon and Paris and my bike is fully laden and extremely heavy to change platforms etc. Ive investigated hiring a van to Paris which is affordable, but Neils very keen on the trains. So we’ll go to the station in Nice and see what they say. If we can’t get on various trains, we’ll just have to stay the night wherever we are and try the next day. So we can’t book the ferry yet.
I’m laughing as I type this. I’ve spent hours and hours exploring options- even buses but they don’t take e-bikes. So now I can relax knowing I’ve investigated everything. We’ll simply see what happens at each station and take it from there. It adds to the adventure.
Ceri's Blog with Neil 
Good luck with the trains. Our experience is that bikes booked on the IARs and TGVs, don’t necessarily accept your bike even though you have the evidence of booking! TERs are safe and always have plenty of space – though obviously slower, but you get to see the local places better. Plus the platforms have lifts for changing platforms. You’ve taken the slow means of travel to the South, now you can enjoy the slow trains heading N. You’ll get there, but maybe 2 days later!
Good Luck – and enjoy! Hx ________________________________
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