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Gosh it’s hot! We shortened our ride today, more to recover from yesterday, so having said farewell to our friends we cycled at a leisurely pace, stopping in the shade for any excuse. We even saw a red squirrel scurry across the cycle path. Neil kept looking for bars for a beer but these tiny farming hamlets seem to only open up in the evenings, if at all so water became a bit of an issue. Finally at our last closed cafe and in the hot sun, Neil noticed a urinal. Surely not!!! Yep. To my horror, he filled up his drinks bottle from the water feeding into the urinal. 😳. To my greater horror, I realised I would have to do the same🤮 or die of thirst. We’re both still alive.

We enjoyed our shorter day cycling over fairly flat terrain. We’d muse that, despite the heat, we loved the freedom of what we are doing. Deciding day by day where to go and what to see. We ended up in a tiny village north of Angers. There was a bar directly opposite so Neil finally got his long awaited beer. With no restaurant open, the friendly barmaid provided us with a delicious salad and pasta. What a lovely lady she was. There was even enough for us to take home as breakfast. We aim to leave early to rest in the shade as much as possible. The whole of Europe including UK looks red on the weather map. We’re still happy.

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St Malo is such a beautiful place! Haven driven through Southampton and Portsmouth, this part of France is a revelation. We said goodbye to our ferry friends and cycled to the nearest coffee shop in St Malo for coffee and croissant where we met Leslie and Jonathan. They had exactly our France en Velo book and we got on like we’d known each other for years. Off we cycled dipping our bikes into the channel sea as per the C2M tradition. The coast route took us through pretty villages and tiny harbours until a bay opened up. I knew exactly what we’d be doing next so I followed Neil to park our bikes for our swim. Who followed us in but Leslie and Jonathan! It was a glorious swim. Nothing like the freezing swims my husband usually suggests ! We chatted for a long while with our new friends. I wish we’d exchanged numbers. Hopefully we’ll see them again.

Next stop was OYSTERS for lunch ! How could we resist! There were oyster beds and shops all along the coast. Neil enjoyed his with a pastis and has named it his tour tipple.

We continued through farm lanes and on the Mont St Michel. It was packed with tourists, but still worth the visit with its medieval streets and buildings. Luckily we were able to cycle across the 2 mile causeway which is prohibited in peak season.

And here we are in our hotel studying maps and preparing for our meal in a nearby restaurant. It’s been a wonderful day.

We’d cycled 44 miles (Neil told me just 20 miles !)

Our anniversary meal was absolutely delicious. It’s been then best anniversary EVER!

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