The best things in life are free

 

In the past week or so I have been attacked by swallows, cycled through marajuna fields and had a roast dinner with a fellow Englishman.

I was surprised by France. For some reason I had this image of everybody being snotty and unfriendly; I was also dreading the language barrier because my French was by no means good and the French are renowned of hating people talking to them in Englis; I heard. I was pleasantly surprised, when I was about to tuck in to my home-made baguette with cheese and salami (I try my best to become cultured) and I got no more than 3 people chanting "Bon appetit" before I finished it, which was nice. The weather was also fantastic and some of the chateaus I saw, were quite amazing. Although, I was used to beautiful hilly scenery and it was tortuously flat, which brought the mountain blues after a few days riding.

Less than impressive flat scenery

Now when you read I had cycled through marajuna fields, I bet you thought, Netherlands. O no, I was following a river in the east side of France were to my surprise I got a pungent smell of grass, I cycled a further 100 metres and noticed I was surrounded by fields of the stuff. I was quite amazed and within 10 miles I must have cycled through enough fields to keep the whole of the Netherlands going for weeks. God knows how it is legal - or did I cycle through France's black farmers region?

Fields of the stuff!

Fire is such a morale booster after a long day's ride. Over the last leg I have been using sticks instead of meth spirit. Why, you ask? Basically, I bought some lighter fluid from a supermarket and it turns out it doesn't actually burn by itself and needs a host to fuel it. So anyways, getting back to my point; there is no greater feeling than having to wait 15minutes for your river water to boil so that you can have yourself a nice cappuccino. Best of all; all of your clothes smell of delightful smoke afterwards to remind you of the joyful experience. Living the Dream!

LTD!

I have cycled through France, Luxembourg, Belgium, Germany and Holland in the last leg and I would say the best moment would have to go to the roast dinner that Wilf (a WarmShowers host) cooked me... After a wet day cycling from Nancy to Luxembourg City, I texted Wilf to let him know that a very hungry cyclist would be arriving soon: it was a Sunday and no supermarkets were open, which meant i had to forrage for wild blackberries and lower myself to getting a McDonalds for lunch - which never fills the hole. Anyhow, the SMS reply I got back went on the lines of "Bring good mood, roast chicken ready for 7PM". The smile that lit up my face on reading this text must have been quite spectacular. The roast was great and the treacle pudding definitely did fill the hole, just what you need after a day's cycling. Thanks again Wilf!

Red sky in the morning; shepherds warning

 

The birds seem to have it out for people in France - I was attacked!

Keeping this one short and sweet and try to make it as interesting as possible. This is my penultimate blog of the trip, I hope you've enjoyed it as much as I have been writing it. The final post will give a bit of a summary, some stats (I'm an Engineer after all) and the final infamous beard photo. It shouldn't be missed!

Lake near Col du Chat in Francais

 

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