| Day # | 28 | State of Legs | :-) |
| Distance (miles) | Distance (km) | Ascent (feet) | Ascent (metres) | Punctures | |
| Today | 0 miles | km | 0 feet | metres | 0 |
| Trip Totals | 1007.8 miles | km | 35569 feet | metres | 0 |
| Today's Route |
| No Cycling Today |
| Route So Far |
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Travelogue
We're in Le Quesnoy in France and it's a rest day.
We've been busy, as usual. The AirBnB host is called François and he's been incredibly helpful. At his suggestion, M1 used the back garden to wash both bikes. Chains have been scrubbed clean and will be lubricated before we set off on the road again tomorrow.
We spent a chunk of the day doing Trip Admin and have somehow managed to identify accommodation for the entire remainder of our time here in France. All has been confirmed except for a couple of cases, but then it is a Sunday today. Unfortunately, we don't have confirmation for tomorrow which means we don't currently know where we'll be staying tomorrow night. We have a couple of options though, so it should work out.
We're even more ahead of schedule than we realised, so we took the opportunity to take a rest day on the coast at Cap Griz-Nez which looks like a nice part of the coast. We're also detouring in-land to a regional nature park called Parc Natural des Caps et Marais d'Opale.
And we have two AirBnB stays scheduled, the first in Saint-Blimont which is a modern apartment created in the upper part of a barn. From what we read, it sounds like you get to the apartment via the old barn which has not changed in a couple of centuries and is home to a great many spiders and other local wildlife! From reviews on the AirBnB website, some find this entertaining and some guests are simply appalled!
The second AirBnB booking will be our last on this trip and is in Calais, where we'll have a rest day to allow our legs to recharge in advance of returning to England and two more fairly tough days of cycling to get us home.
In short, apart from the fact we have nowhere to stay tomorrow night (a mere detail), we're feeling like we're quite well organised.
Lunch involved cheese but there is no Cheese of the Day. Because there are TWO Cheeses of the Day!
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| Tomme d'Orchies |
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| Père Joseph |
Tomme d'Orchies is a French cheese and was very nice indeed, with a very pleasant but mild flavour. Père Joseph is Belgian, stronger in flavour, and equally enjoyable.
After lunch, M1 and M2 went for a walk around the small town, to take a closer look at the amazing medieval city walls, the belfry and the streets in general.
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| One of many slackline performers getting ready for Bimberlot! |
The highlight of the day though, was the Bimberlot parade which started at 3 pm! The parade features various "giants" and the generous distribution of candy to children and eager adults alike! One of the giants is a Maori. The town has strong ties with New Zealand after being liberated by a division of New Zealand soldiers in the first world war.
There are also drummers, baton twirlers and slackline performers, balancing high above the moat by the city walls. There wasn't an enormous crowd to watch, but there were enough people to make for a great atmosphere. We watched from various vantage points in the streets and also from the window of our own apartment, as the parade passed by underneath. You had to be there but hopefully some photos will give some sense of the occasion.
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