Last night’s park-up was just a joy. It was incredibly peaceful, with just the eerie howls of the Raccoon Dogs to disturb our slumber. That, and the rain, which started pounding on the roof in the early hours and hasn’t stopped yet. We had a slow start, and after breakfast, pulled our wet-weather clothes on … More Day 28 – A stunning insight into Shingon Buddhism
We’re so pleased that we stayed the extra night at the parking on Mount Shiube. After watching the boats disappear into the night, and the lights starting to twinkle on the horizon, we went to bed listening to the sound of the insect chatter, which sent us straight off to sleep, a little before 9pm. … More Day 22 – Samurai Armour is amazing
After arriving at the little beach-side parking spot last night, we settled down to fall asleep to the sound of the sea lapping gently on the sand, doing our best to ignore the blood-curdling howls from the racoon dogs! But we’re still getting over the jet-lag, so drifted happily into a deep sleep, before being … More Day 4 … A morning hike and an afternoon drama
After all our worries following the stressful start to the trip, with the cancelled train and chaotic, diverted route in the UK, we had been a little bit anxious about the trip we had booked to get us back from Bordeaux to Aix-en-Provence. But we needn’t have been concerned, as everything went as planned, and … More Day 17 … We left the toughest day till last.
Well, what a wonderful last 2 weeks this has been, and yesterday, we pedalled the last leg of the trip through western France, arriving in Bordeaux. We had really enjoyed our couple of days cycling along the lanes around Duras, avoiding the storms that had been a constant feature of the weather forecasts. But, on … More Day 16 … Wet, but happy in Bordeaux
Since deciding to accept that we will just ride from Duras to Bordeaux and avoid the storms that had been predicted, we’ve just relaxed into enjoying our time here. Today, we decided that as we cycled in from the north, pedalled the roads to the east yesterday, and will be riding out west to Bordeaux … More Day 15 … Second breakfast in Marmande.
Last night, we had a long chat about the plans for the next few days, coupled with looking at every possible weather forecast we could find, hoping that one may give us (even the slimmest chance) of being able to camp (storm-free) on Wednesday night. But however hard we sought for a glimmer of hope, … More Day 14 … Exploring the Dropt valley
After what was possibly the slowest January on record, the time now seems to be slipping past so quickly that I hardly have time to mark each day passing. The start of the year has been a whirl of trips back and forth to the UK for us both, which has left us feeling like … More Saddlebag of Memories #2 planning has started
As a child I was brought up knowing a lot of the folklore around weather patterns. We always had a barometer at the bottom of our stairs and I would tap it as I passed, to see if the ‘glass’ had gone up or down, watching the elaborate needles moving around the dial, with the … More The weather Saints and their icy fingers
Today was back to normal on the bikes, and couldn’t have been more different than yesterday’s ride. It was one of those days that put a smile on our faces from beginning to end. We set off from the beautiful town of Vic, cycling out as everyone else was in their way in, so we … More Saddlebag of Memories Madrid to Sète. Day 12 Vic to Girona
Vaucluse Dreamer 