Ibis Besancon La City Besançon

Bonjour!<br><br>We are up and running in France and Switzerland. The French countryside is BEAUTIFUL! Buffard, France is now our home base. You will hard pressed to find it on a map&#8230;.it is close to Besancon. So far in the countryside we have encountered 9 wild boar, 3 deer, 1 hedgehog, 1 mountain goat, Belgian horses, and too many milk cows ...

... in style. My highlight was seeing a pair of storks in their giant nest atop a tower. After that it was a short distance to Colmar and a hotel that actually had a kettle and access to an iron!! I was very happy. That night we had the best meal we've had in the Little venice section of Colmar..more about this town next time.<br><br>PS Forgot to mention there was an even bigger well at the citadelle....John very happy!! More sticks and stones dropped down!!

... to have dinner at. We sat outside at first, but there was a crazy guy walking around on the bridge right by the restaurant, walking and ranting and it was a little unnerving, so we moved to seats inside. After dinner and some wine, we walked around town a little more, then stopped to buy some eggs for breakfast the next morning, since our hotel had a little kichenette in it. Ed decided to watch some TV in French and I was exhausted and fell asleep.

... until 5pm. Whilst waiting outside two women walk past and say hello. I double take; its the same pair from earlier. Anyway this is a very nice hostel; its e15 with just the facilities you need. It has a members kitchin, a tv and comfortable benches. At last a sensible balance! This place is within striking distance of Vienna but I'm not sure if I want to stay or whiz through. On the other hand its hard to believe I'm so close to Hungary.

... as I'm in a major town and its possible but its replacement looks less warm and cost almost three times as much. After that I went for a ride round the city's riversides which were full of people sunbathing. Also on one island people were having barbecues etc and it had a very nice relaxed feeling. So I got off and hung out for a bit. Then back to the supermarket for supper then another kip and finally to blog. Quest for wireless didn't happen so no photo's uploaded. The ...

... rather than a specific set of images. So there are a lot more cars and parking, a lot more fashion and art shops. The whole old town has become more of what it used be be. It's way better than I remember and would make for a fantastic weekend of cafe lifestyle in a historic setting. Then in the daytime you could ride the surrounding area's. I also dropped by the hostel; I remember it as in a park but now its in a car park and nothing is familiar.

... could be either. I'm rough camping tomorrow night for the first time. Its awkward the campsite opens in three days but there's no point waiting for it. Then to Mulhouse, cross the border to Freiburg, local train into the Black forest, then probably ride to Donauschingen for the source of the Danube. With extra days thrown in to dodge the weather. New country, new maps, new language.

... facing the canal; it works ok but its strange to see a canal 30 feet in front of the doors. Shortly after this the canall entered a gorge; little waterfont houses, big cliffs, wide river and bright sunshine. Perfect. But I forgot to charge my phone so no pictures. This region also has a curious crosshatching pattern on the steeple roofs. Then a short detour along some roads and I was accosted by a local who happened to be a touring cyclist himself. This turned out to ...

... even when they are screaming down enormously steep mountains! During the day we "discovered" the Mont St Odile (the patron saint of Lorraine), another monument built on top of a huge rock. And I was wrong before about H not doing any more stations of the cross. This place had a lovely walk around the base of the rock through a glen filled with moss covered rocks and a variety of plants, and up high on these huge rocks were the stations of the cross made as a ...

... came back with my bill I struck up a conversation with her...evidently she had lived in New York for several years thus she was interested in the fact that I was an American and was curious as to where I was from. I told her that I was from Florida and I asked her more about her experiences in New York. Eventually, I realized that it was time for me to go and do some more sight seeing, so I said good bye to my new aquaintances and wished them ...