Roncevaux Pau

Considered having one last night on the road, cracking our bottle or 9.99 Lidl champers (premier cru!). In the end, we opt to do the big dash & head for home. You reach that point where you just feel ready. Tedious... especially as the winds that blight SE France are blowing in full glory! However, the point has come, we decide, where there isn't much to be gained by staying out any longer. Feels good to be back on 'home' turf - but, as familiar ground ...

... the same statuettes and bottles in which to collect your holy water. It was difficult to feel any empathy with the people there when it seems to us to be little more than a huge sales opportunity for the church. Difficult to like but interesting to visit!

Mike could recognize very little of Pau as expected. It seemed a lot bigger, but it was interesting to revisit the were Mike spent a miserable and lonely month all those years ago

WHAT THE BROCHURE SAID:

This second day of riding is a big day that travels over the most feared cols in the Pyrenees,

but it is also some of the most spectacular riding. Firstly we have a nice gentle warm up to

Laruns, base camp to the stunningly beautiful Col D’Aubisque (1709m). The cafe on the top

provides a perfect place for a deserved rest before ...

... 169m) and the Col De Pinodieta (176m) before lunch.

The walled town of St Jean Pied de Port offers a perfect lunch stop, and then we cycle on to our first proper climb over the Col D’ Osquich (500m). The sign of the small town of Arudy will no doubt be very welcome at the end of this 180km monster day! We get our Raid carnet stamped twice today – we are well on our way!

WHAT I EXPERIENCED:

So, nearly ready for the off! Thankfully, false alarm about arrival of guests to take over house in absence means we have one more day in which to prepare... much needed!
We will just about get there - I think.
Round about now it occurs to us we really ought to have assembled scooter on trailer and gone for little spin to test strapping arrangement, etc... just to make sure it all holds up. Oh well, the road will be a good test of all that... I guess.

... day - the idea is to hitch in pairs as it will be easier in small groups and then to swap partners each day so everyone has a chance to hitch with everyone else. My first experience is with the other German, Andy, and I am a little sceptical about how it will go as Andy doesn't speak too much English. Fortunately our hosts were kind enough to give us a lift to the peage for the highway so it will be easier for us to get a lift hopefully. As I was in the only ...

... or dead, experiencing my own personal, albeit mundane, Occurance at Owl Creek. Mundane. That is the only problem. There's no way I'm dead. My life right now is completely unsurprising and normal. The strike continues. No one has burned the school down. I haven't shown up to class naked. No French girl has confessed her love to me. And above all, I haven't gained fluency in French yet, which is really I could ask for if I was about to pass on into the nether realm.

... my case. Most of the week, my head is wrapped up in learning French, so the observances I find most interesting fall within the realm of "words and expressions". Alors, unless you want to study a list of vocab, I don't have a lot to offer you. That said, I am going to give you a list of vocab, but perhaps you can appreciate it with at least passive interest. It occurred to me this morning that I have ...

... French friends. Also, playing the university-organized soccer and badminton has introduced me to some students to chat with from time to time. But what's interesting to note is that the majority of the enjoyable French conversations I have had have been with other exchange students from different countries. I've already met four Germans who speak very good French. What's great about them is that they have been brought up learning the ...

... a hired professional. Maybe kiwis just aren't that good." But then I took a few more bites after that and I changed my mind again. I love kiwis. I would definitely hire a kiwi peeler. C'est tout pour maintenant. Au revoir! zill ps. im going to go by the pen-name zill from now on because, the way these French key boards are arranged, the z is where the w should be, the q is where the a should be, and the m is locqted zhere the ; should be. Takes a few days to get used to.