A day of reflection…

  Vence, Provence, France
Sunday, June 28, 2009

Today we decided to take a day off from riding. Originally we had planned to take a trip into Nice and Monaco, but we were just plain worn out from 5 days of riding.  Good thing too as there was an Ironman going on in Nice and the surrounding area, including the town of Vence that we were in, and we wouldn't have gotten very far.

Chinese laundry

We spent the day relaxing by the pool and doing some laundry.  Our camp looked like a Chinese laundry with clothes hanging all over the place to dry.  Doing nothing gave us a chance to reflect on our trip so far and think about all the crazy experiences, things we liked and things we didn’t. 

The smokers…everyone smokes, I think even the babies when they come out of the womb, but that’s not confirmed.  You can’t sit in a restaurant without smoke wafting in your face and they seem to be chain smokers, lighting another as soon as one goes out.  At a table of four, when one lights up, they all do.  Unlike Toronto, drivers in Spain and Portugal don’t throw their butts out the window…in France the odd one does.

The onlookers…no matter where we go or which country we’re in, people stop and look at our bikes and ask questions about where we are from and what were doing.  Once it took us two hours to put a tent up because of the constant barrage…not that we minded as everyone was very

Our Dutch neighbors

  nice and all offered various things to assist in our stay.  We were adopted by Dutch neighbours on either side of us in Vence. Irma & William and Joanne & Simon were wonderful people and let us use their electricity and put our sleeping bags into the tent when it started to rain while we were away.

The food…excellent everywhere we’ve gone!  Some more so than others, but the Chef at the

Campsite Restaurant

restaurant in the Vence campsite was amazing and not very expensive.  For the gourmet meals he put on and the wine and beer, we would easily pay over $100 CAN in Toronto, but here we never paid more than $75.  We’ve had some meals in little hole-in-the-wall places that we stopped at because we just couldn’t go further, and been surprised at the quality and the taste of the foods.  Only problem is, leather only stretches so far!!!

Lane splitting and moped riders from hell…Mopeds everywhere, and no wonder with the cost of fuel.  These riders weave in and out of traffic between cars in a way that makes me think I drive like an old woman.  Connie and I are usually riding staggered formation and the Moped riders think we’re pylons.  I’ve been passed on the left and right, sometimes simultaneously, within inches.  At some points we couldn’t take the constant traffic lights and lines of cars waiting to get through them and started lane splitting ourselves.  At first it was a bit harrowing with the bags on, but we got used to it and made better time.

The drivers…in Portugal and Spain they move right along and give way to motorcyclists.  The only problem was that they would pull up beside us and stare while driving.  At one point I wanted to pull into the right lane and couldn’t because a young woman and her boyfriend were along side me gawking.  Every time I sped up or slowed to get into the lane, they would match my speed, waving and smiling.  Such nice people…now get the hell out of my way!!!  In France the drivers are pokey to the point of annoyance.  It’s no wonder the Moped riders ride the way they do.  The only respite is that they do move way over to let you pass, whether there is on-coming traffic or not.

The cost…in Portugal gas was expensive at 1.40 Euro per litre.  The lodging was relatively

Connie relaxing

inexpensive, given that it was a 4-star.  Beer was cheap at 2 Euro but coffee was a whopping 3 Euro.  Spain was very cheap, with gas only 1.10 Euro per litre.  Lodging was inexpensive as well, with a 4-star hotel room in Gibraltar costing only 60 Euro.  Food was also cheap, with Beer at 2 Euro and coffee 1.50.  In France everything is expensive.  Gas is 1.40 Euro per litre and food and lodging very expensive as well.  Beer is 4 Euro and coffee is 2.50.  One would expect these kinds of prices on the coast, but these were inland prices.  Cost for food, beer, or coffee on the coastal towns was crazy, with a tab of 15.80 Euro (that’s $23 CAN) for a

Camp Chef and his wife

large beer and one coffee in Cannes.  Needless to say, we didn’t eat there.

Tomorrow we pack up for our ride to Genova, Italy.  It’s a short 215km ride that according to the GPS should take us four and a half hours through Nice, Monaco and up the coastal road of Italy.  We’ll see…