events

It was about 8.30 and I was starting to get peckish. I'd gone past a small town with a huge electricity station, Saint Marguerite Lafigère, and was now carrying on down the valley, though I'd switched sides. The road was slightly more modern with walls every now and again - though sometimes not.I stopped here to eat another pain aux amandes that I'd managed to get in La Bastide. They're unfortunately not as common as I'd like, they are seriously good.

I got here about 10ish, had coffee and another pain aux amandes, the café owner didn't mind me eating one I'd bought, and I checked out the accommodation situation with a very friendly person in the Tourist Office, by now I was starting to get very chatty in French. Today was the 13th July and tomorrow would be the major national fête in the French calendar, not a good day to travel everyone told me. So, at long last, that rest day.So, I booked into a small hotel with a pool, and decided to explore the town. The hotel was nice, modern, though a bit lacking in character, but the owners were lovely, the rooms clean and not too expensive, and the swimming pool was a major plus. It was surrounded by the plant of the trip too, fragrant oleander.Les Vans itself was a nice little place. Some slight artsy thing happening, nice little cafés, bookshops and antique shops. Oh and a lovely restaurant that you really must try: La Feuille du Chou - the cabbage leaf. I ate there twice, and it would have been three times but they were full the first evening; I had lunch there on the 14th and returned for dinner that same night it was so good. See the next photo for a picture.Rollover this photo to see a more sunny photo of a different part of town, and click to see a third scene.

This was lunchtime on the 14th July, le quatorze juillet. The room was pretty, the music not too loud - old blues and world music, and the food superb. I wish I could remember what I had but can only remember a really nice terrine and some cuisses de grenouille that took me back; the last time I'd had frogs legs was some 30 years ago.

Stats: 102km, avg 14.8km/hr, max 54.7km/hr, 7hrs riding but my first photo was at 6.00 and my last before finding the campsite was at 3.00pm so I was travelling, except for an early lunch, for 9 hours.My biggest distance day.