Sep 19, 2011

The old bodies appreciated having a bit of chill time yesterday afternoon so we felt ready for the ride this morning and headed out of town in the wrong direction. DUH! Selected the wrong address in ‘Favourites’. We had to continue on up the mountain for quite some distance before we found a spot to pull over and do a ‘U’ turn but on our descent the whole of Gap was laid out in front of us in the bright sunlight unlike the rain shrouded view we got yesterday. This experience more or less set the tone for the rest of the day, that is to say, getting lost, seeing spectacular sights in spite of that, trying to decide where the GPS was actually trying to send us and where the hell Roussillon which was supposed to be a via point was anyway?



On the road - Les Mees in the distance to the left

Despite all these trials and tribulations we had a cracker of a day. The scenery changed from lush mountain backdrops with the start of autumn tones differentiating tree shapes on the mountain sides to rugged limestone outcrops and bare stone mountainsides and finally rugged stunted growth between cliff and valley walls leading to olive groves and stony fields.



Looking towards our coffee stop in Les Mees which along with the rest of the village was wrapped around the bare rock of the mountain behind

After an incredible ride with views to die for to our left, right, straight ahead and in the rear vision mirror we stopped for coffee at Les Mees, where the locals seemed amused with our rudimentary French in the little bar cum coffee shop cum betting agency and town meeting place. Then we headed off through a series of glacial valleys with spectacular wind tunnels between narrow walls and broad stony valleys and everything in between. We lunched at St Andres les Alpes and again enjoyed the narrow winding streets and quaint surroundings. We didn’t need to get to where we planned….other than our hotel of course, because everything was spectacular.



An Aussie biker in France looking like a black Michelin Man compliments of the waterproofs which we needed for the chill factor today throught the mountains

It was good to get to Nice and see the ocean which is a spectacular blue though the beach looks like a building sight with great chunks of rocks and gravel..…we are clearly spoilt with our beautiful sandy beaches in Australia!



The beach at Nice - This section is reserved for our Hotel complete with restaurant bar and boardwalk

Bits and Bobs:

Was a bit of a challenge getting wet bike jeans and the like dry yesterday. To get enough heat happening to do it meant a hot steamy room so finally opted for air dry and live with the result so we could breathe. The hotel caters for motorbike riders with free parking for 'Motos' and last night with our 2 there were 43! The majority were the Lucerne (Switzerland) HOGS group and others from all over the world.....literally, not just us. There were some great bikes and paint jobs. Candy for Norms eyes.

RIP

We toasted little Peggy Bell last night at dinner as it was the first Anniversary since her death. I’m confident she would have been pretty chuffed with her daughter and adopted son this trip….as she always was. Sadly missed.

Last nights’ accommodation:

Ibis Gap
5/7 Boulevard Georges Pompidou
05000 Gap France

Another budget Hotel but very nice and a very friendly and service oriented staff who even sorted a yummy snack for us when we returned from tramping around town without finding anywhere open to have lunch. Nicely refurbished room and dinner and breakfast were also quite acceptable.