Sep 12, 2011

We left Marshside after a welcome cup of tea and headed off in the rain to the Folkestone tunnel. It rained all the way and was accompanied by gusty wind and a fair bit of water on the road for good measure so the travel was slow and while we had allowed plenty of time to get there we only had time to buy a Panini and some juice for breakfast which we took onto the train.

My nerves were getting the better of me and I seriously needed to get some miles under my belt in France to prove to myself I could do it without skating down the motorway on my face as I did last year. I felt really ill by the time I got to Folkestone and my instructions to Norm were that as soon as we got off the train and it was safe to do so would he please pull over in case I needed to be sick. By the time we rode out of the train and got onto the motorway I felt a lot better and next thing Norm pulled over and I told him I was okay and we could keep going but he reminded me we hadn’t put the electronic toll tags onto our arms so we had to dig them out and put them on. They have thankfully worked well so we haven’t had to try and get wallets out with gloved fingers so a positive outcome.

We didn’t get much rain on our way down to Paris but the wind has been ferocious and it was high on the endurance rather than enjoyment scale throughout. We stopped for a coffee and fuel then lunch which was as much about giving the poor old bodies a chance to recover as needing fuel or food.

I was feeling like I needed to get off the bike again about 30kms from Paris when we struck around 4kms of stop start roadwork’s which took us a good 45 minutes to move through by which time I was drenched in sweat in my waterproofs so I was dry on the outside and dripping on the inside. The trafic finally opened up then hello we were onto a massive multi-lane freeway complete with tunnels and huge volumes of traffic and that’s how it was until we turned off to get to our accommodation on the banks of the Seine just across from the Louvre. What were we thinking!!!!



Norm unstrapping the cases on the banks of the Seine…by the way we got a number of toots and thumbs up with passing traffic after seeing the Aussie sign which was good. It is French for ‘Australians on tour’

Sharen and Ken had arrived earlier in the day and met us at the foyer and we stowed our gear, had a hot shower and headed out for a walk around the Louvre then got some grocery supplies and brought them back here before walking a short distance down the street for a beautiful dinner. They were as exhausted as we had been the first night we arrived and we weren’t much better. We both ache all over our shoulders and back from holding the bikes up today and I feel a bit like Neanderthal man with arms hanging down to my ankles….well at least that’s how it feels. The bed is looking pretty good at this point.



On the bridge crossing over the Seine to the Louvre…the thing that looks like a light pole over my left shoulder is the top of the Eifel Tower

Last nights’ accommodation:
North Stream
Marshside
Canterbury Kent CT3 4EE

Delightful family cottage in a lovely leafy garden complete with family atmosphere and comings and goings of past and present residents. Superb ambience, hospitality, food and locality and a short walk to the local pub. Will have to come back here! (Phil said WHAT?!!) Ha ha....Thanks Phil and Jean, been a delight to catch up.