Back In Suffolk

After eighteen days in France we're finally back in Suffolk and catching up on life in Framlingham. We're back on a diet too as the cycling didn't quite work off as many calories as we were eating and drinking and I deluded myself that I could get by on a diet of steak and chips and wine without it showing on the waistline.

We had a fabulous holiday although when we met this road closure on the A12 en route to the Channel Tunnel, we thought that we were out of luck and things were not going to run smoothly. However, Marion's immaculate planning had allowed for such events and we arrived at Le Tunnel in time to catch an earlier train than planned.

Our first stop was in Burgundy where we stayed for two nights at a B&B called La Cimentelle. This translates as "the cement works" which is exactly what the site once was. The works are now ruins although there is a heated swimming pool on the roof of the old factory. The accommodation is in the beautiful house built alongside the works. Here husband and wife Stephane and Natalie have created a fabulous place that is much more than a B&B.

The bedrooms are all stunning and the hosts cook a wonderful four course communal evening meal where fabulous food and extremely interesting multi national conversation is enjoyed by all the guests. 

While in Burgundy we had time for a little sight seeing and were bowled over by the beautiful Abbey De Fontenaye.

From Burgundy it was onwards to our Deluxe Cycle Tour. We wanted a week's cycling but we also wanted to stay in some lovely hotels. Gary from Deluxe organised this perfectly and we had six nights in some stunning accommodation is some great locations. The bikes were easy to ride and we managed to climb the steepest hills.

We visited some Roman ruins.

All the accommodation was good but the last night's hotel (Hotel Particulier in Arles) was splendid.

We met some great people. Like Tim and Therese from Arizona.

And Steve and Mark from South Africa pictured here with Gary from Deluxe (top) and Martin our guide (in black).

We had an excellent week with Deluxe. The weather was incredible (not perfect riding conditions at 37 degrees plus) and the company was excellent.

At the end of the tour we left Arles and headed for our rented villa in Bonnieux. I've already written about our lovely week there but here are a few photos to finish with for today.

Le Tour De Provence Est Finis

That's right, it's all over bar the shouting (although one of the tour members is a Holland fan and they're playing tonight so there may well be some shouting).

 Here are the men from our team of Nations at last night's hotel Mas De Oulivie near Les Beaux. From left to right it's South African Mark, American Tim, South African Steve, me and English tour organiser Gary. 

And here are our wives Therese from Arizona, Wendy from Durban, Marion and Carin from Durban.

The eight of us plus Gary and his assistant Martin have cycled about 50 kilometers daily. Sometimes it's been flat like this but there have also been some steep climbs and (thankfully) some equally steep descents. The weather has been fantastic although not perfect for cycling when it hits 39 degrees in the afternoon. The hotels have all been lovely and the group got on very well together.

Now the end is fast approaching and we're here in the beautiful five star Hotel Particulier in Arles. It's a beautiful old hotel and a very fitting end to our cycle tour - Deluxe Cycle Tours has certainly lived up to its name.

Settling Into Bonnieux

                                         
After five days of early mornings it was strange to have a lie in on Saturday at Hotel Particulier in Arles. We were lucky to have a fabulous room for our last night. Tour leader Gary explained that all the hotels have a few superior rooms and he tries to share these evenly throughout the week. 

Marion looked stunning as we headed out to dinner with our fellow cyclists for the last time. We celebrated our last evening with champagne at the hotel before heading to a restaurant in Arles for our last meal together. As always the meal was a fun affair and we will miss the conversation. Food and wine have been major features of the cycling week and I was able to eat like a king without worrying about my weight.

                                               

Sadly I won't be able to eat like this at lunchtime again unless I want to put on a couple of stones.

From Arles we headed to Avignon by taxi to pick up our car from Hotel D'Europe. And from there we drove here to a fabulous villa that we've rented in Bonnieux. The weather has cooled down and we've had a bit of rain but we're set for a relaxing time.

We will miss the characters we met on our cycle. There was the extremely modest  Steve - a very successful businessman with tremendous leadership qualities, his lovely wife Carin a devoted mum and fellow writer, the super fit Tim who, despite being a few years older than me managed to be first man to the top of every hill. Tim is a truly nice guy who recently retired from an executive role in one of the world's biggest chemical corporations. I said he was first man to the summits as his wife Therese, whose rendition of Chantilly Lace was one of the week's highlights, was often there before him - Therese is an amazing athlete and also an artist in glass. Our final couple were Mark , who works with Steve, and his wife Wendy. Mark has a fabulous sense of humour and gave us all plenty of laughs. Wendy works out almost every day and, coped brilliantly with all the climbs. It's hard to believe that the eldest of her three kids has almost completed university.

We hope that social media will allow us to follow their futures and we hope that they enjoy the rest of their holidays and have good return journeys to South Africa and the USA.

Lazy Tuesday Afternoon

For the first time in ages I find myself in front of a blank screen and with nothing pressing to do. The novel is published and starting to sell a few copies, Marion's gone to Carley Hill Hair to get her pre-holiday haircut, we've done almost all of the packing, cleaned the house and we're really just winding down before we head off on the long drive to Avignon which begins on Thursday. 

We're heading through the Channel Tunnel for the first time and then driving down through France and staying about 350 miles south of Calais in Avallon at a B&B called La Cimentelle. I don't think I can recall a place with such good reviews on Trip Advisor.

Out of 153 reviewers, none has deemed it less than very good . It's only a couple of miles away from the Autoroute but, with such rave reviews, we decided to make a short break of it and stay for two nights and visit the famous Chablis vineyards nearby to stock up.

On Saturday we're heading to the Hotel D'Europe in Avignon where we are staying for two nights. Marion has found a restaurant on Trip Advisor that has equally glowing reviews to the B&B so she's booked us in for a meal there on Saturday night and then on Sunday we meet up with our tour organisers Deluxe Cycing Tours who are leading us on a five day circuit around Provence. We've looked at some of the photos on their site and worry that we may be a bit old in comparison to the young and athletic clients depicted but Marion's a good cyclist and I should be able to keep up. We're staying in six different hotels with Deluxe and all are promoted as luxury accommodation. I hope that they are as we've certainly paid luxury prices for the trip.

When the cycling is over we're heading to Bonnieux to this villa for a week. It looks really lovely and is situated within a stones throw of the town centre so no need for too much walking after the exertion of the previous week. The villa sleeps six so we should be rattling around in it and have plenty of space in which to wind down.

And then it will be all over and a long drive back to Framlingham. While we are away a builder is working at the house to remove all of the cracked render at the back (which resulted in the disastrous leak a few months ago) and then he's re-rendering it so we can hopefully have a  crack and leak free existence in future. After that the hectic schedule will start all over again and today's luxury of sitting down with a blank screen and nothing to think about will be a distant memory.