Our Route:

Since we last updated, we have stayed in the following cities:

Paris
Versaille
Rambouillet
Chartres
Bonneval
Chateaudun
Beaugency
Blois
Onzain
Amboise
Toulouse (by train from Amboise)

Paris

We had 5 great days in Paris. We rode all over the city on bikes sharing the bike lanes with cars, dogs, motorcycles, scooters, parked trucks, and people darting in and out. We even rode around the Arc de Triomphè, where we had a great picnic on a bench on the Champs Elyesse, wine, fresh baguettes, cheese. If it had been in California, we would have been arrested for drinking in public. In many ways the French are much more civilized.

Contrary to what you hear, it is very easy to eat inexpensively but well throughout the city. We consistently had multicourse meals of great French food including dessert, wine, and coffee for under 50 dollars including tax and tip.

Weather

When we planned our trip, the words snow, sleet, hail, and gale force headwinds were not part of our plans. None the less, we have spent many days riding only a couple of hours and then holing up in a small city watching it rain from our tent.

Since this cut down on our planned mileage (300 miles so far), and the fact that we brought more tank tops than long sleeve shirts, we hopped on a train down to the south in search of warmth and sun.

Dogs

France is a dog lover's (and dogs) paradise. They're everywhere, in stores, restaurants, banks, public toilets, etc. Most are of the small yippie variety, but in our last night in Paris, a couple walked into the restaurant with two beautiful, huge white labs, and tried to keep them under the table. It made us miss our Wimbly. Also, none of that pooper scooper crap. Just watch where you walk or pedal, and sooner or later the army of lime green street sweepers will come by.

Loire Valley

The Loire is the largest river in France, and is dotted with incredible chateaus, and lots of vineyards. You could spend months visiting them all. We went to some of the more famous; Chambord, Blois, and Chanonceau. We have now seen our fill of the Louis (12 through 16) In powdered wigs, in pale blue tights, with his horse, with his wife, with his mistress, etc...

Top 10 Things We Like About France

1. Fresh baguettes
   
2. Cheeses
   
3. Cheap red wine
   
4. Fresh baguettes, cheeses, cheap red wine for dinner
   
5. Soft grassy campsites thanks to all the rain
   
6. Chocolate mousse
   
7. Drinking in public allowed
   
8. No huge SUVs on the roads
   
9. Unusual animal parts served with delicious sauces
   
10. Fresh baguettes, cheeses, cheap red wine, and chocolate mousse for breakfast

Top 10 Things We Don't Like About France

1. Grocery stores never open when we find them
   
2. Disappearing waiters
   
3. Rain, sleet, snow, gale force winds
   
4. French rap music
   
5. Paying to pee
   
6. Smoky bars, restaurants, hotel rooms, train stations, phone booths
   
7. Dog merde in our bike tires (pardon our English)
   
8. List of internet cafes on internet
   
9. Unusual animal parts served with delicious sauces
   
10. You're not with us

Till the next update, au revoir.