France or the home sweet home that we left

+ 600km

France, our beautiful France, the second "home" for both of us: 14 years for me and 5 for Alessio! It was with a mixed feeling that we left this wonderful country for a long journey and probably for a new life.

We crossed France after a bit more than a week during which we had, for most of the time, a perfect weather: the sun, spreading its honey-like rays of light, kept us warm, the wind, like a caress, kept us fresh. I loved rolling and watching Alessio in front of me, in the middle of those (ups and downs) roads and all these colors of the early autumn. 

The most marvelous sceneries were when we crossed Champagne, all these green fields of grape-wines under the blue sky (and also the perspective of this wonderful bubbling beverage) was so enchanting that it made the up hills less hard and down hills more joyful. (But we had to renounce, because of timing, to our will of stopping at a Champagne's cave for a little tasting.... snif snif).

The best rolling was on Monday 22th of September, from Vouecourt to Langres. Some 60 km of FLAT along the Marne river, no car, no noise, no slope but the quietness and the green going to yellow and red colors of autumn. The ones we crossed the most were not human but herons, graciously stretching their wide wings to fly over the river when we approached, probably to deliver some babies in the region nearby. But then, the day ended with 3km of non stop uphill to finally reach Langres, a beautiful little town "of History and of Arts" but which let us uncharmed. Maybe because its people had this gloomy monday look....

Needless to say that our life changed radically. No more house, no more comfortable beds but tent and sleeping bags to set and un-set every day. We spent a few days to find a good rhythm. So we get up between 6:30 and 7:00 AM (something inimaginable for me who had all the trouble in the world to get up at 8:00 in my working life), started cycling, after a big breakfast, around 9 AM. We make 4, 5 tiny stops (better for the muscles) and end the day around 3:00 - 4:00 PM, after some 75 - 80 km, in a campsite that we have spotted the day before.  

We got out of France by Alsace, without tasting any Riesling (snif snif bis). A vague nostalgia took us when we made the last moves to cross the French - Switzerland border. Bye bye la France!!!!