Rob G's day 16

Day 16 - Faucon to Bertren

Up at 7.00am to get ready for our long trip to Bertren. Simple breakfast, pack the bags, pack the vans, which turned out to be very simple and we were on our way at the correct time.

We were to drive half way and meet up with Helen from Pyractive. Andy Bob and I went with Craig and 5 bikes. Every one else piled in the tour van for the complete journey. It was a very warm trip, with some interesting conversations with Craig and a lot of dozing. The ability to doze and sleep during the day is something I am enjoying a lot.

We met up with Helen after a phone call and a small amount of searching. Into the trailer went the bikes and we had the van for the people. Again we headed of with someone new to chat to. We were also grateful we had the best looking driver out of the two vans.

The country side is very dry and has gone fro flat to undulating. The area around Faucon is a huge wine area and the amount of land covered in vim's is amazing. Each grower is given a quota of grapes to grow and once reached, all grapes are harvested and dumped. That sad and a real waste. I can only assume it is to keep the price up. There are many wine areas and passed through another one which also had massive amounts of vines. Right now were are passing by Port Lauragais which has many acres of sunflowers and it is spectacular when viewed from the direction of the sun.

Were had a brief lunch stop at a service station. An amazing difference to the food we are used to as it was mass produced, didn't come with a beautiful coffee and cost just as much, if not more. Speed was of the essence tho so all is well. We got back and had a tour of the house we are staying in. The couple are very nice and do like a very orderly house. Everything has a place and everything is in it's place. I love it.

We got our WiFi devices sorted. Most important if we are to complete our emails and the blog.

We got our rooms organised, assembled the bikes and went for a little ride. Chris gave us a map with a reasonably flat ride. We headed of and found this area to be very lush and extremely beautiful. The villages are very small, very old and very quiet. We seen a couple of people but given the houses, not many at all. There is a lot of water here even tho it is the middle of summer. We rode uphill for a few ams and came across a large Cathedral on a hill. St Bertrands is a little town within itself and is very steep to get to. Simply gorgeous. There were a lot of people there and it is very geared to tourists. Had a look around and a coffee before heading off.

We had a lovely run down along a nice stream. It was a slight decent of 1% and went for approximately 10 kms. There are houses along the stream. The stream is diverted slightly upstream from each house and some water run along a level channel right up to the house. This must be how they got there water in the past.

We got to the village below Bertren and stopped at on of the bakeries. Here is a Patisserie that has the most gorgeous delights as well as serving as a bar. Beer, bread and cake. Very nice. We had a quick snack, Bob and I had a Almond pastry at was very large and very nice. Back for a shower and a couple of beers and a chat to the other guests. One couple, Tom & Courtneyis from Colorado and will be with us for the week. The other couple is from near Manchester and will be leaving in the morning.

The tour van had not yet arrived. Seen them drive past and then didn't see them for over .5 hour. They had taken the slow route and had done some seeing and drinking on the way. All were very merry which is good.

We were booked into a restaurant as Helen does not cook on Friday nights. It was a nice little place with the waiter having spent 15 years in Sydney as a taxi driver. Lots of red wine and massive salads followed with a desert of Almond Gateaux and was ok. Not the best cake but dinner was very nice. I had steak which is something I had not for so long.