Day 93
Bienvenue en France
We had decided to spend our last night in the Republic of Ireland in the port town of Rosslare. We imagined a lazy day wandering around the town, maybe a final swim, a coffee in a bijou cafe, a final Guinness in the local pub, there might even be time to listen to a local band before we headed off to the ferry at 8pm. Alas it wasn’t to be, the town of Rosslare was a figment of my imagination. There was the ferry terminal, our hotel, a supermarket, a petrol station, a few houses and a fish and chip shop. Naturally it rained heavily all our last day, so even a walk was not a good idea. There was absolutely nowhere to shelter, but being the Republic of Ireland we simply explained our predicament to the hotel and we were able to spend the day in the very luxurious staff room. Thank you Ferryport House.
The crossing was smooth, bikes first on and first off, way to go Stena line! We arrived In Cherbourg at 4pm. Straight through Customs, then a few minutes ride, fortunately 90% on cycleway and we were at our bike-friendly hotel. Tom had been practicing his French and we were soon settled in. We braved a wander around town, had a great meal and headed back to the hotel for an early night. Unfortunately party Central in Cherbourg is opposite our hotel. Boy were they making up for lost time due to covid. The party was still going full pelt at 4am and by 7am the last few die-hards were still drinking and chatting away. We gave up trying to sleep and headed out to find a boulangerie for pain au chocolat. Stomachs full we headed off to explore Cherbourg.
The city is dominated by the hill top Fort du Roule, which houses the museum of the resistance. We took the long walk up, via several parks, and were soon immersed in the history of France during the Second World War, and the importance of the port of Cherbourg. Hence the D-Day landings taking place on the nearly beaches, so the Allies could gain a foothold to launch an attack on the Fort and so take control of the town and harbour. Which obviously they did, but not before a great loss of life, heroism and personal sacrifice. The whole experience was very moving and we walked down the hill in a sombre mood. As we strolled back to our hotel we were able to compare present day Cherbourg to the war torn city of 1944, though the statue of Napoleon astride his horse remained the same, undamaged by the fight which destroyed so much of the streets and buildings all around him.
Monday dawned after a much quieter night and we were eager to start our journey through France. Normandy was beckoning us! We were heading to our first warm showers hosts in France, Anne and Ronan. After a somewhat nervous start, my first time cycling on the right-hand side of the road, we made it out on the centre in one piece without annoying too many drivers! I started to understand why all my cycling friends grow misty eyed when talking of riding here. The route was simply endless quiet roads, in brilliant sunshine with considerate drivers and beautiful scenery. I knew I wasn’t taking time to study the buildings and places of interest that I normally do, today it was enough just to ride. It was a long day, 51 miles, but Komoot took us via miles of car free cycling on a disused railway lane to Anne and Ronan’s door. I was worried that the language barrier would make it difficult to relax but I need not have worried. They both spoke excellent English, Tom is clearly a star pupil of Duolingo and I managed the odd word or two. We spent a wonderful evening, ate fantastic food, and fell into bed knowing we were going to love France.
