In Bruges...

Turned out the last day in France was the longest ride of the trip so far...and probably will be since Belgium is VERY FLAT AND FUN TO RIDE IN!!  130km from the last stop in France (just south of Cap Blanc Nez) all the way to Bruges.  Hardest climb of the trip as well...right in the morning...after 3 pan aux chocolate's cause they were on sale at the bakery.  Got lots of honks and nods from guys on motorbikes on the way up...thanks guys.

This was a little terrifying.  Crossing the Pont Normandie right after
Honfleur....there was a bike lane...but it was right next to the road with HUGE
ASS TRUCKS passing me really really fast!

After 3 other full campsites...this one was able to squeeze me in next to a
couple of trailers.  Was actually a great place, helped some dutch people
out with some duct tape to fix their sleeping pad.  Hung out with a few
French folks listening to St Germain...that took me back!

Waiting out the rain....

This place was pretty funny, used to be an old hostel where rooms were
5 French Francs and coffes were 50...cents?  Too bad it's been closed for a
while.

Last campsite in France...right next to the Batterie Todt...or Battery of death.
No joke, that's what the architect's name was.  Pretty impressive original
stuff in here.

Biggest climb off there in the distance.

I can already taste the beer!

The bike lanes in Belgium are incredible.  No matter what road you are on
there is always a separate section for bikes.  Whether it's a highway
or just a regional road...it's pretty fantastic!

There's lots to do in Bruges....

 

First dinner in Belgium.  The ONLY 'veggie' fries in Bruges (fried in vegetable
oil), hazelnut burger and 5 really good beers.  Turned out to be a fun ride
back to the campsite.

The only brewery left within the city walls...De Halve Maan.  They've got an
unfiltered blonde, a nice Belgian tripel @ 9% and a Quadrupel dubbel @ 11%.
What a great afternoon...had to follow with some food since I hadn't had any
breakfast yet...

This worked out to be perfect after stumbling through Bruges at 5:00pm.
Apparently there's a rivalry between these two chip vendors.  I tried both,
with mayo on each, and I would say go with the one on the right.  I
have no idea what it's called cause I was a little bit drunk. 

Then I had to try another Tripel at this place down an alley.  At my surprise,
they served me some cheese with the beer...which was GREAT!  One of the
best Tripel's I've had in my life I think...but I was still a little drunk at this point.

Heading back to the campsite.

Food

And now for one of the most important parts of the trip...

One of my favorite things for lunch/dinner so far has been sardines/tuna
packed in olive oil.  Ready available and SUPER cheap over here!  Love
those Omega 3's.

Local andouille sausage, unreal!

This was the first organic cidre I found...and it turned out to be the worst.

This was the best deal of all.  3 bottles, Poire/Cidre/Blonde Beer = 3 Euros.

Found a great new post cycling treat....Madeleine's (or little lemon cakes).

One of the distilleries on the way back from Mont St Michel.  It was pretty hot
that day.

Another great alternative to Kronenburg.  Pelforth brewing's got a nice brown
ale and a lager that compares pretty well to 1664.

My first Moules Frites of the trip, totally worth it.

Although the mussels were waaaay smaller than the ones I had in PEI at the
lobster house.   And they didn't come in unlimited quantities in white plastic
buckets.  GOD BLESS THE MARITIMES!!

This was the most decadent thing I ate on the trip so far.  Can't remember what
 it was called, but they love their pastry in Brittany.  It was layered with butter
and sugar....I know it started with a k.

On the way up the coast...

After St Malo, my turnaround point, I headed east along the Norman coast.  I've only got 2 more days to go until I reach Bruges and the land of beer.  PLUS, finally saw one of those new water-cooled VW's they're still producing in Brazil.  Looks pretty nice, except for that front grill.

Honfleur was a great stop.  Lots of art around this small town that you can go and check out.  Plus it was a really nice medieval town. 

This was kind of funny.  After touring the Juno Beach War Museum, I checked
out the library which was filled with amazing books on the war.  Then, right in the
middle of the stack of books (and the only non-war book I might add) the 1996-97
 NHL Record book. Talk about a classic stereotype!

FINALLY...

Took longer than I thought to find an internet connection...thankfully the first full day of rain allowed me to dry off in a cheap hotel...with expensive internet.  Great weather this last week, bike short tan is getting pretty, pretty, pretty, fierce.  Stops included St. Malo, Mont St Michel, Bayeux and the rest of the Normandy coast.  Pretty heavy stuff seeing a lot of World War 2 remains.

Nice little vitamin boost along the way, was able to fill one of my drink bottles

This house was on the way towards St Malo.  Also reminded me of the
house that Asterix and Obelix lived in.

Market in St Malo.

 

On the way to Mont St Michel, I found a bike path that was around 90km long.

This guy caught a ride with me for a few km.