Tiny road signs & Chocolate Religieuse !

Here I am ... Holed up in Angers, waiting to see a doctor about my swollen knee. I've no idea what he'll say or do ? Probably want me to have an Xray but I dont really have time for that, also, I noticed that now I've been stopped and bike parked up for 15 hrs or so the knee has gone down again, so surely it's not that bad ? It still hurts when I crouch though... I'll try not to crouch today then !? I really need to get to a Decathlon shop today somehow, to get me a new fleece, it's getting colder, all my clothes stink and there's no laundry service here ! I did manage to wash a few bits in the bath by hand but they're not drying very well, and I need to leave soon ! I hung a few bits out on the window ledge which was working pretty well until one of my T shirts got knocked off by the breeze and floated heavily down to the street 3 story's below !

Cycling along yesterday I couldn't help but wonder about Napoleon and his trees. If it really was down to him, as countless people have told me, planting them along the roads as he and his army marched across france ? That's one hell of a carbon off setting plan he had going there ! But since Caroline pointed out, way back down in the south, which seems like weeks ago now, they must have been some bloody fast growing trees. Either that or he had another army thirty odd years ahead of him sowing the seeds of shelter for his troops and animals !? Somebody did point out to me the other day that trees grew a lot quicker then. Which just reminded me of a religious friend who once told me, when I dared question it, that Noah could easily fit all the animals in the Ark because there were far less species then !? Luckily he also pointed out to me that the Ark was nothing like the one in picture books but was infact the size of several football pitches and it took Noah and his brothers over a hundred years to build ! Of course, it all makes perfect sense now...

So, Napoleon had special trees, of the super fast growing variety ? Didn't the Romans build the straight roads anyway ? I'm just getting confused again now and that's not good for my knee.

I cycled up miles of these tree lined roads yesterday in this strange post apocalyptic country along the road to Angers. I weaved in and out of the white lines singing my heart out, along with Angus Young to his highway to hell ... It came onto my random selection quite by accident but was most welcome and timely. A main road, straight as a Dye, Roman engineering coupled with Napoleons green fingers, a delight to cycle along .. Mile upon mile all to myself... it was sunday, between 12 and 2pm, a time when the quiet streets of France become baron, devoid of all human life and internal combustion. Villages of closed shutters, empty Bars and A Vendre signs (For Sale). Passing through one such place an old lady hobbled in the road waving me down with a broom. Was I breaking the speed limit or had my cycling helmet once again been mistaken for German troopers head gear ? I've learnt not to trust anyone out there and just keep pedalling. I wonder if I could get a job with the French tourist board, I think not. Dont get me wrong, for cycling, this country has got to be as good as it gets. But if you're not born and bred here, the culture is a tough one to get your head around. The french are sociable creatures, lovely people, family orientated and very set in there ways. Really generous and warm hearted, infact they run rings around us Brits. They're confident and proud, something we seem to have lost along the way. They fly their colours proudly, where we dont even know what ours is called anymore, is it the Union Jack or the Union Flag, who knows, but it seems to be more synonymous with the extreme right wing than anything to be celebrated ! They tend to say a hearty hello to all and not a soggy half hearted acknowledgement. I've often sat outside Boulangeries against a wall, scruffy and tired, tucking into a Baguette sandwich and just about every passer by leaving with their lunchtime loaf has wished me a Bon appetite. It's welcoming, and I like that ... Can't imagine any such good will were I sat outside a Spar shop in England ?

However, to the untrained eye, all this family living and day to day french life must go on in secret places or underground or maybe everybody just lives in the cities ? Not seeing anybody out and about is a weird one to get your head around.

I'll soon be in Brittany though and that's a whole new kettle o' fish altogether, still French, but dont tell a Breton that ! Different accent, micro climate (at least that's what the estate agents say!), their own language (though all but dead now), coastline on three sides and amazing scenery. I'm very much looking forward to getting into Brittany. It has it's own light and it's own smell .. As do I, which is why nobody sat anywhere near me at breakfast !

Turned out not to be the Highway to hell at all, but infact the highway to Angers, a beautiful City of character and charm. It even had a special little road (see photo) just for bikes and scooters and tractors running alongside the dual carriageway with it's own little road signs too !

Back streets for miles leading to the old town and centre, which I've yet to explore. Along one such street I spotted the taxidermiste, which I've made a mental note of for the future when Alfies chased his last rabbit...

Off to the doc now to get a magic fix for my crook knee... Please remember, lest you forgot I'm trying to raise as much money as I can for the British Heart Foundation, with your help i'd very much like to reach my target of £2500 which is still a way off yet so please click the "donate" button on the right somewhere and dig deep ! I'll actually be passing the one thousand miles of aching legs mark in a couple days so that's got to worth a few quid !?

Keep watching ..... Jus

Ps. The chocolate Religieuse was my sunday treat ... And what a treat it was too !