Days together

From Alençon I continued cycling with Christiane and Marcel. We cooked and ate together in the evening and also did the necessary everyday tasks like shopping or washing up together. And of course we were able to chat the whole time without any problems and exchange ideas about cycling trips.

The cycle path ran along an old railway line for a lot of the time. We also passed through a town (Bagnoles-de-l'Orne) that consisted only of magnificent hotels, a thermal bath, a casino, a golf course and a campsite. We felt completely out of place with our bikes and tents and moved on quickly instead of queuing in front of the casino at 10am. Gambling seems to be very popular here in the north of France. Even in the cafes, people are always busy filling out lottery tickets.

In Saint-Hilaire-du-Harcouët (those names!) Marcel and I tried out the bar culture in the evening. After the official cafes/bars all closed at 7/8pm, we had to ask for directions - and we were successful. Here in France, almost only Belgian beer is drunk, and it costs almost twice as much as here. But it still tastes good ;-)