AND THEN THERE WERE THREE

This years France trip seemed to flash by, as compared to last year. I am not sure why. It could be the late arrival of Linda's bike which caused concern, it could have been the cold that seemed to go from person to person, it could have been the general strike in France which led to many of the group leaving a day early so they wouldn't get caught up the the trains not running. I guess it was all of these things. Deborah, Joe and I were the last to leave. Deborah and Joe were not leaving Paris until the 14th so they had one day of cushion and I had changed my flight from the morning of the thirteen (which would have taken me home) to an afternoon flight to Scotland so I could visit some friends.

The point being all three of us had an extra day to ride. We needed to be in Brive so we get the train to Paris, so we sent our baggage with Andy and Ros (my English friends who were in France with us) in a taxi to Brive. If you have been paying attention to my blogs of France you will know that picking the correct road is quite easy. Stay of the Red and Yellow roads and stay on the white roads. There had to have 5 or 6 ways to Brive. We picked the one that seemed the most interesting. The day dawned beautiful, and off we were. About half way we had coffee in Martel (a medieval merchant town over looking the Dordogne River. Then it was off to Brive. We went by the most amazing castle yet, and when we were close to town we let the madame (my gps) get us to the gare (train station). She did well, she took us off the main road up the steepest road around and right to the Gare and our hotel. Andy and Ros were there along with all our baggage. Andy and Ros went off to get on the replacement bus (the train was on strike) and we packed our bikes up. Later it was out to town. Brive is another one of those marvelous French cities with a bustling downtown situated in the medieval old town. The restaurant we picked was very good. It was a great way to end a wonderful trip. The trains were running the next morning and we arrived in Paris no problem. I got to the airport, a short flight to Edinburgh, Andy and Ros arrived minutes later and now I am in Peebles. Here are some photos to enjoy. Thanks for reading.

Don