Kathleen here! Well it has been an adventure already so far! Delays on Sri Lankan Airlines made for an 8 hour layover in Colombo airport but eventually we made it to Paris with the bikes intact! We got some good weight training manhandling the boxes into the train and then a maxi Uber to our hotel way down south in the 13th arrondissement. The next day Rob whipped the bikes back into shape and we were able to get in a spot of Paris sightseeing. 

With some jet lag and limited time it was a good opportunity to check out one of the smaller museums, Musée de l’Orangerie, adjacent to the beautiful Tuileries gardens. Home to eight of Monet’s famed waterlilies series, the museum was very popular. The paintings were very impressive in scale but the colours didn’t seem as vibrant in real life as in the prints.

We also checked out some of Passages, closely related to the Royal arcade in Melbourne in terms of style and types of business. We enjoyed a pistachio tart and a chocolate delicacy, before a quick rest and then dinner at an Antilles restaurant! Sweet potatoes, plantain and rum (for me) featured heavily. Would recommend Ti Case Créole if you are in the area.

Day 2 started with a very rushed trip to Gare Montparnasse (Apple Maps leading us astray) but then a smooth trip on the TGV to Morlaix - over 285km/h at some points!

A 9% incline to leave the town was a rude start, but was followed by a beautiful rail trail for much of the stage. An unfortunately placed stick attacked Rob’s chain however, meaning he had to push the bike uphill for about 5km before he could gingerly coast down into the safe hands of the Carhaix bike shop. 48 euros later for a swiftly fitted new chain we made it to the campsite and enjoyed galettes for dinner from the on site restaurant.

Editor note: Rob was very traumatised by the chain incident and tried to write this blog many times and failed. In the end it was decided that Kathleen was much better to describe this part of the journey. 

The next day took us to the Nantes-Brest canal- in this section no longer navigable but stunning nonetheless. Lots of cute lock houses, including one home to a well placed cafe. Lunch was galettes as well, unsurprising considering we are in Brittany. I suspect some of the fields we ride past are buckwheat fields but cannot confirm.