Arch
Married to Night Train
- Location
- Salford, UK
Vendée. Mostly flat particularly near the sea. Fautes-sur-mer was very badly flooded last year. Interesting wildlife.
Oh yes, good call. Lots of waterways too. And an interesting appraoch to naming towns, we rode through 3 places sur-Mer and never saw the sea once. (we found it eventually and paddled in the Atlantic and it was glorious).
It is very valuable to be able to speak French. A lot of people speak a little English but often this does not go very far. People are far more receptive and very much friendlier if you try to talk French.
Absolutely. Get one of these:
http://www.eesc.europa.eu/?i=portal.en.publications.120
The European Lexicon of Cycling. The words for all sorts of bike stuff, in many languages! Or if all else fails, resort to mime. But just trying a little French will win you friends. Even better if you can convey a self deprecating "I'm not very good but I'm trying!" attitude. Work out how to say "We've come from X and are going to Y and have cycled Z kilometres today!" and you'll be able to do more than just buy stuff. I'm by no means fluent, but I find that as the days pass, I get more confident about just having a go at saying things.
I've had three touring holidays in France, all with the same friends, all well organised with B and Bs each night, and I love it. One day, I'd like to go and camp ad hoc, which is rather daring for me.