Updateo
After leaving the little airbnb place we went through Reims and on to the Lighthouse at Verzenay, a champagne vineyard just out of town. It was kinda random, for there to be a lighthouse in a vineyard but it did make an excellent 360 degree lookout...got quite a bit of history too:
100 YEARS OF HISTORY
A lighthouse in the midst of a sea of vines, such was the ingenious brainwave of Mr Joseph Goulet to promote his brand of champagne. This creation does not fail to surprise. At its summit a rotary lantern emits a light beam scanning the plain of Champagne.
The events of the First World War put an end to these good times. The lighthouse was then used as an observation tower by the French army and suffered shellfire from enemy troops.
In the aftermath of the war, only the reinforced concrete tower remained, the adjacent buildings were destroyed. For many years, the Lighthouse of Verzenay was left disused. It was pervaded by vegetation and fell into oblivion.
Dear to the inhabitants of Verzenay, the lighthouse was bought back by the municipality of Verzenay in 1987 from a Champagne House which owned the premises. This was when the lighthouse was saved from collapse .
So yeah. Pretty cool. We shared a glass of champs since we were driving and then carried on to a forest for a walk. In the end a very very short walk because we realised it was later in the afternoon than we thought and we'd covered no ground from our plan we made the night before.. On from there on the D931, a beautiful scenic ride through the country, mostly lined with trees and farmland and then in to the Regional natural park of Lorraine. A quick stop just outside of Nancy due to my aching butt and knee from piss all riding really, and then on to the campground we'd picked just outside the Vosges forest/park area. Bargain price of £10 for us both for the night and we were in the 'motorcycle reserved area which happened to have a little covered dining shack just for us since we were the only ones staying, brilliant. Pitchup website listed it as motorcycle friendly, but having a tap and outdoor dining area was a nice surprise. A not so nice surprise was the arguing brits who'd brought a tv with them, inside their tent. Kieth, wherever you are, her mother didn't mean it, its fine, everything's fine, just go back to the price is right so the rest of the campers can get to sleep.
In the morning there was FRESH BREAD DELIVERED YUSSS so fresh mmm and we headed on to The Vosges natural park, which was an amazing ride up a mini mountain of about 1200m I think, the Station. It was sunny and clear and warm and the views were amazing. We then carried on up to the main event mountain and as we were approaching the fog was rolling in and the clouds were getting to be huge black looming monsters...so imma pull over and put on me ole wet weather gear I had packed in a handy to reach spot, which I'd been given shit the past two days for having. Guess who stayed dry all day. On the way up it was eere and foggy + forest = cool, until it turned into rain also then it was less cool. We were only averaging like...30kph as you could see maybe 5 metres ahead, at best? There were a few cafes to stop of the top which were enticing, but my reasoning to not stop was I'd rather get all the wet bits done then over, than get off, get dry and fed then have to st back out in it again. So we persevered. It was worth it, as we came down and it cleared and was sunny, my heated hand grips dried my visor wiping hand right up, and we found another little cafe to stop and have a coffee and some lunch. But not before I got stuck trying to roll Hobs back into a park, couldn't (remember short legs + heavy bike + stuff + hill = not good combo) so I tried to hand it off to Sam to help me out. Aaaaaand we dropped it. Team effort, totally not my crappy parking skills on hills. Wink wink. Hahaha oops.
We decided we were having such a nice timing riding that we might just keep going in to Switzerland, so with an ice cream pit stop and some campsite googling we headed on in to Swissland. On the highways in Switzerland you need to have this sticker called a vignette which we'd thought we might buy, so we could travel on the main highways as we were planning to not be here for too long. They stop you on the way in to check you have one or sell you one, and we'd assumed it'd be a one day pass or month or something, but turns out it's just a yearly thing that costs €40 each. Er no thank you. Back country roads it is, an gosh so worth it. Cover less ground yes but hell we've got no particular place to be. Except the beach, hanging for some swims.
We ended up in this little campsite called Sursee Walgheim that let us pitch next to a covered area again, with a couch and table etc. The forecast over night turned to rain rain rain so we've just dragged our tent under the roof of it which will make the pack up in the morning a dry one. They also gave us a garage to park in which was very nice, again considering the rainy forecast. We are now trying to figure the least rain-filled way to get to the Italian coast, considering said rain-forecast...to be continued....
Distance so far: 936kms
In the morning there was FRESH BREAD DELIVERED YUSSS so fresh mmm and we headed on to The Vosges natural park, which was an amazing ride up a mini mountain of about 1200m I think, the Station. It was sunny and clear and warm and the views were amazing. We then carried on up to the main event mountain and as we were approaching the fog was rolling in and the clouds were getting to be huge black looming monsters...so imma pull over and put on me ole wet weather gear I had packed in a handy to reach spot, which I'd been given shit the past two days for having. Guess who stayed dry all day. On the way up it was eere and foggy + forest = cool, until it turned into rain also then it was less cool. We were only averaging like...30kph as you could see maybe 5 metres ahead, at best? There were a few cafes to stop of the top which were enticing, but my reasoning to not stop was I'd rather get all the wet bits done then over, than get off, get dry and fed then have to st back out in it again. So we persevered. It was worth it, as we came down and it cleared and was sunny, my heated hand grips dried my visor wiping hand right up, and we found another little cafe to stop and have a coffee and some lunch. But not before I got stuck trying to roll Hobs back into a park, couldn't (remember short legs + heavy bike + stuff + hill = not good combo) so I tried to hand it off to Sam to help me out. Aaaaaand we dropped it. Team effort, totally not my crappy parking skills on hills. Wink wink. Hahaha oops.
We decided we were having such a nice timing riding that we might just keep going in to Switzerland, so with an ice cream pit stop and some campsite googling we headed on in to Swissland. On the highways in Switzerland you need to have this sticker called a vignette which we'd thought we might buy, so we could travel on the main highways as we were planning to not be here for too long. They stop you on the way in to check you have one or sell you one, and we'd assumed it'd be a one day pass or month or something, but turns out it's just a yearly thing that costs €40 each. Er no thank you. Back country roads it is, an gosh so worth it. Cover less ground yes but hell we've got no particular place to be. Except the beach, hanging for some swims.
We ended up in this little campsite called Sursee Walgheim that let us pitch next to a covered area again, with a couch and table etc. The forecast over night turned to rain rain rain so we've just dragged our tent under the roof of it which will make the pack up in the morning a dry one. They also gave us a garage to park in which was very nice, again considering the rainy forecast. We are now trying to figure the least rain-filled way to get to the Italian coast, considering said rain-forecast...to be continued....
Distance so far: 936kms
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