..are cousins; Anais lives just outside the centre of Lille and tonight I am sleeping on an inflatable mattress on her floor. It is very comfortable!
The story of today is as follows; I woke up early courtesy of Alain’s braying donkeys. Alain himself was already up and about feeding the animals and sorting things out for his few days away cycling. Although we have both come to Lille, he heads east tomorrow to meet a friend in Anvers whereas I head south to Strasbourg (to meet a friend as well – I’ll confirm the date Claus when I have a better idea but it should be either Sunday, Monday or Tuesday,)
I was expecting a day of tortuous ups and downs but it turned out to be more flat. Climbing out of Boulognais country was hard work but after a few kilometres, we started to descend and descend. It never really seemed to stop. The town of Cassel, perched on the top of a small hill gave us reason to expand our lungs again. Nice view, pretty square. And from then on it was flat and fairly uneventful. Alain and I had a beer in Lille’s main square and then headed off to Anais’ place for a meal and a sleep. The picture shows then advising me about routes for tomorrow.
Although both Iain in Kent and Alain have been fantastic company, I am looking forward to following my own agenda for the next few days. Too tired to continue typing.my eyes are…..