The French and Italian Riviera (9th Sep - 21st Sep 07)

We decided to catch a French train (which we know we can take our bikes on) from Biaritz to Nice. We rode from east to west, now we are training back to the east.

We decided to stay in a ......... hostel in nice (I can hear the gasps) for the first time this trip!!! Partly due to their being no campsite near Nice. But we were very happy with our choice. It was in an old monastary and was great. Free breakfast, free internet, but unfortunately full of NZ and aussie rugby heads here for the world cup. But we had 2 nights in beds for the first time in 6 weeks. We explored Nice for a day then headed to the east along the French then Italian Riviera (coastline). We were wowed by the ride, a busy road, but packed with recreational cyclists, that wound its way along the coast passing through bays with mega boats parked up. We rode the 5km length of Monaco and managed to navigate in between the 500 million tourist buses battling for parking spaces on the harbour edge.

Nick in Nice


The French Riviera



We stayed in San Remo in Italy for Nats birthday on the 17th (quick send her an email if you forgot!!) and had a great resort style campsite. Our site was right on the cliff front and strangely all the sites were paved with brick, so we had some trouble pitching the tent.

Scrambled Eggs and coffee on Nats Birthday


We then rode on to Genova, a city we visited with Nicks mum and dad but loved its dark and winding alleys full of great food shops we came back. Staying down the coast in a small village but commuting in for a few days.

We are now heading further along the Italian coast, through the Cinque Terra (five earths or villages) and then to Pisa.