Three Frechman, an Englishman and which way to go

Nine days to go
(I will give the stats tomorrow, my bike is locked away in the garage)
I have travelled approximately 87 miles today

It was beautiful this morning when I got up. I'd had trouble getting out of the city as usual but Bordeaux was beautiful so it was worth the hassle. I stopped and asked at a funeral parlour for directions....it was the only place that was open. I was dressed in black Lycra I bet the guy thought I was a kinky mourner or something....the look on his face was a picture. he spoke excellent English and was very helpful...brilliant.
More by accident than design I ended up taking the really isolated back roads through the countryside, which was fantastic. The French countryside is probably the most beautiful I have experienced on this journey. The trouble is I have to keep stopping to take it all in, I'll never get home. I always stop and ask for directions whenever the opportunity arises not just for the directon's it also gives me an opportunity to meet people. I stopped beside three old French guys who were just chatting by the side of the road. They couldn't speak English and I obviously couldn't speak French, which I told them. They insisted on talking loudly in French, repeating the lines louder and slower as the conversation went on thinking I would understand....it's not only the English who do that then. I pointed in French and showed them the map, it seemed to work. Another guy I spoke to was tending his garden, I chatted over the hedge. He walked quite a way to the front gate to talk to me. His large dog, a German Shepard, wanted me so badly you could see it in its eyes. The old guy was very stern with it and I laughed......I think the dog was really pissed off that he was about....I wasn't. I had some dinner in a small town called Jonzac. It was beautiful. It had a medieval church and the buildings were fantastic. I could have stayed there all day just chilling but i had to get going. I am definitely going to come back to France for an extended visit.
I eventually arrived at St Jean d'Angely, another lovely village and well on my way home. I decided to stay here because I needed to recharge all my batteries and finally get my blog sorted. The internet seems to be a lot better here. I don't know if I am getting desperate but the women in the village are gorgeous, especially the receptionist. We had a good chat about what I was doing and she looked hard at my passport photo....she asked if it was the same person. I told her that I'd been cycling a long way and lost weight...she laughed....beautifully. I fell asleep on the floor of all places when I got in my room. I woke up at 2.30am and eventually got to do my blog. Now I've finished I'm going back to bed. See you tomorrow.