After checking in to our hotel we took a little walk around the area. This is St. Andre Cathedral.

Another view of the Cathedral.

Marie de Bordeaux (City Hall)

The restaurants are busy.

Time to try our first Bordeaux in Bordeaux!

Got an early start to explore the city. Nicely decorated shops.

Place de la Bourse.

Monument aux Girondins.

Exquisite monument with waterfalls.

It’s a lovely sunny day.

Picked up rental bikes with waterproof panniers, front bag, helmets, locks, & repair kit & pump. They were originally fitted with wide, cushy saddles and we had them exchanged for narrower ones. Took the bikes for a spin along the waterfront and back to the hotel.

Stopped in at Boulangerie ‘Au Pétrin Moissagais’

We enjoyed a cappuccino and tart—delicious!

This oven has been fired daily since the time of Louis XV (1765)

Handles for placing bread into the oven and removing the bread when done.

Inside St. Andre Cathedral.

Back to the hotel to get organized for our cycling adventure, Bordeaux to Sete starting in the morning. Everything we don’t need as well as Dolly’s backpack will go in Rich’s suitcase and we will drop it off to be stored at the bike rental shop.

Good breakfast at the Ibis and ready to start our ride.

Riding along the Canal du Garonne.

Lunchtime! Raining, but lucky to find some shelter.

Stopped for a cappuccino. Whipped cream on this one!

Cycling by lots of vineyards.

Happy hour at our accommodation.

71.9 kms today. Some rain, cloud & sun. No restaurants nearby but we were able to order a dinner from our hosts. Salad & Pasta Carbonara with a glass of wine.

Leaving our accommodation after a breakfast of bread, jam & coffee. (Not going to get us very far down the road!) Will ride back to the Canal du Garonne over hilly terrain similar to the undulating route from the canal we rode yesterday to get here.

Back to the canal. It is raining but comfortable riding.

Clearing up and we are enjoying the ride.

So many locks along the canal.

Yikes! Is the noose really necessary? We can read the sign!

Some areas have lots of canal boats parked.

The canal aqueduct going over a river.

Stopped for a refreshing drink.

Arrived in Tonneins, our destination for the day. 73.6 Kms. Took a walk along the water.

Enjoyed dinner at our hotel.

Picked up a bottle of local Bordeaux.

Good breakfast at our hotel. Around 14C to start the day.

Good surface for riding. Bikes are working well.

Left the canal and took a side trip to Damazan.

Damazan City Hall with a marketplace underneath.

Old well in the centre of Damazan.

War memorial.

Lots of half timbered buildings.

Another side trip to Buzet. Beautiful church.

Back to the canal.

Lunchtime.

Side trip to Bruch. Half timbered passageway,

Enjoyed the sites in Bruch.

Stopped for a cold drink when entering Agen, our destination for the day,

Boat waiting to go through the lock.

Checked in to our hotel and went out to explore the city. 57.6 Kms today.

Agen Cathedral.

Opera House.

Happy Hour on our little deck. Great day!

Happy with our breakfast this morning that included bacon and eggs. Not expecting rain today. 13-21C.

We came over the Agen aqueduct yesterday on our way into town.

Sign said ‘no cycling’ so we pushed our bikes.

It’s a beautiful day and cycling is great!

Always have to watch for signage as to what side of the canal to ride.

Took a side trip to Auvillar. It was quite a climb to get here but well worth it.

Clock gate tower.

Historic marketplace.

Everywhere you turn the buildings are amazing.

Back on the Canal du Garonne. Aqueduct at Moissac.

Settled in at our apartment in Castelsarrasin. 65.7 Kms today.

Salad, pasta & green beans for dinner along with a nice bottle of Bordeaux.

Looks like another stellar riding day. 13-22C.

Cappuccino time!

It might seem that cycling along the canal would be completely flat. However, about once every few kilometres there is a road-bridge crossing with a short, steep climb.

Lunchtime!

Arrived in Toulouse, our destination for the day. 63.7 Kms. Walking around to look at the sites. Basilica Saint-Sernin.

Inside the Basilica.

Other side of the Basilica.

Balconies on the buildings.

Place du Capitole.

Donjon building in Charles de Gaulle Square.

Toulouse is beautiful and we enjoyed our evening here.

Enjoyed breakfast at our hotel this morning. Ready to ride 14C, cloudy. The Canal du Garonne finished in Toulouse and now we will ride on the Canal du Midi.

Thanks to the GPS in Rich’s brain we made our way from our hotel back to the canal. We are now on the Canal du Midi. Before Toulouse we rode along the Canal du Garonne.

There are always lots of canal boats near towns along the canal.

Lunch break. Nice to find a bench.

Good signage.

Stopped for cafe au lait.

Years ago these buildings along the canal housed the controller, tax collector and rooms for guests.

On each building is a sign with the name of the lock and distances to the previous and next lock.

Boat waiting to go through the lock.

Arrived at our apartment in Castelnaudary. 64 Kms today high of 20C. Lots of gravel trail.

Spar store nearby. Salad, asparagus and Tagliatelle with Arrabbiata sauce for dinner.

Great day on the Canal du Midi! We are no longer in Bordeaux Region. \240Currently in Occitanie Region so time to enjoy wines from this area.

Leaving Castelnaudary after breakfast in our apartment. 14-24C. No rain expected.

Hoping for coffee but cafe was closed.

Trail is good here but some sections very rough gravel.

Stopped at this lock for picnic lunch.

Then coffee after.

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Trail gets pretty narrow in this section.

Only 44 Kms today and arrived in Carcassonne before 2:00.

Rode around the city to take a look around.

Pretty areas with park benches.

Stopped on a pedestrian street for a cafe au lait.

Checked in and carried our bags up 58 stairs to our room on the top floor. Bonus was that the rooftop terrace with city & castle views is across from our room.

Rich had to try the regional specialty, Cassoulet. A meaty stew of duck, sausage, pork, and beans, all under a rich, dark brown crust. He said it was delicious!

I had slices of duck breast, salad & fries. No—I didn’t eat all the fries!

After sunset we walked up to get a view of the Citadel at night.

We are here for two nights and tomorrow we will walk up to explore the Citadel.

Magnificent Citadel known as Cité de Carcassonne, Gallo Roman Period, 1st century BC to the 5th century AD.

Restored by the theorist and architect Eugène Viollet-le-Duc between 1853 and 1879.

Lots of hotels, shops & restaurants. This hotel is particularly stunning and you could visit inside.

Pretending that I belong in this elegant hotel!

Inside the basilica.

Stopped for a cafe au lait and Rich had a chocolate crepe.

Dinner was Toulouse Sausage, salad & fries for Rich.

Dolly had the Pork Ribs, salad & fries.😋 Enjoyed our time in Carcassonne. Back on the bikes tomorrow.

Leaving our hotel in Carcassonne.

Back on the Canal du Midi

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Excellent riding in this section. Lots of boats, Many are rentals.

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Cycling between the canal on one side and vineyards on the other.

Cobblestones over the bridge.

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Rough surface and strong headwinds.

Stopped for coffee here at Homps on the canal.

Villages on the hillsides along the way. Some of the boats are very nicely decorated.

Arrived at Le Somail, our destination for the day. 62 Kms today with headwinds all the way.The convenience store is on this boat.

It’s a quaint little village on the canal.

This is our accommodation for the night. Bikes are securely stored in the bike garage. No internet here.

Found a lovely restaurant nearby. Salad & pizza. Made it back to our little cottage beside the main building before the rain started.

STORMY NIGHT!

Thunder, lightning, heavy rain & windy last night. Lost power. Water came pouring in under our door. Picked everything up off the floor and put towels under the door. Luckily rain stopped before we started riding.

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Back to the Canal du Midi.

Gravel isn’t too bad considering the heavy rain last night.

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Check out the guy on the boat cheering Dolly on!

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Vineyards at Ouveillan.

Lots of vineyards and some olive groves along the way,

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Boats travelling through Tunnel de Malpas, built in 1679. World’s first canal tunnel. 173 metres.

Riding by Beziers.

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Bumpy cobblestones!

Checking out our route into Agde,

Checked in to our hotel in Agde and off to find goodies for ‘Happy Hour’

Crossing the bridge near our hotel.

Our front desk clerk recommended this barge restaurant. It was wonderful. Amazing salad!

Dolly had the salmon & scallops with a potato/cheese dish, cabbage and puréed carrots. We had a lovely local Chardonnay.

Rich had Cuttlefish with potatoes. When we got back to our hotel we received an email that our train back to Bordeaux was cancelled due to a landslide. Spent a couple hours on Trainline figuring out how to get back to Bordeaux in time to return bikes and catch our train to Paris. Had to give up our last day of cycling in order to take 4 trains back to Bordeaux😢

Taking bikes out of the hotel bike garage. Will ride to the train station to catch the first of 4 trains to Bordeaux.

No elevator at this train station! I carried the four panniers up the stairs and Rich carried the bikes up one at a time.

Waiting for the train.

Got on the train carriage with the big bike symbol so that bikes could be securely loaded.

After a quick change to the second train we are now in Toulouse for a couple hours before the next train.

Rode around a bit in familiar territory from when we were in Toulouse several days ago.

Picked up a salad and sandwich for lunch. Weather is very pleasant.

After 4 trains and riding to our hotel we are happy to have arrived back in Bordeaux before dark and before the rain started. Picked up a bottle of Bordeaux wine!

Leaving the hotel we booked when we found out that we had to return to Bordeaux a day earlier because our original train was cancelled. We will check in to the Ibis after 2:00.

It’s a beautiful day to cycle around this very cycle-friendly city.

Cycling on the Quai Richelieu.

Miroir d’Eau (Water Mirror)

Monument aux Girondins

Bourse Maritime

Gardin Public

Cité de Vin (Wine Museum)

Quai de Bacalan

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Beautiful ride along the Quai

Back to the Miroir d’Eau and the reflection is much better now!

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Making our way to check-in at the Ibis. We will unload the panniers and handlebar bags then cycle to the bike rental shop to return the bikes.

Bikes are returned and we will take the tram back to the hotel. Great day! Still somewhat disappointed that we had to miss the final day of cycling along the Mediterranean but apparently landslides causing train delays is not uncommon here. Bikes were returned as scheduled and we are able to catch our booked train tomorrow to Paris, then Eurostar to London.

We were thrilled with the 600 Kms of riding on this cycling adventure. Rental bikes from Velocé were great. No flat tires or maintenance issues. Overall weather was good with very little rain while riding; some wind and rough riding surfaces.