Resting, Raw Meat and Retro Kitsch

Despite Simon's attempt at a cliffhanger, we are still in Nantes. Extraordinarily we and the bikes have both survived and both arses are intact (thanks to Assos shorts and Conotrane!) Like all weekend mornings when the alarm does not have to be set we both wake ridiculously early. It feels strange to go to breakfast in ordinary mufti clothes, not swathed in Lycra. We still have the bikers breakfast though. We had imagined our rest day in Nantes basking in sunshine but sadly the skies are grey. We walk to the Cathedral and chance upon the tourist bus that is just about to leave. We are virtually the only passenegers on board and bag the front seats at the top. We have an enjoyable hour long tour of the sights including the Erdre River basin and canals, and the Ile de Nantes. We add the birth place of Jules Verne to our list of celebrities. We then do the ramparts of the Chateau Ducs de Bretagne before lunch in a French bistro with a pig theme. A spot of shopping before moving hotels just across the bridge. I now have a large ceramic Tarte Tatin dish balanced across my panniers. We are on the 11th floor with impressive views of the city. Simon is on a quest for Fruits de Mer but one restaurant is closed for "exceptional reasons" and the other is complet. We end up in Chez Maman, an extraordinary restaurant that is filled with retro kitsch, all for sale. We are sorry that we cannot fit any chandeliers, stuffed stoats, or giant plastic Brio men into our panniers. Simon eats boulots and eel with strong garlic aioli (I may need a gas mask tonight) and I enjoy my first Steak Tartare. Miles cycled today: one. The road home tomorrow... 2400 miles in the saddle: