When we got to Rouen, France (into the heart of the city) we pulled off the road and backed up against a garage door on a side street. This is where I dropped my bike (Day 1 of the trip). Unfortunately, I didn't take a picture of it while it was down but I did take one once it was up (imagine that)! The hotel was quaint and my third floor balcony (wow whatta work out with all the gear up those flights of stairs) overlooking our bikes for the night. Mick, our tour guide, spent that night sleeping in the support vehicle by the lake for security reasons. This is where I had my first "real" French Onion Soup. Right from the get go everyone was in good spirits laughing and joking (that Aussie humour and their sayings "fair dinkam mate"? is a whole language in itself). And as the Aussie's say, "We all got on like a house on fire". We stayed at Hotel Le Cardinale in Rouen. It was somewhat cool outside and we had an amazing dessert (two different types of apple pie with whip cream on top). I guess the weight loss part of this trip will begin in one of the Stans or Mongolia but it definitely will not be in France.
