Tag Archives: cycling

Day 42 – Toulon

30km of 2849 so far…

After a little bit of laundry, I took just a couple of things and departed for Toulon. Even if in the map La Seyne appears to be attached to Toulon, I had to cycle 10 painful kilometers, getting lost in the numerous roundabouts and trying to avoid the highway that all the roads are leading to. It took about an hour and by the time I made it to its port I was already a little disappointed, as it was yet another extremely busy city with loads of traffic. I wondered a little bit around the civilian port which is next to the military one and I asked my questions at the tourist office.

One of the military naval schools
One of the military naval schools
The facade of the city to the sea
The facade of the city to the sea

It was only when I left the port and started walking a little northern into the city center that I started linking it. There was an open market on one of the main pedestrian streets, from where I bought a few supplies for the night.

The market
The market
Many of such alleys
Many of such alleys
Boat parked at one of the squares
Boat parked at one of the squares
Hard student life
Hard student life

The ...
The public theater
At one of the squares
At one of the squares

After my lunch and a couple of hours of walking within the alleys, I rested in one of the numerous cafes for a cold drink and some internet.

Cafe calture at its maximum
Cafe culture indeed

I left the city early enough to get back to the camping in day light. But once again it took me some time and many questions to find the correct route. I am sure this will happen again tomorrow that I will have to do the same route again to continue my trip to the east.

- This way to the camping...

- This way to the camping...

Day 41 – Cassis to La Seyne

66km of 2819km so far…

Overlooking Cassis

Overlooking Cassis

Cassis is  surrounded by hills and that’s why the camping was full of rock climbers. In the morning I had to go down to the center and buy a few things, so right after I had to climb a very steep road. Then looking for the road I needed to take to the next town, I got confused and tried two different roads for a couple of kilometers, both uphill and both wrong. Then I realized the road was down the village, close to its center. So there I was, first thing in the morning going up and down the mountains for no reason.
Even from the day before I was feeling a little tired and was thinking about taking the day off. Cassis was too small though to spend a whole day, so I decided to take the day off in Toulon which has a few more things to see and wasn’t that far away anyway.

The bay of ...

One of the bays I went through

At midday I stoped at Bandol and bought some pate and a few other goods for a picnic style lunch at its port by the luxurious yacht. Since Toulon wasn’t more than 20km away and it was still early, I decided to take my time, have a drink at a cafe with wifi, until it gets a little cooler.

The small port of...

The small port of Bandol

As I was leaving, I noticed my back tyre needed some air. I pump it up, but a few kilometers down the road it went completely flat. I took it out and found the hole, which this time was on the inside. The protective tape was a little misplaced and I believe one of the spokes puncture it. It worries me a little though, as it’s the back wheel that was grinded on the tarmac the other day. Anyway, I fixed it and I moved on.
Once again, I got a little confused with how to locate the road I wanted. There were two roads to get to Toulon, each going around the different side of a hill. One of the passing drivers helped me to find it and suggested to take the upper one as it is faster. When I got to Toulon though I realized that the camp site is not actually inside the town but at the nearby town at the west. I ended up doing an extra 10km to find Seyne on the other side of the hill and close to where I was talking with that driver. That’s one of the reasons I am still in France, even if I’ve just reached my initial estimation of kilometers. But who said I am in a hurry?