With bike will travel

The day started with an early breakfast, a flurry of packing our bags and panniers, and adjusting our bikes for the day ahead.

The bikes
Finally on our way, we started with many f-bombs fiddling with our bike. Trying to remind ourselves that these are just rentals - although relatively decent ones - we still found the gears and general maintenance of our bikes frustrating. We encountered two flat tires, one lost pannier clip and miscellaneous rattling. We're curious to know what Day 2 of biking will hold.

The directions
We were provided two sets of directions - a map, and step-by-step directions. When hitting major towns, the signs are usually pretty decent, so we never really got lost. However, half of the step-directions we certainly did not follow. We still enjoyed the journey, but probably found ourselves more on main routes instead of off-the-beaten path.

The wineries
Today was the day I was waiting for. After starting off with a few kilometers of climbing, I was rewarded with my first winery. (And I say "I", as my dear husband patiently is along for the ride.)

The first winery was Domaine des Bouzons, which was exactly what I expected. A modest counter, vats and barrels and boxes of wine, and a friendly face eagerly sharing his creations with me. I sampled four different wines without guilt and fell in love with the last...and of course, more expensive. Finally I realised that this is what I work for, and purchased a bottle of this treasure. Besides, relatively speaking, comparing with the chi-chi wineries, it was an absolute bargain!

Parlez-vous francais
Surprisingly, I remember quite a bit of my french, which is a lot more than I expected. While I can't converse in french, for the most part I am able to get by. Of course if you run into a snooty french person, knowing even a bit doesn't really help. But more on that later.

Dégustation
For wine-lovers, this is a very important word to know when touring France. Wikipedia defines it as "a culinary term meaning "a careful, appreciative tasting of various foods" and focusing on the gustatory system, the senses, high culinary art and good company."

What this really means is that this is a place where you can try wines. This can be found either at the winery or in a wine cave. A wine cave can be found in town and represents a winery or more - what a great idea!

Usually you are able to try wines without paying, but usually it is customary to purchase a bottle. However, I went to a few wine caves where we didn't purchase a bottle, just because they were so darn expensive! But don't worry, I've purchased several bottles...and don't even ask how I'm going to get them home.

Châteauneuf du Pape
One of the reasons the Provence bike tour was picked was because it went through Châteauneuf du Pape. Not only do I like its wines (versus the rest of French wines, which I'm still trying to get a palette for), but the town was amazing. No, it didn't look anything extraordinary. What set it apart was all its wine caves! Imagine doing a pub crawl, except you're drinking wine, and it is free. Well, except for the above dégustation notes.

The French
We've learned that the French can be separated into two groups - super friendly, or mightier-than-though outright cranks. The former is happy that you're trying to speak french, willing to share their wine with you, and help you out any way possible. These people have been absolutely great. The latter though, tell you sharply that they do not speak english (in french of course), make it a chore to share their wine, and are quick to end any encounter with such a pesant.

This has actually become a benchmark for me when trying wines - I will only try and purchase from the former. Life is too short to waste time dealing with such miserable people.

Pillows
Pillows are certainly something left to be desired here. They're usually these super-flat, weak excuses for a head-rest. Even more strange was a pillow that I've never seen in Canada - one long pillow across the width of the bed. If you like hugging your pillow at night, this is definitely not the pillow for you.

A fairytale ending
Our night's stay was about two km outside Châteauneuf du Pape, which we were a bit sorry to see, as it would have been nice to wander around the town. But since our panniers were full of wine, and we still had to shower for the dinner ahead, we made our way. On the way we passed over half a dozen wineries! I was sad not to be able to stop at them, but we had a destination to reach.

We turned the corner towards our hotel, when we saw the most amazing place.
http://www.chateaufinesroches.com/
Yes, it was a night in a Chateau! Absolutely stunning, and defintely more pricey than I would usually pay for, but what an amazing treat! Not only did this place have its own winery, but it also had its shower in one of the towers. Yes, I would have to say that this was one of the most amazing showers, simply for its view!

So we ate like royalty at the chateau, drank some fine wine, and then slept in one of the most comfortable beds on the trip. Magnéfique!