Day 10 Dormans - 9.8.05 

We continued on the winding tourist road though the major town of the region - Chateau Thierry, had a french cake break at Montreuil-aux-Lions where we each had 2 over-rich, super-creamy delicious cakes while sitting on the steps high above the river. We pressed on and had a late lunch at Meaux. While sitting at the café, a young man noticed our jerseys and got excited about the concept of riding to Istanbul. He gave us detailed directions of how to get into Paris, explained about the gates and wished us luck - what rude French?

The ride into Paris was longer than we expected we followed the 117 trying to avoid the freeways we kept being led to, passed DisneyLand and eventually through the Porte Pantin (one of some 40 gates that provide entry into the city) . We then said our farewells as I had to go to Sacre Couer to reunite with Hilary after a 6 week break and Peter & Daniel were off to stay at a friend's mother's apartment in Moudon. It was a surreal experience to ride through bustling Paris as night fell.

I stopped at a corner to get my bearings and a French man came over to see if he could help. He didn't know where the Ibis was but he asked his friends to wait while he rang information and got them to sms the address so I could read it. Ten minutes later I was at the hotel reeling at how nice the French are.

Stats Dist 145 Km, Average 18km/hr, Max 53km/hr, Climb 930m

  Email John at John@CycleOdyssey.com.au
 

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