The fifth day of riding took us into our last city, Avranches, where we would stay two nights. We left the bustling Granville prepared for crummy weather. I had started the habit of packing my normal coat and a pair of long cycling pants in my day pannier, in addition to the many layers I wore, juuuuuust in case. I did have to use the jacket a few times, but never went so far as pulling on the extra layer of bottoms. The forecast for the trip to Avranches was almost guaranteed rain and cool as usual (50s).
Granville was at sea level and we stayed close to the coast for the most part. More cute villages:
Partway we stopped at an Abbey. We didn't think about the fact it was Sunday (we were on vacation time, what day is it?) and arrived right before a church service. So we walked around the grounds and left without the full tour.
We stopped for lunch along the way at a pizza place. Even though it was brick oven style, and so far pizza has been pretty good, this was a bummer. Bob had a cheese and mushroom combo.
My ham pizza. You know, there is a lot of ham on the menu in France. Why did we never see pig farms? I think we are grateful since it would have further limited the fresh air, but still it's odd.
As we came around the coast we knew we were nearing Mont St. Michel. This little southern point had cars lining the road and we quickly figured out why: this is where people would walk over to Mont St. Michel. We can barely see it at this point. The little dark clump near the center line of the photo is a group of hikers.
We saw a ton of horses, I figured I should take a picture. We were in the habit of saying "Bonjour!" to all the farm animals we passed, most right up by the fence looking at us. They never seemed terribly interested.
We eventually found Avranches and when we were about 1 minute from the hotel it started to rain. We were SOOOOO lucky! I was ready to ride the whole day in the rain (and hate it), so I counted my blessings. I did a quick run around town, but it was very hilly so there was a lot of walking up steps. But it was useful in that I saw some landmarks that would help us the next day.
Our dinner was included the first night, so we went down at 7. It is very not cool to arrive this early, we were the first ones. I would wager we were also the only ones who rode our bikes there including the monster hill into town. We were hungry and ready to get on with it!
One of the few places where we were presented with an English menu, so here you go:
Bob is modeling the very chic dining room set-up.
My first course, pink trout carpaccio. I can't imagine ordering this in real life, but it was good. Although way too much oil for my taste.
Bob had the house pate (Croix D'or ballentine).
Bob's "sea bream" although I swear they said dorado when they delivered it. I wonder if the menu or the server was mistaken.
My cod. The sauce on both of our plates was delicious! I had a little plop of mashed potatoes, too. It
might be why I picked this dish over the others.
We finished our meals and they asked if we were interested in a cheese course. I am SO mad I didn't take a picture of the cheese options we were presented with. It was a huge platter stacked with options. I don't know how the guy managed to carry it out. I asked the server to select for me, and Bob picked a few on his own. It was way too much, but we ate it to be polite. I have no idea how French people can eat this much! We were at dinner for almost 2 hours, so it's not as though we were rushing.
We shared a dessert. Never in my whole life have I opted to share a single dessert when two are already paid for. But, I was stuffed. This was delicious including a little homemade sorbet.
We had a nice room with nice finishes but the pillows were a joke. They totally deflated when you rested your head, and there were no spares in the closet like in other hotel rooms. I eventually rolled up the top bedspread to make a round "pillow" for us to share. I just thought I would share this genius idea in case you might use it in the future :)
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