day 7: petit Tour de France

my experience in st remy has been nothing short of charming and exceptional. 

the hotel stay was like stepping into the coziest pair of fuzzy slippers 

after the most relaxing bath ever taken in human history. 

the dinner was a lesiure and splendid 3 hours of nonstop food-gasms. 

followed by a stroll through the city center's night market...

and now this...

a petit dejuner fit for queens. korean american queens traveling all the way from bk, nyc. 

you bet your bottom i ate everything you see in this picture. 

that pitcher...thats my very own pitcher of hot chocolate. 

unusual for mid-july? yes. 

but being in st remy is unusual for me, so there you have it. 

i drank the whole pitcher!

like a lady, of course - i poured it into a cup. 

so if you must know, 

there weren't as many lavender plants on this route. 

but there were plenty of deep inhales and exhales.

and plenty of rolling hills, up and down...

and plenty of heat. 

and plenty of frustrating moments followed by more hills and heat...

but there were also plenty of glorious views. 

i couldnt help but think, 

"i wouldnt be seeing all of this if i didnt sign up for this bike tour..."

for me, totally worth every "heated" (ha! pun intended on this one) argument, every strained pedaling motion up unending hills, every sore adjustment of my derrière...

we rode through the chaines des alpilles. 

we rode standing up high on the pedals of our bikes without braking...

we rode (well i...) with eyes closed...

we rode (well i...) with hands of the handlebars...

we rode.

and whenever i hunkered down at sharp turns or rode my derriere off up hills 

i swore i could hear the other Tour de France cyclists trying to cop my style. 

obviously, they couldnt. 

because, 

for one, they were figments of my sunbaked imagination

and two, im that awesome. 

purple & yellow wildflower fields...i have such a draw to them...

spotty's big head is dominating the views of le beaux de Provence.

beautiful beautiful ride. 

en fontvielle! 

a sweet little village near arles.

this 3-star hotel paled in comparison to the 2-star hotel in st remy...

(both places reserved through the bike tour company)

the food was meh. 

here we have some french cuisine neither of us could pronounce nor translate. 

gina had some anchovy pie thing, good. 

i had some pork-spam-esque thing with caramelized onions, not good.  

gina had ravioli & herbs and i had pork with polenta. meh. 

coconut pie and some cheese desserts. meh. 

but gina and i did have a great meal...

we laughed about our bike-fiascos in the last 2 days. 

*grin*

tomorrows is the final leg of the petit tour de france back to avignon before our night-time departure to barcelona...

bonsoir...

bisous

xx