We set off from Arles to make our way to the border of France and Spain and eventually Barcelona. Our first day we had planned 90km over fairly flat terrain. However, we had our first experience of strong headwinds. The cycling I had done before this trip mostly consisted of round trips to and from home - meaning I'd usually get rewarded with a tailwind at some point of the trip. If you are cycle touring in one direction then you just get one or the other... all day. This left us feeling tired out by the end of the day and ready for an early night.

Lunch in a vineyard - the tarp comes in handy again

Selfie Leucate-styles

Salvador Dali

Cadaqués

I didn't take any photos between Marseille and Arles as we were in a hurry to cover the 90 or so kilometres between the cities. We were were a little worried after hearing about the winds on the plains of the Camargue, but as it turned out we had a strong tail wind most of the way, and made good time. It was a dusty, busy road with lots of trucks going to and from the massive port operations on the coast so we were glad to get through quickly.

Arles

The spot where Van Gogh painted 'Starry Night over the Rhone'

We had booked an Air BnB for a few nights in Arles as there was rain forecast. We negotiated another narrow European apartment staircase with our bikes and settled into the cosy apartment just as the first few drops of rain started falling.

Roman Amphitheater. In keeping with the history of violent and cruel sports held in these stadiums in ancient times, the amphitheater is now set up for annual bullfighting events.

The next day was spent looking at the Roman ruins of Arles and following the 'Van Gogh Trail' - a series of locations in the town where some of the painter's most famous canvases were created. He only spent a year in Arles before going a bit crazy and cutting his ear off; but it was an extremely productive year and the trail was an interesting way to explore the old town of Arles.

The next day we ditched  the panniers and went on a 90km circuit around the Camargue National Park. It was a good day out and we saw heaps of flamingos, semi-wild Camargue horses, and Sarah ran over a snake(!).



Unfortunately I didn't get a shot of the snake; the first live one we've seen here (he didn`t seem too harmed by being run over but he probably had a sore back!).
  -  David

After a beautiful downhill ride we were met with the bustling, cosmopolitan city of Marseille. We managed to negotiate the traffic to find our hotel and took full advantage of the excellent wifi to plan the next few days. We started by walking up to the Notre Dame de la Garde, while mocking the throngs of tourists catching a mini-train up the hill. We were rewarded at the top with stunning views across the city.  The hill-top church was the scene of a WWII battle during the Liberation of France. There are scars on the outer walls from bullets and shrapnel, and we visited a secret corridor at the bottom of the hill that allowed the Allies to breach the German lines.

Notre-Dame de la Garde

MuCEM

Breakdancers!

We continued along the French Riviera on long cycleways with beautiful views back to Nice with the snow-capped Alps behind. We had an expensive coffee in Antibes on the way and picnic'd on a terrace overlooking the private beach resorts near Cannes. Our campsite was on the far side of Cannes so we stopped off at the Palais des Festivals et des Congres where they were preparing for the film festival due to start in a week or so.

Beachfront cycleways between Nice and Cannes

The next day we did a short (31km) tour from Cannes to the town of Grasse. Grasse is famous as the perfume capital of the world and, as I had just finished reading the book Perfume: The Story of a Murderer by Patrick Suskind, we had to go have a look. The town itself was a little bit of a letdown and we didn't really see any of the flower fields that are supposed to be around - I guess you have to pay for a tour to really see them properly.

Massif d'Esterel

All smiles after the puppy rescue

Route des Crêtes winding along cliff-tops

View towards Parc des Calanques from the Route des Crêtes

Parc des Calanques near Marseille

Sarah cruising into Marseille

The stunning coastal scenery on the Italian Riviera continued into France as we crossed the border and made our way towards the microstate of Monaco.

Monaco

With the number of supercars roaring past us increasing the closer we got, we headed to the Monte Carlo Casino (Ferraris seemed to be the car of choice among the filthy rich in this part of the world).

Sweet ride! I guess the Ferrari is kinda cool too...

Villa Nellcote almost hidden by palms

The next stage of our trip started with a cycleway along an old railway line. This was a smooth ride along asphalt right next to the sea. Unfortunately it only lasted for about six kilometres; then it was an uphill climb from sea level to a pass about 500 metres above sea level, before dropping back down to the coast.  My front brake started to make a nasty noise on the way down the hill, so after a quick stop at a bike shop for some new brake pads we were on our way again. We have found bike shops very easy to find in Italy and despite the language barrier they have always been very friendly and helpful.

Italian countryside - our road passed just below the peak at the back

Lunch stop!

That evening, we realised we hadn't yet had any tiramasu while we were in Italy. We couldn't find it in our neighbourhood so we had to settle for panna cotta and tart. We never did end up having tiramasu, so will just have to save it for next time.

The next day we learnt that Google is definitely smarter than we are. First up, I decided a country road looked like a better option than the way Google Maps suggested. This ended in us both pushing our bikes up a very steep one way section of road. I guess country roads aren't graded quite the same.

One more tunnel = one less hill!

Pushing up the hill

Google schooled us again later that day when we couldn't work out why it was suggesting a detour - so we decided to ignore it. We found ourselves at a dead end due to a recent landslide and again pushing our bikes up a steep walking path to get back on track. I guess someone at Google knows what they're doing.

Campsite overlooking the sea

The next day we had planned one of our biggest day so far (93km) and would also be crossing over 1000km for our trip. We were travelling along a coastal highway and had stunning views most of the way.

1000km! (We also took a selfie but our vanity precludes it from making the blog)

Our last day of cycling in Italy would take us along a 26km stretch coastal cycleway and then through Monaco and France. It was great to get off the road and mix in with the locals out for their exercise. We met a very friendly British man on the cycleway, Charlie (who was based in Monaco and out for a causal 130km ride), who was kind enough to shout us one last Italian coffee.

Ciao Italy

Bonjour France

We had a great time in Italy. It was filled with friendly people, great coffee, awesome food and a real range of stunning locations. We are so lucky to have the opportunity to be on this trip - we are getting fit, experiencing new food and places, and even learning some new things on the way.  I hope we can return to Italy some day - even if it is just for one more Napoli pizza!

-  Sarah