DAY 7: COULON: REST DAY
SATURDAY 19 JULY

We woke up in our beautiful room to a lovely hot sunny day - perfect weather for a rest day. We had been amazed on our arrival to find that when we had booked a garden room (thinking it meant garden view) what we actually had was our own small patio area.

What a beautiful place to stay



Our hotel was so convenient in the middle of the town

Although it was a rest day we decided to get up early as we wanted to hire a punt to explore the river and back waters before it became too busy.

It was so peaceful by the water first thing



We were lucky with the weather - it probably isn't so nice in the rain!

We decided to hire a punt for the whole day so we wouldn't be under pressure to get back by a certain time.

We were given a map and were off



This is going to be fun

The first turn was quite hard as everyone was trying to get used to their punts and there were a few bumps as we all tried to get through a narrow gap. Then suddenly everyone seemed to disappear and we were gliding along a tiny water way.

Some parts were very overgrown



Some parts were wider



It was all incredibly beautiful



We moored at La Garette



What a lovely place to have lunch



We were pleased to see the boat was where we had left it



We headed back towards Coulon



That was so relaxing

We were back in Coulon by 4pm and so decided to go for a little ride on the bike to the next village, Arcais. We followed the lanes and passed a couple coming the other way also on a tandem, a very rare sight in France. As we saw each other we both pointed and screeched to a holt for a chat. It turned out they were a French couple on holiday nearby and they said that they would come to Arcais with us. When we got to Arcais we all went for a drink in a bar and chatted about touring with a tandem and they told us about their last holiday on theirs, over the Pyrenees. We didn't really have chance to look around Arcais as we were with this other couple which was a bit of a shame as we walked back to our bike and went our separate ways.

The port of Arcais didn't look as pretty as Coulon



We started to follow the waterside path back to Coulon



But the road proved easier

When we got back to Coulon it was still really hot and we had a last look at the quay and then spent some time on our patio writing up our diaries before getting ready for our table reservation in the hotel's courtyard garden.

We would definitely stay here again



I had snails to start - the garlic sauce was lovely



What a lovely place to eat - a perfect end to a lovely day