Adieu 2018 … Here’s To A New Year

… the headline is a bit corny, I mean, years, months and days are just dates in the end. Every day qualifies to be the start of something new. Now, in an hour, tomorrow. However, last year I travelled a lot and that I want to commemorate, along with some shit that wound through the last almost five years that I wish to leave behind. I sure learnt from it.

So here it is. My 2018. Mostly in photos.

It started with being ill with pneumonia. Sucks a lot, I can tell you.

Along came spring and my inner travel monkey got the better of me and made me getting on the roads again. To Mallorquian roads, to be precise.

I rented a Ridley Liz at the ever so lovely bike shop Berganti Bikes, and off I went.

One of those mallorquian roads - peace, quiet and mirrors

Pretty windmill near Satorre Mallorca Looks a bit like a giant spiderweb .

Lizzie photobombing the picture

A church in Sineu, Mallorca

Pretty little church in Sineu

Olive Trees

Lizzie and I taking a break at Santuari de Cura

The beach, Can Pastilla, Mallorca.

I have to say I seriously fell in love with Lizzie, I would have almost adopted her, oh well.

Returning home was snowy.

Snow on my roof

… but soon the cranes returned and spring was ahead.

Spring came and with it the good weather.

Spring roads

Erft river banks

In June I went to Italy to take part in the Tuscany Trail adventure – more about that one from here on.

On my way back I stopped at Lake Como (where I was told over the phone by my then-boyfriend that I’m dumped, good timing, thank you), and I spent a few days in Livigno.

In late June/ July I spent some quality time in and around Hamburg.

Elbe river bank. Beach!

A ship going downstream to the North Sea

A flock of sheep taking a bath in the river

In summer the night sky glows. It doesn't get completely dark here boing so far North.

Looks a bit like the ship sails on the dyke ...

In July I went to Bretagne. I had planned to go for quite some time, now I finally had the time to go. It’s quite a drive, more than 1.000KM, but what the hell.

Pont de Normandie - a bridge that spans the river Seine linking Le Havre to Honfleur in Normandy.

A chocolate shop in Guilvinec. Unfortunately it was closed during the time I spent there.

Thistles near the beach, Guilvinec. A reference to my last name :o)

Au marché, Guilvinec. I love the French markets. This man sold delicious vegetables and potatoes. He spoke Breton with most of his customers.

My pickings from the market.

I spent all summer with my faithful old Koga Miyata Roadspeed as my other bicycle was still damaged from Tuscany Trail. However, the Koga is, despite being old and antique, my favourite bike, because it just fits me well.

Chapel de Notre-Dame de Tronoën - a spooky looking church, even in sunlight ...

Phare d'Eckmühl - a lighthouse in Penmar'ch

Another pretty thistle near Pointe Du Raz

This was the diva of all seagulls, probably their old grumpy king. I watched this bird for quite some time and it reminded me of an ill-humoured annoyed old man, yelling and bitching at his fellow seagulls, telling them to behave. They didn’t seem to care much, though.

Evening at Guilvinec Beach

Brittany has many many menhirs and dolmen, I did a cycling tour, visiting some of them, at La Garenne des Korrigans, Quelarn, L‘alignement de Kerfland and Kermantheano.

Paved way to Grand Bé, one of the little islands in the bay of Saint-Malo

Seagulls flying their last round before the sun went down.

Due to being situated quite west, the sunset in Brittany is after 10 pm in the evening. Loved those long summer evenings.

Shopping in Saint-Malo.

I got up very early to visit Le Mont-Saint-Michel and had a lovely Sunday morning there.

Despite going there early the place was already quite crowded, so I took some photos of the real inhabitants of the isle of Saint-Michaels-Mount – the seagulls who handled the turbulent tourist scene quite stoically.

After Brittany I spent some time in Schouven-Duiveland, an island in the very West of The Netherlands. Not much happened there. Most of the time I was glad not to be further east because of the horrendous heatwave that took over Europe for weeks.

Even Pause near Brouwershaven - best fries in a long time. While being there I becme quite a good customer ...

Even Pause near Brouwershaven – best fries in a long time. While being in The Netherlands I became quite a good customer …

Souvenirs from The Netherlands.

After returning home I just couldn’t have it. My home seemed too small, too narrow, too crowded, too no-likey, so I had to leave again.

On the 1st day of September I hit the road to Paris …

Evening view from Montmartre over the city of Paris

Sunday cycling in Paris at Bois de Boulougne

Cycling in Paris is fun, I mean, it’s Paris, for crying out loud. It was the first Sunday of the month and although the roads were not car-free I had a great old time all the same. And because it was Paris I put on a posh frock.

From Paris I went to Périgord/ Limousin. The house I stayed at was on the border of Limousin to Périgord, near Brive la Gaillarde, with the best Carrefour I’d ever been at, an airport-sized supermarché with absolutely everything good food and more. Nothing special for French folks, for me though, coming from a country whose shops and markets do not rank very high among the list of gourmandes it was paradise. Seriously. I love shopping for food and France is a heaven for that.

Cycling in Périgord is not fun, either the roads are deathtraps or full of potholes, so I turned to hiking/ running and, like I said, gathering food.

Lac du Causse

Wood in a shed in La Feuillade

An old farmhouse in La Feuillade

Another lovely old farmhouse near Achez

La Vierge Du Fournet near Rignac - Culminant à 305 mètres d'altitude, cette statue en bronze de la vierge Notre Dame des champs surplombe la vallée de la Couze et le petit village de Saint-Cernin de Larche.

On my evening runs I came across a fig tree, just had to nick a few :o)

Evening view and beer from my patio in Larche

One of those accidentally taken photos ... ctually I should start a series, because my phone and camera are full of #random shots taken unnoticed or inadvertently, some of them do have potential

One of those accidentally taken photos … actually I should start a series, because my phone and camera are full of #random shots taken unnoticed or inadvertently, some of them do have potential.

Cyrano de Bergerac lurking above the bushes.

Bergerac

In an antique shop I found this pretty coverlet, silk and embroidery, loved the deep sea blue and bought it.

Collonges-la-Rouge

Church window reflections on a stone floor

Market day in Sarlat-le-Canéda. Saw this cycling shirt, didn't buy it though. Sarlat is one of the truffle capitals, so I bought a black truffle and truffle liqueur. Delicious!

Autumn sky in Sarlat-le-Canéda

The resting place for my darling Koga was a huge old fireplace in an ancient farmhouse built in 1610. No cycling here because the roads were either full of potholes or deathtraps. Didn’t see anyone cycling here so far (no recommendations on Komoot either), so I was keeping to other nice things to do on the border of Limousin and Périgord which was hiking and eating 😇

From Limousin I went east to Corrèze.

View southwest from Plateau de Millevaches, Corrèze - me, embracing the scenery.

The next stop was a bit spooky. I had rented a little house in the forrest between La Courtine and Saint Rémy. The house was really pretty with a fire place and a well with delicious water just in front of the door – but at night it was just scary. It was the atmosphere, but also in the second night there were voices outside, some men or boys and I couldn’t sleep at all. So I skipped the next nights and went on to Le Puy en Velay.

Saint Paul de Salers with peaks like the Puy de Barrierou and Luc and some others I cannot name.

I visited Les Ruines des Cars, a major Gallo-Roman archaeological site.

This noble residence, located by the stream Ruisseau des Cars, had all the refinements of Roman architecture. It indeed had an atrium surrounded by galleries supported by columns. It was heated by the ground, had running water and a heated pool. The largest of its many rooms faced a vast park.

Another spooky-looking church near Sornac

Le Puy En Velay

One of the most beautiful and tranquil cathedrals I‘ve ever been to. Situated on a steep hill it marks the start for pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostella. Sat there for a while and joined others saying the Chapelet in French - had learnt it in school a long time ago and was amazed that I still remember the words.

For those in a hurry - pilgrim medals to-go.

This is what pilgrims see when they start their long journey to Santiago de Compostella.

In fact I was so taken by the calm atmosphere of the cathedral that the next morning I went there again. It’s good to know there are these serene places and I feel blessed to keep finding them.

A viaduct near Monastier, Auvergne

L'Ardèche - one of my favourite regions in France

L'Ardèche is a heaven for cyclists, it sure is, there and in Brittany drivers do indeed respect cyclists and so I just did this - cycling.

La piscine de les vaches. Cows taking a bath in the river Daronne in Ardèche.

A road sign in Saint Felicien. My plans for next year

Next I went to Avignon.

I did not go sur le Pont d’Avigon because a) I wouldn’t have been able to take that photo and b) you have to pay for it, which is fine, I just didn’t feel like doing it. I never realised the bridge is incomplete. Apparently parts of it collapsed when the river #rhone was flooded and it wasn’t rebuilt.

In Avignon I visited the Palais des Papes – a historical palace located in Avignon, southern France. It is one of the largest and most important medieval Gothic buildings in Europe. Once a fortress and palace, the papal residence was the seat of Western Christianity during the 14th century. Six papal conclaves were held in the Palais, leading to the elections of Benedict XII in 1334, Clement VI in 1342, Innocent VI in 1352, Urban V in 1362, Gregory XI in 1370 and Antipope Benedict XIII in 1394. (source Wikipedia)

Le Pont d’Avignon

I also visited Valence

Lots of cycling memorabilia in Valence. I visited the market there, another good one in Provence.

From Avignon I drove to Sanary sur Mer, a small sea town, but honestly I was quite disappointed, lots of traffic, not really nice for cycling and in general quite boring.

So I went back to the mountains of Provence, to Valensole. On my way there I passed the gorgeous Lac de Sainte Croix.

View from my bed in Valensole with the moon lurking through the window.

Lavender fields near Valensole. Lavender blooms in June/ July, blossoms were long gone but still I could smell it, which was wonderful.

My faithful transportation companion - Annegret.

Lac de Sainte Croix - beautiful from all angles.

A lazy cat enjoying the sunshine in Moustiers-Sainte-Marie

Another cat in Moustiers-Sainte-Marie, probably la reine des chats en Moustiers.

Me, enjoying the sunshine after a refreshing bath at Lac Sainte-Croix-du-Verdon

Pretty old tree surrounded by lavender fields, near Lavandes Angelvin. Although it’s not blooming anymore the scent is very prominent. My bicycle liked it, too.

These two photos were taken during my last day and ride in Provence Big cloudporn cinema in the sky and it even rained a bit, but oh the scent of lavender ...

From Provence I headed back north, to Grenoble.

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… and then to my last stop, Dijon

When in Dijon, buying moutarde is a must.

Coming home wasn’t fun, I could have spent a lot more time travelling, seeing new places and meeting nice people. But home called and I couldn’t shut my ears to that.

Near Cologne there is an old forest, the Hambacher Wald, threatened to be dug down because of a huge coal pit. I joined the protests for the forest to remain.

That’s about it. After that I didn’t take much more photos. I went to Hamburg again which was lovely – but all in all the rest of the remaining two months of 2018 was spent with work and generally working out what I want to do next.

2018 has taught me a lot. For the last couple years there was a sad little man sitting on my shoulder, telling me, that I can’t to this or that I am not fit enough to do that. I started fighting off that little man. I had to, although I still miss him sometimes …
I learnt that bravery takes you a lot of places but not everywhere. Now I want to find out what I can do with my own little portion of courage and what plans I should abandon. Until a couple of years ago I was mostly aware of my boundaries. Due to the little man those boundaries became chains. In the new year I want to go on without chains or obstacles – and definitely without anyone telling me what I can do and what I can’t. Maybe the little man and I just need a break from each other and he turns into a happy encouraging person that sits on my shoulder, being a good companion again.
Anywway, I hope it all works out.

Joh.

Have a GOOD 2019. xx