Posts Tagged ‘Bay of Biscay’
on the Bridge to Ile de Ré 6-2
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on the bridge to Ile de Ré – lots of traffic (image from Street View)
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map showing distance travelled (map from Google Earth)
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On May 21, I continued my virtual ‘bike ride’, so excited to finally see the big bridge to Ile de Ré. I began with another view of the ocean. It makes me happy to know I share the Atlantic Coast with this part of France – I am just the width of the ocean and a continent away!
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another view of that Bay of Biscay (image from Street View)
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It was interesting to see World War II fortifications on this part of the coast. I usually associate these with northern France. I wouldn’t make much of a military strategist …
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My first glimpse of the bridge was a small tilted structure on the horizon. This bridge reminds me of the big Confederation Bridge between New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island. The Confederation Bridge was opened in 1997 and is 13 km across. It replaces a ferry that ran there for years. The Ile de Ré Bridge is only about 3 km long, but the big curve in the structure makes it look magnificent. It was built in 1987 to replace a car ferry ( a bac) …
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in the distance, at about 8 o’clock, you can see the Ile de Ré bridge, a small tilted bit of the horizon (image from Street View)
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It was exciting to approach the bridge on my bike, particularly since I think bikes are free (a car paid a toll of 16 € in early 2012). The toll booth is called the Belvedere …
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the toll booth for the Ile de Ré bridge (image from Street View)
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I whizzed right through without paying (don’t know if I was free) …
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Glad to see there were bike lanes on the bridge, coming and going …
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bike lanes on the bridge (image from Street View)
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I could also look back and see the cliffs along the coast of France …
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looking back at the coast of continental France (image from Street View)
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Best View: beaches of Ile de Ré …
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Copyright Jane Tims 2013
on the way to Ile de Ré 6-1
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biking towards the coast (image from Street View)
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map showing distance travelled (map from Google Maps)
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On my first day of Phase 6 of my virtual bike trip across central France, I was preoccupied with seeing the ocean (Bay of Biscay) and the coastline of France.
I stopped for a cup of tea at a small roadside bistro …
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a small bistro in L’Houmeau (image from Street View)
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I started to think about the vistas I have seen in France – both the old and the new …
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Bricomarche – a chain store selling building and decorating supplies – similar to Home Depot in Canada (image from Street View)
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I have seen the new (big grocery stores and building supply stores) as well as the old (stone houses and shops) …
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street in L’Houmeau (image from Street View)
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On some corners, I see a mix of the new and the soon to be obsolete. This scene from France reminds me – in Canada, in the last ten years, we have also seen the introduction of recycling facilities in every public parking lot, and the loss of telephone booths from almost every outside public location …
recycling bins and telephone booths in L’Houmeau (image from Street View)
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Of all the old things I saw today, I loved this old green door with its elaborate hinges, the door to a church in L’Houmeau …
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At last, I saw the ocean, a strip of blue on the horizon just outside Les Portes Océanes …
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Best View: my first glimpse of the coastline and the Bay of Biscay …
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Copyright Jane Tims 2013
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