Bike: Motz to Aix-les-Bains, 21 miles, 1200 feet of climb
Accommodation: Studio meublé, piscine et terrasse dans rés, calme (Airbnb); host Julie. Small one-bedroom apartment, kitchen, wifi, washer, terrace, pool (closed because of drought).
Our hotel served a huge French breakfast, we loaded our bikes, and we were off again. Much of the day was spent riding along the shore of Lac du Bourget, with its incredible turquoise water. The first time I saw that wonderful blue was in 1972, when my sister and I went to Engelberg, Switzerland. We couldn’t believe the beauty of the Swiss Alps. We were there in the middle of July, and there was enough snow for us to ski. I wonder if that will ever happen again, with global warming. Certainly not this summer.
Ken and I had an easy and fairly short ride, so we took our time and stopped for cold Cokes at a restaurant on the lake. It was still only about 13:00 when we got to Aix, and we could not check in until after 15:30. We found a restaurant and ordered the daily menu—way more food than we needed, but it was nice to relax in the shade and linger over our meal.
After lunch, we found a large Carrefour and stocked up on groceries. Then we wandered up and down the street where our apartment was supposed to be, trying to figure out the directions from our host. A sweet lady asked to help us, and told us she has three Airbnbs on the same street—if we couldn’t find the one we had rented, we could stay in one of hers. I scrolled through the several lengthy messages from our host and finally found some additional information that helped us identify the correct building, and in no time at all we were moved in, unpacked, and showered.
After a light supper and a phone call with Meghan, I booked train tickets to the Geneva airport for tomorrow evening, and then we settled in with books. I had just dozed off when my phone rang. It was my sister and brother. My mother had just died, with both of them at her side.
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| Lovely old church on Lac du Bourget. |
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| Lovely old guy on Lac du Bourget. |
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| Mom on her 88th birthday in July 2021. A fun day, a good memory. |
