Chateau Renault to Tours – 40km (yesterday)
15C
Terrain: country roads and some hills.
I arrived in Tours yesterday pretty chattered after a long stretch and really looking forward to a rest day.
For the first couple of hours yesterday, I was stuck in thick fog. Fortunately I was on very quiet country lanes and I had new bike lights attached to Bob and I so we looked like a bit of a mobile Christmas tree.
The wonders of nature.
The survivor.
Went through some wine country too.
Final stretch, the actual Loire (with an ‘e’) river. I was a bit confused with the Loir (without an ‘e’), turns out it’s a tributary.
Today has been lovely, relaxing with a nice walk around Tours, a decent sized city with a cathedral, lots of independent boutiques and nice-looking restaurants. I think that by the time I leave France, I will no longer only be a qualified ice cream taster but also a crepe taster!
I had a pretty embarrassing moment sat on my own in a lovely creperie at lunchtime reading my Dawn French autobiography when I literally couldn’t stop giggling at what I was reading. I didn’t even have Bob with me to prove that I was a certified nutter.
I do love France for all of its cafés and large squares in cities where it’s just so lovely to have a coffee and watch the world go by. Sitting in the sun, I actually started writing today, reflecting on what I have learned about myself so far on this journey/challenge.
While much of what I wrote down has reinforced what I already knew on some level, I think my knowledge and understanding of myself and my strengths and weaknesses has become much clearer (useful if needed for future job interviews! Alasdair and Morgane – this is down to you 🙂 ).
This being said, it’s an ongoing journey and we all continue to change. I know from a personal perspective for example, my decision-making process has changed quite significantly over the last year or so to become much more ‘feelings’ based than analysis based.
After all, I don’t think many people would decide to run across Europe based on any type of sensible analysis!
When people used tell me to follow my heart I (sadly) don’t really think I knew what they were on about (especially in hindsight). For me, it was all about the brain and it’s conscious and sub-conscious thought. I didn’t really know how to ‘feel’ when it came to making decisions. While this makes me sound like a bit of a robot, I don’t think it was that bad!
Admittedly, the couple of years prior to starting this challenge were the hardest of my life so far and change is unsurprising. At the beginning of 2013, my life changed beyond what I could ever have imagined (I do however realise how fortunate I am and that people go through far worse). However, out of the darkness I came thanks to the immense love and support of my family and friends (I love you all dearly) and ultimately, I have learnt so much and also changed.
One example is that I definitely feel a deeper connection to people and have more empathy, perhaps simply because I understand the deep pain that can be felt by us humans.
But then I also know that time helps us overcome, heal and grow. Overcoming life’s challenges, I now believe increases our resilience and strength to help us live more fearlessly, be grateful for what we have and really LIVE (believe me, it’s taken me a while to get here).
After all, not much can be more scary than that profound, unimaginable life change, whatever it is. All part of life’s journey, the lessons and strength we gain can help us to step out of our comfort zone (whatever this may mean) as I really believe that it’s in this space that we really achieve and become more fulfilled as individuals.
Bit of a deep one today ladies and gents. I guess it’s all of this time alone!
On a lighter note, some pics of Tours.
Oyster dealing.
Keep going Viv – I am going to somehow make it to join u I promise. I feel bad that I haven’t made it yet but I will sort it soon. You are doing amazingly xxxx
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