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Brand new in 2016: Paris to Omaha Tour (CPO160A)

Saturday, June 4, 2016 | Thomas Ritt / Pablo Piferrer | Europe

Batterie Allemande de Longues Sur Mer
Given the dates we are here on, there are a lot of celebrations going on as it is almost D-day.

This was at the American Cemetery, where we also got to see some beautiful WWII aeroplanes flying by.
Pointe du Hoc
Quick selfie before we leave Saint Malo
We had a coffee in a little bar in front of this beautiful Cathedral. Notre Dame de Coutances. Over 700 years old!
Here's the day's Chef. Great picnic today by Thomas! Thank you!

After a relaxing rest day in St. Malo (below) the group set sail again today. Destination Omaha. The landing of the Allied forces on the coast of Normandy in 1944, aka "Operation Overlord", was the largest military operation in history. Today countless historic sites, museums, monuments, and war cemeteries attract tourists in large numbers. Visiting these sites made us shiver and brought tears to our eyes. Un unforgettable experience, just like the Edelweiss picnic, right at Omaha Beach.

Brittany's tallest church steeple is in Saint-Pol-de-Léon, a small town about an hour east of Brest.
The "Pink Granite Coast" is a must on any trip to northwestern France.
Here you can see how pink those rocks really are
the famous "House in the Rocks" is a private residence!
Mont Saint Michel from a distance looks simply stunning.

After relaxing for a day in Carnac - more or less - we headed further west today. The town of Pont Aven was made famous by Paul Gauguin and other painters. Today it is a popular hangout for tourists in search of art and inspiration. And chocolate. Phare d'Eckmühl was next, at 65 meters one of the talles lighthouses in France. 290 steps lead to the top where an amazing view of the countryside opens up. To replenish the lost calories (and store some extra ones, just in case...) Pablo's  awesome Edelweiss picnic waited for us just minutes away. The last highlight of the day was the climb to the top of Brittany's tallest mountain, Menez-Hom. This high above sea level (333 meters or 1000 ft) the air was dangerously thin, but thanks to Pablo's extra calories we managed to stay alive.

Public toilet in Pont Aven
Phare d'Eckmühl
290 steps to the top...
Stunning views
Stunning picnic spot. And stunning picnic, of course. We'll have a picture of it here, soon.
At the top of Menez-Hom
Cleverson and Pablo having a boot beer
Cheers!

Day 3: from the castle outside Angers to a beautiful boutique hotel in Carnac. This area is famous for its prehistoric sites; the hill next to the hotel is actually a stone age tomb, 7,500 years old. We watched the sunset from the top, it was beautiful and felt very special!

Day 2: due to the refinery worker's stike in France it was difficult to procure fuel for our bikes, but we did. We carry spare bicycles, just in case, but we didn't have to use them. Not yet...

A loop through the old town of Tours, then we took off towards Le Mans to see the museum of the 24 Heures du Mans. For our approach we used the world-famous Mulsanne Straight, where the racecars reach up to 370 km/h. We observed the speed limit of 90 and felt really slow...

After lunch it started to rain heavily, so we went straight ot our Chateau hotel, north of Angers. What a gorgeous place!

Our first riding day saw us traveling from Versailles to Tours, via Chartres (cathedral), Chambord (castle) and along the Loire river (many more castles). What a beautiful piece of France!

Some of the guys in front of Chateau d'Amboise. This is where Leonardo DaVinci is buried!
Some nameless, unrestored, nondescript chateau along the way. They just have too many castles here...
The Boulangerie (bakery) is the heart and soul of every French village
Coffee break next to Chartres cathedral
Nobody can do Croissants like the French can. Soooo yummy!
What a place for a café au lait!

A lively bunch of Brazilians made their way to Paris in order to ride all the way around Brittany and Normandy on Edelweiss' brand new "Paris to Omaha" tour. Mind you, it's Omaha Beach in Normandy, not Omaha, Nebraska. Follow this blog to see what they're up to!

Spectacular sunrise in Paris. Yes, sunrise, not sunset. Seriously!
Procuring new topcases for the bikes. They are incredibly hard to come by!
We had two bikes but bought three cases. People thought we're crazy.
Five brand new 1200 GS, waiting to be ridden across northern France.

Here are some impressions of Paris:

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Add a comment Rate this post
Ursula Peter
Sunday, June 5, 2016 at 22:43

I miss the melon on the picnic
Tom
Thursday, June 9, 2016 at 19:59

Hi Ursel,
we did have a melon, believe it or not. It was very, very good. Too bad you weren't there....
Nathalia
Thursday, June 2, 2016 at 09:54

Muito bom poder acompanhar a viagem por aqui!!!
Marisa
Wednesday, June 1, 2016 at 21:33

Lindos lugares
Grupo divertido
Guias esperientes
Tobias Wachter
Wednesday, June 1, 2016 at 16:15

Nice pictures!!! Really makes me want to go there... have fun!!!
Pablo Piferrer
Wednesday, June 1, 2016 at 21:15

We are having a lot of fun here. You should come!!

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