Tour de Grand Est - small villages and big hills back in France

Cold morning. Too cold to eat breakfast outside so we decided to have breakfast in bed.

Thankfully we got the water boiled and the bathroom run completed before the rain started. And then it really started. 

So we had to wait out the weather. We didn't get going until almost 11. But once we packed up (a very wet tent) and left the campsite, we mostly were rain free. 

Today was a small village tour. 

Leaving Virton we headed for the first big climb of the day, to 1. Torgny. 

Torgny is the southernmost village in Belgium, and enjoys a privileged microclimate that allows for vine cultivation, giving it a distinct charm reminiscent of the South of France. 

The Provençal atmosphere is boosted by the vineyards, red-tiled roofs of 18th and 19th-century houses, a traditional communal wash-house, and a series of roadside crosses around the village.  The ochre and golden stone facades are genuinely unusual for this part of Belgium.

The church was small but lovely.

And the view from the church front door was stunning. 

The series of road side crosses. 

The ochre stone houses were uniquely beautiful, and this little town was so well kept. 

We took the high road out so we could see the Raymond Mayné nature reserve — one of the oldest in Belgium. We had a little fox cross the road right in front of us 💗

Our view was both Belgium and France.  

The next huge climb was to 2. Montquintin.  You know it is going to be a tough climb when the name of the road you take is Chemin des Morts. 

At about three quarters of the way there was a little table and look out. Pretty, if you had the energy to see it 😳

The inhabitants of Montquintin are called "Les Montquintins". 

At the top of a remote hill at an altitude of 324m, live about forty inhabitants in an exceptional location. The village is characterized by a monumental grouping unusual in our region, the convergence point of four winding roads coming up from the valleys.

At the summit stand the ruins of a feudal castle where Monseigneur de Hontheim retired in 1760. He was a suffragan bishop of Trier and was condemned by Rome following the publication of a work questioning the Pope's absolute power over local churches.

This medieval building, trapezoidal in shape, was flanked by four corner towers, of which only two remain.  

As we came down down down the other side we found ourselves on some rocky rough road, and in the rain, so we paused under a tree canopy for shelter and coat change. 

But the rain didn't last and soon we had climbed back into France and to our next stop 3. Avioth. 

Originally a simple hamlet, the village of Avioth owes its development to the miraculous discovery of a wooden statue of the Virgin and Child during the 12 century.  A pilgrimage quickly developed  there , and the ecclesiastical and feudal authorities soon supported the construction of a church worthy of this pilgrimage: the great church of Avioth was born!

The famous virgin and baby statue was heavily damaged, but a new version (middle photo below) was recreated in the 18th century using the original image / head as a guide. 

The village was again small but mighty, with less than 200 inhabitants. 

Next and final stop (and final climb), 4 Montmedy. 

The Basilica on the top of the hill is definitely impressive, from near and far. 

And the view from our campsite demonstrates the climb we made to get here. 

We actually set up our tent and went for groceries. Wouldn't you know it, the grocery store was at the bottom of the hill so we got to climb it twice today (2 climbs at #4).

We have not ventured all the way up to the Basilica this evening. Our legs are tired and the rain has returned. So we are snuggled into our tent.

Good night. 

Tour de Grand Est - leaving Luxembourg

It was hard to get out of the sleeping bag this morning. Rainy, windy and real feel of 7. Let's just say we were very happy to have an indoor dining solution for breakfast. 

Once we got rolling, the sun helped. First stop was to chat with some cows. 

The one cow was quite engaged in conversation with Marc, but the other one clearly wanted to chat with me 💗

This guy was not so sure about either of us, so best to stay uncommitted. 

We said our goodbyes and enjoyed the bike path.

!!!

The first small town we came to, we slowed as we approached a preschool, as they were all lined up and crossing the road. 

As we got closer we realized that not only were the teachers and kids crossing, but 3 little sheep too.

Seriously. Mary, is that you? 

"It followed her to school one day, school one day, school one day..."🎶

If you look closely, it looks like the sheep wanted to follow us 🥰. A fun way to start the ride. 

It was a very rural ride today. Not many villages, more forest and field. 

In the sun it was warm(ish) and in the shade it was cool, indeed downright cold at times. We had to stop and warm up in sunny spots. 

Not sure what these little bags contain, they were on the stakes at the end of each crop row at one of the farms we cycled by...any ideas?

I do love the town signs. All with the same image of buildings. When you cross the town line you see the town name announcement sign, and when you leave, you get the red line through it, like "been there, done that". 

It was a hilly ride today. 

Often the towns are on the river and so at the bottom of the hill. Messancy was definitely one of those. See the red dot on the elevation chart, that's where the town center was... 

Lunch was on the Church steps in another small village, across from the school. The laugher of the kids playing kept us entertained while we ate. 

After lunch we enjoyed scenic quiet roads, forests and smooth bike paths. But it was quite cold. 

The traffic signs are common across these countries. This one is my favourite, for sure. Don't you just love it! !!!

As we crossed into Belgium (we only knew because of the car licenses) there were memorials, memories of both wars are still very present here, and there was a Cdn forces base here for many years post war. 

We are camping near Virton, Belgium. 

We basically have the place to ourselves. 

It is a large campground but we have only seen two other families. 

We are planning the route for tomorrow. There are many hills in our future 🚴‍♀️

Good night and stay warm everyone. 

And some good night daisies. 

Photo credit note - the first photo of the blog today was taken by a random stranger. We were on a quiet road, not really close to anywhere. We had just climbed a big hill, Marc was waiting for me at the top, and we had a lovely view ahead.

There just happened to be a man walking along the road. And I just smiled and handed him my phone and asked him to take a photo 😂🥰 

Photo angel.