Tuesday, June 9, 2026

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. 



7 comments:

  1. I do so love the treat of getting to read your blog while I take a break in the evening! Thanks Carolyn. I'm thinking you have the campground basically to yourself because it is *cold*! Love that you had so many animal and kid interactions today though!

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    1. Yes it was a fun interactive day, which is good because there is no one to talk to at the campground 😀

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  2. I can't believe it's so cold there will NB was 32 today and Quebec 28. Are you at high altitude? Arrived at my Mom's today, I will have to get back on my bike soon. Not sure how I will fare. Those sheep following the kids and then wanting to follow you, too funny. What do you eat for Lunch, did you pack it the night before? With no refrigeration what do you eat? Hope your getting enough protein!!!

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    1. It is definitely unseasonably cold and wet here 🙃. From too hot to too cold, at least we are getting to use everything we brought.
      Lunch is usually a baguette sandwich from a bakery. They almost always have a great selection or will make one for us.

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  3. Very inspiring and not sure I like the fact that many hills are in your future- kind of like another beach in the future? Your lunch on the steps is quaint and a bit surreal …. as we sat on the port and had a special fondue at a Milos dessert spot … 2 pots of melted chocolate and lots of fruit, included a cut up fresh waffle and when they say an assortment of gelato, they meant one small scoop of every flavour they had…. All 20+ in a long bowl…. Ridiculous! Went out on a boat yesterday to see the mines and volcanic formations from the water here in Milos- awesome. Love the posts … ride safe!😘

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  4. That dessert place sounds like my kind of place!!

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  5. Nice Cows. And great chance meeting with Mary and her little lamb(s)!

    You sure are having the extremes in temperature on this trip. Looks like beautiful riding yesterday even if the route was devoid of bakeries (towns).
    FYI: AI says: "Those small bags attached to stakes at the ends of crop rows are almost certainly biological pest control packets - Instead of chemicals, these bags are filled with thousands of tiny, beneficial predatory mites - The mites are packed with a carrier material (like bran) and prey (like flour mites) so they can feed and breed inside the sachet before heading out to hunt - on stakes to be off the wet ground - in sachets to protect them from UV... all that is just "The Google" talking... but sounds like a pretty good explanation.

    Love the "you've arrived" and "been there done that" signs entering and exiting towns. The exit sign makes me think: "Town: FINISH", kind of like the way Thai food vendors tell you when they're out of a certain dish. "Do you have any Pad Thai?" "PAD THAI FINISH!"

    The exclamation mark sign - what the heck does that mean? Caution? I assume it's a warning of some kind, but might be helpful to know what you are supposed to be cautious about/around.

    Love the photo at the start and end of your blog. I think you'll need to frame that one.

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