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- It is in a most beautiful part of France<\/li>\n
- The \u00a0vineyards and the wine<\/li>\n
- Freshly baked croissants and coffee in the morning<\/li>\n
- Moules et frites at The Bar Modern<\/li>\n
- The Saturday market – with the glorious selection of produce<\/li>\n
- Live music in the amphitheatre<\/li>\n
- Walks in the countryside<\/li>\n
- Sipping beer in “The Zone” in the company of friends<\/li>\n
- Soaking up French countryside culture<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
When planning the journey to collect the bicycle, and having a stop-over in Istanbul it seemed a natural choice to visit Jude and Mike in Cotignac – after all, it is only a short flight across the Mediterranean (I rationalised.) \u00a0Then we heard they were planning a party to celebrate multiple birthdays and that sealed the deal.<\/p>\n
We stayed in an interesting house in Cotignac that we booked through Airbnb. \u00a0It rested against the cliffs at the top of the town. However this meant that I had to navigate very narrow, twisty, curvy (did I say narrow?) streets\u00a0on the right hand side of the road in a hired left-hand drive car. \u00a0A nerve-wracking experience!. \u00a0I had too many close encounters with walls, buttresses, parked cars, moving cars, pedestrians and dogs for my peace of mind.<\/p>\n
![\"The](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.cyclefoodfun.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/10\/36_Cotignac-300x169.jpg?resize=300%2C169\")
<\/a>The house in Cotignac<\/p><\/div>\n
The party was themed Mexican so for 2 months beforehand I grew a bad-boy droopy moustache.<\/p>\n
It was great, just very grey so it had to be dyed black and\u00a0\u00a0my eyebrows and chest hair had to match. \u00a0As I was not going to dye them, Tarryn did a fine job with her mascara.<\/p>\n
![\"Hola](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.cyclefoodfun.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/10\/20160818_191259-e1476616569425-300x169.jpg?resize=300%2C169\")
<\/a>Hola Senor<\/strong><\/em><\/p><\/div>\n
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Transformation complete – from Elred to El Rojo<\/p>\n
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We were joined in Cotignac by our daughter, Tarryn, and my sister, Joy and our nephew, Andrew.<\/p>\n
![\"Joy](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.cyclefoodfun.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/10\/20160820_174557-300x169.jpg?resize=300%2C169\")
<\/a>Joy and Andrew relaxing<\/p><\/div>\n
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We spent time visiting the neighbouring towns, Entrecasteaux and Carces and we\u00a0took a trip to the Gorges du Verdon in\u00a0the lovely Moustiers-Sainte-Marie. On the way back we stopped at several vineyards. \u00a0One of my favourites is Fontainbleau<\/p>\n
![\"The](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.cyclefoodfun.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/10\/36_Cotignac.jpg\")
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