Day 17 Yerevan - Eat my dust !

Our less than amazing view from our Yerevan Hotel

No so well named Yerevan Hotel

Main Railway Stn

Needs a coat of paint 

Parliament Square 

It looked to be a theatrical performance by someone who'd had one too many but when I realised that he was holding a knife I knew that it was serious !
After our marathon journey from Paris and Warsaw we arrived at Yerevans "Smart Nuts" airport (it's actually called Zvartnots) at 4.40 a.m. absolutely stuffed from nearly 24 hours on the go !
Being so tired we weakened to the pressure of the local taxi touts one of which took our money but sent us to another driver before then demanding a tip ! At least the 2nd driver appeared honest enough, welcoming us to Armenia before taking us through the darkened back streets of Yerevan to what we thought would be our doom ! Thankfully though he must have thought we weren't worth kidnapping and dropped us off at our hotel where we were greeted by our hotel owner at 6a.m.
Henley who says he never sleeps during the day crashed as did I and it wasn't until 4 hours later that we awoke to see our first sight of Yerevan with its atypical older style Russian buildings. As usual though Kev's first priority was to fill his complaining stomach !
After breakfast we crashed again before finally going out mid afternoon to explore. This city is a real mix, clean but filled with austere buildings and heavy traffic and not so happy looking people. With a low average income though this place is really cheap. Our Hotel room with breakfast cost $50 a night, a meal taken on our 2nd night $10 for the two, a token for the ride on the Undergound 40 cents and most importantly a magnum style ice creams (our dinner for the first evening) only 0.25 cents each !
Walk we did, going to Yerevans main train station to try and book our sleeper to Tbilisi Georgia but I'd forgotten my passport ! A go on the metro with their plastic tokens , and a walk around President's Square (formerly Lenin Square) and its austere Parliamentary buildings added to our exercise.
It was here that the above mentioned drama unfolded before our eyes. An agitated person had been cornered by Police outside one of the Parliamentary buildings and it was obvious that the person was holding something against their chest, a knife ! Police were unsure of what to do until a bystander snuck up and disarmed the guy in military style. The still yelling person was then dragged off in a police car !
Stunned we continued our way home picking up dinner for the evening (a Magnum Ice cream) chewing through the amazing amount of rubberised dust that seems to circulate in Yerevans air. Time for another nights rest and some additional Temazapans to get Henley to sleep before midnight !

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Days 16/17 - Paris to Yerevan - Welcome to Armenia !

This was going to be a huge day ! We'd arrived late the previous night at Paris Airport scoring a free Air France dinner of leftover food (long story) and were at it again with a 10.00a.m. Flight to Yerevan Armenia by way of an 8 hour stop over in Warsaw ! As luck would have it today was Constitution day in Poland so we figured what better way to celebrate than to head into the Old Town and find ourselves a meal ! The Old town was painstakingly restored after WW2 when 85% of its buildings were destroyed during the Polish resistance uprising ! The beautiful squares and alleyways were packed with holidaying Poles.
It was too hot to keep walking so we ventured in to a local restaurant feeling brave enough to tackle a Polish dish of sausages and caramelised onions (god help the poor people on tonight's flight !)
Back to the airport we had to wait till nearly 11pm for our Warsaw - Yerevan connection arriving barely alive at 4.40 a.m. ! This was a tough gig and we weren't in the mood to fight off the airports stalking taxi touts with one taking us through the darkened back streets of Yerevan to our Hotel where we crashed for the monring. The fact that we'd been ripped off by a taxi charge of $75 and had to put up with a Taxi pimp that demanded a $35 tip was not a great intro to this former Soviet Republic of Armenia !
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 Warsaws beautiful old town !

Lunch Polish style !

Warsaws Old Town Square

Day 15 Beaune to Paris - “Henley packs his woes away” !

The white flag was put up early on day 3 of our planned cycling adventure in Beaune a) because most of us were stuffed and b) because the rain had well and truly set in. Our priorities were still pretty urgent though and with Kev's $7 suitcase having been given last rights we had to work out a way of getting a replacement. Thank god for the internet I thought as a search showed a potential option just outside the old town section 3kms away. With Kev not succeeding in getting a taxi we resorted to biking hoping that Kev could somehow carry the suitcase on his bike rack on the way back. We were soon lost though so decided instead to return our hire bikes first and then walk to the department store as at least on foot you could navigate better ! We didn't take into account the rain though and were pretty much soaked through before we finally found our store ! Suitcase bought (100 euros cheaper than in the old town) we squelched our way back to say goodbye to our friends Viv and Linton (thx guys) who were departing to Paris on an earlier train. Back at our hotel Kev tried unsuccessfully to describe to the receptionist that he needed a dumpster to dump his old suitcase ! She asked if he wanted a large one, Kev replied yes somewhat bemused … she then promptly bought out a large plastic bag ! This time armed with Google translate Kev tried again only getting a shrug of her shoulders until Kev realised that he'd selected Afrikaans instead of French! Finally all sorted. Bag dumped , new one packed and we were on our way. Within 100 metres from our hotel we walked past a shop with suitcases at roughly the same price that Kev had paid for after our 6km walk in the rain ! Henleyyyyyyyyyyyyyy !
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Saying goodbye to great friends Viv and Linton !

Kev with his proud new possession

Days 14-15 Cycling Beaune France

Wow this was our 5th time cycling in France and one again it soon became apparent why France is considered number 1 for tour cycling ! Ably guided by our Oz Friends Viv and Linton, Kev and I had the unusual joy of just taking in the fun ! Burgundy wine scenery without the hassle of getting lost ! What makes France so good is the abundance of quiet ant well surfaced back roads and well signposted cycle routes that wind their way through timeless villages !
Harro had beautifully targeted our first stop on day 1 to a pleasant town of with its amazingly still open Boulangerie ! Yummy banquettes and fabulous wobbly custard Flans. We were well satisfied thinking how cruzy this ride had been until the back half turned into long grinding climbs. Finally with Bums well and truly on fire we finished our 58km day with some 600 metres of climbing .
Day 2 took us through more beautiful villages, a magical Chteaux or two and a bloody long 10-15% long climb along an ancient pilgrim route ! This area was clearly signposted as a Camino route with shell stickers on various signs and polished brass shapes embedded into the road surface. Although 10km shorter today's ride in humid conditions covered 670 metres of climbing a fair effort particularly for our OZ friends who did famously well despite leaving yours truly behind 3kms from home !
We celebrate our rides reminisced over previous adventures and downed a sumptuous meal and beer on a French Bank holiday !When asked by the owner why we were leaving so early the answer was pretty straightforward we were all stuffed !
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The gang !

Viv wanting to trade her bike in !

Lunch time !

On the pilgrim trail !

Lovely Burgundy Scenery 

Glamour on the road !

Oh my the glamour of in transit travlleing has hit home again! Queue, wait, sweat. Queue, eat on the run queue, in and out of hotel shuttles, try to follow impossible airport direction (cmon Paris you're 2months out from the Olympics !) , endless security checks, limited sit down areas , over priced food (just like Melbourne} ..
It doesn't end there … a so called simple days flight to Yerevan Aremnai by way of Warsaw (stopover 9 hours) requires working out what terminals to go to, what's the temperature in Paris, Warsaw and Yerevan so yiu can somehow pack clothes suitable for the day, how to get from Warsaw and Yerevan airports to the city, if Taxi do they take credit card,(no as we found out today) - where can Henleystore his suitcase in Warsaw airport (he didnt book all the way through), how do we get into our accommodation in Yerevan at 5.30 a.m. … the list goes on and on. Why do we do keep doing it .. maybe because it's not about the Journey (smiling) but that bloody final destination. see you in Armenia ! 

Kev pleased with the replacemnet for his $7 suitcase ! 

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It’s a Jam Disaster !

I'd warned him, as we packed up our edible leftovers before leaving our Olsberg accommodation, don't bring the jam … and whatever you do don't pack it in your suitcase ! Like most peices of good travel advice that I've given Kev over the years this too was ignored ! The result was that when he opened his bag in Paris it looked like a mass murder had taken place inside suitcase !
We'd started off the day ok enough leaving our 1 star hotel in Olsberg and journeying the remaining 118 kms to Tromso ! The entry to Tromso the world's Northen Lights capital, was stunning. Tromos is

How do we shut the damned blinds !

Kev washing his jam covered book 

surrounded by mountains and water and offers the Northern Lights Hunter an unemcubered view from many surrounding locations.
Our flight by way of Oslo was uneventful. After 10 memorable days wed finally made our way back to Paris !
Journey to our average hotel with its microwave meals was pretty seamless but slightly problematic ! I say problematic because at the time of writing we still can't work out how to close our automatic rooms blinds !. We weren't worried about passer bys seeing us in our jocks but instead by them seeing the unfolding disaster as Kev cleaned his suitcase and the remains of the jam jar …- it really did look like murder !

Days 11-13 - Lauvik to France !


We left the beautiful tranquility of Laukvik behind as we ventured Nth East towards Narvik. While the sun was out the breeze was double icy and our ventures out of the car to have a final look at the stunning fjord vistas of this area were bloody quick ones. Going Nthwards now back on the main road to Tromos, we make it to Olsberg latw afternoon to the challenge of trying to get into our cabin style accommodation. Eventually somone turned up and we put up with our shoebox accommodation parked right next to the shared bathroom including toilet. Glad to be out the next morning we drove into stunning Tromso and boarded our flight to Paris by way of Oslo.

An Uneventful journey we made our hotel by 8 p.m. in time for our hotels signatory microwave meal deal .. we didnt care because we were starving !

The next monring we piled on to our TGV train to Lyon Part Dieu arriving 30 mins late after having struck an animal enroute. At 250 kms an hour it's not too hard to picture what the resulting impact may looked like .

Finally Arriving the lovely Burgundy town of Beaune in the drizzle Kev dragged his rapidly failing suitcase to our Hotel some 15 mins away. This was agony for him as the cobblestones helped to turning the wheeled suitcase into an effective brick !

Staggering into the Hotel Kev seriously asked the receptionistif she has any spare suitcases left behind. She thought he was joking !

Finally it was time to catch up with our Fab OZ friends Viv and Linton (now living in Cairns) who'd invited us over to join them in the 3 day cycling leg of their holiday. Needless to say we were overjoyed to catch up and despite Viv and Li ton being buggered by the flight over from OZ we reminisced of our numerous past adventures while looking forward to what the next t 3 days of cycling will bring !
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Beautifuk Laukvik

En route to Olsberg with historical Narvik posters 

Our shoebox accommodation in Olsberg 

Finally some greenery en route to Paris 

TGV building up speed

Cross words for the missing Crossword!

It might have been spoke as "tounge in cheek" but Kev's actions spoke otherwise as he tore through our apartment yelling something that sounded like .. "Where did you put my crosswords Litchfield"! Now over the years of our travel adventures i have to admit that I have sometimes thought of burning or burying them ! I mean come on .. being nearly asleep, it's about midnight and a voice suddenly says . .."4 down and 3 across .. 10 letters .. starts with an A .." A consequence of old age says Henley ! I'd learnt over the years just to give a stupid reply like "Arseholess" ... Kev would then say ... " You're useless Litchfield" and I could then go back to sleep. But this day I had simply not touched them ! I almost asked him if he'd checked the washing line after he commandeered such to dry his wet crossword papers back in 2014 in China at the expense of my wet cycling gear, but i thought better of it as cushions were still being launched into the air and beds and clothing still being pulled apart ! After surveying the cyclonic mess I said I'd not touched them ! After much searching he finally found them .. in the garbage bin !!! Somehow in putting out his old ones he'd thrown out all of them ! Now I know what the answer to 4 down and 3 across is ….. Alzheimer's !!!!
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Day 10 Kvalnes - A Funeral and a surf !

How wed done it I'm not quite sure but in turning off to take a small local road around the Kvalnes peninsular in Lofoten we'd somehow joined on to the tail end of a very long funeral cortage ! We drove slowly following 30 plus vehicles going past numerous houses with flags at half mast and people with their heads in respect not having any idea of whose funeral we'd just joined on to !
We'd earlier driven Sth to Leknes to fuel up and take in the "Bells Beach" of Lofoten, Unstad ! Despite having little more surf than Melbournes Bay we took in some fabulous scenery nearby with snow capped Mtns blending in with the beautifully coloured water.
Back on the main road we did a "slow lap" of the Kvalnes peninsular before searching out the nearby Lofoten Golf course which was still recovering from the winter snows. Finally it was back through our favourite snow filled valley to Laukvik with chef extraordinaire KJ Henley back for an encore on our last night in Lofoten !
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Our Accom Laukvik (yellow building)

Near Unstad

Days 8-9 - That smell is not coming out !

Our Accommodation

The Harbour at 9.30 pm

Driving around some local fjords 

It was time to move on from our quaint fishing village in Sennisvik heading 1 & 1/2 hours Nth West to the even quieter fishing village of Laukvik while stocking up on supplies in Svolvear on the way ! The Wow moments continued as we turned up a still snow bound valley before finally emerging on the coastline at Laukvik. First impressions were that seagulls significantly outnumbered people, there was no bloody cafe and that the pervading smell of drying cod heads was everywhere !
Our accommodation was another basic but comfortable looking Robur . We made ourselves known to the owner quickly enough by locking ourselves in !
Like a newly washed dog Kev was keen on getting up close and personal with the thousands of drying cod heads impressed that something could possibly give a worse smell than his cycling socks !
Apparently the heads are used for the Nigerian market hopefully not as an aphrodisiac, as it was still far too cold for any bed time action !
After becoming acquainted with the sea gulls and stunning surrounding scenery we used the following day to explore the nearby fjords which would make superb flat cycling routes if it wasnt for the single figure temperatures. All in all a superb relaxing location chilling me out enough to even encourage Kev to do tonight's cooking !
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