Le Kiosque Imperial

Sipping un cafe au lait grande, Napoleon and his horse riding away on the cobbled plaza and the buzz of pre-lunch traffic all around, this is a nice place to jot a few notes about the past few days. I peek into the small restaurant to see if there is a coffee maker and, of course, there is. 'Bonjour, monsieur.' 'Bonjour.' 'Un cafe au lait, sil vous plait.' 'Biensur, petit ou grande?' 'Grande.' He gestures me back outside to the tables in the sun.

The ardoise in front of me (new word, literally means 'slate') announces Moules de Bouchot and Bate de L'Anguillon (Bate?) avec Frites for 7 Euros and 20 cents or you could have a Salade complet, sandwiches varies Americain for only 4 and a half Euros. Even at this shack of a restaurant, care is taken with the presentation of the coffee (a tiny dark chocolate warms next to the cup) and mussels are the special of the day. An American sandwich, though?

Rode this morning with no special destination in mind. I had two hours before a breakfast meeting with the director of the school I work with, so I rolled out in the 7am darkness, the cold air sifting through my layers and followed the signs for Cholet. That was north, so of course I ended up riding south.

The Garmin computer is set to display the map of the area and I'm astounded when, after turning onto what I thought was a bicycle path, I met a truck and a line of commuters heading to work. Just enough room for me on the moss-covered edge. The drivers polite, but in a hurry nonetheless. The sky is lighter and I'm not so worried about being run over. I try to search for nearby towns on the computer, but there are too many within 2km to make much difference, so I keep taking whatever path seems the most interesting.

Soon I'm on the Rue de St. Andre. The road is on the map, but not St. Andre. Brancare appears, a small clot of houses and then I'm alone on the road and it turns to two tracks next to a field filled with curious Charolais cows out for a morning graze. It's been thirty minutes, so I try the 'Return to Start' function.

I call this the breadcrumb utility, thinking of Hansel on a bike and I'm amazed at how well this works. I can bike anywhere in any direction and always find the best cycling route home. Amazing. Soon, I'm riding with the morning rush back towards La Roche, turning off onto a tiny road that's no more than a path which leads me back to the south side of town. A nice spin to start the day and then on to meet the director, then prepare for an interview about American politics with the head of the political science board.

Now time for that chocolate.