Saint Gaudens to Muret – 73km

(D817, D49, D15, D15a)

We had joined the Garonne River just before Saint Gaudens and today we cycled on the Garonne-Toulouse plain all the way to Muret. The only hills were bridges over the autoroute! The snow-capped Pyrenees were finally visible at sunrise and all day, while gradually receding in the distance.

We stopped for coffee in a bar in Saint Martory, not noticing the poster of Marine Le  Pen until after we ordered our espressos, which incidentally were terrible!

But then, just around the corner, we came upon a church with a 12thC portal and a Neolithic menhir just beside.

The baguette we bought yesterday was lunch, together with the rest of some sheep’s cheese, which we ate at a picnic table in Saint Elix de Chateau. Other picnickers were nearby and one walked over for a chat. They were from Belgium on their way to Lourdes. He and his son had cycled to Compostela all the way from their home a few years ago!

The challenges of finding a place to eat on the Easter weekend continued when we arrived in Muret, where most restaurants were closed and no taxis were running. We cycled into the town and up and down most streets, eventually finding a Vietnamese restaurant just opening, where we filled up on salad rolls, vegetable noodles and ginger shrimp.

We hit the 1500 km mark today!