No Rest on Labor Day

 No Labor Day celebrations here in France; just another Monday. Another hot one expected so got an early start on our ride and glad to see solid overcast for most of the morning. 

Day started with another balloon photo which is hard to see. We saw this elephant themed one last year but first sighting this year. Hope to see it again on a sunny day so the details are more visible. Can see the protruding ears (not quite elephant like) but trunk is lost. Creative, but does not compare with the ones in the Macy's T-Day parade.

We have been this way many times before but always enjoy the gradual climb. This one was "easy peasy"

I got there first but Kim decided to photo-bomb the picture. 

Many towns have memorials to soldiers who died in WWI. Some times they append WWII casualties but not here. Ironically, many wars were fought over this soil during the centuries but memorials did not become into vogue until the 20th century. Wonder why? Maybe because the previous wars were fought by professional soldiers; it was not until WWI that civilians were conscripted.

Short stop and quick turnaround for the long downhill sprint to the main road. 

Bread snack to boost blood glucose for the last bit of climbing to St. Laurent.

We have passed "Oscar's Pub" many times but never noticed the sign. Guess Oscar was the dog; they love their dogs here in France so naming the bar is how he is remembered. 

This is a "live" bar instead of a "????" bar. Think they meant to promote the "Live" music but figured a few fewer letters was worth the savings. 

Our turn around point and wanted to check out whether the cafe was just closed on Wednesdays (our last time here) or closed permanently - guess it is closed permanently. Too bad since it was such a good coffee stop.

Always a good sign when we see Castelnaud in the distance to reassure us the ride is coming to an end. Past years Alan was in the photo but this was Kim's claim to fame.