Read Brian’s blog for what we did today. Here are my pics from today.
Our first view of the Seine.
A barge coming down the Seine. Da
Inside Saints-Chappel. The first of three churches we visited today.
One of the stain glass windows in Notre Dame.
Lunch on our last day.
Our final church, St. Severin. It is right behind Notre Dame.
It was a bright sunny day but not too hot.
The Arc de Triumph. A French monument to its soldiers from many wars.
Just finished our last dinner in France. Au Renoir.
Since Brian already posted his blog with the itinerary, I will share my pictures for the day.
Riding east along the Loire this morning.
This bridge was the turnaround point.
Mark’s idea for a neat picture on the way back.
Turning in our trustee steeds, Almost 450 K. No flats. Good thing because they didn’t provide any equipment to change a flat. Nada.
A couple shots outside the cathedral in Chartre. I loved the organ music that was played as we walked around and the stained glass in every window of the cathedral.
I have no idea what this represents but this is the ground below the wall in the previous pic.
Walking around Versailles
Not sure what Mark wanted this photograph.
The golden gates of Versailles. Last pic in Versailles.
Another perfect day for cycling. Overcast this morning and then sunny this afternoon. We have really been lucky with the weather this year. Another 70 K day which brings our total to 430 K with a little bit more riding tomorrow before we return the bikes.Plan is to then drive to Paris with stops at Chartre and Versailles along the way.
We also return the car at the airport tomorrow. They say it is really difficult to drive in Paris. If it is like what we have experienced so far, the French seem to change the name of the street every couple blocks. That’s what we use street numbers for. Just saying.
Today’s pics for the blog.
A view from outside our hotel in Blois.. We crossed this bridge and then headed to Chambord.
A picture from the brochure, sans scaffolding.
Erecting the scaffolding must have been a major engineering project.
The three bromigos.
Another view of scaffolding.
All in all, a very impressive place. We had to change out of our bike shoes in order to be able to enter the chateau.
We all concluded it was too ornate for our tastes. You may be wondering what happened to Brian and Beth. They ditched us.
Crossing the Loire on our way into Orleans.
Outside dining in Orleans. Restaurants didn’t open until 7 PM this trip. The French like to eat late.
Mark taking one more picture of the Loire River
Our walk back to the hotel along the river. It was just after 9 PM
It was another perfect day for cycling. We did 65 K with a pretty stiff cross/tail wind that wasn’t much of a factor. Most of the ride was on macadam (roads) again today. We can travel so much faster on macadam as opposed to gravel.
Brian and Mark had very minor falls when they couldn’t get their shoes unclipped after coming to a stop in Amboise because of pedestrians. Mark insists he fell just to keep Brian from suffering the embarrassment alone. Since no one got hurt, I can say it was very comical. A touch of the two stooges.
We ate a light lunch in the town of Amboise after touring the Chateau du Clos Luce, Leonardo da Vinci’s home the last years of his life, 1516 to 1519. Worth seeing but perhaps a touch overpriced. Beth was going to meet us but the parking was limited and she couldn’t get there in time because of a detour due to an accident. She met us for lunch instead and then toured a different chateau while we pedaled off.
Beth passed us coming into Blois (tonight’s destination) but we were able to beat her to the hotel. There is something to be said for traveling by bike in city traffic, especially when there are dedicated bike lanes. I must say that throughout this trip, the motorists have been very courteous to bikers. We assume many drivers also ride bikes.
Walked to a restaurant, as usual. Beautiful vistas in this city. So far, my prettiest city. Didn’t bring my iPad to take pictures tonight. Bummer. Might be able to take a few as we are leaving tomorrow morning.
Today’s pics for the blog.
The brothers outside Leonardo da Vinci’s chateau.
Typical view of today’s bike path/local road.
My traveling partners still at da Vinci’s.
Brian at lunch. The chateau of King Francis I, the one Beth toured, is in the background.
Relaxing in the hotel bar after the day’s ride. That carpet is really ugly!!
Tomorrow we plan to stop at Chambord, another chateau. It’s kind of on our way to Orleans where we will spend our last night on the Loire River. It’s hard to believe tomorrow is our last full day of riding. It’s been a great trip. We are thinking next year Germany and then the following year the Provence section of France. We’ll see.
Hope you are enjoying the blog.
A great day of cycling. 75 k with a tail wind and almost no gravel/dirt paths. Smooth macadam, some on roads (very little traffic) and the rest on bike paths. We really liked Saumur. A nice city but much smaller than Nantes and Angers. There was a possibility of rain today but it only drizzled a few times. Cloudy for most of the ride which is fine.
A shot break this morning. This was a typical bike path today.
Lunch time. It’s nice to have a picnic bench.
A view of the Loiree. Most of the ride was on a bike path built on top of a levee.
On our way into Villandry.
A nice meal in the cafe outside Villandry.
The three amigos.
Self explanatory.
Two shots of partofthe formal gardens. 52 K of box woods.
This is a photo of one of the rooms ceiling.
I’m not sure what they are discussing. Probably what flavor ice cream Brian wants tonight.
A view from the balcony of my hotel room.
A pic of the gardens.
Another view from my balcony.
The second part of the day was the tour of Villandry, built around 1535 and walking around Tours looking for a good restaurant and we found one with the help of the hotel staff. Need to remember to ask the hotel staff every night.
Beautiful morning but no cold cuts at the breakfast buffet. We are usually able to make ourselves cold cut sandwiches for lunch at the breakfast buffets, except today. The French know how to bake rolls.
This was where we took a short break. We only stopped twice on today;s ride.
We stopped to read this rode sign. As best we could tell, this was the home of some French royalty, up until the French Revolution. Laura, were we close?
Another lunch photo.
Crossing the Loire into Saumur.
A pretty easy day which we needed after yesterday, 54 K, 3 1/2 hours. A lot of macadam today. What a difference it makes riding on smooth macadam vs. gravel. Tomorrow we intend to tour our first chateau on our way to Tours, our next destination. Showers are in the forecast. We’ll see,
This was planned as our longest day. It turned out to be for a different reason. We got away about 8:15. Within 5 minutes, I took a a nasty spill. I couldn’t tell you how much time we lost. I think I was dazed by the fall. I hit a curb trying to get on the bike path that was a little elevated from the pedestrian walkway. I remember seeing that I was going to hit this curbing and then the rest was a blur. Washed it as best I could and I soldiered on or, as Marcia sometimes says: ‘I offered it up’.
That was my knee a few hours after my fall. Other scrapes to my hand.
A nice picnic bench for one of our many stops today.
I agree Mark. This day is getting long.
I partially cut off their heads at this stop. O well, we are in France. Pardon, sil vows plait.
One of the many views of the river today.
A gravel road/path. We were on gravel about 50% of today. It’s taking its toll on our arms. We are not used to wide grip handlebars.
Finally, arriving in Angers. 7 hours, 108 k ride today.
Another view from the bridge into Angers.
A view from my hotel window of the hotel parking lot/courtyard.
Brian and I tried to go to mass tonight (to pray for Mark and Beth’s souls) but couldn’t find the church. Added another 5,000 steps to today’s total. No good deed goes unpunished. I got a huge blister. Hopefully I will be able to wear my dock sides home. I have had to wear my bike shoes everywhere since. Does it sound like I am whining too much? Pardon, sil vous plait.
We were supposed to start this trip in Cholet but since we rented our bikes and there is no pick up in Cholet, we adapted and started in Nantes. We decided to do an out and back ride to familiarize ourselves with the bikes and the road signage. Picked up the bikes and off we went.
Brian and Mark having lunch along the Loire at the turn around
We were trying to use maps written in French. That didn’t go too well. Our route that Beth was plotting looked like a lot of points on a star. But we figured out the bike route signage which was a collective effort. They tried their best to put the bike route signs in the most inconspicuous places. Sometimes all three of us had a hard time seeing the next sign to turn. Mostly macadam but sometimes gravel paths.
We rode 58 K today. We all felt pretty good and liked our bikes.
The view of our street outside the hotel.
The opposite view.
Our restaurant of choice that night. Half of our foursome. The cute ones.
The other duo on this trip. Who is the younger brother? I need more sleep.
We found him!!!
We saw a lot of fields of sunflowers like this one.
Flight was a typical Europe red eye. Paris airport (CDG) is huge. It seems you can’t walk from one terminal to another. Beth rented a car in Terminal 1 but we arrived in Terminal 2. It took about an hour to make that connection. We always seem to struggle with the rendezvous.
The whole drive was rainy. Thank goodness we weren’t riding.
Mark and I were sleeping most of the ride to Nantes (pronounced Nohnts – sort of). I know I butcher most of my French pronunciations – big surprise.
Hard time finding the hotel. Not as bad as Luxembourg City. Beautiful hotel- friendly barmaid. Don’t worry Mar. Bed was rock hard and we all had a wonderful sleep.
Great trip.
Highlights: No flats; no dog chases; Mark following my blog; planning the next trip and pushing for more family to join us; incredibly flat Netherlands and Flanders section of Belgium; great hotels especially Martins Klooster in Leuven, BE and Hotel La Malle Poste in Rochefort, Be; The miles and miles of bike paths; the French dinner in Rochefort and the bread everywhere.
Lowlights: The hills into and out of Rochefort and the rain everyday but our last. It was so nice having Sag Lady along so the clothes we weren’t wearing didn’t get soaked. We always had dry clothes to change into.
Luxembourg City is a blend of new and old. Construction cranes were all over the parts of Europe we traveled thru, especially Luxembourg City. The roads today were the best we were on this trip. Reminded me of the difference in roads in Florida compared to the rest of our trip cross country. We had another nice bike path along a river into Trier. Supposedly the oldest city in Germany and an old Roman city.
Departure from Luxembourg. Who said we haven’t had any flats yet? You just jinxed us.
Street scene in the old part of Luxembourg City. This area sits in a valley (more like a gorge) with very steep cliffs up to the new part of the city
Another view. We came down that cobble stone street. On a bike, it looks much steeper.
The bridge in the background spans the valley in which the old city sits. Sorry about the electrical boxes in the pic.
Some of the scenery we rode thru in Luxembourg and Germany.
Morning break along the road. Many cyclists in groups passed us this morning along this route. Same with yesterday between Rochefort and St. Hubert. When I got my camera out to take a picture of them for the blog, they stopped coming. Go figure.
Welcome to Deutschland. If you zoom in, you can see the sign on the wall. They really go in for “Welcome to …………..”, signage over here.
The bridge between Luxemboarg and Germany. The ducks are in Luxemboarg.
We have entered Germany, our 4th country this trip and the sun came out. Thanks Chris.
The bike path we took almost from the border all the way into Trier, our final destination.
Taking the bikes apart and packing them up for the flight home.
Yes, we are in a parking lot. The rendezvous selected was City Hall. Beth pulled into the parking lot as we were pulling in. Perfect timing Sag Lady!!!
The ride back to Amsterdam for our flights tomorrow morning.
The most unusual hotel room I have ever stayed in. View from the door.
View from the bed looking back at the door. I’ll give you a hint: the closest circle on the floor is the shower which doesn’t work unless the glass doors are closed. You can figure out the second circle. You don’t have to close those glass doors for the toilet to work. Yes they are clear glass doors. Pretty intiment.
That’s it for this trip’s blog. Already looking forward to next year. Marcia, Nancy, Mark and Holly are coming. We’re gonna have a blast. I’m not sure if this is me or the beer talking.