The Brothers’ Bike Ride

Starting at our hotel near the Louvre, we first visited Sainte-Chapelle built between 1242 and 1248 by Loius IX to house the relics of the passion of Christ, including the Crown of Thorns. From there we walked to the Cathedral de Notre Dame, impressive for its size. The most interesting thing we did was Crypte Archeologique, which told the history of the city of Paris by means of the archeological excavations near the site of the Cathedral and its environs. After a lunch at Saint Jacques cafe, Tim found his France pin for his bike saddle bag, and then we walked to Jardin des Tuileries, the gardens behind the Louvre museum. We had coffee there along with chocolate tarts, and Beth went back to the hotel. Earlier she had fallen, not too long after we had started out, and she wanted to get cleaned up and relax a bit. Tim, Mark and I made the deceptively long walk to the Arc de Triomphe, after which we returned to the hotel. In all we walked 10 miles today, and it feels like it!

The upper chamber of Sainte-Chappelle.

Standing outside the Cathedral de Notre Dame.

The stained glass windows of Saint Severin, which we visited right after lunch. They are notable for their differences with traditional stained glass windows.

Tim, Mark and I standing on Pont Neuf with the Eiffel Tower in the far background. I am glad we didn’t try to walk there!

Tim and I standing inside the Arc de Triomphe.

The right side of the Arc de Triomphe facing toward the Champes des Lices.

A final photo of the Arc de Triomphe before making the long walk back to our hotel.

Tomorrow we all fly home on the same flight.

Today’s ride was not overly strenuous – it was a mix of two lane roads with cars, farm roads with almost no traffic of any kind, and bike paths.  We left our hotel shortly after 8 AM so that we could get to Chateau de Chambord shortly after 9 AM, which was when it opened, and we accomplished that.  Here are some photos of Chateau de Chambord, another creation of Francoise I, which he had constructed from 1529 to 1549, and mainly used to hunt on the grounds and to impress his visitors, including the Holy Roman emperor.

On the way into Chateau de Chambord.

One of the ceramic stoves used to heat the Chateau.

King Louis XIV, one of the Chateau’s occupants.

A view of the gardens from the rear of the Chateau.

The church at Chateau de Chambord, which I entered while mass was in progress for the feast of the Assumption. I only stayed for the gospel. Does that count?

After a lunch of coffee and a tomato and cheese baggett (which was excellent), we left to ride to Orleans. On the way, we stopped at Clery- Saint Andre, where there is a Basilica de Notre Dame de Clery, which is where the tomb of Louis XII is located, along with the heart of Charles VIII. Here are some photos of the Basilica.

Some of the beers we drank after getting to our hotel in Orleans.

After a shower and a nap, we walked into the restaurant district of Orleans and had wine, more beer, and a nice dinner.

At dinner in Orleans.

We walked back to our hotel along a running trail, marked with this symbol.

The trail back to our hotel after dinner.

Tomorrow is our last day of riding. 🙁

Two photos of de Vinci’s last residence, now the site of a museum about him.

It was a little difficult getting out of Tours due to some construction on the bridge that Google Maps wanted us to use to cross over the Loire. But once we got past that, it was pretty smooth sailing on a mix of asphalt farm roads and two lane highways. We made it to Amboise around 11:30 a.m., where we toured the Leonardo de Vinci museum, the last place that he lived and worked in before he died. Here are some photos of the museum. 

His workshop and laboratory were the most interesting part of the museum.

A copy of one of de Vinci’s masterpieces.

After touring the museum we went back down to Amboise and met up with Beth, and had lunch right outside the Chateau de Amboise. Here are some photos we took at lunch.

This lunch was excellent!

Beth and me at lunch. Please don’t tag Beth if you put this photo on Facebook – thanks!

Beth then visited the Chateau de Amboise while Mark, Tim and I biked about two more hours to Blois.

Mark and Tim on the road to Blois with the Loire River in the background.

Mark walking along the Loire River on the way to dinner from our hotel.

The outside of the Cathedral de Saint Louis in Blois, which we visited after dinner in Blois.

The interior of the Cathedral de Saint Louis in Blois.

Tomorrow we ride to Orleans after first stopping for a visit at Chateau de Chambord.

Today’s ride was absolutely awesome! With the exception of only about 1 kilometer, where we were on cobblestones, our roads were either asphalt or concrete. We were almost always in sight of the Loire and we rode through beautiful farmland all day. Our only significant rest stop was on the outskirts of Villany, to which we returned and spent the afternoon after getting into our hotel and showering. Here are some of the photos from today’s ride.

At our rest stop just outside of Villany.

Biking along the Loire levy between Villany and Tours.

The view of the Tours train station from my room in Le Grand Hotel.

Beth drove us back to Villany where we had our best lunch of this trip and then toured the Chateau and the gardens at Villany. Here are some of the photos from our afternoon at Villany.

Mark and Beth while at lunch in Villany.

A view of the gardens at Villany from inside the Chateau.

Another picture of the gardens at Villany.

Threatening skies over Villany. We managed to avoid the rain.

The moat at the Chateau with trios blanc swans. 🙂

After spending about three hours at Villany, we went back to our hotel for a short nap, followed by dinner.

Tim and I at dinner in Tours. The beer and the wine are both Beth’s, who took this photo. 🙂

Tomorrow we ride to Blois and on the way we’re planning to stop at Leonardo de Vinci’s last residence, which is now a museum about his life and work.