After three weeks of travelling through Scotland and
England, a week in France was to be our final week before returning home to
Australia. We took the Eurostar train
from London’s St Pancras station and about two hours later arrived in the Gare
de Nord in Paris. After locating our
hotel and checking in, some lunch and a look around the locale it was time to
prepare to meet our San Franciscan friends who were also holidaying in
Paris. A pleasant evening followed with
dinner at a very nice restaurant close to their apartment.
Although we would have liked to have had a lie in after our
late night, our wakeup call interrupted our slumber. We stumbled from bed and took the Metro to
Austerlitz and then the main line train to Amboise, a two hour journey, so time
to relax on the train. Although it was
raining on arrival, the pleasant family run hotel fortunately was situated quite
close to the station so that meant that we didn’t get too wet. A free day today to look around the town and
meet a representative from Discover France who delivered our bicycles and gave
us our maps for the three day cycling adventure.
The town of Amboise which lies on the south bank of the
Loire below the remains of its castle appears most picturesque when seen from
the bridge on the north bank of the river.
The Royal Castle in Amboise was built in the 15th and 16th
centuries. It is steeped in history and
the outstanding collection of Gothic and Renaissance furniture illustrates life
in days gone by. The Chateau is entered
by a ramp which opens onto the terrace overlooking the river. From there is a magnificent view of the Loire
flowing lazily through the rich green valley.
DAY 2 – First day of
cycling
After a hearty breakfast we got on our way and accustomed
ourselves to our hybrid bikes, comfortable with good suspension. The bikes were equipped with panniers, a tool
kit and spare tubes and included a rack on the handlebars for the map to sit in
for ease of reading while cycling. We
have an option of a short ride of 30 k or a long option of 49. We opt for the long option today. Our ride took us through the forests and
alleys of the Amboise countryside which included quiet country lanes that
passed agricultural fields and vines, very pretty. Well, we needed that spare tube because after
a photograph stop, Richard’s bike emitted a low hiss – yes, a flat in the
middle of nowhere. Tyre changed and
pumped up and we were on our way again. We
found the French motorists very considerate of cyclists and would slow behind
us before overtaking giving us plenty of space.
Our route takes us to Chenonceau where there is a chateau which is built
on the River Cher. After securing our
bikes we took the informative audio tour through the chateau. We then walked through the magnificent
gardens including 16th century farm and buildings where the
outstanding flower arrangements are prepared for each room of the chateau. We also visited the maze – quite amazing - we
found our way out! Other villages we
passed through were Montrichard, Souvigny, St Regal. We stopped here and there to take in the
scenery, a rest or a coffee stop. This
ride was a circular route which led us back to the same hotel in Amboise. Time for a welcome shower and relaxation
before dinner. We survived the first
day with no dramas other than the flat tyre, forgetting our water bottles, a
grazed knee and starting off in the wrong direction. Things can only improve tomorrow! RICHARD AT MONTRICHARD
CHANGING THE TYRE
DAY 3
We leave Amboise today and today's ride will finish at
Blois. Our small suitcases will be
transported to our next hotel and should be there on our arrival later
today. Today’s route takes us through
several old villages. The short option
goes directly to Blois on flat easy roads.
We opt for that route today.
Again there is a chateau to visit but we feel chateau-ed out so give
today’s chateau option a miss. We stop
in the small village of Cangey around lunch time where we found a very nice
patisserie so we have coffee and a yummy cake before going on. Other places were Limeray (are we in Ireland
or France), Monteaux, Onzain, Chaumont eventually arriving in Blois. Renaissance architecture combined with gothic
buildings are numerous in this town which is situated midway between Tours and
Orleans. Tonight’s stop is the Mercure
Hotel which is in the centre of town. After
a shower and a rest we have a wander around the town and select a restaurant
for dinner tonight. Bodies are holding
up well but pretty tired at the end of a day on the road.
THE FRENCH COUNTRYSIDE
DAY 4
Last day. in the Loire. Again we
opt not to visit the suggested chateau.
We cycle to Villesavin where there is a castle; although we don’t visit inside
we do have a look around the grounds which are very picturesque. Then it was on to the village of Bracieux
where we stopped for coffee. Today we
lost our way quite significantly. We
back tracked to where we thought we’d gone wrong eventually asking advice from
a French lady at her farm shop. With our
little French and her broken English we were able to ask if she could help us
find our way back onto a land mark on the map.
She very kindly drove her car slowly in front of us so that we were able
to follow (about 10 minutes) and put us on the right road. We thought the map was very ambiguous in
places and not detailed enough. Although
we had decided on the shorter 50 k option, we, in fact, ended up doing around 70 k
which was longer than the long option. Oh well, we got to see more places that weren't on the suggested route.
An early start tomorrow for our train trip back to
Paris. We were given a packed breakfast
to eat on the train. We have two more
days to explore Paris. We visited many
Paris attractions such as the Eiffel Tower, the Louvre, Champs Elysee, Sacre
Coeur, Left and Right Banks of the River, Opera and more.
We mostly enjoyed the cycle tour of the Loire and would like to revisit
somewhere else in France or Europe for more cycle experiences. Any BUG members interested; contact us.
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