I love the fact that people acknowledge you here …. everyone we pass as we cycle along bids us ‘Bonjour’, as do we in return, and whenever we enter shops we are greeted politely and patiently (due to our poor command of French!) Drivers unfailing stop at pedestrian crossings when we await to cross in towns; we always wave a thanks which probably surprises the locals somewhat.
Anyway, back to places ….. Nevers was where we stayed for two nights in the retreat of St Bernadette. It was a lovely, peaceful place to stay; like a quiet hostel where people walked without rushing & smiled beatifically. The breakfasts were self-service so we ate well each day to ensure we built up our carbo load for cycling!! We were also able to wash our cycling clothes, which meant we could be better company for other people.
On our first evening in Nevers we wandered around the old town after collecting a map from tourist centre. Enjoyed looking over the Ducal Palace, which included the fish of the Loire aquarium, exhibitions of Gallo-Roman materials, recent architecture, & lovely circular staircase (as well as a young couple snuggled into a corner at the very top). The Ducal Palace is generally now used as local council office space but the outside is a feast for the eyes; a palace fitting for one of the grand dukes of Burgundy with a grand public garden leading away to the promenade overlooking the Loire.
From there we took in a couple of smaller churches, wandered the narrow streets developed in the Middle Ages and into the main shopping centre. Nevers is know as being a great place to shop but as we can’t carry much on our cycles and need very little in the way of fine clothes we did not grace the interiors of any shop. We did however window shop the nougatine & chocolate store Nevers is renown for…….. gorgeous sweet creations were laid out attractively; so tempting but we walked on. We noticed that on many of the side streets off the main drag there were many empty shops …. such areas looked very drab & sad.
As we really hadn’t had a lunch that day we were pretty hungry by 5pm but most French restaurants do not offer food until at least 7pm. There were some burger & kebab bars offering all day service but they didn’t look too inviting, particularly with the staff standing outside smoking. We chanced upon a lovely wee restaurant called My My: Traiteur Asiatic where we were able to get a delicious meal of veg samosas followed by noodles with veg & tofu (we were so hungry we ordered twice) washed down by jasmine tea. Needless to say we returned there for our second night’s meal! Lovely friendly family ruin affair – highly recommended & obviously popular with locals for takeaways.
On Friday we set off at just after 9.30am to walk to the Church of St Bernadette built in 1966 as it is an architectural oddity. Basically it’s architectural wank …… not inspiring at all as it looks like a great big concrete bunker stuck in the middle of 1960s-style apartment blocks. The concrete has darkened with age & has moss growing on it, the windows need cleaning & the surrounding gardens require care. The dull metal doors were locked so we couldn’t even see whether the interior décor somehow compensated for the exterior’s failures!!
Disappointed, we moved on through the suburban streets to find the local organic store (established in the early 1970s) on Rue du Hanoi, which we did eventually after a couple of false turns. Mind you those false turns did lead us to the old town ramparts and moat, with a nicely landscaped park next to them. The bio-marche was comprehensive so we were able to stock up on food for our lunches & campground stay.
We returned to our room with our stores & to have a wee lie down seeing the museum we planned to visit didn’t open until 2pm. There was obviously a service going on in St Bernadette’s chapel as we could hear singing but elsewhere in the place was quiet & still.
The Musee Faience, situated in an old palace was quite stunning. It’s obviously a significant museum as our bags were searched by security & we had to leave them in clear Perspex lockers. The ceramic creations on display were a mixture of practical ware, flamboyant , outrageous & ostentatious ….. could only afforded by royalty, the churches and the commercially successful. The paintings on the top floor were all donated by wealthy burgers and captured the essence of Loire provincial & urban life.
Onward we went (following the tourist blue line) to the Cathedral, renown for its modern stained glass windows. It was accidentally bombed by the RAF during WWII and rebuilt almost exactly; I doubt they thought about installing decent heating then as it was bloody cold inside! It must be said, it is a stunning piece of architecture to the glory of God with some fine stone carvings both on the exterior and interior.
We wandered on until we spotted a creperie where we each enjoyed a sweet delight followed by a hot chocolate at a busy café as the weather had turned chilly again. There we wrote a few postcards – then went in search of post office & bank. Spotted a small but well attended market in the town square so went to check it out - 3 vege stalls, a cheese & honey stall, seafood stall & artisan bread stall. All looked very yummy. While we were checking the stalls out we were approached by a chap wanting to give us some information on Macron - we spoke with him a while. I got a sense that whilst he's not totally committed to Macron, it is important that Marine Le Pen is kept from the highest office. He was also interested in political landscape in NZ which we were happy to share.
After such an exhausting afternoon (!) it was time to return to My My for dinner. Back at our room by 7.30pm just as French people are thinking of dining!! Time to pack up, write a few more postcards, try to book accommodation ahead & answer emails.
Saturday: We were packed up & on our bikes by 9am, heading out of Nevers in the sunshine. We passed many locals carrying their shopping baskets heading for the morning fresh market – looked like a big one but we didn’t stop. Once we were on the canal route it turned a bit chilly so it was on with windbreaks & long-fingered gloves but within an hour it had warmed up & we were back to lighter gear. The cycling was easy & fast with a bit of side-bit of a tail wind helping us along; there were lots of people out on bikes or walking dogs or just ambling along the canal path, more than we’d seen over the previous days. A holiday weekend, we guessed coupled with a nice day.
The most exciting part of the morning was crossing the canal bridge over the Allier River (cyclists must walk) then weaving our way round the lovely fluvial countryside where the Allier meets the Loire and then at Le Guetin. It’s quite a drop from the bridge down to the canal lateral, it must have taken some engineering to get it all working as well as it does. Two hours into our cycling, much of it along stopbanks, we stopped for a snack break near Marseille-les-Aubigny to be greeted by 3 passing cyclists heading home from shopping. Back on the stopbank I felt a bit pursued by two Dutch women cycling the same route so I put my foot down for a while to put distance between us. I doubt I’d be able to cope with this route in the busy season! Before we knew it we were at La Charitie-sur-Loire.
Caroline wasn’t so keen to turn into the town but I wanted to see the fort on the hill & the UNESCO heritage Romanesque church. Major roadworks on the bridge saw me have a crisis of confidence while Caroline pressed on. I had to wait then for the next set of lights to brave it over ….. thank goodness we saw a sign advertising specialist hot chocolate right next to the church. La Charite is also known for its old bookstores & cafes – certainly the place was full of tourists coming by campervan, motorbike & cycles. Sustained by chocolate & a purchase of nougat ( a specialty of the area) we headed on again mainly on stopbanks alongside the Loire proper.
Lunch was on the grass near a paddock full of goats. We had been looking for a picnic table as they’re usually in good supply but none to be seen on this stretch; as we ate our crackers, nuts & fruit we were wished ‘Bon appetite’ by several passing cyclists. Not far from where we picnicked, as we neared Sancerre we passed seats & picnic tables – ce la vie! Not being into wine tasting (and not impressed with the steep climb up to the old town) we by-passed Sancerre & St Satur to make our way to Cosne in time to visit the Museum of Loire only open on Saturdays between 2-6pm.
The Museum was smaller than expected but gave us a bit more of an insight into the importance of the Loire to people over time from the Gauls & Romans through the centuries to today, when it is now more protected from human exploitation & promoted as one of the few wild rivers in France. There was also a very interesting art exhibition called ‘A Table!’ about the importance of food in art.
Mooched around the lively little town after that, bought a few extras for dinner, enjoyed a couple of pastries & cuppa from a café then cycled along the waterfront enjoying the evening sun before heading back to the campground to cook at evening meal & enjoy hanging out. Our accommodation was a mobile home fitted out with all our needs except dishwashing liquid! Location great. A few grandparents with grandchildren there for holiday weekend – watched one playing boules while another kicked a soccer ball around. Can imagine the place being really busy over summer.
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| The pistachio nougat we bought in Charite |
As of this day we have covered 751km from Freiburg to Cosne.
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