Chateaux Day

This was supposed to be another easy day but it proved to be anything but! We left the hotel in Briare around 10am - a cold & somewhat blustery day greeted us as we cycled across the pont canal on our way to our first stop, Gien 11km journey. A relatively pleasant start biking along the stopbank with forest & farmland on either side. Had to be careful not to crush the large snails sliding across the path - the escargot we saw for sale in food stores.

We didn't go into Gien as it was VERY busy with traffic heading into town or people searching for parking so they could enjoy May 1st activities. We took photos of its marvellous Château from the other side of the river then walked our bikes through the carboot market that was taking place right on the EV6 route. All pretty similar stuff to that seen in NZ except for the fine chinaware made within the Loire region.

From Gien we sped onward to Saint Gondon where a truly medieval town gathers round an old priory with remain of defensive walls. We circled the town then went in search of Druidic Dolmens that were noted on our cycling map and as a point of interest on the map in St Gondon's main square. That meant taking the D951 for about 5-6km but no dolmens to be seen nor any sign pointing us to them!! Disappointing & annoying as it meant being of a relatively busy road & Caroline getting tetchy with me for not waiting for her AND not explaining my decision to keep on the D951 to Lion-en-Sullias where we could rejoin the EV6 route.

To get over ourselves & re-energise we found a spot out of the increasingly fierce wind by the ancient walls of Lion's cemetry where we ate a delicious avocado & enjoyed hot miso soup. Now much happier we cycled on along lovely new greenways recently tarsealed with the aid of EU money; this was well explained by large posters 'L'Europe c'est ici - L'Europe c'est maintenant' and a young boy hanging onto the handlebars of a bike. We could also see yet another large nuclear power station - this one with 4 cooling towers & located across the river at Dampierre. An interesting contrast to the two chateaux we could also see, one when we looked right & the other to our left but of two very different periods.

As we were riding the last few kms into Sully-sur-Loire on top of exposed stopbanks the storm the wind was blowing toward us hit! Thankfully we'd donned raincoats & over-trou beforehand otherwise we would have been totally soaked! My main concerns was not to be blown off the stopbank down into the fast running Loire!
As we cycled into the grounds of Chateau Sully the sun came out again! Caroline wanted to take a walk in the grounds while I opted to go inside to visit the actual chateau. Loved it - not over the top - with stunning tapestries on the walls. I could imagine myself sitting the ladies drawing room with a roaring fire either playing backgammon or completing a tapestry .... more likely I'd be down in the kitchen preparing the mistress's dinner!!

Our visit over we thought a walk into the town of Sully over the drawbridge was in order with the intention of enjoying a hot cuppa but the local market in the square was packing up & seemingly only the boulanger was open ...... then it rained again! Sheltered in the doorway of the church until 'bugger the rain', let's just head off to our final destination of the day - Chateauneuf.

Again along new greenways beside fields of flowering rapeseed - I found it hard to breathe as the smell of them is quite strong & make my nose run. And, then we hit dairy cow country where, by the smell, they'd been spraying their fields with effluent and/or making silage. The sun came out again .... then went in ..... then came out etc! With only 10km to do and not being able to check into our Air B&B until after 5pm, we took a couple of short detours to visit other sites of interest.
1. The Benedictine Abbaye Fleury at St Benoit-sur-Loire. During our visit to the basilica someone was playing the organ .... such places are made for music!
2. The Oratoire Carolingien at Germigny-Des-Pres known for its Byzantine mosaic ceiling showing the hand of God giving the man the Divine Testament.
As we moved between these sites & villages we cycled on what seemed like farm tracks and old walking routes that people for centuries would have taken to visit neighbouring towns ........ I had a palpable sense of travelling with those who have gone before.

We arrived in Châteauneuf around 6pm, found our Air B&B place easily and were welcomed by Nadine into her lovely home. We have a private room upstairs with bathroom across the landing & breakfast tomorrow all for NZ$45! Nadine checked out what eateries were open on this bank holiday day - only the Chinese restaurant so off we went there. Should have gone to the kebab takeaway & eaten in the park of the chateau! Enough said! The beer was good though & luckily Caroline had bought a couple of sweet treats at the patisserie across the road from the Chinese restaurant so all was not lost. :-) [66km today]