Vive la France – Paris and the Loire valley SPE24002
Byebye Paris, we are on our way. From our beautiful little hotel in Paris it's only a few hundred meters until we reach the Seine. On cycle paths along its banks we leave the city center behind and reach the suburbs. After a visit to Europes largest pagoda, we are ready for our first French lunch - what a treat. And then we continue along the river and admire the beautiful houses along the way. The most beautiful "house" is our destination for today, the famous Fontainebleau palace.
After our long journey yesterday, we were actually quite happy to have a rest day already. We started out with a visit and tour of Fontainebleau Palace. The interior of the palace can be described with one word: breathtaking! In the afternoon some of us decided to rest and enjoy the beautiful city of Fontainebleau, while some got back on the bicycles and rode the little village of Barbizon with its wonderful historic main street and its art museums.
Well rested we were ready for our "Loing"-Day. We left Fontainebleau in the morning and selected the shortest way back to our beautiful cycling paths along the river. This time it was the Loing which we followed. Montargis, the French version of Venice, was our stop for lunch - and for many pictures of the beautiful town. Then we continued further south, made a short stop at the famous seven locks "Les Sept -Écluses" until we finally reached Briare, where a great dinner waited for us!
Finally we have reached the Loire river! First we had to cross it via the Pont-Canal, a bridge for a canal over the Loire. and then we just followed the river... We saw the first of the many Chateaus on the Loire in Sully. Just before we reached the Fleury abbey, we were treated to a traditional Edelweiss picnic on the banks of the Loire. One more stop along the river, and then we had reached Orléans, the town where Jeanne d'Arc came to fame.
It's time for another rest day. Orléans is the perfect city to spend an extra day. We started out with a delicious breakfast. Then we were picked up by our local tour guide, who showed us his favorite city in a very informative and humorous way. After visiting many of Orléans' sights, we all split up: lunch, sightseeing, shopping, cycling - everybody found the perfect way to spend the day.
There are 400 chateaux in the Loire valley - today we were going to visit the largest and most impressive of them - Chambord. But first we could enjoy another beautiful ride along the Loire. We stopped in the charming medieval town of Beaugency. A few photos later we reached St. Dyé, where we had a light lunch. And then we arrived in Chambord - the rumors were true, it is very impressive. Our hotel tonight is almost as "royal", even though it is quite a bit smaller.
Fairly heavy rain this morning changed our plan a little bit. We decided to do a little shortcut, and some of us chose to take the van instead of riding in the rain. Fortunately the rain only lasted for about an hour, and then we were rewarded with beautiful sunshine. We followed the Loire to Amboise, enjoyed the wonderful old town and tasty lunch just outside the chateau. From here we rode through large areas full of grapes belonging to the many vineyards in the region. And then we could already see the skyline of Tours with its large cathedral - we have indeed cycled here all the way from Paris!
It is done - almost! We have cycled more than 400 Kilometers from Paris to amazing Tours, today we are adding the last stage. We are riding to Vouvray, as we certainly can't leave the Loire valley without tasting the famous wine. And then we have indeed arrived at the end of our tour - with many new impressions, lots of wonderful pictures of France in our mind, and with many new friends!