Not a lot of progress since the last update, we seem to be introducing a lot of rest days. In fact, there turn out to be many good reasons to have a rest day: rain in the weather forecast (whether or not it materializes is irrelevant!), something that is worth visiting and must not be missed, rendez-vous with parents (in law), and, oh yes, the need to rest those sore leg muscles.
Charlotte and her parents at Chambord castle
Near Tours, we spent two days with Charlotte’s parents, one day visiting the city, the other visiting some of the famous Loire river castles that would have been a bit out of our way on our bikes but were within easy range with their car. You always know you’ve come to a famous landmark when you meet large concentrations of Japanese tourists, as was the case here. What is relatively new is that Chinese are also beginning to make an appearance. They are happily welcomed by the French, who even go as far as internationalising the food that is offered where orientals can be seen: now, the sandwich stand sells not only baguettes with ham and cheese, but also with surimi!
We wouldn’t have wanted to miss the castles. Although very different in design, Chenonceau and Chambord were both impressive, for various reasons. We came to dub Chambord with its rigorous symmetry and heavy walls a man’s castle (it was designed to be a hunting ‘retreat’), while Chenonceau, with the elegance of its architecture and the way it played with the surrouning landscape and the sunlight, was much more a woman’s castle.
Part of Chenonceau was built over the river Cher
On towards Poitiers, and here we followed a part of the old, but revived, pilgrim’s route to Santiago de Compostela in the north-west of Spain. It is a popular route with people on foot, on bicycles and even on donkeys. This is where the following scene could take place:
‘Saint-Jacques de Compostelle?’ Charlotte looks up from the map she’s been studying to see who has just spoken to her. We are in the middle of endless farmland, with no traffic, a single farm nearby and a road sign that shouldn’t be there. The man who had just rode past us on his bicycle, a rarity in this country, had apparently turned around to see if he could help us find our way.
‘It’s straight ahead, you’ll come to another road that has a sign just like this one. That is the one you should take’. Now, people pointing the way whenever we stand still and turn our map upside down to see if that helps in orienting ourselves is nothing unusual. But here on this country road in the middle of France, this man is helping us find our way to a Spanish town that is a thousand miles away!
Almost apologetically, he explains that especially in spring and summer, many people pass this way, and most of them stop at this junction to look at their maps and scratch their heads. He’s been planning to put up a sign, but simply hasn’t had the time to do it yet.
We don’t meet any of the modern day pilgrims. ‘Tis not the season for pilgrimages. We do meet a lot of elderly British and Dutch couples who stop for the night on one of the campsites where we pitch our tent. Invariably, with their camper vans or their trailers, they are either on their way to Spain to spend the winter there, or on their way back, after having spent the autumn in sunnier climes. Invariably, they are only passing by. No time to stop and admire the sights. Theirs is a different way of travelling. Fair enough.
Village in the Vienne
This is one of the reasons why we like travelling on our bicycles. Since we aren’t going fast anyway, we don’t mind stopping for another two days to visit Poitiers and Futuroscope, a theme park that features (among other things) amazing films on giant (or wraparound) screens, or in 3D. And just yesterday, south-west from Poitiers, we rode only 30 kilometers. Because the weather was so nice. And because we had a four-course lunch in a small restaurant that also served the men who were redoing the road. Four courses, wine included, one very friendly price. This, too, is France.
