A tour around Tours, or Cycling in France

Off to the train station to go to Tours when who do we run into?  Dave and Jan.  We knew they were heading to Tours that day from Dijon but did not know they were taking the same train as we were.  Not only the same train but the same carriage, only two seats away!  We get off the train and head to the hotel, oh yeah, the same one as they were staying in.  That night we got to see the last light and sound show of the season that is projected on a beautiful old cathedral.  Dave got some photos, but I did not.  So, here is the cathedral the next day, without the lights and sounds.

We got picked up in Tours the next day by our guides, Louise and Vincent.  We met the rest of the group, two American ladies and a family of three from Australia.  So, including the Vellutini’s and us we made up a group of nine.  Off we went to our first stop for lunch and our first Chateau, the

Villandry.  This was built in the 1500’s and still hosts a gorgeous garden and maze.  Fabulous way to start the trip followed by a short ride along the river Cher.

 

The second day was hot and sunny and I mean hot, 32 degrees hot.  Not exactly expected in the late fall but it’s better than snow which it was doing in Calgary, blech!  This was a 52km ride in the Loire valley but not yet along the Loire river but we crossed it at least.  We ended up in Langeais which of course has its own stunning chateau and very large bottles of wine, yeah!

Dwayne was the Ironman that day and he rode another 25km that afternoon, while Dave and Jan and I went back to our accomadations and had a swim.  We made the right choice, just saying.

The next day we only had a 55km ride finally along the Loire river to the Chateau de Chenonceau.  This is a famous chateau built over the river.  It was the site of duelling women, one the mistress and one the wife.  Interesting people, the french.  We ended up in the town of Amboise at the end of the day.

A 58km ride today through some beautiful vineyards that were being picked by some Bulgarians.  This is not work for anyone with a weak back.  We had some wine sampling in a wine cave which was yummy. Then Dwayne, Dave, Jan and I decided to ride back to the hotel for another 25km ride which made for our longest riding day.

The last day of our biking started with a tour in Amboise of the Da Vinci museum.  Dwayne enjoyed playing with some of his amazing inventions.  We had a fabulous cooking class in the morning followed by a short ride in the afternoon of only 25km where we ended up at an amazing hotel for our last night of this trip.  

We said goodbye to our travelling companions as we headed to Blois and then back to Tours and Dave and Jan were off to St Emilion.  We toured the castle in Blois where there are some creepy gargoylesand then back to Tours to see some seriously crooked buildings.  So, three more days in France before flying back to Jolly old England.