A bakery in our hour of need! The least said about our accommodation in Orleans the better. It was the filthiest by far I've ever encountered. But we had a lovely evening in the city and it was quiet. So this morning we were keen to leave the place as soon as possible eat breakfast
Friday's Key Metrics We really did find time for sightseeing, with a couple of turns off the route adding to the total km. But a lot less time in the saddle. And beautiful evening in Orleans.
Little Fluffy Clouds The weather was fantastic today with little fluffy clouds chasing each other across the sky.
For Tim After visiting the cathedral it was time for something to eat. We'd passed a while load of places on the way to the cathedral and Kerstin checked her guide book to confirm this was a good area to go out in. After passing a few bars we found
St Germigny This tiny church was consecrated in 806 and is far more impressive in its simplicity than the grander abbey.
A tale of two floors The abbey is on the grounds of one of the oldest churches in France. In the 10th century it got a facelift with marble all the way from Ravenna. Meanwhile, local brick tiles were considered good enough for the plebs.
The swifts of St Fleury Not only do the swallows fly around the arches of the church, they are also able to cling to the stone! And then suddenly, just as I want to take a close up, they fly away! I think this is the first time I've ever since swifts and
Destination Orléans Today is one the shorter stages and we should have time along the way to see some of the sights, but also arrive early enough in Orleans to explore it as well. The thunderstorms have passed and outside it's blue sky and sunshine! What could possibly go wrong?
The coffee machine from hell Looks innocent doesn't it? But looks can deceive! Yesterday morning I got up and went into Sully to get the necessary stuff for breakfast, including of course coffee. When I got back I tried for about twenty minutes to get coffee from this bastard. All to no avail.
Today's Key Metrics The best we can say is that the stage really was 10 km less than originally planned. The weather was better but we had a really strong side wind for the last 20 km, with gusts at times strong enough to knock us off our bikes. The food in the
Supper Time We're in the middle of town and at the end of the street are plenty of places to eat. Today we chose the Castle Tavern.
Today's two biggest mistakes While the journey overall was fine and we really enjoyed the improvement in the weather. We really felt the distance and the stage, after yesterday was too long. When planning the tour I was basing the stages on those in the guide book. This made it easy to calculate the
We promised you castles This time OsmAnd came up trumps and found a shortcut through a little park that led right up to the castle! Simply stunning because it was so unexpected. But very, very welcome! From there we just had to cross a bridge turn right and we were at our house.😃
Journey's End (well nearly) After seemingly endless kilometres along the dyke next to the Loire with no sign of civilisation, we round the corner to find the entrance to Sully. We've made it! 😃🥵
At the end of the day We're tired but nearly there and it's important to still be able to take in the changing countryside.
A break in the shadow of a nuclear power station The day is getting on and the crew is starting to show the strain of two long days in the saddle. We've still got about 20 km to go and while the sun is out, the wind has also picked up and you feel every bump and every
A flock of some birds We found a quaint little bench in the shade for lunch and then it was back to the Loire and I saw a this flock of birds on the other side of the river.
