Canoeing is much harder than cycling

Day 2 with canoeing

17.2 miles / 27.6807168 km
Created 09.09.11 by lukerevolution



Canoeing is much harder than cycling

Langeais 6th September 2011 - Le Tail Wind

Langeais 6 Sept 2011

A much better day today. Woke up regretfully at eight, sore, tired and not wanting to go anywhere. For once we had a clock in our hotel room (very rare) but it was so bright it kept waking us up all night. Breakfast at the Best Western Hotel De France was impressive, the best we've had. So naturally I pilfered a lot of it for lunch.

Leaving Chinon, the fortress in the background

Crossing the Vienne River

 We set off down the river Vienne, following the official Loire a Velo bike path. Today we were determined to ignore the instructions if they were too obtuse and just follow the green Velo signs. Thankfully, that's the way we were going anyway and the whole day the terrain was flat. Early on we cycled through beautiful vineyards, collapsing stone walls and postcard picturesque countryside full of flowers.

Vineyards near Avoine

A defunct disco. It used to be where all the cool aliens hung out.

Had a slight drama when I got a bee in my bonnet. Well, my arafat hat, actually. It flew in through the side and I madly whipped it off and promptly dropped it. Luke improved the situation by running over it under full brake so I now have a souvenir rip in the hat. Charm, adds a bit of charm.

Continued on easily via Avoine (avoine and av another) where we stopped to buy eclairs at midday on the dot. We know it was midday because the church bells played a rather nice little tune before having their own typical dong-a-pocalypse. Could only buy cafe eclairs but they were still superb. Got caught in the lunchtime rush which occurs before everything shuts at 12.30. It takes a bit of getting used to, everything being closed in the middle of the day but we kind of like the mentality behind it all.

We found a dead mole on the side of the cycle path. Naturally we poked it with a stick

The gusty cool winds of the morning increased as the day went on but thankfully they were mostly side on or behind us the whole day. This is the same wind that made life hell paddling down the river. Much better when it pushes you along on the bike.

Gusty wind and whitecaps at Brehemont - we canoed into this the other day

We stopped on the side of the road and ate blackberries from someone's fenceline. They are a bit rare at the moment as its late in the season.

We ate lunch under a bridge on the Indre, watching fish lazily swimming by and watching the blue dragonflies.

Lunch stop on the Indre River

We followed the Loire, took a 2km side trip to look at Chateau Rigny Usse (the Sleeping Beauty castle) and for the second time decided that we couldn't be arsed looking at the inside (we were here in 2008). After a while you get chateau fatigue, especially as a lot of them are sparsely furnished or vastly altered.

That wasn't the case with the chateau/fortress in Langeais which hasn't changed since the 1500s. It maintains a middle-ages feel and focuses on the marriage of Charles XIII to Anne of Britanny (their union finally made Britanny part of France). Poor Anne was only 14, probably didn't get much say in the matter and she looks generally grumpy in her paintings.

Aside from the original 15th century furniture, the chateau has a lot of well preserved tapestries. Previously my attitude to tapestries has been fairly disinterested, mainly because the ones I've seen are faded and raggy looking so it's hard to make out the images. At Langeais they're really well preserved and tell interesting stories.

Also, they're very funny.

"Do you have any rubber nipples?"

Look at the dogs, they love it.

Pole Dancing Jesus - or have we interpreted that wrong?

This is a 15th century walker for a baby

The chateau is like a mullet in a way - fortress at the front, party at the back (or non-fortified castle and gardens).

View of the back of the chateau from the ruined fort behind it.

We were rather excited to find a huge treehouse in the garden, past the AD994 ruins but alas it was 6.30 and the gardener kicked us out before he raised the drawbridge. Luke and I had already played with the fully working drawbridge before we came in - and didn't get caught, which was a bonus.

Best. Treehouse. Ever.

Quick! Smile! The security guy is coming to kick us out!

Our cycle route today was 40km but we could have kept going quite easily because it was so gloriously flat. Still, it was nice to get to Langeais and check in to our latest hotel, l'Ange est Reveur B&B.

L'Ange Est Reveur in the background

View of the chateau, looming over the back garden of the B&B

This one is a little different to the previous places, it's located above an ornamental homewares-type store run by the owner, who may or may not be gay, not that there's anything wrong with that. We have run of the upstairs as there's no-one else here. Our room is huge, exceptionally tastefully decorated with hemp flooring, carefully aged furniture and a very comfortable bed.

Having visited the chateau and been kicked out we wandered around in search of dinner. Tonight we opted for a cheap bistro that served pasta and bruschettas and it was just as fabulous as the expensive places. Perhaps that's just hunger but we enjoyed our interaction with the owner.

So now it's getting late. We've happily spent an hour surfing the net and blogging - we were just too exhausted last night.

Tomorrow is our last day, we ride back to Tours and give back the bikes at our car park. Hope the car is still there.

Chinon 5 Sept 2011 - Lost in the Forest

Chinon 5th September 2011

I did a lot of swearing today.

We set off from Azay Le Rideau after a lovely breakfast at the Hotel de Biencourt. We made quite the impression at breakfast because our disabled room door opened straight onto the salon so after Luke took a while fiddling with the lock we burst giggling into the room full of people being studiously quiet over their croissants. The English couple looked at us very disapprovingly and things didn't improve when i decided to try Pamplemousse (grapefruit) juice and nearly spat it all over the table in disgust, then collapsed in hysterics. Luke decided he liked it and drank two glasses with quite the squinty face.

See that door on the left? That's the door to the room we were in.

There is a scene in Groundhog Day when Phil goes to have a shower and there's no hot water. He tells the owner about it. She laughs dismissively and says "Well, there wouldn't be today." That, right there, is Monday in France. We got up and looked forward to buying picnic supplies at the little grocery store and charcuiterie. All closed. It's Monday, silly. They wouldn't be open today.

At the one open boulangerie we encountered two other Australians on the same rental bikes, expressing the same confusing over the Monday thing. We managed to buy eclairs and a baguette to go with our pilfered cream cheese from breakfast.

Fortified, we set off into the forest of Chinon. Except we didn't, for about an hour and a half. After missing the very first turn and riding up a steep hill, we managed to make it into the town of Cheille. Which we circled and were lost in for a very long time. Our official map and directions were dreadful and we ended up riding in a huge loop, heading  back where we came from. Our second take on the town wasn't much better as we set off on the wrong road again. This was made worse by the steep hills. It seems every wrong turn involved going down a hill and riding back up it again. This was repeated throughout the day.

This was early on in the day. We found some abandoned troglodyte-style sheds with jars of preserved fruit in them.

The one good thing that came about from our wrong turns was eating a delightful peach from a wild roadside  tree.

We finally found the road into the forest - the sign with the road name was facing inwards and couldn't be seen from the crossroad. It was accompanied by several INTERDIT red signs that clearly said we couldn't go down that path. This happened several times too.

View from the road. We passed this three times.

YOU SHALL NOT PASS!
(Actually, it says NO FIRES but my French was crap at this point of the holiday)

We made our way along dirt tracks into the ancient forest as the weather turned cool, cloudy and windy. We ate our baguette on the road and then began squiggling through countryside, still taking wrong turns and becoming increasingly frustrated.

Our ride was supposed to be 30km but I suspect it was 40 by the time we finally made it into Chinon at 5pm, exhausted and less than impressed. It should have been a relatively pleasant ride but we spent the whole time worrying we were about to be lost in the forest. We also didn't see any birds or wildlife, perhaps due to the wind.

Lunch stop

A very simple peasant's lunch of bread and chocolat eclairs

The side trips we went on weren't very interesting either.

Wondering if we're on the right road, yet again.

Sunflower: I'm an individual!

Meanwhile, Luke's front brakes and rear gears failed. This made the steep descent into Chinon rather interesting.

Thankfully the Hotel De France in Chinon was swish and welcoming.

This is the size of a standard room in France.

We sat by the Vienne river and had a cider before showering and then talking to the bike rental repair guy, who reckoned there was nothing wrong with Luke's bike. It took about 45 minutes to sort it out, by which time it was 8.30pm and we were very late for dinner.

Our pre-paid meal at Bonne France restaurant wasn't that great. The room was packed with diners and the lone waiter was rushed off his feet. He spent the whole time running around like Basil Fawlty trying to serve everyone quickly. We were last served and it was fairly ordinary. The strawberry soup made me sneeze.

Strawberry soup, the dessert of champions. Or masochists.

We didn't get to bed until 11, utterly tired and sore, not keen on another day's cycling. We didn't see much of Chinon at all, only rode past the imposing fortress on the hill which is apparently empty inside anyway.

Our view of the fortress from the bedroom window.

So, not the best day. But still, we're on holiday and it beats working.

In the garage of the hotel was this car:

A little parked in, perhaps. But handy in a tight spot.

Route for Day One

Karen and Luke's bike tour 1

12.7 miles / 20.4386688 km
Created 09.04.11 by lukerevolution

Azay Le Rideau 4th September 2011

Canoeing. It seemed like a good idea at the time.

This morning we awoke to blue skies and had our 8am breakfast in seemingly good weather. Our B&B hosts were stunned that we wanted breakfast so early on a Sunday and they didn't mention that the Boulangerie (bakery) doesn't open til after 8. Still, they made us apple cake and a very nice brekkie that we had in their loungeroom on the big dining room table.

Had a severe case of envy when we discovered their pewter cast chess set starring characters from Asterix. He and Obelix were king and queen, Vitalstatistix and Impedimentia were bishops, wild boars were knights and village huts were castles. Menhirs were pawns. On the other side: Caesar was king, Cleopatra was queen, centurions were bishops, horses were knights, roman tents were castles, eagle insignia were pawns. Coolest. Chest. Set. Ever.

It started to rain as I rode down to buy provisions for lunch. A baguette and 2 eclairs was the best I could do on a Sunday morning. We were picked up by a Cockney English bloke in a van and transported back to Savioneires to being our canoeing trip, just as the rain got heavier. After pushing the green plastic canoe straight down the river slope Solo Man style, he gave us a few scant instructions and off we went.

I thankfully decided to put on my waterproof cycling jacket which meant my top half stayed dry; otherwise, we were both soaked very early on. The water of the River Cher was really warm, probably about 24 degrees, warmer than the air.

Luke paddling and looking less than impressed with our choice of activity

The first leg of our journey, though rainy, was very pleasant. The Cher is slow flowing with clear water, lots of water weeds and an abundance of fish. Indeed, almost the only wildlife we saw the whole trip was giant river fish darting under the canoe. There's just so many, it's amazing. In France, there's very few "no fishing" signs, perhaps because their fish are still thriving, unlike Australia where we've nearly exhausted our fish stocks.

Saw a turquoise kingfisher from a distance, blue dragonfly/butterfly bugs and lots of water birds as well.

Within 2km, the arms and back started to hurt. And that was when the going was good. We tootled down the Cher until we hit some major rapids. I think this was the bit on the map that was circled with something written in red, in French. I suspect it said "Don't go that way, you bloody idiots!" Anyway, we did go that way and enjoyed a spot of white water rafting, shipped a fair bit of water but didn't die, so all's well that ends well.

After that we joined the Loire river which is heaps bigger and not as interesting. We cleared the rain but encountered the head wind. Would have preferred the rain. From there on it was a struggle to keep the boat heading straight. Poor Luke was fighting to steer it because it always veered right, blown by the wind. We got stuck in shallows, ploughed on, did our best to keep going. Started to swear and wonder what the bloody hell we were thinking, canoeing 17km when we could have just cycled it easily.

In theory we could have stopped on a river island and had a picnic lunch. Unfortunately the moment didn't really present itself so we kept on. We managed to get in sight of the Brehemont church and finish point, about 1km down the river.

And then the storm hit us. Cue the incredibly strong headwind, squalls of rain and very cold temperatures. We pulled up on an island and our cheerful French picnic became more of a Bear Grylls survival adventure. I was instantly cold and shivering heavily. We got into the lee of some trees and did our best to wait out the worst of it. I started to wonder what Bear Grylls would do, if I should try and construct a shelter from branches, leaves and dried snot. Intead I just squatted in the mud and shivered. Gulped down the eclairs and bread, rugged up, tried to dry off a bit and then we continued on.

The storm and the Bear Grylls survival island/picnic spot

That last 1km was the hardest. The wind became a gale and we actually had to steer the boat head on into waves with white caps. Both of us paddled like crazy but made little headway - and this is going downstream. Eventually we made it to the landing point, exhausted and relieved. Luke went to find the Velo rental people, I ended up lying flat on the boat landing, soaking up the sun, trying to warm up and dry out.

We made it to Brehemont. That concrete was WARM and good.

It was all very difficult but I'm glad we did it. The experience of floating down that river was great and we got to enjoy a different perspective of this country. But damn, I could have done without the wind.

The chateau at Azay Le Rideau

The bridge and mill at Chateau Le Rideau

We cycled the 10km to Azay Le Rideau easily, past fields of sunflowers and swampy backwaters. Once there were quickly paid our E8 to visit the Azay chateau which was built on an island in the Indre river in the 1600s. The chateau looks great on the outside but doesn't have much to offer inside. The highlight was actually touring the inside of the sloping slate roof, checking out the huge oak beams that hold the whole thing up. It's only just been opened to the public. The wood beams date back to the 1550s and yet they still look splintery, pale and fresh.

Obligatory pic with chateau

The winding stairwell

The roof beams were 500 years old

We did the standard tour, not much to see beyond paintings of royals and old furniture. We ran out of time to see the gardens because the grumpy staff were ushering us out, herding tourists like sheep towards the gate.

His Master's Voice. This was an art installation and it was huge.

At 7pm we had a drink at the riverside cafe and then went back to the lovely Hotel de Biencort where we are staying in the disabled room on the ground floor. Only one with twin beds... but nicely huge.

The weeping willow that promised itself it wouldn't cry.

We went to the Les Grottes troglodyte/cave restaurant for dinner, where we had been 3 years earlier. The food is still fantastic. Luke had scallops with leeks, "lamb skank" with garlic cream sauce (yes, it said Skank on the menu) and chocolate profiteroles. I had white fish buerre blanc (bon!) and the best creme brulee I have ever had. Both our desserts were huge... very un-French in a way but SOOO good. Mine was E19, Luke's was E26 - very cheap for France.

Mmmm, best creme brulee ever

Now we're in our room at the Hotel de Biencourt, doped up on anti-inflammatories. We're both feeling very sore and stiff in the shoulders and back. We'll be moving slow tomorrow as we head through the forest to Chinon.

Villandry 3 September 2011

3 Sept 2011 - Villandry

I'm sitting happily on the lawn in the garden at Le Petit Villandry, our B&B for tonight. It's 6.44 and quite balmy, though the clouds rolled in with a thunderstorm in the distance at 4pm. How strange to see a summer storm in Europe. There are pink roses, black eyed Susans and dozens of other flowers I can't name set out in a cute little square garden. Beyond that lies the edifice of Chateau Villandry - I'm looking at the turret from my lawn chair. It's peaceful. The church is off to my left and swallows are circling it madly.

The garden at Le Petit Villandry B&B with Villandry chateau in the distance

Today was a good day. Luke woke up much better,despite being kept up by the noisy Friday night crowds in Place Pomereau in Tours. Our hotel was in a tiny street absolutely filled with restaurants and touristy diners. It was also filled with cigarette smoke, to the point that a white haze filled the air. Everyone sits on the outdoor tables and smokes like crazy and it ruins what could be a beautiful area. As it was I ventured out and held my breath a lot.

Thankfully the air was clear in the morning, with just street sweepers and cooks busily getting the lunch stared. Our cycle lady ?? (not Celine) was an hour late because she got lost due to roadwork. So we did a fair bit of hanging around at the Hotel L'Adresse. Breakfast was nice enough and almost every other client seemed to be Australian. We didn't talk to them, just recognised the accent.

Finally Celine arrived, delivered the bikes and gave us our instructions. The bikes are fab, mine especially, which is a ladies upright hybrid that is just a joy to ride. Off we went, navigating through the streets of Tours with surprising ease. The traffic lights are set up with areas for bikes, there are bike lanes and the cars are polite and leave you room. Fantastic.

On the outskirts of Tours

We finally found the official Loire a Velo route and followed it along the banks of the river Cher for most of the way. Rode through corn fields, small forested areas and past farm houses. At one point I walked to the small brook we followed and launched about six frogs into the water as they jumped away in alarm. Rode past flower-lined fields and lots of happy fellow cyclists.

On the official Loire A Velo cycle path

Field of flowers, lots of cornflowers

Had a chocolate eclair for lunch at Savioneirres. Luke's banana eclair was a disappointment. Across the river was a giant sandy beach with people swimming. I love how the rivers are easily available for swimming, it's not a furtive affair like it is so often in Australia. We really have made a mistake, allowing riversides to be privatised. They should all be public as seems to be the case here.

Chocolate eclair, banana eclair, Cher river in the background with swimming beach.

We didn't go to the petrified caves because we were running late. Instead we carried on to Villandry in order to visit the chateau. Thought we'd find the hotel first - alas, this involved riding up and down a big hill trying to find it. Our bags hadn't arrived by then (2.30pm) so we went to the chateau in our riding clothes.

At Chateau Villandry

The Chateau is not as spectacular as Chenonceau and the inside isn't that great but the gardens were good. The sheer scale of them and the care with which they are maintained is wonderful. I liked the Cloud garden which was mainly blue, purple and white flowers. It was amusing to see people start to eat grapes off the vine around us. For a while no-one touched them. Then Luke saw an English lady eating them so he picked some... then everyone had a go. It was like the secret grape-eaters club at one end of the vines, everyone happily picking and eating.

The moat was full of huge carp

The chateau featured a Turkish roof that was reconstructed piece by piece

Looking out over the expansive gardens

The fountain made of tongues

Picking grapes

The love garden

Back to the hotel, showered and now sitting here. But it's time to get ready, we're being taken to a restaurant somewhere for our dinner which was pre-paid. No idea where it is or what it will be like. One thing is certain, I'm bloody starving so it will probably taste fabulous.

10pm
Back at our room, bursting to full with our E28.50 three course meal. We were picked up at the gate by a man in a van that said "LIVRAISONS" (Deliveries), having watching him nearly back into a Renault after going the wrong way. The back of the van had a woman, two kids and a baby. We weren't sure what was going on.

Turns out this is Denis and Celine, our local cyclomundo people. The bike lady this morning wasn't Celine. I have no idea who she was. This whole thing has a distinct "fly by the seat of the pants" oily rag feel to it. They didn't really seem to know what was going on either.

In any case, they took us 1km up the road to l'Etape Gourmande, a farm restaurant set in 17th century buildings. The whole family got out because Celine and Denis decided they were eating there too. We were shown to a separate table which was a relief because I wasn't exactly expecting to eat with a family I'd only just met. In any case the meal was wonderful. I had goat's cheese and pickled vegies on warm bread, veal cutlet with tagliatelle and a summer fruit tart. Luke had Fois gras, veal kidney and mash and a weird dessert: tomatoes with olive oil ice cream. All great except I think they forgot to give me the grand marnier ice cream with my tart. Very cheerful redheaded lady served us, tried to teach Luke the word for veal kidney but he pleaded ignorance.

We've got back and realised that the heater in the bathroom has scalded all our lycra clothing which we'd washed and draped over it to dry. Who knew those things would get so hot.

Tomorrow we go canoeing. Denis happily told us to watch out for quicksand. Luke reckons this is similar to a dropbear story. Especially since he was telling Celine about wombats. "Le burrowing bat? Zey are making zis up! We will get them back." Luke had been asking about what the mysterious dug-up holes in the lawn were. It's moles.

This bed is very comfortable. We don't set out until 10am tomorrow. Time for bed.