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July 6, 2010 - France - Cycling in Blois
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We forgot to ask our hotel concierge for breakfast this morning. The door to the reception area was closed and locked, so we went to a bakery for croissants and then sat down at a bar for coffee au lait and fresh squeezed OJ. Then returned to the hotel and our friend the concierge was there. We loaded up our pack with fewer things than yesterday, only water bottles, sun block and the guide book, and got the bikes out of the storage area. Rode to the train station to see about riding a train to Amboise to shorten our ride to Chaumont Sur Loire and Chenneanceaux. Would've been an hour and a half wait according to the time table so we headed out by bike, west along the south bank of the Loir. Picked up the official bike route very quickly and wound our way through fields, forests and villages to Chaumont sur Loire in good time.
Between the corn and wheat.
Meandering down the streets of a small town.
Chaumont sur Loire is on a hill overlooking the Loire to the north. Maybe it was because we arrived early in the day, but there were very few people, and only a short wait in line for tickets. The ticket booth is at the bottom of a hill. You lock bikes up at racks there, then join other pedestrians up the path to the chateau. I'd wanted to visit Chaumont sur Loire because of the beautiful conical slate roofs. I liked their shapes.
I guess we go right here.
Chaumont sur Loire
Cylinders and cones.
Approaching the main entrance.
Employees waiting to greet us.
Inside there were more typical chateau furnishings. Tapestries, suits of armor, paintings, elaborate stonework. All in all a very nice chateau. After about an hour touring the interior we took a last glimpse of the conical slate roofs and left.
A large fireplace and canopied bed.
Max examines a room.
Dangerous arms.
One of many large, beautiful tapestries.
How do you start that fire?
A nice turret.
Loire river overlook.
A chapel.
Those lovely roofs.
There was a restaurant serving kebabs (one of my favorites!) conveniently located across the street from the Chaumont sur Loire's ticket booth. We ate heartily and headed out to Chateau de Chenonceaux. More great bike trails
Kebabs!
Trail flanking the Loire on the way to Chenonceaux.
Somewhere between Chaumont sur Loire and Chenonceaux.
Wheat and vineyards. Note the bike trail sign. There would be no way find your way on these tiny roads without them, and the map.
Yet more idyllic cycling roads.
We arrived at Chenneanceaux to find large crowds with the usual bristling of cameras and sun visors. The chateau was under renovation, so scaffolding and shrouds obscured the facade as we've seen at too many other places we'd visited, Germany's Burg Elz in particular. Seems like it'd be a good idea to wait to renovate until it's not peak tourist season, but what do I know? We were pretty burned out on chateau interiors by this point, so we breezed through most of the interior and spent more time in the kitchen. It's an excellent example of cooking facilities from centuries ago, especially the rotisserie operated by weights suspened above the river. We hit the shrubbery maze afterwards in the garden and then high tailed it to Amboise, only a few miles away.
The approach to Chenonceaux.
Scaffolds and netting obscuring the facade.
Stained glass and vaulted ceilings in the chapel.
An elaborately carved mantel.
The main hall that spans the river Cher.
Fetching maidens.
Who else, but Louis IV?
An enormous cooking fireplace.
The door to the baker's oven.
Copper pots and pans.
The butcher's bench.
The stove.
The rotisserie, powered by chains and weights that hung down to the river below.
Max in the maze.
A view of the maze. It wasn't very challenging, but I appreciate shrubbery mazes.
We thought we were pressed for time to make the train back to Blois, but ended up with time to spare. Made for a brisk ride. After two days of cycling, the bikes had developed numerous squeaks and creaks. Of the three sets of rental bikes, these were the least well maintained. They got us through two days of cycling though. After returning to Blois, we returned the rental bikes and walked back to Hotel du Belay for a shower. Then dinner at our favorite restaurant, Les 3 Clefs (The 3 keys). Walked around Blois quite a bit after that, then to bed. Paris tomorrow.
Max descends the winder stairs at Hotel du Bellay.
Appetizers at dinner. Deviled eggs for Max, goat cheese on toast for me.
Our favorite restaurant in Blois, The Three Keys.
Blois at twilight, viewed from a bridge over the Loire.
Evening glow above Blois rooftops.
Cathedral de Blois.
After dinner stroll on the streets of Blois.
A flying buttress.
A nice rose window.
A large door.
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