Into wine country: Nantes to St; Philibert de Grand Lieu

August 1, 2017

Nantes is a very bicycle friendly city, with bike lanes, parking structures, bicycle traffic lights and other amenities just about everywhere. So for once it was easy to get out of the city. Of course once out of Nantes, I went looking for a way to follow the Sévre Nantaise and got every-so-slightly lost, but that was no big deal and I was soon on the trail to Clisson.

The vineyards are everywhere along the road. The grape variety grown here is (almost ?) exclusively melon de Bourgogne, and the wine, Muscadet de Maine and Sévres sue lie, enjoys a certain following among sea-food lovers.

There is a certain smugness one feels going through the wine villages. In the Nantaise its a little less pronounced than in the Bordelais or Burgundy, but you see it in the stores and cafés. People are friendly but aloof, probably because the trade comes to them and they don't need to seek out clients. There is also a very palpable atmosphere in the vicinity of the wineries which strikes your nose as soon as you enter a wine village. The smell can only come from fermenting grape juice and is ever present in wine country. Although certain times of year it can be almost overwhelming such as just after harvest, it is in the main a pleasant sensation and it followed me all the way to Clisson.

I found a bakery in St. Hilaire de Clisson and bought a sandwich, coke and a baba-au-rhum for dessert. I found a park bench to sit on while i ate and admired this old mill.( My camera had recovered in the heat.)

From st. Hilaire is was only a few kilometers to Rocheservière where I stopped for water and cross off one of the sites on my quest. The lady in the bar where I stopped told me that she had stamped the route card of another cyclist just the day before. There were three guys in the bar finishing their after lunch coffee who had the usual questions for me. You do get used to getting them and its difficult not to be rude by brushing them off, but I think we should probably be as pleasant as we can be, we cycling tourists, so as to promote the sport and make way for the cyclists who follow. The questions are all good natured in any sense.

As I was leaving Rocheservière I pulled out my map to determine my route and quickly a lady came over to offer advice. She rides an electrically assisted tandem with her husband and had lots of ideas about where I should go, a surprising number of which consisted of descending into the river valley and climbing out. I thanked her, but kept my own council and left the climbing to the electric motor.

My end point for today is St. Philibert de Grand Lieu, and on arriving there I quickly found the tourist office where I was directed to the municipal campsite. This was quite nice with rather good facilities, including a washing machine which I was quick to use. After hanging out the laundry, I walked back into the town for a look around, and a little supper before calling it a day.

The country around St. Philibert is flat. I'm no longer in wine country, too.

The main site of historical significance in St. Philibert is the Cistercian abbey. It is, like all other abbeys of the order, very plain in its construction and decoration.

Rather more ornate is the village church, a structure which seems enormous for the size of the town.

Beside the church is a statue of General Lamorciére. Exactly why he is commemorated is somewhat obscure, but it seems to have something to do with the French conquest of Algeria. Forgotten general in a war that a lot of people want to forget.

I couldn't resist another food picture. This is quite possibly the best piece of cod I ever ate. Perfectly cooked and with a butter and lemon sauce to delight all but the most jaded palette.

Rate this entry's writing	Heart	1
Comment on this entry	Comment	0