August 23, 2011
A short day to Decize
Le Patron knocked on our door about 7.00am to tell us the bread had arrived so we could have breakfast. We ate with Madame and le Patron and they wanted to know about the ordinary things about life in New Zealand - what we ate, how many meals a day etc. What a special charming time it was particularly as they told me that I spoke bien Francaise ! They were somewhat reluctant to take our money as we left as they said we were their good friends. They helped load us up and and wished us on our way.
Today is the the last day of the cannacule so we had decided to make it a really short day and try and catch up with washing etc. It is very noticeable that now we out of the tourist are there are far fewer cycle tourists and the families have disappeared. Today we only saw 4 other lots. The first were a couple around our age who stopped at the same bar for coffee. They had started at Lyon and had camped nearly all the time - said it was particularly ghastly in a small tent last night. Then a very fit Dutch couple and another from Berlin. I thought those from Berlin had the right idea, he was carrying all the luggage and she had an electric assist bike. They said it worked well as they now went at the same pace. I suppose I can dream.
We arrived at Decize very early - about 10.30am and found this Hotel ,'Hotel du Port' . All my self satisfaction about my bien Francaise disappeared, The young man at reception couldn't understand a word I said. The hotel is brand new, so new it doesn't have a sign. The small rooms are stifling hot and we have had to spend all day out of ours. One of the highlights of the day being a visit to the Laundry which was gloriously air conditioned - we therefore chose a long cycle for our clothes. For dinner a picnic in the shade watching the life on the boats in the port. This is a very busy place because it is a junction of the Canal Lateral a la loire ans the Canal Nivernaise. The canal season is in full swing so there is lots of activity with people polishing their boats to perfection.
The Loire has a wonderful wide fertile plain with fine alluvial soil so it is a garden of Eden . Of course on the upper slopes there are as we expected vineyards. Down by the river however are bountiful crops of corn, rice, wheat (already harvested) and alsorts of vegetables. There many Charolias cattle lying lazily around and looking in superb condition. Ken loves seeing the agriculture and of course always has his eye out for an ancient and unusual tractor. At this time of the year everything is a riot of colour and both the public and private gardens are magnificent. They don't get this way without effort and old men in particular are beavering away. As my sister once said when we were walking in the Alps 'the French make an art form of every day life'. I particularly like the vegetable gardens with their rows of gladioli keep watch over the lettuce and beans. I am sure no matter how hard I tried I couldn't stack the wood in such a perfect pattern.
Today's ride: 40 km (25 miles)
Total: 865 km (537 miles)
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