Chartres

August 11, 2011

As we rode out of Paris I thought of my Auntie Pat (I am named after her.) In 1940 when Paris fell she was living there with her partner. They were unmarried so Pat had none of the appropriate papers -only NZ ones so she was in jeapodie. She and Armaund obtained two bikes packed up a few positions and fled for Marseilles where they felt they would be safer. I think of our easy trip yesterday, our well maintained bikes, our luggage system, the excellent bike paths and the freedom we had from the fear of arrest by the Nazi. Pat, unlike me, was a very elegant woman so it must have been particularly hard for her. She survived the war and her smuggled letters home make fascinating reading, to read about this terrible time written by someone with no knowledge of what was to happen next is very special. When I was about 10, Pat and her son Andy visited NZ and stayed for several months. That was the only time I met her as she died in Annecy not long afterwards. I have visited my cousin a few times and find it amazing to see someone who looks so much like my brother but is a Frenchman and now speaks no English. He sees his time in NZ as a 6 year old through romantic rose coloured spectacles. We spent one very special weekend in Lyon with his daughter, also Patricia, a charming young woman very eager to hear something of her NZ heritage that she she knew so little of.

Our hotel last night was run and owned by a delightful gay couple. They were keen to talk of their plans for the hotel. In particular the food is a priority and they visit a night market near Orleans twice a week to buy only the freshest and best of produce. We felt we might be in the earthquake ravenged city of Christchurch as the toilets in the rooms were 'ecological' ie no water was involved just plastic bags and sawdust.

After delicious French Toast and great coffee we set off. Both of us felt at this early part of the day that we were doing much better than yesterday. We passed through lovely working villages all with the grey slate pointy spires on their churches that are so characteristic of this region. We stopped at Auneau for a coffee, it was good ,a small cup but the lady had taken great care making it and it only cost 1.8 Euros.

As we got closer to Chartres the head wind picked up across the cereal plains and we (particularly me) started to flag. I played games with myself pretending I was one of the ancients riding my horse to Chartres feeling the excitement of seeing the spires of the Cathedral rising in the distance and getting more and more prominant. It was just a pity that my poor horse was getting so tired. We came to an Ibis Hotel at the base of the hill the Cathedral is built on and though more than we really wanted to pay we just couldn't pass it. After some lunch and general rejuvenation we trudged up the hill to have a good look at this wonderful building which has been the reason for us making this side trip to Chartres

Tomorrow we get the train to Nantes for the start of our trip on the Eurovelo 6. Unfortunately I couldn't make a booking until the afternoon so I have booked a hotel in the centre of Nantes so we will have a largely bike free day.

There are lovely flowers in all the little villages

This was a very interesting cemetary in a really tiny village. It was a military one of French killed in 1940. There were about an equal number of Christian and Muslin graves we presumed the these Muslin ones must have been of troups from North Africa

I have the first sight of it in the distance

Today's ride: 46 km (29 miles)
Total: 150 km (93 miles)

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