Day 6: Fontevraud de l’Abbaye to L’Isle Jourdain

September 6, 2022

When we went to bed last night, the weather reports were a tad worrisome - a bit on the wet side. But upon waking, the story was different. We’re loving our lucky star. However, leaving this luxurious accommodation is hard … I know, the ride must continue.

Skies are moody, but it’s dry. It’s going to be a good day - the rain is gone from all weather app forecasts.

And we’re off, but little did we know … wrong direction

Sometimes it’s hard to figure out which way to start out when looking at the Garmin. Today’s departure included an extra loop around Centre Ville.

Almost extinct but making a slow come back

This breed formerly had three purposes: milk, meat, and draught work. In the latter part of the 19th century, this breed was used to produce the well-known ‘Charente-Poitou’ butter. Today they are only raised for beef.

The main site we wanted to visit is a Gallo-Roman ruin with bathhouses, sanctuary, and amphitheater. We rolled up and it was locked up tight. Signs said it was open Tu-Su from 10-12 and 2-5. Today was Tuesday and it was 11 am. Sigh! Probably best because today is a LONG day.

Monument in Sanxay honoring villagers who lost their lives during the World Wars

Sign indicates that Sanxay almost suffered the same fate as Oradour-Sue-Glane

I’ve been googling to learn better what this sign means, but so far I haven’t found any additional information. If you aren’t aware of Oradour-sur-Glane and it’s fate during WW2, I suggest googling it.

French style of a ‘flagged’ controlling traffic around road construction

There are only 30 of this ‘death lanterns’ still standing in France. This one is still used and provides light during a burial ceremony.

The church itself is in rough shape, but it is only a small part of the original chateau. The villager houses off the back (access not allowed) are still lived in. The grounds are being revitalized adding an amphitheater.

Today’s lunch included quiches and cookies.

The roads are so quiet and the countryside is beautiful

As we rode along this pig farms, we discovered that each mud pond had 3-4 pigs lounging about and staying cool. There were at least 5 mud ponds along the fence line. These guys/gals jumped out to pose for the photo.

Churches are now very simple; no longer ornate.

We still had some kilometers to travel, so we pushed on after checking the acoustics again.

A welcoming site! We just needed to climb up there, ride across it, and find our next chambre d’hôtes to finish off the day.

After a little climb we started across the viaduct. The river views were amazing. Such a pretty area.

Village of L’Isle Jourdain from the viaduct

Our first glimpse of tonight’s chambre d’hôtes.

After a quick shower to wash off the road grime and putting our laundry in the washer, we plunged into the pool. What better way to end a 104 kilometer day?! The sun was out and it was quite warm; the pool provided a perfect recovery option.

After the refreshing swim, we enjoyed some rosé with our hosts on their back terrace. I had to wander and take photos of this beautiful estate.

We sat under the umbrella on the left. The glasses in veranda on the right (it’s green) is their dining room where they served us a fantastic 4 course meal: Entree of mackerel and salad, main plat of chicken breast with mushroom sauce and delicious vegetables, platter of cheeses, and dessert chocolate mousse. Our host served this with a great red wine. After dinner they joined us while we all enjoyed a glass of Bailey’s Irish Cream. This is when we learned that he was the marketing guru that put Bailey’s Irish Cream on the world-wide market.

After all this, we never did get to see the village of L’Isle Jourdain. Life was too peaceful here to explore.

Stats: 103.9 kilometers 841 meters elevation

Today's ride: 104 km (65 miles)
Total: 787 km (489 miles)

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susan maaschthe food sounds lovely 🥰
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2 years ago