Day 77: Amboise to Blois

April 23, 2024

Heart

Comment

After so many hotel stays on this trip we have our routine established for arriving at a property and checking in, including unloading the bikes and storing them away. The check-in clerks also have their routine - for telling about the late night front door code, or other things we will never use, collecting the tourist tax in cash, asking if we will take breakfast, etc. . In 99% of cases it all goes smoothly and only takes minutes. But at the hotel Bellevue in Amboise, both evening and morning had me and the clerk staring each other down in a trivial, but absolute impasse.

In evenings, I check in, make any necessary payments, and get the room key. I then carry our stuff, that Dodie is pulling off the bikes - often in the street, to the room. That puts all our things, including valuables, in the locked room while we fool with the bikes. But last night, the clerk absolutely would not give me the key (though the room was paid) until our stuff had been unloaded and dumped in the lobby - unattended - and the bikes had been taken to a distant garage. Then incredibly in the morning a different clerk would not leave the garage open, unattended by her, while I carried the gear to the bikes in there. Rather, she wanted the bikes out into the alley (unattended) so she could lock her garage. We both stood staring each other down for a long time, until I said fine, I'm taking my bags back upstairs, leaving the bikes in here, and you relock your garage. Then when Dodie comes down and increases the work force on this difficult job, we'll start all over. So weird.

When we visited Chambord castle (near Blois) some years ago, I was very impressed by the nearby "Biscuiterie Chambord". Mainly they impressed me by offering free samples of each of their biscuit types. Now in Amboise we found the same store, except branded Biscuiterie d'Amboise. It seems they have branches at many of the large chateaus, each one taking on the chateau name. It's a bit of a strange twist.

We passed through that tower, or gate, that was in the blog yesterday, looking for a bakery. It turns out the thing is a 15th century clock tower, for which there is a clue in the clock mounted up high. And through there we found a bakery, called ... l'Horloge (the clock). Our world seems logical today!

Our route took us up the quaint main street, past the famous Chateau and to Clos Luce. We were already freezing, though the starting temperature was as much as 3 degrees - which is better than zero?!

From the street we could look up to the St Hubert chapel, which is undergoing some kind of restorations. We read that the tomb of Leonardo is in there. Only people from Montreal will get the next association, but for years St. Hubert BBQ in Montreal advertised their delivery by VW bug chicken service with the jingle "Ding a ling a ling, du poulet chez vous. Put, put, put, ...St Hubert BBQ!" Anyway, this is a royal chapel, not a chicken joint... stay focussed, Steve!

We passed by the Chateau, but most of it was way up there.

Clos Luce seems to have extensive grounds, which include three restaurants. We expect one could easily send a whole day there.

From Clos Luce, a final look back to the top of St Hubert chapel.

Back in the countryside, we navigated as usual by combining our stored track and the Loire a Velo roadside signage. The signage is great, but as shown in the photo, there are places where it needs maintenance!

We passed by a field of Flax, where the blue flowers are always pleasing. Flax growing is more common in Normandy.

This traditional boat was parked out as a decoration by a winery.

We stopped at Mosne to warm up a bit at picnic table. As we stood by, Dodie noticed House Martins flying to and from nest at a ...house. They were too fast to photograph, though one of the specs in our reminder photo below is one. Since we could see the white on their rumps, we are adding the House Martin to our list of spotted birds.

The trail continued, parallel to the river, and was beautiful, if cold.

We crossed a medieval looking bridge at Cande sur Beuvron, and I was sure to get the photo.

In this photo on the Cande sur Beuvron bridge, Dodie is approaching a cycling family who are cleverly taking advantage of the warmth of the stone for a place to sit and have a picnic. The bridge is pedestrian only, so no danger in that.

Climbing a hill above the river we came to the town church, St. Bienheure. This had not stained glass exactly, but painted glass. This allows figures with quite a depth of expression. For example, the representation of John the Baptist seen below.

Sometimes churches strike me not as artistic achievements but as rather standard assemblies of church furniture obtained from central chuch supply. Still, it was nice to see the necessary statue of Jeanne d'Arc and George with the Dragon.

Again back in the countryside, we noticed a red weed that makes for colourful landscapes, but perhaps gives farmers grief. We have not been able to definitely identify it.

Above the field a bird hovered, maintaining its position like a helicopter. Since it was not buzzing around, we were able to get a shot of it.

And on the ground a little away, was a lone pheasant. A male this time, complementing the female we found in a tree some time ago.

Here the path passes a field that has been very finely tilled.

I was intrigued when we came up a machine, drawn by a tractor, that had twin seated operators, each with headphones. It's something I have never seen before, and I had no idea what it did. Looking at the photos now, we see it is a disc cultivator. But what are the operators all about?

Once we are focussed on the ground, how about spotting a new bird!

We have been noting dozens and dozens of loaded cyclists on the Loire a Velo. It's hard to see, but I don't think these guys qualify as long distance travellers. We are nearing Blois in this photo, and these may just be out from there on a joy ride.

Ah yes, we are at Blois. That is St Nicholas church.

Four flowers is a top rating in the French beautiful villages program.

This is not medieval or even a main bridge, but it will get us there.

Blois gives us the impression of being very old and solid. It is built on a hill too, which helps it present cityscapes of many jumbled buildings.

Jumbled buildings mounting toward the cathedral.

These steps lead up toward the cathedral district.

We checked in to our "Hotel de France", which is in a very old building and as we now expect in France, offers us a tiny room with no place to put down our stuff. Something we did not expect, though, was an explicit sign detailing an across the board approximately 15 percent surcharge for having booked with Booking. Is this a "thing" we don't know about?

We dumped our stuff and bikes, with only a slight conflict with the desk man about the order in which things would happen, and sallied out for a peek at the town,

The now familiar buildings piling up to the cathedral

Cathedral St Louis. A church on this site is known since the 10th century, but major building happened in the 16th. However in 1678 a hurricane blew the roof off and left the place in ruins. With funding from Louis XIV the place was rebuilt, with work finishing in 1702.

The typical nave shot in a gothic cathedral.

Many windows were done in this painted style. Here we see St. Solemnis.

A large number of windows were done in the 20th century, with designs from John Dibbets, a Dutch artist. A detailed pamphlet described what they all mean, but I didn't get it at all.From

From the cathedral you can look down to the river and parts of the town beyond.

This is the view down those very broad steps we saw earlier.

We walked back down to our hotel by this other interesting street.

As we cycled, shivering, today, we consoled ourselves with the thought that at least it wasn't raining. So the forecast adds showers to tomorrow's predicted low temperatures! Our target is Orleans, which is quite a ways away. We will just have to put on all our stuff and go for it.

Today's ride: 45 km (28 miles)
Total: 3,765 km (2,338 miles)

Rate this entry's writing	Heart	7
Comment on this entry	Comment	0