April 30, 2023
Day 6 - Saumur to Thouars
Today was our shortest riding day of the trip, less than 30 miles, but we had no problem stretching it into a whole day. We started the day by ransacking the town for food. There was a local Sunday market where I bought sausage and an orange. Then the fromage store for brie. Then two different boulangeries for a baguette, cookie and a Chausson aux pommes. Combined with the food bought last night, I decided I could survive the next two days if everything is closed.
After that, we rode the twelve of so miles to Montreuil-Bellay, where there was a small outdoor market with a food truck with a “Route 66” sign selling what he claimed were the best crepes in the world. I bought one and it was excellent. It was more of a galette, and based on my extensive knowledge now of galettes after having them on no less than three occasions, I think he might be right.
Montreuil-Bellay was a great town, with an old city wall surrounding much of it, a chateau that we did not tour, and a cathedral we popped our heads into. Being a short day, we spent an hour or two exploring. We also found a boulangerie that had just closed, so the food scarcity has begun. Lucky, we stocked up in the morning.
I have a long history of losing hats. My wife always encourages me to buy hats in batches. Today Doug pulled a hat out of his pack and said, “look what I found on the road, a hat that looks just like yours.” I had taken it out of my pack while stowing my jacket and not placed it back in the pack. So, so far, zero hats lost on this trip, thanks to Doug.
Our lodging for the night was super nice, in a hotel run by a British woman and her French husband. The town of Thouars has a large section of twisting medieval streets, with ancient buildings and three large, beautiful churches. It is a hill town with great views. Yet despite all of this, many stores were empty, and it does not appear to be doing well. It seems that even with all it has going for it, it can’t compete with towns like Montreuil-Bellay for the tourist dollars.
Today's ride: 29 miles (47 km)
Total: 300 miles (483 km)
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