Day 38: Limoges to Chalus

October 3, 2023

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We had found our extra day stay at the sterile, corporate Campanile hotel very restful, perhaps because of that very corporate sterility. That brought us air conditioning, lots of plugs, and a staff that couldn't care less how much 8 jammer breakfast stuff we took at breakfast or what we did with it, much less where we charged what batteries and for how long. We retrieved our bikes from their deep sleep in the huge, dark, underground parking, loaded them in the lobby, and were on our way.

Limoges, of course, was familiar to us now. Just outside the hotel some visitors from California asked about our trip. In turn, on learning they would be touring Limoges today, I put my finger on the main points to see on their map, effortlessly. That can happen when you have slowly trudged over every inch yourself!

Within 10 km we were out of Limoges and beyond the rather dreary road that paralleled the Vienne. The Vienne had come from the east to Limoges, and would soon turn north to finally enter the Loire at Candes. It is 363 km long.

We were not far out of town when we noticed someone walking beside the road, seemingly kicking randomly at the grass. But when we drew up to him we asked what he was up to. He was collecting mushrooms. I asked for a look in his bag, and he used the term cepes. I thought this was a French synonym for champignons, but no, it's a specific variety.

Up where we were, outside Limoges but in easy car commuting distance, it looked like a high rent district. For example, how about this place?

The cows were also well ordered, with this group posing with no coaxing necessary!

As has often been the case, the very quiet and small road that makes cycling comfortable because it has no cars, is doing that by soon deteriorating to a useless track. This is what our route did, near Meilhac.

Fortunately Dodie and the GPS can (almost) always find another way,

Here, we arrive at the cute stone town of Le Cars.

Le Cars had a small 16th century chateau, featuring a defensive tower. This was needed because of the wars of religion. According to Wikipedia: "The death of Henry II of France in July 1559 initiated a prolonged struggle for power between his widow Catherine de' Medici and powerful nobles. These included a fervently Catholic faction led by the Guise and Montmorency families, and Protestants headed by the House of Condé and Jeanne d'Albret. Both sides received assistance from external powers, with Spain and Savoy supporting the Catholics, and England and the Dutch Republic backing the Protestants."

Here is a model of what the cheateau might have looke dlike in its prime:

Across the road were the chateau stables, also a picturesque structure.

As we pedaled along, we kept seeing references to Richard the Lionhearted. This makes sense, because Richard, when not participating in Crusades, (the third Crusade) focused on this Aquitane region of what is now France. Back in his day (he was born 1157 at Oxford) a lot of what is France today was controlled by England. Richard was Earl of Poitou and Duke of Aquitane, having been annointed in the St Martial (remember him?) Abbey in Limoges, in 1189.

Along the road, on its left side, we noticed up ahead someone with the purposeful, rhythmic stride of a St. Jacques pilgrim. As Dodie drew abreast of him, a car driver came rocketing from behind and passed between them both at very high speed. That drew a shout of protest from them both, and gave us a reason to stop and chat, starting with a denunciation of crazy drivers. The pilgrim was indeed on his way to Spain, and mentioned that he had already done the journey 10 times, while living in Bretagne. Maybe we would see him again in Chalus, which is our unambitious destination for the day.

The yellow arrow is one of the Camino icons. I wonder who developed their well known visual identity?

On our swift bikes, we arrived in Chalus quite early. The GPS shows we had done a fair amount of climbing, but now a month into the trip this does not bother us (much).

We almost immediately learned that we had also arrived at the Chalus-Chabrol Castle, and that this was the place where Richard Coeur Lion had died. Whaaa!

This quirky poster was on a fence, and was later also seen on a postcard.

We looked for a way in and a place to put the bikes, and were greeted by a succession of people associated with the place, two of whom we think were the current owners. A strange feature of these people was not just that they spoke English, but that they actually were English. Was this some legacy of Richard? I mean, even Desiree the dog was introduced to us as someone who while French, also spoke English.

The "office" of the castle comprised several rooms of an old stone building, stuffed with antique miscellanea. Somewhere in there we were sat down to a film covering the castle and the history of Richard. The film had a lot of rapid fire historical facts in French, but with English subtitles. This went by too fast for me to absorb properly, so I was glad that we also got an info pamphlet. The film seemed to have retained the watermark of software used to create it. This added a sort of down home, unpretentious feel. It was an impression that grew as we spoke to the various people about. For those that were actually English, their accents were regional. There was no London or Oxford snootiness here!

Beyond the office, we were able to look at the ruins of the church that had been here, the large defensive tower, and the fortified main building, with its own small tower.

To encapsulate what went on here, in 1199 Richard showed up here at the castle, which was held by Ademar V, Viscount of Limoges, in order to collect taxes. This must have been opposed, as Richard attacked the castle. He took the main building, but there were people holed up in the tower. From that position, a knight with a cross bow shot Richard, below, in the neck or shoulder. This did not do him in, but infection did, after some days of suffering. Richard was devoted to his mother, Eleanor of Aquitane, who at that time was 77 and retired to Fontevraud Abbey (as I hope I recall, from the film). He sent for her, and she arrived just before he expired. He specified where some of his various parts should be taken. We think there was (is) some part of him at Rouen, and his entrails are in the Church Notre Dame du Haut Chalus. That is 7 km west of here.

The first order of business was to climb the tower, both for a view of the surrounding countryside and to scope out what it would take to hit someone below with your crossbow from the top.

The stone interior is seriously "medieval"

The flag at the top is quite worn. The lions are reminiscent of the Normandy flag, but I am not sure exactly what or how authentic this flag is. Nonetheless, I begged for and got one, which we will now drag another 2000 km by bike, before it can fly at our place!

Got one of the flags! The lions on even the official Normandy flag look goofy.

A look into the village. Our eventual hotel for the night is just around that corner to the right by the ruined village church.

The verdant, partly wooded, nearby countryside.

To get down from the tower, you go in that hole!

If Richard were sitting on the white chair, could I hit him?

Things looks authentic, though the furnishings must be much more recent.

From the castle tower, more views to the town

This sculpture sits atop the castle tower. This is one bird Scott Anderson will have trouble adding to his list!

Below, some sculptures appropriate to this site.

We left the castle and pedaled into the town, passing that ruined church they have near the centre. We pulled up to the Hotel du Centre, about 2:30, and where Booking had given the check in time as 11:30. We had earlier phoned, as requested, to give an estimate of our arrival time, but the door was locked.

We stepped next door to what may have been the hotel bar, and encountered a man (seemingly an employee) who explained in French that the hotel was closed on Tuesdays. "But, but", we blithered, we have a paid for reservation for today. "Better come back this evening", advised the man, they'll be open then. "But, at what time?", said we. Reply: Gallic shrug.

We stepped back to the (seemingly) main door and rang the buzzer a few times. And hey, a man appeared from inside. It was Dave, the owner, and again, from England but free of any pretension. Dave went to check if our room was ready, which it was, because Angela (also English, also not pretentious) had already done it. I asked Angela if she was married to Dave, something that produced big laughs and expressions of horror. "He's too crabby", she allowed.

The hotel entrance says Bar Restaurant, on the right. Our initial enquiries were are the "Sax'o", which in this 5:30 p.m. photo is closed, while the hotel is open. There is a neon sign that says "Fish and Chips". We are back in England!

So here we are in our small but functional room. Perhaps soon Dave will make us fish and chips. He is not only the owner, but also the cook!

Here is our Boeuf Bourginon and Fish and Chips, iconic French and British fare.

This says Lawrence of Arabia slept here, on a bike trip. Should be good enough for us too!

Today's ride: 38 km (24 miles)
Total: 2,012 km (1,249 miles)

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