Le Berry

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It was going to happen one day.

After almost two weeks with the wind on our backs it swung to the front. To make matters worse we had decided to make this day a 75 km ride to our next destination.

We headed East with the wind in our faces. After an hour we headed North, with the wind in our faces. And two hours later we headed West and for an hour the wind was sometimes across us and sometimes in front. Then it moved to in front! Our average speed was

10.5 kmph and it required a lot of concentration to keep on task. But the villages along the way were beautiful.

We got into our hotel at Luzille after 10 hours on the road, of which 7 hours were spent on the bike. And it was 83 kms. It was actually dark this time so we treated ourselves to dinner at the restaurant.

Entree was grated carrot and celeriac with a local mayonnaise. Sounds ordinary but was in fact delicious. The main was pork but completely different from New Zealand. It was simple good tasting fare. Dessert was custard tart and for once it was just ordinary food.
We went to bed absolutely exhausted vowing to change our plans for the next few days.

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We left early and set off for Chenonceau Chateau. At the parking area there was nowhere safe to leave our fully laden bikes while we visited the chateau so we gave it a miss. Our original plan was to stay very nearby for 2 nights so we could visit on foot but things did not happen as planned.

The village of Chenonceau was, however, a lovely little French town and the sun was shining. We had a very pleasant lunch in the park, with all the usual French tastes of cheese, baguettes, wine etc etc and Sally got some time for playing the guitar. A nice relaxing day!

We decided to take the train for 100 kms to give ourselves a rest and an extra day off the bikes. We arrived at the town of Vierzon and our hotel was directly opposite the railway station. We discovered later that Vierzon is a very poor town that has suffered from many factory closures and high unemployment. It certainly had that feel about it.

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We took the direct route to Bourges stopping for breakfast at a local boulangerie. The serving sizes were twice that of normal for everything on sale. Our apple tartes were so big we could only eat half each at one sitting.
The road was super busy and we stopped many times to let big trucks past. At Mehun sur Yèvre we turned off and followed a much quieter route to Bourges. It was a short ride of 30 km so we were able to take it slowly and enjoy the ride.

The sun was shining and for the first time we removed our jackets and enjoyed another picnic beside an ancient church after a cafe grande at the local Tabac.

Our hosts were Maryline and Dominique. Maryline is the third correspondent I had had the opportunity to meet. We were spoiled rotten with homemade vegetable soup which was just divine and dessert of goat’s yoghurt. Sally especially enjoyed the Aperitif .

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The next day we were treated to a breakfast with homemade jams. Dominique and I rode our bikes into town to the Saturday markets. Sally went with Maryline in the car. The food on offer was superb and Sally bought several goat’s cheeses and a salami made with duck meat.
The highlight for me was finding a hose clip. Really? Yep. I have been tying one of my panniers on each day with cable ties, and the hose clip now lets me put the pannier on the carrier without fear it will fall off.

We ate lunch of charcuterie and raclette which is hot potatoes covered in freshly melted raclette cheese. YUM.
After lunch I had the opportunity to finally wash the bikes and the panniers to remove all the caked on mud which had annoyed us for almost a week.
Then it was off on a 3 hour tiki-tour of Bourges.

There are no words to describe Bourges Cathedral. Stunning is an understatement. The cathedral is massive, beautiful, moving, awe inspiring, incomprehensible all rolled into one.

Building of the cathedral began in the 11th century and it is amazing to think how they built it without modern machinery. The blue and red, 13th century stained glass windows were magnificent works of art. To think this building has survived many religious wars, the revolution and 2 world wars, almost unscathed. We did notice some of the heads missing on the stone carving on the outside walls!

Sally took the opportunity to light a candle in remembrance of Richard ( her father) and then we moved outside. It was gobsmacking on the outside as well.

After the cathedral we visited a miniature Venice which many years ago was a swamp but the monks had drained it and it was now used as gardens by the locals. To get to your patch you had to use a punt and float your way around. Fascinating.
After dinner we watched France vs England live, but Les Blues were not good enough to overcome a very good English side.

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In the morning we thanked Maryline and Dominique for their wonderful hospitality. They showed us a good route out of town and Dominique took us to the start of the cycle-way on his bike. They are on a holiday in Scotland over summer and there is a small chance that our paths will cross again in England. I certainly hope so as we would like to return the favour.

We bid him farewell and pushed on past the lake and out on to our route. We had bought a large baguette for the day , but there were no shops for the rest of the day and one baguette was not enough. Bad planning on our part. Today was really an exercise in getting from point A to point B and we paced ourselves really well this time.

The best part of the day was the village of Apremont sur Allier. It looks just like an English village. The chateau is stunning, but unfortunately the gardens were not open as it is too early in the season. Along the way we passed a circular lock on the canal. I am not sure why it was designed that way but it was a marvellous piece of engineering.

Finally we arrive at our hotel for the night. I spotted this hotel about 5 months ago as I was checking possible routes. The name.
La Grenouille.
The Frog.
It appealed to my warped sense of humour and I am very happy to have finally got here. We took a selfie then spent the evening catching up on paperwork while Sally got through about 2 hours of music practice.