I followed the Loire almost all the way to Tours, a peaceful and steady ride by the tree lined river. But Tours was uninspiring - I no doubt didn’t see her at her best - with a long cycle to the city centre through mostly boxy, modern streets and across modern bridges over Loire tributaries. I decided to pedal on the next few kilometres to a quieter and smaller town for coffee and then on to Amboise for lunch.
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| Amboise |
Amboise is beautiful. It is known in particular for its chateau, the fifteenth century residence of Charles VIII, and also for the home of Leonardo de Vinci; he lived here until his death in 1519. But I was in need of food and had a fair distance still to go so my sightseeing was limited to what I saw on the route through and while sitting in the beautiful but tourist-packed high street enjoying lunch.
For the most part, the rest of the day followed a peaceful, tree-shaded track alongside or near the Loire. It would break out occasionally to a small riverside town or village, and there were detours through vineyards and countryside, but generally it was steady, smooth cycling on good firm track through woodland. By late afternoon I had reached Blois. It is another beautiful city and as I approached along the river I could see its chateau, used as a Royal residence, and late Gothic cathedral dominating the surroundings even from a distance. Later that evening I wandered the cobbled streets lined with ancient wood framed buildings and soaked up the atmosphere before heading back to my hotel room to prepare for tomorrow.
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| Approaching Blois |
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