We've been on the Loire à Velo route since leaving Nantes and it's been great. It's more varied than the canal, as the cycle path on the canal follows the old towpath along its entire length, whereas the Loire path weaves through countryside, cobbled streets and riverbank. We also saw the first vines of the trip on Friday, almost three weeks in. Until then we had been cycling through cornfield, wheat and artichoke country. The vines make a welcome change!
We've spent the last two days in Angers which we loved. It's a lovely city and has a beautiful, historic heart that's full of character. We preferred it to Nantes and found it a much friendlier city.
It's also been a welcome break from the routine of cycling and camping. Said routine goes pretty much as follows:
Wake at 9ish
Shower, tidy up, take the tent down, pack up the bikes and hit the road by 10.30ish
Cycle to the next town along our planned route for a coffee (chocolat chaud for Luca) and a pain-au-chocolat (croissant for Luca)
Cycle until 2ish, when we take a break for lunch
Cycle until 6/ 7ish, when we stop for the day, set up camp and cook dinner
After dinner we usually convert Luca's trailer to buggy mode and take him for a stroll in the hope that he might nod off. Either way, he's asleep in the tent soon after.....
Despite having said that a break from the routine is nice, after a day or two in the one place we tend to look forward to loading up the bikes and hitting the road again. Which is exactly what we're doing tomorrow morning, when we head to Saumur and further into Loire vineyard country.
6 comments:
- At August 8, 2010 at 8:14 AM Anonymous said...
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Ah sigh!It all sounds wonderful & the photos are gorgeous.. Oh for the daily schedule of the traveller again..what a wonderful lifestyle! Angers looks and sounds great. City to Surf week-end in Sydney & the weather has been lovely. Nice to have a bit of sunshine again & the promise of Spring. Thanks for text. AINE XXX
- At August 9, 2010 at 1:45 PM Anonymous said...
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Hey dudes,
I agree with Aine, the photos are lovely and you describe it very evocatively. Do you use Internet cafes to download all the photos? Luca looks adorable asleep in the tent. We'll see you real soon in Tuscany. Was on the batter yesterday, had my first Guinni of the day at 12.30PM (it being a Sunday) with Ed. All that's left to say I guess, is: Ha ha, les pommes? Jonny "no contact" - At August 11, 2010 at 12:26 AM Anonymous said...
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The trip sounds fabulous. Wish you the best. HQ and The Kendall Family.
xxx - At August 11, 2010 at 11:29 PM Anonymous said...
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Hey Guys,
The blog is fabulous and your photos are incredibly beautiful. It really seems as though you have taken to life in the saddle. I'm so happy to hear that Luca is having such a wonderful time. He is a very lucky boy to have such brave parents bringing him on such a big adventure.
I'm impressed with all the information you've managed to get in... so funny.. it's so easy to see when Phil is writing and when you are Linda. x :)
Are you on schedule for the wedding? How many miles are you covering? I will keep checking in on your blog. Such a great way to keep in touch.
Love you all.
Big kisses xxxx
Liz, Paul and the girls.
ps a big kiss for Luca from Charlotte. X - At August 11, 2010 at 11:41 PM Linda de Paor said...
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Thanks so much guys. Will reply separately, and in full, properly when have chance (more limited than you'd think). Love to you all. xxxx
- At August 18, 2010 at 9:30 AM Linda de Paor said...
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Hi there Liz. Lovely to hear from you. Hope you enjoyed your hols. Where did you go?
We're really in the swing of things now and love our lives in the saddle. It's turned cooler and quite wet now over here in the last couple of weeks. Miss the sunshine a bit.
My shoulder has actually been grand. I take it very easy downhill though still.
We've made good progress although we'd hoped to cycle as far as Besancon before the wedding and get trains from there with our bikes to Italy. We can't get trains all of the way to Florence with our bikes so we're now hiring a car from Besancon. We'll hit 1000km tomorrow! We've to get a train on Thursday to Besancon and will text you from there as will be thinking of you and I there as sweet sixteen year olds. Love you lots. Luca sends lots of kisses and cuddles to Charlotte. Xxxx
