Friday 5^th September to Thursday 11^th September, 2014……

Continuing on the bike ride…..so many Chateaus, Castles and Abbeys we visited not to mention the wine cellars in caves and of course the wine tasting that goes with it….and the refuge from the heat in the cellars added to the enjoyment of the wine….we had absolute superb weather with many days being 28 to 30 degrees which made for a pretty hot bike ride when you are peddling 50 kms or more and you’ve had a tipple of wine on the way……Barbara’s (our tour leader) history lessons on the way made it so much more enjoyable too and really added to the interest of the journey….so much French history we learned along the way which again made all the Chateaus and Castles that much more interesting……we will never forget the French villages and the flowers and the vege gardens….together with our time on the canal boat and in particular the bike ride we certainly have a different impression of the French….life is very different in the rural areas but you really had to be on the bike to really get to the people level……when we had the canal boat we wished we had had the time to venture into more villages but you had to be on a bike to get totally rural….but of course we did have to cross main roads at times and oh those roundabouts…..going around the wrong way in a car was bad enough and I certainly drove around many when we had the car but on a bike the roundabouts are just suicide material……one of our fellow bikers went onto the roundabout the wrong way and we were all yelling at her…later she said she could hear us but she just couldn’t get off so kept going around until she could see her way clear to exit  but it was certainly a nail biting experience for those of us watching her……Michael came off his bike the 2^nd to last day and was unable to do  the last day of the bike ride which was a bit challenging anyway….we did over 50 kms on the last day and it was 30 degrees and a challenging ride as we had road works, new road seal, even drove through a fiord not to mention the hills and one big hill just after our picnic lunch….and we had had bubbles wine with our lunch…..we went to a winery earlier on in the morning and tasted wine…..all white in this area, in particular vouvray wine which we learned you could keep for 100 years…..I didn’t know white wine would keep that long……and so we bought bubbles for lunch…….we really enjoyed our picnic lunches in some shady spots….usually we would shop in a village before lunch or buy fruit and vege in a market if there was one and some wine and then Barbara always knew of the right spot to stop for our picnic lunch……personally I didn’t want the trip to end and just hope I can do another bike ride in France with Barbara……of all the things I have done in my life this would have to have been one of the most pleasurable/enjoyable things I have ever done……probably Barbara’s attention to detail, she really had planned a great route and a great mix of accommodation that one would not normally get to experience and how she remembers all the little lanes and off road places she takes you through, I can’t imagine!!  And so Tuesday morning, 9^th September it all came to an end after breakfast in Amboise but Barbara had one final history lesson for us…she took us to what was these big granaries in caves behind the hotel and once again you would not know they were there…..earlier in the week she took us into a troglodyte (cave house) where she has befriended a woman who lives in this house and every group Barbara takes to the area she takes you through this woman’s house…the woman is always delighted to see Barbara and Barbara told me she always give this woman a little gift from NZ……she made us so welcome and what an interesting place…this woman has bought 2 more abandoned cave houses and is restoring them for when her family comes to stay…..and so we spent the rest of Tuesday exploring Amboise and what a lovely spot it is…Michael and I both commented we could have spent another couple of days there…..and before leaving Amboise we took ourselves on a visit to the Chateau du Clos Luce where Leonardo de Vinci ended his days….very interesting Chateau and one whole area of the Chateau houses all the inventions of L da Vinci…this man was a genius and away ahead of his time needless to say we are glad we made the visit as the town of Amboise was so tempting to just keep exploring…..later in the day we took the train from Amboise to Paris and then on the Metro to our hotel….just had to get into the mode of bit city life again…..Michael is struggling a bit as he probably has cracked a rib so he had to carry his pack whilst I had mine on my back which makes life a bit easier when you are going up and down the stairs in the Metro, needless to say we arrived in Paris pretty buggered last night….today our mission was to find the NZ Embassy and vote…no problem and when we walked in the door of the Embassy there was a big sign on one of the doors saying, voting, so they are obviously expecting the numbers and others arrived whilst we were there…..then we walked the streets of Paris, back to the Arch de Triomphe……looked better than when we were here in 2005 but Michael reminded me it was covered in scaffolding then…walked the Champs-Elysees and found Mc Café again and sat up stairs and had our coffee watching the world go by…..Paris for me personally is still a beautiful city, the architecture, all the cafes and the French never seem to stop eating no matter what time of the day it is, the fruit and veges stalls and just the whole ambience of French life in Paris……it has been 21 degrees in Paris on Wednesday so a pleasant temperature to go walking in….today  we have walked the streets again…went back to the Sacre Coeur area which we love and I had forgotten how beautiful the church there is…there was a service in progress too……not to mention all the noisy tourists!!!!  And something we have never done in Paris was to climb to the top of the Sacre Coeur so we did that….I think we have now climbed everything that you can climb in Paris…interesting view though as it made you realise the smog/pollution that is Paris today!!  Been 21 degrees again in Paris today so we have been very lucky with the weather……Tomorrow, Friday, we take the train to Brugge in Belgium and then to Amsterdam for our 14 day boat cruise….14 nights in the same bed!!! Yeh!! And time for Michael to heal in that there won’t be bags to carry so hopefully he will be good to go for the next stage of the journey……M &  F 

Nucelar power in France....lots of these blotting the countryside.....

Viewing another church.......but Barbara's knowledge always made these stops interesting......

Chateau of Usse, was the inspiration for "The Sleeping Beauty" story....

Having a beer at Brehemont on the banks of the Loire, once a thriving port here......

Pre dinner drinks...again......

Our accommodation at Montsoreau.....our bedroom is the window with the curtain pulled back......

Crossing the bridge into Langeais.....our fellow bikers in the pic.....

The gang on the working drawbridge going into the Chateau Langeais....

Chateau Langeais

The oldest fort in France in the grounds of the Chateau Langeais....

The Markets At Langeasi...we thought this was cheese but discovered it was nougat and oh boy was it fresh...the guy said his father made it...of course we had to have some......

Cutting off a slice of ginger nougat......

The markets at Langeais.....great fruit and veges and gorgeous crockery......

Our accommodation at Le Membrolle-sur-Choisille......(not far from Tours)

Our dining in the above accommodation......

The streets of Amboise.....

The Chateau at Amboise.....

Leonardo Da Vinci's tomb in the chapel at Amboise Chateau......all the Castles and Chateaus we visited had beautiful fresh flower arrangements....truly amazing as the aroma of the flowers hit you as you entered the various rooms.....that's the French, they really do flowers well....... 

The chapel as above......

Looking out from the Chateau Amboise.....

The old granaries in the cave at Amboise.....

The entrance to the granaries....

Chateau du Clos Luce where Leonardo da Vinci lived......He came here when he was 64 years old and brought the Mona Lisa painting with him......he died here in his late 60's......

The grounds at Chateau du Clos Luce.....

Our accommodation in Amboise.....

The Arc de Triomphe...Paris....without the scaffolding this time.....

The streets of Monte Martre........

Inside the Sacre Coeur......

The Sacre Coeur....

The view from the top of the Sacre Coeur....

As above, looking to the Eiffel Tower...and the pollution......