2023 - La Loire à Vélo: Day 22: Wed 14 Jun

13-29 degC, a beautiful sunny day with a persistent wind

Walk: 12; total: 178km

We’re getting used to this sleeping-in business; we only ventured down to breakfast at 7am! After breakfast, we made our way onto the ‘Spires of St Nicolas’ route and followed a little brass marker in the pavement that had a church symbol on it. We eventually found St Nicolas and although Greg went inside, it was undergoing extensive renovations, (inside and out) so it was all a bit of a mess and not photogenic. Greg said it was spectacular in 2019; although he tends to say that about every church he goes into.

It was then off to the Château to beat the hordes of tourists. Paid our dues and spent a good 90 minutes exploring. When viewed from the outside the main facade looks fairly ordinary. However, once inside the internal courtyard the Château comes alive with beautifully crafted features. The fretwork, internal walls and gargoyles are amazing. We like to beat the crowds, especially those on the guided tours as they tend to overwhelm the whole ambience of the place and get in the way while you try and capture that special photo. We like our pictures with no one in them preferably. Granted that is a bit selfish, but we think most photos look better if there’re devoid of people. We then entered the Fine Arts Museum in the Château. Wendy is not that keen on the semi-naked men, women, and babies or important people dressed to the nines and not a lot else. It’s really fine art, especially when you consider how old it all is, but it does tend to all look a bit the same after a while. However, overall our visit to the Chateau was money well spent and we enjoyed it very much.

As it was past 11am by the time we exited the Château, we went back to the hotel for a cuppa in the lounge room and the vanilla slices we bought for dessert last night. We had a little rest in the room before going dinner shopping. Greg then went for a walk on his own as Wendy’s legs were telling her they needed a rest. He visited most of the places he and Bob had seen in 2019, Town Hall, Saint Louis Cathedral and the suburb across the river, the Vienne District. He enjoys just wandering without a plan while Wendy prefers to have specific targets which are ticked off with the normal pharmaceutical precision. We both agreed that Blois was one of the nicest cities we’d visited this trip, albeit a tad hilly, and if we weren’t on a schedule we’d stay longer.

Tomorrow we’re off to Orleans, not the New one.

Bike park at the train station

Blois central station

One of the steep lanes we have traversed in both directions several times;

photo doesn’t really show how steep it really is though

A rather sad-looking Louis XII fountain all that is left of a spectacular fountain after the bombing in 1940

Place Lois XII, adjacent the fountain

The little sign we followed; we prefer the coloured lines to the symbols/signs

Museum of Natural History, was not open when we went past

Eglise Saint Nicolas, constructed between the 11th and 13th centuries

Main facade of the Blois Château, fronted by a porch crowned with an equestrian statue of Louis XII, and embellished with fleurs de Lys, the symbol of royalty