We left the hotel about 9am in warmer conditions than usual. About 50m down the road we were onto our designated cycle path. We planned on doing a few villages along the way to take up some time as check-in to apartment was not until 3pm. However, either the signs dried up or we missed one and were heading directly to Chalone, our final destination for the day. Not to worry, a lovely French village is not far away at anytime and that’s what we found. Despite the many stops we still arrived at our apartment about 2pm.
We stopped often for photos there seemed there was a postcard in the making around every corner. By chance we found a nice little 12th century church and nearby buildings of the same era. Greg also managed to have his first blackberry; we have seen many bushes with unripe fruit along the way, but these were the first ripe ones of the season. Even Wendy enjoyed one. We arrived at Chagny a little after the usual mornos time and tried to find a place in town to have it. Unfortunately, the only outdoor seating in Chagny is associated with a bar or cafe. There was no shaded seating, so we moved on. We eventually found some shade and a bench seat at Chagny port. There was a Saturday ride on and many Lycra clad people on very nice bikes whizzed pass us. We didn’t stop for long as it was warming up quickly.
From Chagny to Chalon-sur-Saône we were on a very nice path alongside the Central canal, with a headwind. Lucky we were going downhill, our first for this trip. We soon arrived on the outskirts of CsS and as it was only about 1pm, we pulled into the Carrefour and purchased lunch. We soon found a nice park with benches under a big tree. We ate slowly trying to ‘chew’ up some more time. Wendy checked her emails and found one from the owner of the apartment asking that we tell them when we were 30 minutes away. We killed a bit more time doing nothing before replying to the email, via Booking.com, and set off to find the location.
Long story short, the lady thought we were only arriving at 4pm as that is the usual check-in time, however Wendy had asked for a 3pm check-in when booking and it was approved. We eventually got into the apartment about 3:30pm. It is quite a large apartment and looks good if you don’t look too hard. After unpacking, Wendy did another load of washing (why not when the facilities are available), then had a rest. After hanging out the washing we wandered the 400m down the road to the tourist info centre for a map for tomorrow. We also secured dinner and breakfast supplies from the Carrefour on our way home.
After dinner, Greg went for another wander in the hope of staying out for long enough to get some late afternoon shots. However he called it a day when at 9pm the sun was still shining brightly.
First ripe blackberry of the trip
A plain but lovely home in the country
Greg couldn’t resist taking another sunflower pic
A couple of old relics from yesteryear, but the one on the right is still working, albeit a bit slower.
Contrasting colours
Marshmallows
Church Saint Véran at Chaudenay. The parish church, construction began around in the late 1200s, Romanesque in style, built on the basilica plan.
The baptism of Christ
Some beautiful old buildings opposite the church from the same era.
A nice mural outside Chagny
The Chagny rooster, about all the town has going for it!
A tree trunk that has been woven as it grew.
Mornos stop beside Chagny port
The nice, smooth path beside the Central Canal
A lock on the Central Canal
Another lock, at Fontaines, that was very well dressed with flowers
A bridge on the outskirts of Champforgeuil.
Some of the boats we saw on the canal today
Greg’s lucky shot
Saône river at CsS
Church and former Convent of St Pierre, C-s-S, late 17th century
Town Hall, opened in 1844
Unique lamp posts
Saudon Tower, 10th century remains of the gallo-roman wall
Our apartment at 38 General Leclerc Street
There is a Chocolatier Patissier to the left of the picture that may or may
not be frequented tomorrow for mornos. We didn’t have any say in naming the building.
