Bit of an obstacle!
Apple farm - 12 different varieties and all
so different in size, colour and taste.
It rained a lot to day hence not many pics and this one of Happy Al.
Friday, 9 October 2009
Ancenis to Nantes photos
Bit of an obstacle!
Apple farm - 12 different varieties and all
It rained a lot to day hence not many pics and this one of Happy Al.
Ancenis to Nantes Weds 7th Oct.
Wednesday 7th October.
Since the chateau had very little to offer we had a coffee by the river and headed off west planning to visit Champtoceaux sometime in the late morning. After an exciting moment when we found the velo route barred with no alternative offered – we were on an old railway line, cliff on one side, 30ft drop on the other and a white van parked on the route. There were several men with chainsaws felling trees but no one willing to help. So we removed all panniers, rucksacks and handle bar boxes and carried the bikes along the 6 inches that was left of the route past the van. No one seemed the slightest bit interested and I only wished that I had pulled up the ladder by which they had got down to work and left them too it. We’ve also noticed that now we are off the Loire Velo proper tourist route that there are great chunks with absolutely no instructions or signage whatsoever, we’ve been down a few dead ends now and it’s very frustrating.
After this excitement we realized that Champtoceaux was on the other bank and well behind us so sadly we never got to see it, but making the best of a bad job we headed into Mauves where the church was locked, and the 8 ‘till late neglected to inform one that this did not include a 3 hour lunch break.
So hungry we cycled out of town and saw a red squirrel which made up for everything and all was forgiven.
A mile further on we stopped at an apple farm – they grow 12 varieties of apple 6 of which we tasted and bought a bottle of apple juice. 6 big bottles for 10 euros (take note Giles Wood you voleur!!)
We are now heading determinedly for Nantes and it began to rain, in fact it really chucked it down and there is a photo of happy Alec in his poncho waiting for the rain to stop. Which it didn’t, so everything got very wet. We arrived in Nantes which is a big city and cycling in was a bit hairy but the French do things very well and there is at least a 4ft wide cycle lane along most roads – it’s the roundabouts and trying to cross the road that gets scary especially in Nantes which has trams! Anyway we found the tourist office who kindly informed us that accommodation would be hard to find as there was a ‘congres’ but when we looked totally pathetic the teenage assistant must have taken pity on two people older than her parents and soaking wet. She started to make calls and on the third go we found somewhere.
Since the chateau had very little to offer we had a coffee by the river and headed off west planning to visit Champtoceaux sometime in the late morning. After an exciting moment when we found the velo route barred with no alternative offered – we were on an old railway line, cliff on one side, 30ft drop on the other and a white van parked on the route. There were several men with chainsaws felling trees but no one willing to help. So we removed all panniers, rucksacks and handle bar boxes and carried the bikes along the 6 inches that was left of the route past the van. No one seemed the slightest bit interested and I only wished that I had pulled up the ladder by which they had got down to work and left them too it. We’ve also noticed that now we are off the Loire Velo proper tourist route that there are great chunks with absolutely no instructions or signage whatsoever, we’ve been down a few dead ends now and it’s very frustrating.
After this excitement we realized that Champtoceaux was on the other bank and well behind us so sadly we never got to see it, but making the best of a bad job we headed into Mauves where the church was locked, and the 8 ‘till late neglected to inform one that this did not include a 3 hour lunch break.
So hungry we cycled out of town and saw a red squirrel which made up for everything and all was forgiven.
A mile further on we stopped at an apple farm – they grow 12 varieties of apple 6 of which we tasted and bought a bottle of apple juice. 6 big bottles for 10 euros (take note Giles Wood you voleur!!)
We are now heading determinedly for Nantes and it began to rain, in fact it really chucked it down and there is a photo of happy Alec in his poncho waiting for the rain to stop. Which it didn’t, so everything got very wet. We arrived in Nantes which is a big city and cycling in was a bit hairy but the French do things very well and there is at least a 4ft wide cycle lane along most roads – it’s the roundabouts and trying to cross the road that gets scary especially in Nantes which has trams! Anyway we found the tourist office who kindly informed us that accommodation would be hard to find as there was a ‘congres’ but when we looked totally pathetic the teenage assistant must have taken pity on two people older than her parents and soaking wet. She started to make calls and on the third go we found somewhere.
Montjean to Ancenis 6th Oct.
Tuesday 6th October.
The foody Logis dealt us a cruel blow by serving a clearly maleurized bottle of white Anjou which the pretentious maitre D insisted was how it was meant to taste,' what do you stupid Eeenglish know about wine' written all over his face. Thank heavens we only had a 50 cl bottle as we both felt very liverish this morning. Anyway some fresh air and a walk up the cliff to view the river from the old part of town put some colour into our cheeks and a coffee at 10am and a croissant did the rest. We have noticed that Frenchmen of a certain age start drinking red wine at about the same time and there does not seem to be a smoking ban in or outside most pubs.
Today cycling was easy, we had awarded ourselves a half day – only about 23 miles and secondly we stopped for a proper lunch in a charming hillside town called Saint Florent le Vieil. When I say built on a hill it was a bit more of a cliff and we both had to dismount and push the bikes up to the square at the top, but worth it. The Abbey (St Florent) had Roman remains and dated back to the 3rd century. It was destroyed by the Republicans during the revolution along with the whole town as the people remained loyal to the crown and suffered the consequence.
At breakfast we had decided to head to Lire as it is on the south bank and therefore where we were riding, however upon arriving at the bridge where you turn left for Lire 3kms and right to Ancenis 1km we decided on the latter, and were soon booked into a modern hotel and looking forward to visiting the chateau in the morning. It was then that kind lady in the tourist office informed us that the chateau was closed long term for renovation but if we liked we could walk around the outside – great, it was still early but never mind we were glad just to have somewhere to lie down!!
The foody Logis dealt us a cruel blow by serving a clearly maleurized bottle of white Anjou which the pretentious maitre D insisted was how it was meant to taste,' what do you stupid Eeenglish know about wine' written all over his face. Thank heavens we only had a 50 cl bottle as we both felt very liverish this morning. Anyway some fresh air and a walk up the cliff to view the river from the old part of town put some colour into our cheeks and a coffee at 10am and a croissant did the rest. We have noticed that Frenchmen of a certain age start drinking red wine at about the same time and there does not seem to be a smoking ban in or outside most pubs.
Today cycling was easy, we had awarded ourselves a half day – only about 23 miles and secondly we stopped for a proper lunch in a charming hillside town called Saint Florent le Vieil. When I say built on a hill it was a bit more of a cliff and we both had to dismount and push the bikes up to the square at the top, but worth it. The Abbey (St Florent) had Roman remains and dated back to the 3rd century. It was destroyed by the Republicans during the revolution along with the whole town as the people remained loyal to the crown and suffered the consequence.
At breakfast we had decided to head to Lire as it is on the south bank and therefore where we were riding, however upon arriving at the bridge where you turn left for Lire 3kms and right to Ancenis 1km we decided on the latter, and were soon booked into a modern hotel and looking forward to visiting the chateau in the morning. It was then that kind lady in the tourist office informed us that the chateau was closed long term for renovation but if we liked we could walk around the outside – great, it was still early but never mind we were glad just to have somewhere to lie down!!
Wednesday, 7 October 2009
10th Station
The cockerel a Montjean, a magnificent sculpture who starts to crow at 7am
The local riverboat a Garbares on display
in the town
Montjean church stained glass. The church must have been visited by Jean Paul II (Pope!!) as it was full of paintings and pictures of him.
The view of Montjean looking north over the Loire.
The cockerel a Montjean, a magnificent sculpture who starts to crow at 7am
The local riverboat a Garbares on display
in the town
Montjean church stained glass. The church must have been visited by Jean Paul II (Pope!!) as it was full of paintings and pictures of him.
The view of Montjean looking north over the Loire.
St Mathurin to Montjean
Monday 5th October.
It was lashing with rain when we woke which was a shock to the system so we went into slow motion. However, madame wasn’t having any of it and wanted us out sharpish. Thankfully it cleared by the time Alec had found some black bin bags in her garage to cover his panniers. (his waterproof covers remain in Throop in a useful way delivered too late by the bike shop). It is the first time we really felt cold biking. We had intended to go into Angers to do some sightseeing but somehow when we got to the junction where you had a choice to carry on along the river or go to Angers, we took the former. We will have to have another trip to take in all those sights.
We were hopeful about getting an excellent lunch in Bouchemaine as advised by James and Sheila – the thought of ‘pike and chips washed down with a bottle of Anjou’ had spurred us on all morning. But of course it was Monday so everything was closed. There was an amazingly strong headwind and at times it was all I could do not to go backwards while pedalling like hell. We gritted out teeth and continued as far as Montjean-s. loire. 38 miles and far too far but couldn’t find anywhere to stay before that. Alec eventually ‘bagged’ another ‘Station’ in Possioniere as the other churches were all locked. Our bike route took us all along a rather lovely island of Basse Ile which had some fabulous holiday houses tucked away on it. All firmly shuttered up now. We were very relieved to get to a Logis in Montjean , which is most attractive. The abbey is right on top of a high cliff, under which are old slate mines. Long since defunct.
It was lashing with rain when we woke which was a shock to the system so we went into slow motion. However, madame wasn’t having any of it and wanted us out sharpish. Thankfully it cleared by the time Alec had found some black bin bags in her garage to cover his panniers. (his waterproof covers remain in Throop in a useful way delivered too late by the bike shop). It is the first time we really felt cold biking. We had intended to go into Angers to do some sightseeing but somehow when we got to the junction where you had a choice to carry on along the river or go to Angers, we took the former. We will have to have another trip to take in all those sights.
We were hopeful about getting an excellent lunch in Bouchemaine as advised by James and Sheila – the thought of ‘pike and chips washed down with a bottle of Anjou’ had spurred us on all morning. But of course it was Monday so everything was closed. There was an amazingly strong headwind and at times it was all I could do not to go backwards while pedalling like hell. We gritted out teeth and continued as far as Montjean-s. loire. 38 miles and far too far but couldn’t find anywhere to stay before that. Alec eventually ‘bagged’ another ‘Station’ in Possioniere as the other churches were all locked. Our bike route took us all along a rather lovely island of Basse Ile which had some fabulous holiday houses tucked away on it. All firmly shuttered up now. We were very relieved to get to a Logis in Montjean , which is most attractive. The abbey is right on top of a high cliff, under which are old slate mines. Long since defunct.
Saumur
Sunday 4th October.
After an exceedingly comfortable night in a Band B on the very top of the hill in Saumur, we had rather an exhausting breakfast with Monsieur standing in the doorway watching us eat, tut tutting at the amount of butter we put on our croissants and generally saying nothing unless we engaged him in conversation (he did actually very kindly help us get onto the internet and produced copious maps with suggestions of what to go and see so not all bad). We left and split up so Vivi could visit the equitation exhibition in the chateau and I went into town to sort out a picnic lunch. It having started rather overcast and cold, we were in vests and jumpers but we soon had to shed the lot as the sun came out and the temperature rose to 24c. We cycled west along the Loire but in the first instance south into the industrial part of Saumur past the military barracks and then into open countryside. Finally back down to the river which is always a relief as there are no threats of sudden and unexpected hills, the only hazards being stretches of sandy track and cobble stones where cycling shorts and an empty bladder are a must!
Alec and I actually managed 1.5 hours separately! and I had a very happy time at the Chateau of Saumur which was yet another stunning example of 11-16c architecture perched on a cliff above the town. Unfortunately Cardinal Richelieu and others reduced it to a prison status, housing amongst others the Marquis de Sade. It’s more recent claim to fame is that in the past few years a large chunk of a tower fell off onto the town below, resulting in quite a few casualties. There was not a lot to see of the chateau itself as it is still closed for repairs, but it houses the Musee of Equitation which was fascinating. The National Ecole d’Equitation is just down the road which is pretty much like the Spanish Riding School. I learned a lot about tack over the past 500 years and how it was designed to protect both horse and rider. (that may sound boring to some but it really wasn’t!) The horses must have been incredibly strong to carry so much weight .
We had meant to visit the Troglodyte Mushroom museum in the caves at Treves west of Saumur, but the degustation centre was closed which was a blow and so was the museum – not so much of a blow – but we did spend a few minutes in the damp admiring the way of life, before biking on to Treves where the church was empty of pews which gave it an entirely different feel. A great place for a party we decided as it was very light. Then on to Cunault Abbey where we had a picnic. Most of the buildings are made from Tufa stone which is pretty similar to Purbeck stone in colour so gives a lovely warm glow. There were a lot of redstarts climbing up and down the walls which was exciting as we had never seen them before. At St Remy la Varenne we came across an Apple Fair and Brocante. A sort of mix between an English street fair and a car boot sale. There were some fantastic stalls selling many different types of apples, pears and juices and cidars. You could have a happy time grazing your way along the stalls and our favourite apple was a ‘tentation’ we stocked up on sable biscuits too but resisted the temptation to look at any junk. People seem to get into the attics and cellars and unearth everything they could never possibly need again and put in on the stalls for sale. Some wonderful tat. We then crossed to the North of the Loire and stayed in a B and B in St Mathurin s Loire. We then had the very worst meal of our trip so far, undercooked mussels and a filthy pizza, no pichets so a glass of wine and a beer, bad evening!! If you have noticed a bit of a lull in our culinary diaries it is because we can’t afford to eat well on the Loire! The prices have gone up by at least a 3rd since leaving Brittany but we are hopeful they may get better now we are leaving a major tourist area. If only the UK pound could have stayed at 1.30 euros life would be very different!
After an exceedingly comfortable night in a Band B on the very top of the hill in Saumur, we had rather an exhausting breakfast with Monsieur standing in the doorway watching us eat, tut tutting at the amount of butter we put on our croissants and generally saying nothing unless we engaged him in conversation (he did actually very kindly help us get onto the internet and produced copious maps with suggestions of what to go and see so not all bad). We left and split up so Vivi could visit the equitation exhibition in the chateau and I went into town to sort out a picnic lunch. It having started rather overcast and cold, we were in vests and jumpers but we soon had to shed the lot as the sun came out and the temperature rose to 24c. We cycled west along the Loire but in the first instance south into the industrial part of Saumur past the military barracks and then into open countryside. Finally back down to the river which is always a relief as there are no threats of sudden and unexpected hills, the only hazards being stretches of sandy track and cobble stones where cycling shorts and an empty bladder are a must!
Alec and I actually managed 1.5 hours separately! and I had a very happy time at the Chateau of Saumur which was yet another stunning example of 11-16c architecture perched on a cliff above the town. Unfortunately Cardinal Richelieu and others reduced it to a prison status, housing amongst others the Marquis de Sade. It’s more recent claim to fame is that in the past few years a large chunk of a tower fell off onto the town below, resulting in quite a few casualties. There was not a lot to see of the chateau itself as it is still closed for repairs, but it houses the Musee of Equitation which was fascinating. The National Ecole d’Equitation is just down the road which is pretty much like the Spanish Riding School. I learned a lot about tack over the past 500 years and how it was designed to protect both horse and rider. (that may sound boring to some but it really wasn’t!) The horses must have been incredibly strong to carry so much weight .
We had meant to visit the Troglodyte Mushroom museum in the caves at Treves west of Saumur, but the degustation centre was closed which was a blow and so was the museum – not so much of a blow – but we did spend a few minutes in the damp admiring the way of life, before biking on to Treves where the church was empty of pews which gave it an entirely different feel. A great place for a party we decided as it was very light. Then on to Cunault Abbey where we had a picnic. Most of the buildings are made from Tufa stone which is pretty similar to Purbeck stone in colour so gives a lovely warm glow. There were a lot of redstarts climbing up and down the walls which was exciting as we had never seen them before. At St Remy la Varenne we came across an Apple Fair and Brocante. A sort of mix between an English street fair and a car boot sale. There were some fantastic stalls selling many different types of apples, pears and juices and cidars. You could have a happy time grazing your way along the stalls and our favourite apple was a ‘tentation’ we stocked up on sable biscuits too but resisted the temptation to look at any junk. People seem to get into the attics and cellars and unearth everything they could never possibly need again and put in on the stalls for sale. Some wonderful tat. We then crossed to the North of the Loire and stayed in a B and B in St Mathurin s Loire. We then had the very worst meal of our trip so far, undercooked mussels and a filthy pizza, no pichets so a glass of wine and a beer, bad evening!! If you have noticed a bit of a lull in our culinary diaries it is because we can’t afford to eat well on the Loire! The prices have gone up by at least a 3rd since leaving Brittany but we are hopeful they may get better now we are leaving a major tourist area. If only the UK pound could have stayed at 1.30 euros life would be very different!
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