Boog's Blog

Tuesday overcast cooler much more humid no wind

Tourist day. The châteaux disappoints. Only open in the afternoon has become an exhibition hall. Overgrown moat.

Two of the big ones tomorrow. Amboise and Blois.

The Loire bisects the city. Old part in the south. Charming. The newer commercial city like most other large cities. Many bridges much traffic and excellent bike paths everywhere.

The cathedral does not disappoint. Highly ornamented. not as large as the ones on Leon or Pamplona.

Les Halles a large indoor market. High quality with some samples but no place to sit and eat or even to buy some and picnic at a table. Strictly for shopping. The building, new, was once, 6th century part of a basilica to St.Martin. a very large basilica with now just a tower of Charlemagne remaining.

A grand monoprix with soups and…. Pain aux raisins. Still the best,for me.
Pics on flickr.

Dinner. A close call between monoprix and ….. Fruits de mer won.

Shared from Google Keep

Monday. No hint of rain. Wind gone. Just heat with little breeze.

A lovely start. Cool, good road, beautiful morning light. The coolness did not last all that long.

In a châteaux town I stopped for water and coffee. Outside tables all empty. As I rested my bike against a wall the proprietor asked me to move my bike as it might interfere with (my addition) the many dozens who will show up during my coffee.

I left.

Regularly seeing electric bikes on the route. Some are carrying a second battery in their luggage.

What is missing? In the small towns, children. Everyone seems much older than I am. No children or young adults. Several on the bike path but the towns appear devoid.

Just paid three euros for water. Would have paid more.

The hotel is a real find. Two star that is better than the previous two four star ones. No elevator.

The couple running the place belong in the hospitality business. Friendly, maps without asking, directions to the sites, a/c that works, free Wi-Fi etc. And then the bonus!!

I explained that my cloths are sweaty and dirty. Before I could ask the question Madame said to just leave them with her tonight. No charge. Every question and request answered with a yes and help.

A scandale. A scandal francais. Heard on TV today that restaurants are serving frozen prepared foods and canned goods. Apparently this was a well known discrete secret in the trade but now a restauranteur has revealed all. Quelle Scandals!

Last night my excellent salad had canned white asparagus, tasted fine.

I take back every thing I have said bad about the French on the Loire valley. They have my favorite drink. Maybe George and Mitchell's too. See on flickr.

Shared from Google Keep

Sunday Bastille day hotter and dryer than Phoenix. A four liter of liquid day. Some may have been local wine.

Some confusion getting out of town. After a cyclist said the sign was wrong a few km later found another cyclist who put me on a correct route.

Note the evenly spaced trees put there by Napoleon. His route signature.

A very large market blocked the route. Walked through.

Morosité:
Me: the economy of France, I have read,is terrible. Yet every restaurant table is full. Business is good?

Her: yes today but next week maybe no clients.

Montsereau is a very tasteful town with appropriately tasteful prices. Good for star hotel right on the water. A good sized antiques market, much better stuff than Samur. Much bigger too. Need a practiced eye like George and Michelle to tell the difference between French crap and our antiques.

The town is situated on a spectacular section of the river.

Probably saw three times the number of cyclists all in perfect spandex than cars except in the two market towns. Almost every cafe table occupied.

A two chateaux day. Samur, perched up high, not visited, and montsereau, on the water edge. Neither as impressive as Nantes or angers.

Shared from Google Keep

Friday. Warm windy

Early departure so as to see this interesting town.

Often I like to have breakfast after about 20km or so. Worked out well with a good bakery, are there any bad ones, at 19km. Sandwich and a local pains au raisins. The bread was still warm. It took me three roadside stops to finish. The water went faster.

Compared to many years ago the roads are better, the signs are better, the toilets and even the cows are better.

Wonderful how much an ice cream and a half liter of water can be, especially on the river bank.

Entrance to angers via a 10km park. Chateaux, pictured, is one of the more spectacular ones.

A first! No European hotel has ever permitted either of the Boogs to bring the bike into the hotel room. A few have not noticed I'd doing so but none have permitted as best as I can guess, until today. Four star (yes French) hotel. "Is that a folding bike?" Yes. OK to take to room. A first as best as I can remember.

Chateau,13th century, unlike Nantes with its great moat with floating heads and bodies, object d'arts, angers has formal gardens.

Fourteenth century cathedral with tapestries Gothic arches but no buttresses. The chateaux has many larger and more famous ones.

Usual French nonsense at dinner. I ordered a pichet of wine. not possible sir we have a glass of wine and a bottle of wine. but you sell a pichet of wine. Yes but missure but not the one you want. You do sell it by the glass yes? yes he replies. you have the pichet yes? Yes. A Jack Nicholson moment.

I ordered water instead.

Several flickr pics.

Shared from Google Keep

Friday. Warm windy

Finally on my way. Great bike path to start. Pedestrians on one side tarmac on my side.

The higgenbaum book route is unnecessary now. There is a well marked and fine surfaced road all the way to ancenis. No need for his complicated rooting.

The challenge: into a strong headwind running right along the Loire. Thirty years ago when QB and I did this route we went into the wind the whole way. I remember it. The usual direction is off the Atlantic. It is why I went for Nantes. Not this week. The forecast for the next five days: strong headwinds. Never met a cyclist who likes them.

Stopped in Oudon to see the château with the octagonal tower.

In ancenis, really outside, found a bike shop to adjust my derailleur. The TSA took my bike out of its case,returning it not perfectly. Too hard to do without a stand. Added some distance and a small mountain.

Excellent two star hotel. Friendly, speaks good English but has agreed to put up with my french. Very good A/C fine shower,a restaurant, free WiFi,grand lit.

A lesson reminded. Check the gps routing to a hotel. Went an extra 15 km on hilly terrain as gps wanted to avoid 2 km on a higher speed road. Was a very interesting if a bit tiring detour.

Shared from Google Keep

Thursday. Much cooler slightly overcast until it warmed

A walk to the newer parts of town and through the jardin. Another of the classic one the French built in the 18 th century. Some good objects d'arts.

Finally a good use for bamboo, a maze. Pictured at least on flikr. The children love it

Someone actually understood my French today and asked if I was from Quebec.

No Starbucks in Nantes, mcdonald seems to be the only choice for free WiFi. No Starbucks anywhere near the Loire. Several in Lyon.

I asked the tourist office what is the next region of France maybe 45 km away. She did not know and had to look it up on Google. Maybe never left this area.

Dinner at le lieu unique on the canal off the Loire. Pictured. Was an important monument and then a biscuit factory. Now a place for food and events. High zaget rating. A very nice Bordeaux for three euro a glass.

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Shared from Google Keep

This is an excellent city to bike around, bike lanes everywhere. Piste de cyclist. Also a very extensive walkimg zone, hours worth- about six for me. A two day city.

The cathrdral is 12 th century with modern scaffolding. About 25 degrees cooler inside. Pick your own temperature scale. Very Gothic with well sculptured figures on the front entrance.

Chateau is later, started in 1500. The moat has floating heads, see flickr pics.

Went in search for the le pain du fromage with the furnace blackened top. Checked every boulongerie as well as monoprix and galleries L. Nope. "Maybe you can find it at ….but we do not have" or some variant I could not follow. It seems to exist at least in theory.

Lunch was a salad. Sizing has become american. I could not finish it even with no bread. A variant of nicoise. Serrano ham,backed potato with a slice of goat cheese, buffalo motz,etc.

Used my pin and chip card again. Entered the pin and it worked. Now please sign without checking my scrawl. Why??? A Gaelic shrug.

This evening the wing came up strong, knows, somehow to be a headwind. Had to hold my hat while crossing the bridge to dinner in the pedestrian zone.

Dinner another salad, too big, not finished. Doubt it was the beer.

Shared from Google Keep

Easy trip to Paris and then to Nantes by tgv. The plane portion made delightful by my seatmate a PhD candidate in teaching technology.

Maria Jesus, aka Chus, was an excellent source of info on culture and language as well as a future source of travel info for our Spanish adventure upcoming.

Thanks,chus, if you are reading this, for a pleasant ride and future info.

The TGV ride was a classic. Sitting across from me, I was in first class, was a grande same, full makeup, full scowl. Permanently pursed lips. She clearly did not approve of my bike attire with a florescent orange vest. Suspect my whole class presence was resented. I did say bonjour and other politeness but it seemed toake it worse. Not a word from her.

Generally the TGV was smooth and fast. Near towns it slowed to a crawl. Got to Nantes more than twenty minutes late.

This is certainly a bicycle town. Bike lanes everywhere, well marked intersections.

Dinner, finally, at a bistro across from the chateau. The son et luminere to start shortly. A warm summer night with only mild breeze. I got the last non reserved table.

Biere,les sardines, la dourade.

Shared from Google Keep

Last day in town and last day of trip.

Breakfast at the Alliance Française
Du Sydney. A real and correctly made pain au raison with coffee à longé.

A day of scurrying to finish the Sydney bucket list. Some last minute shopping, neighborhood wandering, royal botanical gardens, potts point area, tea at a formal tea place and din tai Fung fit in as well. QB scored good scones for evening tea and dessert, KB found fruit salad.

End of BSLDU adventure. Stay tuned for future ones.

Zoo day. A long planned highlight of the trip.

Correction to yesterday's blog. Not a quail, most likely a created pidgin or a crested bronze wing.

At restaurant last evening we sat next to a radio tech. Makes about$80-$100, paid by the hour, $48, and of course knowledgeable about the system. Excellent system that appears to work well. Cost I'd about %1.5% of salary, progressive rate. Note this I'd one tenth of our cost. Not litigious, egalitarian but NOT socialist. Legal system of loser pays costs keeps court use low. Seem not to sure for medical.

Opera house. Built with a protected cost of $7 million, cost over $100 million, and now, due to problems of the past needs another upgrade.$1 billion this time. Not just us with cost overruns.

The zoo here is a big deal. Take a ferry there. Zoo is perched on a hill, take a gondola up. Highlight was the bird show. Flocks and individual cockatoos, Gullah, black, sulfur crested, large African vulture, really large.

Some good aviary collections. Excellent wombat and nocturnal ones like encina. Big disappointment was the platypus, hiding out today.

Spot the wombat and a Tasmanian devil!

When we asked a zoo employee about where to find the cockatoos she said out was good someone was interested in them, not much interest among the locals.

Dinner at fish face. Very highly rated small place. Located in darlinghurst, former red light district and now the happening gay culture center, at least near by Oxford street is, is this small Villigee feel place with the promised atmosphere and food. Sydney rock oysters and sashimi for me, perfectly cooked mullet for QB.