8th September (sunny and hot!) 30 km

Foreign countries always have something different, exciting, cultural, scenic…..the list goes on. It was whilst I was visiting the ablutions block this morning that it reminded me of something else these countries offer and that is unisex toilets. We have all used these toilets of course, out in public somewhere, there are blocks of perhaps two to four available to take the worst aspect of your day and flush it away. However, this morning as I waited in a solitary unisex block, with males and females, I experienced how it could be taken to extreme levels of embarrassment.

There were six toilets available, in a row. Unisex. So in the next toilet you may have a petit attractive French lady. The last thing I want emanating from my body are the smells and sounds that accompany this particular exercise. Mais non….. here, this morning, not only are the cubicles all occupied, but, we have a sit down waiting room….I kid you not. There we all are waiting to do the job, trying not to look at the person next to you, with the most horrific sounds and smells drifting into the waiting area. The French, famous for being great lovers (although it was them that told this to the rest of the world) really need to provide more privacy for the most personal of requirements.

Moving on…..woke after a good nights sleep, even Dad, who was warm tonight, though the temperature dropped. The day dawned clear and hot and first on my list was to visit the bakery van which visits the campground with all the goodies required for hungry cyclists to munch on. We’d spent the night alongside some French boys and a few French girls in another tent. They were all very polite and quiet. Our plan today was to visit Chenonceau Chateau. Taking French at school with the very sexy Miss Gallon, I always remember her showing me photos of the chateau, and it stuck in my memory as one of the finer examples of French architecture.

Beautiful traffic-free riding today

After letting the sun dry out our tents, which were sopping wet, we didn’t leave camp until 12pm.  This also gave Ju the chance to load a couple of days blogs through an agonisingly slow internet connection.  A visit for supplies for lunch came first, then a 1km long walk, to keep Dad off main roads, before we turned inland for the best days riding we’ve had so far with him. After a hill to begin and all of us wondering if this was a sign of things to come, we had beautiful flat riding through gorgeous countryside, all the way to Chenonceaux, with a stop for lunch at the side of the Cher river.  Not too far along we arrived at the quaint town of Brere and a campsite alongside the river. The lady running it was lovely, unlike the old misery last night. Paid for our pitch and had our choice of sites with, for the first time, an abundance of grass.  So we unloaded the bikes and set up the tents, chcked the gear inside them and set off for Chenonceau.

They had predicted twenty eight degrees today and it was right up there, as we rode the 6km’s to the Chateau. Pedalled down the fancy tree-lined drive, noticing the signs for car parking on the left and right.  Being Europe, they usually cater extremely well to the cyclist and there were certainly dozens of others cycling to this chateau besides us. 

Julia noticed about ten other bicycles parked against an old wall down the front and said this must be where we park.  It was well out of the way and the wall gave good support to the loaded up bikes.  Ours weren’t loaded up on this occasion of course.  Took great care locking the bikes up as well as the helmets, making sure we had everything and then went and paid our 14 Euros each and wandered through to the ticket collectors. 

“Did you park your bike there?” we were asked as we went to hand our tickets over. We weren’t sure what they were getting at, maybe they were worried our bicycles were getting nicked.  A quick glance over reassured us they were still in place but the ticket collectors were getting quite agitated.  We said yes, our bikes were still there and they told us to go back through the shop and move them to the car park!  Alright Francois, but what about the other ten bikes parked there?  Well we shifted the bikes and tied them to a less offending tree and then commenced our exploration of the grounds and building.

It certainly didn’t disappoint. Ju and I were shooting everything from various angles which left Dad a bit dazed and confused. By late afternoon he had begun to flag and whilst he took to some shady spot outside, we continued with the indoor tour. We all agreed on our way out that it was beautiful. A 6km ride ensued back to camp, where Dad went for a shower and Ju and I rode into town for the evening’s supplies.

The obligatory selfie - we still suck at them!

Julia has been trying to sort Dad’s phone out for him, but without decent internet we’re buggered. She strolled over to the admin block to try for better reception and “Hey Presto” she sorted it. All chowed down on beef stew with bread and tasty treats to finish. Blogged whilst Ju worked out our route for tomorrow, then curled up for the night.

Happy Birthday to MEEEE!