2019 - Loire Valley by Bicycle with Bob: Day 27: Fri 27 Sep

More rain predicted today, however apart from a couple of minutes of drizzle it didn’t eventuate. 14 to 19 deg.

Ride: 12km; Walk: 18km

Had brekky in the motel, good coffee, croissant, and bread, and then headed into the city on our bikes. Locked them up in a private bike shelter reserved for cycling tourists. It’s nice to feel a little special. We set off on foot with the local map into a city with a relaxing atmosphere. The Friday fresh food market certainly added to that atmosphere and the splash of colour didn’t do the photos any harm either. The standout for me was the square in front of the Cathedral. Here, the fruit and veggies stalls were set up and that, along with the medieval buildings and the town flags which were flying made for a photographer’s dream. If I had the right equipment and talent that is.

After wandering around for a couple of hours the caffeine from brekky started to wear off so we topped that we down near the Seine (Saône) River. It so happens that the source of the Seine (which is 777 km long) is not all that far from here.

After a baguette for lunch in Theatre Square, from where we watched the market people packing up, we wandered again. We are quickly learning that if you wish to visit a museum you can forget about from about 1145 to 1400h as they are closed. I suspect the French love their food so much they want to take their time over it and wouldn’t think of rushing a meal or eating it at their workstation. Not a bad habit to get into.

The Photography Museum, dedicated to the French inventor N. Niepce was interesting but the current exhibition was a bit of old rubbish, in my humble opinion. Call me old fashion but I like most art and photography to be a true representation of the real thing, or even an abstract version of the same.

About 1500h I was starting to feel like a rest, so we opted for some timeout back at our room. Bob needed another caffeine fix, so he stopped at the café just around the corner from the motel.

Dinner was a trip to the supermarket 500m away for some smoked salmon rice paper rolls with tabouli and a carrot salad. Very nice, and healthy to boot.