Day 7: Sat 7 Sep – Nantes to Angers, 104 km; total ride:179 km

Cloudy but fine, 14 to 22 deg

This is the first real day on the bike tour. Forecast was for a little rain but didn’t see any all day, although the road was wet in a few places indicating that we’d been lucky. We got away from the apartment at 0730h (30 minutes earlier than planned) and headed directly for the cycle path beside the Loire. Before leaving we got the obligatory day-one “selfie” of the two crazy guys on bikes. The front wheels were then pointed eastward where they’ll stay for the next couple of weeks. Had a tail or side wind for the vast majority of the day which made for a rather easy 100 odd km. As we expected the route today was mainly flat with a few lumpy bits to look at villages.

Just about every surface was encountered, from smooth concrete to gravel, but they were all in excellent condition and the signage was faultless. Even I couldn’t get lost.

Not too much to see on the way, just enough really. It was great to be on the bike for a decent distance. Weather wise the temp and a mix of clouds and sun couldn’t be better.

We arrived at our digs for two days, a cabin a few km from Angers well before 1600h. After a cuppa on the veranda we happily got back on the bikes (minus panniers though) and rode to the nearby shops to restock the brekky larder and buy something to cook for dinner. Ended up with my favourite German meal, bratwurst type sausages, potatoes, broccoli and sauerkraut. Just what the doctor ordered after a long day in the saddle. Bob sure knows his stuff in the kitchen.

The start

A little river chateau

A grape nursery

Me eating lots of blackberries

10th Century church at Savennieres

mornos

Lunch stop near Montjean

Steel art piece at Montjean

Our digs for the next two days

Day 6: Fri 6 Sep – Nantes, walk: 20km

Fine and sunny, 6 to 22 deg

Woke early despite a late night. Went for a walk just as the sun was coming up; a cool 6 deg. The city looks pleasant enough, clean and modern. Took some pics of the Loire, a river we’re going to see a lot of over the next few weeks. Back to the apartment via the supermarket to pick up some supplies for brekky.

We decided to have a break from the bikes today as everything we want to see is fairly close. That said we ended up walking 20km counting the early morning stroll. First and last port of call was the Bretagne Chateau a magnificent 15th century castle like structure a few hundred metres from our apartment. We called in there on the way back just to capture the entrance in the afternoon sunshine. Not far away is St Pauls Cathedral which is looking stunning at the moment after a long restoration program. It sustained significant roof damage in a fire in 2015. It is the finest cathedral I’ve ever seen. We saw a number of great churches during the day, but none hold a candle to St Pauls.

We ended up following a green line on a tourist map, which we discovered was also painted on the footpath; clever. See the photos for details. The “Nantes Machines” the biggest of which was a 50-ton mechanical elephant which walks around carrying passengers. Unfortunately, it was grounded for a service, but we were just in time to see them take the barriers away and test “drive” it. Although it didn’t walk away, they just checked that all the parts moved correctly.

After walking on cobblestone and concrete all day it was good to put the feet up and have a cup of tea back in the room.

Early morning Nantes

Nantes

Bretagne Chateau

St Peter and S Paul's Cathedral

Interesting architecture

Nantes canals and boats

The lovely Pommeraye Passage

Nantes Opera House

Natural History Museum

Some great street art

The Mechanical Elephant

Holy Cross Church

Entrance to the Chateau

Ramparts of the Chateau

Le Lieu Unique

Day 5: Thu 5 Sep – Lyon to Nantes by train (7 hours), 19km; total ride: 75km

Fine and sunny, 12 to 22 deg

As our train doesn’t leave till 1500h we had time to pack up and then have a leisurely ride into the city. Just for “fun” we decided to go via the highest point in the whole place, Croix-Rousse (Red Cross). A km or two from our B&B the climb started, and it was an excellent early morning workout. We were saved by a red light at some roadworks, so we had to walk for a while. Our technology wasn’t working but we estimated that it was at least a 25%er. It wasn’t that bad really. What possessed us to do this was that we wanted to (again) see some more painted buildings. Alas it was not to be, couldn’t find any evidence of this so-called remarkable place. In fact, the whole area was a bit shabby and rundown. However, we ended up coming across a wonderful local market with a beaut range of fresh food, flowers, and general stuff. Only the Europeans can do markets like that.

We’d heard there was another Roman amphitheatre somewhere in Red Cross, but it wasn’t signposted or advertised. After some sniffing around we managed to find it. Although it was fenced off a high point overlooking it gave us a great vantage point for a photo. It's amazing that a Roman amphitheatre could be so "ordinary" that it isn't marked or a tourist attraction.

Red Cross done we sat back and enjoyed the ride downhill through parts of the Old City we hadn’t been in before, like Bellecour Place with its impressive open space. We meandered between the two rivers till we couldn’t go any further as we were back at the Confluence with that massive stealth-ship like structure, The Confluence Museum. The changing light on its shiny exterior makes for a great photographic subject.
It was then time for lunch and to pick up some provisions for our train trip. After killing some time at the station, the very clean and comfortable train left exactly on time at 1532h. Not a super-fast machine but no slouch either as we clocked it at 160 km/h.

Arrived spot on time at 2204h and with the help of Mr Google we were in our apartment in no time. The Tour le Loire starts tomorrow.

Fresh food market

Fresh flower market

Amphitheatre

Colourful buildings near the Confluence

Bellecour Place

Confluence Museum

The steeds ready for business

Our train

On the train to Nantes

Nice to see the green hills of France

Ominous clouds, glad we're on the train

Near Tours

Bridge near Tours, from the train