A bridge in Nantes (pronounced Nahnt)... The hardest part about French is that nothing is pronounced the way it looks. So in addition to my five word vocabulary, I also failed to correctly pronounce the name of every single city along the route. Sometimes my guess at a city name was so poor, I couldn't even get directions...
The route along the Loire River is one of the most popular cycling routes in Europe, with miles of dedicated cycle paths and barely-driven roads. So despite my inability to get directions, it was easy to navigate using free tourist maps, well-marked sign posts and when all else failed, just following the river.
It didn't take long to come upon my first castle...
I camped my first night in Savinnieres (no idea how to say that one) and wine tasted at a local chateau. Pretty cool place to wine taste as the building was built in the 1400s and featured huge gardens to stroll around. Below is the winery...
Back on the road early the next morning, I quickly learned I'd never move if I stopped to take a picture of every old church or interesting bulling.
Churches like the above were everywhere...
One outstanding church was this one commissioned by King Louis XI on Ile Bèhuard. It was literally built into and around a clump of several massive boulders inside a small town of no more than 200 people. This is only island town on the Loire and despite regular flooding, the church has stood the test of time.
One notable change since Spain has been that camping is much more like the camping I know from back home, with a value placed on nature and space. Most of the campgrounds along the river are quite cheap and offer special prices and pitches for touring cyclists.
River front site!
And a crepe truck for dinner at the campground!
Another big difference from Spain is that the Loire follows a big river and riding is basically flat. Great scenery, good food and a flat ride, easy living!
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