Tag: France
Biking through France’s Loire Valley part 10, Cheverny and Blois
29 June, An Extended Morning in the Hotel We woke up this, our last morning of the trip, and began to pack things up and get ourselves ready before going to breakfast. To my horror, I saw that I had forgotten to charge my battery when I came home from my evening photoshoot the day…
Biking through France’s Loire Valley Part 9, Châteaux Azay le Rideau and Chenonceau
28 June, First stop: Château Azay le Rideau We started our day with a nice breakfast in the hotel courtyard. Sitting in the courtyard was as pleasant this morning as it was the day before. The co-host was very nice and attentive. He put a lot of effort into the morning meal and we really…
Biking through France’s Loire Valley Part 8, Fontevraud L’Abbaye and Azay le Rideau
27 June, Royalty, Religion, and getting lost Having said goodbye to Christelle and her family’s wonderful hotel, we jumped on our bikes for the short ride to the Royal Abbey of Fontevraud. It really was a quick bike ride, about 15 minutes. Once there, we found a place to lock our bikes, and I found…
Biking Through France’s Loire Valley Part 7, Saumur and the best mistake I ever made
26 June, Riding through Saumur Our plan for the day was to bike to Fontevraud l’Abbey via Saumur. It made for a nice round trip and we noticed that most of the organized tours go through Saumur, so we wanted to see what it was all about. As we first approached the outskirts of the…
Biking through France’s Loire Valley Part 6, Chinon
25 June Today marked the longest leg of our trip so far, 60km (37 miles) to Chinon. Along the way we stopped at Chateau Villandry for a tour and at Chateau d’Ussé for a quick photo stop. First Stop: Château Villandry Our first stop of the day was at Château Villandry. Built in 1536, it…
Biking Through France’s Loire Valley Part 5, Tours
24 June On the morning of June 24th, we said goodbye to Blois and after a short 30km bike ride we arrived in Tours, our next target. I have to admit that I didn’t plan much in Tours. We wanted a castle tour and the chateau in Tours (pictured below) is a small, unassuming building…
Biking through France’s Loire Valley Part 4, Amboise
23 June The day we departed for Amboise marked the first day of the biking portion of our trip. This leg of the trip was only 40km, an easy distance to go, especially on our e-bikes! I said it before and I’ll say it again; I love my e-bike. It makes traveling by bike so…
Biking through France’s Loire Valley Part 3, Blois
Mona Lisa welcomed us to Blois Blois was a crossroads for our trip. Here we parked our car and took our bikes. Here begins our bike tour. But first a day in Blois, home to royalty. When we crossed the bridge and entered the city we were greeted with this scene. Since 2013 the town…
Biking through France’s Loire Valley Part 2, Orléans and Chambord
Welcome to Orléans.. After a much quicker drive than anticipated, given that it was the first day of summer vacation in Hessen, we arrived at our accommodation in Orléans, Grand Champs. It’s a rental flat just a few blocks from the city center. The host was nice enough to allow us to check-in 2 hours…
Biking through France’s Loire Valley Part 1, Intro
Every year Kathrin and I go on a bike tour. This year we decided on a ride through the Loire Valley. This is a well-known route with many castles, I mean châteaux, scattered throughout the area. I’ve always had a romanticized view of France – the food, the culture, the people, and I was looking…
