Blogs from Saumur, Pays-de-la-Loire, France, Europe - page 2

Well having spent some 6 months drooling over the prospect of some quality riding and time with my father it arrived and proved to be an experience and a half. I stepped onto the bike somewhat green in and climbed off 3.5 days later feeling (and walking) like a cyclist. It will not be forgotten in a hurry, seemed a lot longer (in a nice way!) and I must say it was an excellent way of relaxing into a two week holiday. Respect to Dad for organising and for the capacity of his paniers (my golf shoe bag was somewhat inadequate in comparison). Many thanks to K and Mum for creating the space to enable us to have this adventure. My Memorable moments:- - Cruising along with hundreds of "Cylco Touristique" riders on the road to ... read more

The "Valley of the Kings" has certainly earned its title over the past 500 years!! Last Thursday, Alliey and I had planned to spend the whole day visiting various castles and the medieval village of Saumur. However, as fate would have it we would not only see some amazing sites but we would make a new friend. While we were at breakfast a girl came sat down at our table. Once she realized that we spoke English we began to introduce ourselves and discuss our plans for the day. Her name was Sophia and she was a French teacher in Chicago. She was traveling around France for two weeks before traveling to Madrid for a 6 week Spanish class. She was trying to get her teaching license expanded so she could teach Spanish and French. Sophia ... read more

Bonjour gentlemen and ladies of the court greetings from Tours, France. Yesterday Alliey and I picked up our car....yes we are actually driving in France...and drove to the tiny village of Amboise. Our car is named Mademoiselle Cleo because it is a Renault Clio. So far Alliey has done a great job of driving a stick shift in the area...it helps that we have a GPS system to help us navigate!!! So after we got the car we drove along the Loire River past the village of MontLouis, which is famous for it trodyglote caves. In these caves there are vineyards, fromageries (cheese makers), restaurants, homes, art galleries, and even farms. Alliey and I are going to eat in one of the restaurants tomorrow. Amboise is a very scenic place to visit. It is happily situated ... read more