RANDOM REST DAY RAMBLINGS
Today was our second rest day for the trip. We had the option of making a 50km round trip to Sancerre by bike, but in the end elected to spend the day exploring the historic town of La Charité-sur-Loire, taking in a couple of the bookshops that make it into a "book town" - see the Uncle Peter's Books Facebook report on our success with that!
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| Rest day in La Charité-sur-Loire |
Health: Still getting just a few minor rubbings, easily treated with tape and/or wool. One blister Bandaid used.
Food: Easily managing a big breakfast, a filled baguette for lunch and often a 3 course dinner, usually supplemented with patisserie and chocolate. Russell is losing weight on this and I don't think I've gained any, despite the cake for breakfast.
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| Today's pâtisseries. It might be a rest day, but we still need to keep our calorie intake up. |
Accommodation: We have been staying in a mix of bed and breakfasts (chambres d'hôtes) and hôtels. We did not want the extra weight of camping equipment or to walk out of town to the campsites. We booked every night of the trip before leaving Australia to ensure we had good accessible accommodation, mostly through Booking.com for convenience. Only one accommodation option has disappointed, most have been excellent value and some outstanding.
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| Our rest day hotel - a former coaching inn |
I just googled the location of La Charitie sur Loire to get an idea of how far you have progressed and wow you really have gone a long way south.
ReplyDeleteWhat do your French hosts think of your journey?
We have had mixed reactions from our hosts. We think that some of the early ones weren't sure whether to believe us or not. One who did believe us thought we were crazy. Many don't seem interested, and we don't tell people what we're doing unless they ask.
DeleteAt La Charité-sur-Loire, they are used to long-distance walkers - the town even got its name (in the 12th century) because of the assistance it gave to pilgrims on the way to Santiago de Compostela, and it is still an important stop on the Camino. When he found out that we weren't Camino tourists,our hotel manager became interested and started asking some questions. He would be fairly typical - polite and vaguely interested. In truth, we are not really doing anything particularly unusual - long-distance walking and cycling holidays are becoming ever more popular.