Free Day in Briare

When designing this ride, I tried to make liberal concessions to the great age of most of our riders. Although I am personally in great shape and could almost certainly ride every day without growing weary, I know that some of our riders need their beauty sleep. That is why I factored in a "free day" for every two or three days of cycling.
On these free days, each person can choose to spend the time doing anything they want. It already seems to have been a popular choice.
I did not have grandiose plans for the day. I am happy just wander and see where I end up. So that is what I did. After walking back towards the dock, a turned left and strolled along one of the canals for a couple of kilometres. In the still, shady conditions it was about as peaceful a walk as you could imagine. The town of Briare would be easy to fall in love with. Not only is it quintessentially French, but the townspeople have made a huge effort to dress every part of the town in colourful floral displays. Although the hot summer had obviously proven difficult for some of the flowers, it was still quite a beautiful sight, or as the French would say "C'est tres jolie et tres propre".
When I realised that I was starting to leave the town behind, I turned around and made my way back to the centre of the city, then joined the banks of the Loire and followed it to the famous aqueduct bridge that we had seen yesterday, It certainly must have been quite an engineering feat when it was built, back in the late 19th Century.
Since I had brought my kindle with me, I sat at the same cafe we had enjoyed those lovely cakes yesterday and decided that it would be an ideal place for lunch.
Bay the time I was back the hotel, my legs were feeling weary, or as the French would say "J'ai la flemme". It really is a useful saying that can sum up a wide variety of situations. A nap was in order.
When I awoke I made my way back to the city centre where the church bells were chiming furiously. This went on for over 30 minutes! I could only imagine how exhausted the poor bell ringer must have been at the end of that chiming marathon. So what was the cause of the cacophony? A wedding, but not just any wedding, it was obviously a wedding of the offspring of some very rich and influential people in the society. The money spent on outfits, hairdos and makeup would have been equivalent to the GDP of some countries. The women had spent even more. It really was quite a sight, although I felt a little underdressed in my shorts, sandals and floppy sun hat, even though I did my best to mingle with the crowd. I even managed to elicit a smile from an older gentleman who was dressed up in a Charles de Gaulle uniform. I don't know what came over me at that moment, and I still don't know if a salute was the correct greeting, but it seemed appropriate somehow.
When the young bride and groom emerged from the church, they were greeted by a cloud of tobacco smoke from their waiting family and friends. It must have been a uniquely French custom. I thought the groom looked like a younger version of Prince William as he stepped into the drivers seat of the waiting sports car. I suspect that car was a wedding present from the parents as it was obviously the first time he had driven it, and I was more than a little concerned that he might have accidentally sent it careering into the milling crowd. Somehow he managed to find the correct foot pedal and the happy couple disappeared with a mighty roar of exhaust.
I have included some images of this spectacle in the next footprint.Read more