Villandry, Pompiers and Azay le Rideau

Whenever you are staying near the centre of a large city like Tours, the first challenge is to successfully navigate your way out of the middle of the city and back on to the relative safety of the bike path.
It is a bit like riding through the middle of Melbourne, however with the added challenges of riding on the wrong side of the road and not knowing where you are going. To up the ante just a little bit further, cyclists and pedestrians seem to be completely except from following road rules or obeying traffic lights. To the visitor, it just looks like chaos.
Somehow we did manage to reach the bike path without having to send anyone to the local ER Department and soon we were happily scooting along towards Azay Le Rideau. I never cease to be amazed at how participants in these extended rides improve so much in bike fitness and bike handling skills. Even our most inexperienced riders are able to ride along for extended periods at 25 kph. And the other challenges of back to front round a bouts? They ride around them as if they had been doing this for years.
Once again the weather was a carbon copy of every other day for the past month. We are greeted every morning with cloudless skies and cool, fresh air. By noon the temperature has risen to the mid 20s and coats are packed away for the rest of the day. We can appreciate how much the local need rain, but these conditions are certainly ideal for riding.
A few km along the path our way was blocked by a group of red suited Pompiers (firefighters). They were all dressed in diving suits and aqualungs. It appeared to be a training exercise for river diving. We stopped and watch for some time before riding on.
The next stop was the Chateau de Villandry, situated not surprisingly in the village of Villandry. This privately owned chateau is best known for its extensive ornamental gardens, which most of our riders chose to visit. Since I have been here several times before, I decided to wait in the outdoor cafe instead. It did not take long to find myself nodding off. I seem to have perfected the art of doing this whenever I am sitting still for longer than about 5 minutes.
When the other returned from their visit to the Chateau, we continued the ride. A gentle tail wind had developed by this stage, and it allowed us to move along almost effortlessly. The combination of smooth surfaces, the tailwind and the glorious scenery certainly made it an afternoon to remember.
All too soon we were rolling into the beautiful small town of Azay Le Rideau. Our home for the evening was the superb 4 star Grand Monarque. We quickly decided that it was probably the best hotel of the trip so far. The place is full of history, but it has also been carefully restored to a very high standard. We were thrilled to see that our beautiful rooms were even served by a lift.
In the evening we walked to the nearby La Credence Restaurant, where we were treated to an exceptional dinner. It was a perfect end to a magical day.Read more