Blois

It’s spitting this morning again but we have the promise of it passing by lunchtime according to the weather gurus. By midday it’s cleared even if the clouds are mostly grey so T gets the bikes down and we get ready to cycle in to the town.

The cycle path is literally the other side of the campsite fence along the Loire River. It’s undulating and soon we start to see views of Blois and it’s cathedral as well as spotting herons, swans, egrets and cormorants perched on sand banks in the river.

We cross the river and decide to park our bikes and walk around. It’s very hilly!

We wander up a street drawn in by an interesting set of steps being used as canvas for a huge work of art. It looks fabulous from a distance. Up the steps we get views back along a very long very straight road into the distance.

Walking through the old town we see the cathedral ahead.

After a tour and our usual candle lighting we go next door to the gardens attached to The Mairie.

There’s an photo exhibition in the garden which we enjoy then we take in the views from the terrace and wander around and down through the gardens. The rose garden is in full bloom and smells wonderful.

A sandwich in the park in front of the Chateau Du Blois which decide to visit even though they are charging €14 each. It’s ok but not amazing. The best bit is all the info about the many kings and queens that lived in the chateau here like Francis I whose son Henry II who was also king married Catherine de Medici and then their three sons Francis II, and Charles IX and Henry III all lived here as king too, the last too being assinated. Dangerous job back in the day!