Our first B&B will probably be our last, the place has a 9.2 rating out of ten, but we did not want to be spoilsports to give them a bad writeup. The people were nice enough, but I wonder how practical they are. They are manicuring the little hedges and garden but seem unaware that the place itself needs some maintenance too. For instance the curtains were badly connected to the rails, the wardrobe and bathroom had sliding doors, so with one open the other was blocked. They needed maintenance as the wardrobe one was nearly impossible to move. I could have lost Veronica locked in the bathroom. The french doors were the only source of light, they had no opening windows and no ventilation and in need of a coat of paint.
The breakfast was ok with extra baguettes and even a small cup of yoghurt. The best part of that was meeting a large Frenchman, who was very keen to talk English, which he learned in England where he was sent by his father 60 years ago. He was staying with an English doctor in Eastbourne, and I reminded him of the doctor, because I am his spitting image! He must have thought I was the doctor, reincarnated!
We left under dark skies and it did not take long and we were biking in the rain, all the way to Voves. The ride was much flatter, over a large plateau, with huge farms and fields full of crops, from maize, sunflowers, serials, potatoes and onions. There are no small holdings here.
The B and C roads we ride on are agricultural access roads and with the rain, the mud left on the roads by the large farm machinery etc is quite hazardous at times. It does not make the bikes or our legs look good in this weather. We managed to find shelter for our refuelling stops and were pleased to get to the hotel.
Voves we were told,has nothing to offer, as it is nothing but farms, which is true, in fact it reminds me of middle America with it's vast open spaces and planted fields as far as the eye can see. But that has a charm of it's own and the town of Voves including the hotel were a pleasant surprise. The garden and paving around the hotel were in need of some attention, but the hotel itself was modern, clean and very cozy. The town was attractive too as we rode through the next morning, despite the rain.
We were due a rest day, but decided to push on to the Loire river and the medieval town of Beaugency. We had regained the day lost earlier on by doing a few extra km, but now discover that in my planned itinerary, I have this rest day on the same day as the ride to the Loire river, so we are one behind again!
The ride to Beaugency was very wet, the wind was strong and blew the rain into the most awkward places. It stopped about 10 km before reaching the hotel so we were almost dry again by the time we arrived. After a cleanup and unpacking we walked into town in bright sunshine. Things we take for granted most of the time.
The hotel is called Le Relais de Templiers, which was a staging post for the crusaders a thousand years ago. Little did they know it still goes on today with latter day saints crusaders Bush and Blair.
The town has some interesting relics from the past, the remains of a large Roman Tower, a fifteenth century castle and a 450 m bridge. For centuries this was the only place between Orleans and Blois where the Loire could be crossed. It has seen many battles in its time, it was partly blown up to slow the enemy in 1815, 1870 and 1940 and Joan of Arc captured the town from the English, which is a well known episode in the history of the area.
A more recent addition to the area are two giant cooling towers, a few km down stream, of the nuclear power station, built in the 1960's on an artificial island.
Hotel
The roman Tower
The bridge
The view from our room
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