to Sunnier Climes November 9, 2006

After breakfast at the hotel this morning we waited on the road for the bus that would take us back to the train station in Pontorson. This is a good thing. The bus stops less than a hundred feet from the door of the Mercur Hotel and will drop us within 200 feet of the train station. Very, very nice when you use to walking a kilometer or more each way. This morning and yesterday were foggy and grey. We are told this is normal weather along the Normandy / Brittany coast this time of year, but we hope that as we move south the weather will improve.

We boarded the first of four trains today at about 9:30 and settled in for the short ride to Rennes. From there we took a train to LeMans and from LeMans to Tours. At Tours I hoped to contact our hosts for the next few nights, Isabelle and Thierry, and get directions or transportation to Le Moulin Du Port (The Mill of the Port) which is a guest house we are staying at for the next four nights. The pay phones in the Tours station were all prepaid phone card only and there was no information as to where we could get a card. I asked at RELAY, the 7/11 of France, but all the lady said was “no” as she was busy with hordes of travelers coming through the station. Next, I noticed a sign for WIFI and quickly pulled out the laptop, but when I logged in and went to the site; again you needed a prepaid card to use the service. (Is it just me or does there seem to be a fundamental problem here?) Holly suggested we use our Hong Kong mobile, an expensive alternative, yet the only other option would be to arrive at the Chissay station and try to find a phone there. We called on the HK phone and arranged to be picked up by Thierry. He collected us at the station and drove us the .9 kilometer to the house. If our language skills or the web site would have been better we (or I) would have avoided some unneeded aggravation.

The house is an old mill that was complete around 1880 and was used to grind flour until the 1960s. We are staying in a cottage on the grounds which looks like it was once part of the stables and subsequent garage. We made a quick a foray to a small market in the village of Saint George Sur Cher, about a kilometer the other way, to get some things for breakfast. It was a nice walk in the French countryside. The lady that ran the market spoke no English but the transaction was made and returned to the mill loaded with provisions.

We have come to the Loire Valley for a few days of rest but more importantly we have wanted to do some bicycling in the Loire for years and have never made it here. Although this is not the bicycle touring season here we hope to spend some time on the noble steel steeds that Isabelle and Thierry provide along with the cottage. There are tons of Chateaus in the Loire Valley, a few within day biking range to us, wine to drink and cheese to eat, so here’s hoping for a few more good days of weather.