Bike: 24 miles, 800 feet of climb
Accommodation: Chambre d'Hôtes la Lucasserie (Booking.com). Family room with shower, pool view, garden view, wifi, double bed plus twin bed, loft, seating area, private bath, private entry, tea and coffee machine, pool, breakfast.
We started the day with a big breakfast in the courtyard at La Bonne Note. Konur has discovered hot chocolate for breakfast. With pain au chocolate, croissants, cheese and bread, orange juice, yogurt, Nutella. Sometimes eggs. Not so bad.
We had a longish bike ride, but it was pretty and fun. We had a bit of a break from the heat with rain showers early in the day. When the sun came out in the afternoon, it quickly got warm again.
When we arrived at the gate of our chambre d’hotes in the afternoon, our host greeted us with wifi parts in his hand and apologized profusely. The wifi booster for the guest rooms had broken down that morning, and he was working hard to get it fixed.
No worries. The only thing we wanted right then was the pool.
After we cooled off in the water and showered, we sat in the garden and chatted with our hosts for a bit. They had owned the house only 10 days. They have seven children—four girls and three boys, ages 14, 12, 10, 8, 6, 4, and 4 months. (Our hostess explained that the four-year-old was so difficult, she couldn’t handle another baby until he was about three and started to calm down. But all is good now, and she loves having seven kids.) Only the girls were there at the time; the boys were with their grandparents for a few days. The girls were adorable.
Our room was lovely. Konur had a bed in a loft, and we had sliding glass doors out to the patio and pool. The afternoon sun heated us up a little, but we cooled off when the sun went down, and we had a quiet and peaceful night.
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| It rained on and off throughout the day. Even though we had a big breakfast, we were hungry halfway through the morning and had to stop for donuts. |
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| What a pair. |
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| We often stop to visit old churches. They are cool and quiet, with lovely architecture and art. |
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| Waiting out a cloudburst under a bridge. |
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| Rest break in a park with petanque courts. |
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| We arrived in Saumur too early to check in at our accommodation. Konur and I toured the Chateau de Saumur while Ken watched the bikes in the garden. |
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| View of Saumur from the ramparts of the fortress. |
