Walk: from apartment to Palais Ducal, a pottery shop, and around Old Town, 3 miles
Accommodation: Charmant Logement Centre Ville (Airbnb)
Breakfast in bed: bacon and eggs, creme fraiche with muesli, croissants, orange juice, coffee. Thank you, Ken.
I worked on the blog, accommodations, bills, and so on for a couple of hours after I finally got out of bed in the morning. In the afternoon, we went on a walk around Old Town, following a blue line on the road to historical sites. We stopped at a boucherie and bought potato pancakes, meatballs, and a duck-and-cheese pastry for dinner; stopped at the grocery store for more spring water, salad, and fruit; and got cash from an ATM. The standard rest-day chores. This is our last day off the bikes until we get to Paris next Wednesday. That will be our longest stretch without a day off.
The Old Town in Nevers is really old, with buildings dating to the 13th century. It's a little different than some of the other cities we've been in, because there are buildings of all ages, including new ones under construction, mixed in with many of the older ones. On our walk, we found narrow cobblestone alleys with just the oldest buildings. Our apartment is on a street with quite a few three- and four-story buildings from the 1800s.
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| Palais Ducal. |
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| Palais Ducal grounds. |
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| Medieval half-timbered building. |
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| One of the last remaining pottery workshops from the 16th century, still making Nevers blue faience. The original pottery was done in blue and white and styled after Chinese pottery. Over the years, the styles changed. The current workshop makes contemporary designs using old techniques. |
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| The pottery is glazed white clay. We liked several of the new designs, including some of downhill and cross-country skiing. Several years ago, we would have shipped some home. But these days, we are in the process of streamlining our life, and we don't necessarily want more stuff. I do love pottery, though... |
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| The Notre Dame was heavily damaged in July 1944, during World War II bombing. All but one of its stained-glass windows were destroyed. Since then, the cathedral has been mostly restored, and stunning new windows have replaced the old ones. |
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| We arrived in the cathedral just as someone was starting to rehearse for a concert. I have a few videos that capture a bit of the huge sound that surrounded us. When I get those videos uploaded to YouTube, I will link them to this page. In the meantime, here's a still photo. You'll just have to imagine the deep, full notes filling the gigantic stone cathedral. |
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| At home, we watch Norah O'Donnell on the CBS Evening News after dinner. On the road, we get the show a day late, but it still keeps us in touch with happenings in the US. |
