1 hour 30 minutes to get to Angers on the TGV. We got the bikes off the train and reassembled them on the platform. The Angers station is quite organised, and we wheeled our bikes into the street (after the obligatory paid-for toilet stop - worth it!) and cycled to the centre of town to find the tourist info office. Nicole spotted a town map, which led us to the info office, and we got a map of the town, and the location of the campsite.

We plotted our route and set off past the huge Chateau Angers (a big old fort), alongside the Maine river and to our LOVELY campsite (****!!). We found our spot and I set up the tent while Nicole did some laundry. This campsite is very organised - pool, restaurant, volleyball net, individual bins and taps for each site, etc, etc, etc.

We had supper at the campsite restaurant, the food wasn't bad, but it was made a lot nicer by the live French-Brazilian band.

Up at 08h30, packed up and set off by 09h45. The weather wasn't looking great, overcast and looking like it might rain later. Our route took us along the Loire all the way to Saumur. It was a flat road that took us through lots of small towns, the flat was great for the average speed, but came at the expense of butt-pain! We arrived in Saumur (54km later) to be greeted by drops of rain and the magnificent Chateau perched above the town. We found our way to the campsite (also ****) and set up camp, then down came a rainstorm! So we sat in the tent for 30 minutes hoping that it was going to stop so we can go see the sights - the mushroom museum sounded interesting.

The rain stopped just long enough for us to ride to the InterMarche to buy food for supper. We arrived back at the campsite and it started raining again, and didn't stop until the next morning. So much for the sites of Saumur. We ate packet & tin Paella for supper, and got to sleep quite early.

We woke up at 07h30 to the sound of more rain. It stopped at 08h00 and we were up and out of the campsite by 09h45. The day started with a steep ride up to the Chateau, an impressive building towering over the town. We mistakenly descended back to river level, only to be faced with an even steeper climb to make our way out of town.

The riding was through fields of wheat and sunflowers, and the sun made an appearance, so it looked like it was going to be a nice day after all. At Abbye d'Fontevraud we stopped for the guided tour (in English). Very interesting and well worth it. We carried on for a few k's and had our picnic lunch at the small town of Couziers, then rode on to reach Chinon by 15h30.

We got showered and headed into the town of Chinon for a look-around. All the buildings are made of the local Tufa stone, with the odd one made of wood. We took a ride up to the Chateau for a great view over the town, and then headed back down to the campsite, collecting a bottle of wine along the way. The wine didn't last long and was finished before supper - a flavourless packet pasta (not a recommended camp meal in France!). We were in bed early and looking forward to a sunny tomorrow.

After quite a cold evening, we were up at 08h30 and on our way by 09h45. We made our way up the hill past the Chateau and headed out towards Chateau D'Usse, the Chateau that inspired the writing of Sleeping Beauty. You could see why - lots of little turrets and spires. We pushed on and grabbed our daily pain au chocolat at Bréhémont, a quaint town next to the river, as well as a baguette for lunch. We cycled on alongside the river looking for a suitable lunch spot, but got to the Chateau at Villandry first. We found some picnic benches and settled down to lunch of tinned salmon, cheese and bread.

After lunch we visited the Chateau and its very beautiful gardens - huge and very impressive. From there it was a short 11km to Azay-le-Rideau, where we had a peek at the Chateau (didn't look that impressive from outside), and made our way to the campsite after a quick wine-tasting and purchase of the local wine offering. (52km for the day). Very much a tourist town, with nothing to see except the Chateau.

Supper was a nice chunky packet soup with a baguette, which didn't seem to be filling enough, so it was followed up by a small bowl of muesli and some tea. Getting to sleep was a fairly trying experience as the circus was in town, and right next door to the campsite!

Up at 07h30, and made our way out of Azay at about 09h30. Nice riding alongside the Indre River, mostly shady, with the occasional troglodyte cave-house. We followed the D17 through Artannes to Cormery, where the monks first baked macaroons. Unfortunately there were no monks around, and the patisserie that advertised macaroons was closed (what is a macaroon, anyway?!)

We carried on through to Loches, situated below the huge fortified Chateau that towers above the town. We arrived at 14h00 at the very nice *** campsite. Total riding for the day 58km.

Up at 07h00, wanting to get an early start. We rolled out at about 08h30, and things went smoothly for the first 17km, until we couldn't find a turnoff and took a little detour. We got back on track though, and cycled though some lovely forests, and the compulsory sunflower and wheat fields. Went through Luzille and on to Chenonceaux where we were hoping to see the impressive Chateau. Unfortunately so were 4 bus-loads of other tourists, and the queue was loooong. Nothing else to see in the town so we pushed on for the last 12km to Amboise.

We found the campsite, setup tent, showered and ate a huge lunch. We then made our way up to Clos Luce - where Leonardo da Vinci spent the last 4 years of his life. Supper was some fresh gnocchi, with couscous salad and a flavourless Kronenbourg beer. Asleep by 21h30, despite a noisy french brat-kid filled campsite.

Up at 07h30 and on our way out of Amboise by 08h45. Easy riding on mostly flat roads, nice and cool too. We stopped at Onzain (at about 21km) for our daily fix of pain au chocolat and some biscuits. We carried on straight through to Blois, with the weather getting hotter as the day progressed, and a headwind coming up too. We arrived at Blois around midday , bought ourselves some lunch ingredients and made our way to the campsite, 4km outside the town. Not the greatest campsite, someone forgot to tell them that flat ground is nice for people in tents.

After lunch and a short snooze, we headed into town just before 16h00. We rode around in circles on steep one-way streets, eventually locating the tourist office and directions to the magic museum. We grabbed some ice-cream and visited the museum and watched the included magic show.

We then found a nice cafe and had a couple of beers whilst listening to the local street music. We followed that with a nice restaurant in a little square (next to 5 other restaurants), where we both had the 12.50eur menu, with some wine.

We rode back to the campsite and were in bed by 21h30

Up at 06h45 to pack up and throw out - our last night of camping was done. Onto our bikes and out of the campsite (the most expensive one the whole trip - 15eur, and only a ** with bumpy ground - AVOID THIS ONE!)

We rode up to the station and disassembled our bikes on the platform and bagged them. We settled down to wait for our 09h44 train to Paris which, as usual, arrived on time.