France - Part Trois
We enjoyed Paris but were glad to get away from the big city and into the country. The weather was wonderful and we were driving on lovely, long straight roads with not much traffic and frequently tree-lined: lovely!
We entered the Loire valley and drove through some lovely towns and villages, took opportunities to cross over the river and the nearby canal and enjoy the views from the bridges.
We stopped in Gien; it was so beautiful. We took a few photos and had a drink at a cafe overlooking the river. We then walked back to the van along the river.
We were planning to camp in Poilly-sur-Loire because this is home to one of the vineyards that our handy friend Mike had recommended from his extensive experience (hic!), unfortunately when we had wended our way there we discovered that the campsite had closed that very day!! So we didn’t manage any official wine-tasting but instead continued on to La Charité-sur-Loire where we camped, bought some local white wine and proceeded to drink the whole bottle. We like it so much that we bought a second to take home with us — hurrah!
The campsite was very calm and peaceful and we had chosen some shade which was a good job as the weather was so hot and sticky!
The next day we slept in, got breakfast, baguette and delicious ham from local shops and chilled out: Tim on a blanket in the shade and Kathy on a chair in the sun (with suncream on). Wandered into town about half-five and window-shopped; found a chocolaterie! Had to buy some samples of course: it would be rude not to!!
We had seen a pizzeria with outside tables overlooking the river when driving to the campsite so went back when it was open and shared a large Parisienne pizza. It was lovely to sit and look out over the town and hear the water moving by.
It was a wonderfully relaxing day and we then set the alarm for 7am so we could leave early in the morning for Lyon.