Jun 21: Saint-Patrice to Chenonceau

We are definitely in castle country! The 89km ride featured two new chateaus; three if including the one we departed from in the morning.

Villandry (brief history here) was the first chateau we stumbled upon in the morning. We didn’t go inside, but did take a tour of the massive gardens. We took a step into the labryinth before realizing we had another 75km to ride and couldn’t get lost in the sun.

We took a slight detour from the Loire bike route to ride along the Cher river to Chenonceau. This is one of the more famous chateaus. In addition to compelling history during its early years, the bridge/gallery over the Cher river served as a hospital during Wlrld War I and a covert means of transporting French resistance fighters during World War II. The east side of the river was occupied territory and the west free territory, so the chateau straddled the line of demarcation.

It was another very hot day and had difficulty cooling down in our AC-less hotel. Planning an early morning to beat the heat!