Day 2 - Mon. 23.6.08
- Abbeville to Blois - 250 m
Woke at
6.30 am. Ready to leave at 8.00 am. Got the old guy out of his pit
(sorry).
€20 for the room and €31 for the
meal plus wine (£16 - £24), not bad at all.
'Doris'
does the business and I'm soon on the right road, heading for Rouen
for breakfast. This is a mistake as its very busy, so I head out
and find a nice little village just down the road a bit.
I fall back into my 'French Breakfast' routine. Buy a couple of croissants
from a Boulongerie and then take them to a local café and
order hot chocolate. As I've mentioned before, it's quite alright
to take your own food into a café/bar. Imagine doing that
in the UK!
Long, straight, country roads. 70, 80, 90 mph. Who needs a motorway?
All the cars move over to let me pass and all the Bikers wave as
they go past.
I'm riding pretty hard into the afternoon but the sun is out so
it's very enjoyable. Stop for a sandwich and notice the damp pavements.
Has it been raining? I thought I had left the bad weather behind
but a few showers change things.
On the road to Blois
I get to Blois, Chateaux country, and look for a campsite. The first
one I get to is closed for lunch (until 4.00 pm) so I carry on.
Having passed a couple of grand chateaux in the forests below Blois,I
find a nice site called Camping les Saules at a place called Cheverney.
Its stopped raining so I pull in and pitch up. It's a bit expensive,
€17 (about £13) but its very nice and in the middle of
Chateau Touring country. Sort myself out with a cup of tea and one
of the 'ready meals' I've brought with me (see 'gear' page). Then
I spend the evening at the site bar reading and chatting with fellow
campers. The sun is back out. Massif Central tomorrow.