Biking Burgundy, via Vézelay: Orleans to chez André (Côte d'Or, Burgundy) (8 - 17 May 2016)

In this section, our travels would take a temporary detour from the EuroVélo 6 route, as we would leave the Loire at Cosne-sur-Loire, climb up to the sprawling plateaus of Burgundy, through the medieval pilgrimage town of Vézelay, and later follow the River Cousin deeper into Burgundy, finally passing by the medieval town of Semur-en-Auxois (which we had previously explored in 2014) on our way to Montigny-sur-Armancon, where we had spent over 3 weeks nearly two years ago...

Camping on the banks of the Loire, ~10 km souitheast of Orleans.

... Bo, checking out the river on a fine warm morning...

... and helping Jeff change a flat on his balance bike!

Joan of Arc, as seen in Jargeau, passed through this area in 1429 on her way to immortality.  On 11-12 June, 1429, there was an important battle between French and English forces, in which Joan survived a stone projectile which struck her helmet as she scaled the town walls in  the midst of an assault.

We ran into this French cycling family near Jargeau.  Starting from Nantes, they are on their way to the Black Sea, following the EuroVélo 6 in its entirety, with their 4 y.o. in tow in a kids' bike trailer called a WeeHoo.

Another way of exploring the Loire, appearing rather peaceful.

Wonderful entrance to the village of St. Benoit-sur-Loire, where we unknowingly happened upon...

... the Fleury Abbey, founded in 640 A.D., and containing in its dark crypt the relics of St. Benedict - the founder of the Benedictine order of monks (and considered the father of western monasticism).  Benedictines, as opposed to hermit-like stereotypes of  monks, live and work in communities

Bo and Katy beneath the fantastically-adorned north portal of the abbey church.  It depicts Christ with the Four Evangelists, and the story of the transport of St. Benedict's relics to Fleury.

On a grey, drizzly evening, we encountered the stunning Chateau de Sully-sur-Loire.

Bo sets out to explore the castle grounds.

Our camp near Sully.

Anonymous village weavers have decorated up the trees in Lion-en-Sullias.

Having a splash-about in Lion.

Jeff at the approach to Gien.

Gien, with its bridge dating from the 1730's.

Here's the little man flying down some fine forest trail...

...only to be distracted by the endless army of slugs and snails along the way.

We passed an alpaca/llama herd along our route...

... which Bo found fascinating.

Katy crosses the splendid pont-canal (canal bridge over the Loire) at Briare.  Built in 1896, at 662 m. in length it was the longest navigable aqueduct in the world for over 100 years.

The Loire as seen from the canal bridge.

A good look at a nutria, one of the predictable inhabitants of France's many canals.  (This canal is known as Le Canal Lateral a la Loire)

Cycling towards HELL (Belleville-sur-Loire nuclear-power plant)...

... where Katy shares our two cents about things.  Cycling - or just being- in such proximity to such atrocities makes you literally sick to your stomach.

We felt better about things as we left the Loire and climbed up onto the Burgundy plateaus...

... where expansive agricultural lands give way to distant horizons.

A wet night of camping, as rain seems to follow us around this spring.  The tarp gives us additional shelter for organization and for cooking.

The following day, near Billy-sur-Loisy, we were invited by a friendly local lady to spend the night in her house, safe from the rain!

Pictured with Lind, originally from Germany but who has lived most of her adult life in France.  She saw us cycling in the rain, waited with her car at the top of a steady climb under an umbrella, and invited us home, explaining that our Nucleaire-Non-Merci! flag was the source of her goodwill!

Bodhi cracks some walnuts for himself at Lind's.

At Clamecy, we visited La Chapelle Notre Dame de Betleem, Gothic construction completed in the 15th century.

St. Jacques Pélerin, seen in Clamecy, which is a stop on the Voie de Vézelay to Santiago.

The quais of the Canal de Nivernais...

... where Katy grabs a cat-nap in sunshine.

Jeff watching approaching storms as we climb away from Clamecy...

... then riding in evening rain through thick Burgundy forest lands.

A random fleur-de-lys seen in the forest as we near Vézelay.  Traditionally seen as a symbol of the French monarchy, it represents the three medieval social classes: those who worked, those who fought, and those who prayed.

Our first good look at Vézelay, on a misty morning.  We are excited to visit Vézelay, as our previous experience on the Camino de Santiago has awakened our interest.  (In particular, the Way of Vézelay is favored by cyclists.

Bo holding his own on a chilly morning.

As is usual in France, the medieval village of Vézelay is situated on a hilltop (easily defended from attackers), which means a big climb for us. 

The immense proportions of the Basilique de Sainte Marie-Madeleine of Vézelay, dating from the 12th century.  

Detail like this made the basilica an architectural and artistic masterpiece of Romanesque style in Burgundy....

A statue of Mary Magdalene seen inside the church.  The reason Vézelay became an important medieval pilgrimage site is because it reportedly contained the remains of the saint herself (who had left the Holy Land after the crucifixion on a boat bound for the Mediterranean and finished her days praying and meditating in caves near Aix-en-Provence).

The supposed relics of Mary Magdalene in the crypt of the basilica.  Unfortunately for Vézelay, the "intact remains" of Mary were discovered in 1279 in the south of France, effectively undermining the importance of Vézelay.

A modern pilgrim spotted on the streets of Vézelay.

Vézelay (starting in the 1930's)  has been reborn as a village with plenty of artists and art...

A Picasso seen in the fantastic Musée Zervos of Vézelay...

... containing multiple gems of paintings from the first half of the 20th century.

The sweeping vistas from Vézelay.

Unbelievably, as we are riding out of Vézelay, we are invited to a round of drinks by the owner of La Compostelle Bar and Restaurant!  

Near Avallon we were hosted by Hervé and Cathy (Warm Showers), with whom we shared some excellent conversation.

Hervé and Cathy belong to a small family-run ecological-and-learning center called Humeur Vagabonde.

We camped out under a poly-tunnel...

... and Bodhi drove a tractor for about 15 minutes!  Talk about ecstasy, he was as happy as he's ever been, which is saying something.  His job: driving a bale of hay over to feed the goats.

Along the River Cousins we passed some striking old mill houses.

Classic scene as we traverse the terre-plaine of Burgundy near Epoisse.

Our woods camp west of Semur-en-Auxois in Le Bois du Loup.

Looking for wild pigs in the woods!  (In this case we only heard them).

Dinner time; for Bodhi this means pasta, rice or couscous with a dash of olive oil, salt and nutritional yeast, and a side of canned peas or corn.

Semur-en-Auxois, as seen from the western entrance...

... before Katy descends towards the 13th-century medieval towers.

... finally, arrived...

... at Sourire-et-Nature...

... where we were given a warm welcome by André.  Nearly two years previous, we spent 3 weeks wwoofing here, meeting many interesting folks, and making some great friends, including André himself.

La Loire à Vélo 2: Wondering from Chateau to Chateau: Tours to Orleans (2 - 8 May, 2016)

In this section we would visit some of the dinosaur landmarks of France, the chateaux that continue to bedazzle anyone who wanders near.  We would brave the tourist throngs to achieve this, but the sight of Bodhi seeking dragons around every corner, wild pigs in the castle depths, and trolls in every dark hole and passage made it all quite extraordinary.  There would, however, be a dark side in all this... the Loire is considered (and marketed as) a wild river - that is, undammed and unchanneled - but don't be misled: nuclear plants are placed at disturbing intervals along its length, shattering the idyllic wonderland of it all!

Departing Tours, we had some fine riverside riding with distant views of Tours' Cathedral in the background.

Passing vineyards on the slopes above the Loire.

A fine campspot in quiet semi-open woodland, in la forêt d'Amboise.

A splendid morning in the Amboise forest.  Katy and Bo enjoying the forest tracks...

On the road near Dierre, heading towards the River Cher.

A classic Cher-side stretch brings us to our destination of the day...

... the inimitable Chenonceau... straddling the Cher.

Jeff and Bo admire from a distance.

This wild boar's head mounted in the kitchen area of the chateau fed Bodhi's imagination like nothing else.

Jeff and Bo in the great hall of Chenonceau, spanning the river, and used during World War II as an escape route out of German-occupied lands.

... sumptuous everything... beds...

... wood paneling...

... and painting frames, this one a portrait of Louis IV - perhaps the most elaborate we've ever seen.

Diane of Poitiers, French noblewoman of the 16th century, one of the women who left a notable mark on Chenonceau. 

We had some mad hide-n-seek games in the Labyrinth in the chateau gardens.

Daddy and Bo clowning around in the gardens.

Katy asks water from some local gardening women while Bo gobbles a granola bar.

Le Chateau de Chaumont, which we opted to admire from afar.

Bodhi in action: heading down to explore the banks of the Loire;

... taking a break from the sun...

... and hitting the trails in La Foret de Russy....

... catching up to Mammy.

... which we found in this open woodland just outside Le Domaine de Chambord.

Our next stop: the grandiose, overdone, utterly absurd - and yet fascinating - Chateau de Chambord...

Built from 1519-1547, it was designed as a grand hunting lodge for King Francois I.  It is rumored that Leonardo da Vinci, who spent the last years of his life nearby, had a hand in its design as well.

King Francois I, whose passion for hunting is the raison d'etre of Chambord.

The king's symbols: a renaissance "F" and a salamander, to be seen all over the chateau.

... to appreciate the scale of Chambord you have to see it to believe it...

Views out over the lawns of Chambord, and beyond to the expansive Chambord forest, which has been a royal-and-then-government hunting grounds since medieval times.

Bo explores the rooftop...

... making friends with a French kid of similar age and energy levels.

A splendid royal carriage from the 19th century.

Artwork depicting scenes for which Chambord was famous: royal hunting on a grand scale... (above: stag)...

...here: wild boar.

The palace from a short distance; note the queue for ticket purchase.

Katy in form; back on the Loire again, near St. Dye-sur-Loire.

The EuroVelo 6 is busy here, near Muides-sur-Loire.

... while Bo double-checks his calculations.

La centrale nucléaire de Saint-Laurent-des-Eaux.  After all the above architectural grandour, amidst breathtaking natural scenes, the sight of nuclear power makes you sick to your stomach, literally, leaves you feeling like France and its people have signed some horrible tract with the devil (they have)... and this, just a short hop and jump from some of the most unbelievable manmade creations on earth.  High plutonium levels in the Loire have been linked to radioactive leaks from this plant.  French media, however, will tell you that French nuclear reactors are "safe".

A picnic near Beaugency.

Marilyn hosted us for two much-needed days of rest in Meung-sur-Loire.  Marilyn is the mother of Julie, our friend from Bretagne whom we recently saw at Villandry.

Bo having a classic bath on Marilyn's back lawn.

The Loire, just before Orleans.

Orleans' history is inseparable from that of Joan of Arc, a 17 y.o. peasant girl who successfully rallied the forces of uncrowned King Charles VII against the English siege of Orleans in 1429.  The city holds an annual festival, one of the oldest continous festivals in France, every May to commemorate her deeds.  We had planned to attend, but Orleans no longer has any campgrounds and we were forced to ride on.  Boo.

Pont George V (1760), its nine stone arches spanning the 339 meters of the Loire.

La Cathédrale Sainte-Croix d'Orléans, seen from across the Loire.