Day 72: Saint Florent le Vieil to Angers

April 18, 2024

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We were somewhat put off 0ur hotel, Le Petit Pecheur, by the fact that we almost could not understand almost a single word the people there said to us. In retrospect we think they might have been speaking Breton, or some hybrid of that and French. We do not even really know if we paid or not. I went to the young man running the desk and said that I thought I still owed for the night's stay. In the exchange that followed, I got him to speak very slowly, put my hand on his shoulder and cocked my ear. But I had no idea what he said.

One great thing about the hotel was that our window opened directly on the Loire. Across the river we had a good view of the Saint Florent le Vieil abbey. This is where the people who were shot in the meadow we passed yesterday had been held. Of course the abbey had a long history prior to the Revolution, and a long history since. Today it is (perhaps boringly) serving as an art gallery.

St Florent le Vieil abbey, from the 7th century.

As we set off up the Loire, our main observations were of how fast the river was flowing, and of how much water there was on the not river side of the trail. There has obviously been a lot of flooding, but perhaps its a normal amount for this time of year.

Water on the not river side of the trail

We can not tell if this farm normally has this much water around it. There are some boats parked, but it's not as if they have a permanent dock.

The lan all around is very green, with lots of grass fields, crops like leeks, and many flowers. Wisteria is particularly common, and we see it all over growing wild.

Towns are distinguished by which side of the river they are on. Here, across the river from us is Ingrandes sur Loire.

On our own side of the river we came upon a strange looking set of structures that were labelled as a coal mine and lime furnace. It is from the 19th century.

Somewhere after MontJean and before Chalonnes the track jumps onto the totally agricultural Chalonnes Island. This is where we ran into a "route barrée " . Or usual procedure is to ignore these, until we are forced to admit that there really is no way to pass. In this case, we did not see the reason for the closure, but we came to a very thorough barricade. Ok, so we backtracked and went around the blockage. At the other side there was a similarly convincing barricade, but again no hint of the why. We almost sent me charging along to find the reason, or not, but decided that after all it would not be worth the effort to find out what was going on. Our guess is a flooded road, though that would usually trigger a "route inondée".

and somebody is serious at the other end. But why?

In this shot we can see what the trail is like, how green everything is, and that Dodie has probably spotted a bird. Let's go get a photo of it...

Looking out to the river, swans could often be seen. They are so common that we usually will no longer get their photo.

...even if they are in an interesting tangle.

We stopped for lunch on church steps at Possonieres. Opposite our seat was this fine looking building. It is obvious now that bright white houses with bright orange roofs are a thing of the coast. Here we are into stone walls and dark slate roofs.

Houses and walls are made from stone in this region.

In Savenierres, a church with stone and brick combination walls, and Roman arches. It is the church of St Pierre and St Romain. oo bad about the truck in the shot!

The next four shots are also from Savonierres. They just generally illustrate the appearance of the place. We are definitely not in a "sugar cube" village in Spain any more!

Back along the river. this attractive chateau was visible through the trees. It is the chateau of Varennes, from the 17th century, I think.

This dramatic looking rock by the river is called the Becherelle Rock. It was used to mark a point where river tolls were collected in the 15th century. Today people learn rock climbing on it.

Other interesting things popped up as we neared Bouchemain and got ready to head on in to Angers.

Angers is not actually on the Loire, but is on the Maine. The path from the Loire up to Angers runs by the Maine, and often has water on both sides.

The first you see of Angers are the distinctive round towers of the chateau. The photo shows perhaps six, but around the corner there are more. Maybe ten in total. It's a dramatic design.

Just before crossing the river into Angers, we ran into a troupe of kids on a bike outing. We were interested to see how they were doing, because they were about the size of our own grandchildren. They seemed fine.

We have been to Angers at least once before, but we never really went downtown. This time our hotel was right in the middle of it. We were surprised at how intricate and beautiful the architecture is. We really loved it, and we've decided to stay an extra day.

This building is interesting, but not the same style as the others on the street.

Here is the harlequin on the corner of the building.

A bright and open square, surrounded by major buildings.

As usual there is a carousel. It is now clear to us that these are reproductions that are merely branded "1900".

This building in the middle of downtown used to be a private residence. It was built around 1535, and is called the Pincé building.

On a wall beside the Pincé, what must be the outline of a building that once stood in this spot.

Just look at the municipal theatre, on the main square!

FNAC is the French equivalent of Best Buy in North America or Media Markt in Germany. It is quite high priced. We find ourselves in there when one of our electronic pieces has failed, and therefore it is not exactly our favourite shop. Well yesterday Dodie's battery bank failed, so we were sure to track down FNAC in Angers. It happens to be in the middle of downtown, so that was easy. However, the battery banks were about 50% more costly than in Canada. Dodie compensated by downgrading to a 5,000 mah version. That's a small rating we don't even see at home any more. But, it will do the trick. The trick is to keep the Osmand running on her phone all day long.

Near the FNAC was a camera store. I am interested in such stores these days, since from time to time a "better" camera has been discussed for me as a birthday present. They had the camera I have been talking about - the Nikon P950, on the shelf. I was a bit surprised again at how big it is. Not only would that not go in my pocket, it would fill my handlebar bag almost entirely. Also, the disproportionately sized lens strikes me as ugly. But you know what? there is a good chance that the "birthday fairy" will come up with one. Not here, though. Once again, the price is 50% higher than at home.

The camera store, is next door to "our" bakery in Angers. It's a powerful money burning combo!

Today's ride: 57 km (35 miles)
Total: 3,526 km (2,190 miles)

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Keith KleinHi,
I’m glad you had a good visit with Michel. The part of the Loire you are riding through is really scenic, but it seems that I have never ridden along the river , always across it, although I seem to have hit all the towns you’ve visited at one time or another. The slate roofs are easy to explain once one knows that one of the largest slate quarries in Europe was near Angers. I don’t know if it’s still operating, but it was in the 00’s. Great photos of the chateau.
Cheers,
Keith
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3 weeks ago

Michel FleuranceTo Keith KleinIt was a pleasure for us to speak with the famous Grampies.

One important question raised by Steve still reminds : pourquoi la rotation de la lune sur elle-même est très exactement synchrone, (verrouillage gravitationnel), avec la rotation de la terre pour présenter la même face aux habitants de la terre ?
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3 weeks ago

Michel FleuranceTo Keith KleinNo more operated. Slates are now coming from Spain but sometime with trace of rust in it. Iron oxydation ?
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3 weeks ago

Keith KleinTo Michel FleuranceSalut Michel,
Pour être bref: c’est de la physique. Pour être moins bref, la lune est plus petit que le la terre, donc il a transféré son momentum angulaire de rotation a le révolution plus vite. Pour être complètement correct, il faut un physicien !
A+
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3 weeks ago

Steve Miller/GrampiesTo Keith KleinWe had a great visit with Michel and Jeannette. As you see, the conversation was about more than cycling. Tomorrow we will ride through the old slate quarry and maybe visit the museum at Trelaze. Next autumn we hope to be on your side of the country, and perhaps we can squeeze in another visit with you and Sue.
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3 weeks ago