November 1, 2022
Day 56: Chagny to Tournus
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This was a day of 90% protected greenway (actually, Voie Bleu) riding, usually canal or river side, with lovely views and zero stress. The three shots below convey the idea well.
Since today is Toussaintes (All Saints Day) we were not sure whether bakeries would be open or not. We took a chance and dove off the canal and into the small town of Fragnes, where we found a high quality and open bakery with no problem. In minutes we were back on the canal. To get supplies you do often have to leave the route, and of course it helps to know where what you are looking for is actually located.
It did not take long to get to Chalon, and rather than a shortage of cycle signs and routes, we found rather a confusing surplus. Still, we made our way into what was surely the central square (or rectangle, in this case). It was rather unexciting, and I looked around for something photogenic. I came up with the building below.
We had also spotted a statue of the Virgin, and hunted her down for a photo shoot:
Our maps boldly showed something called The Citadel, that seemed to be around the back of the Virgin tower. We went there, and only seemed to come up with the chapel associated with the tower. The chapel is from 1856, and while the Virgin was viewed as protective, she was not The Citadel.
Looking around by the chapel, we saw little, just stuff like this apartment building across the street:
The Citadel, had we found it, would have been this:
"In Chalon-sur-Saône, the fortifications of the northern front were built under the reign of Henri II, from 1547 to 1555, by Girolamo Bellarmato, a Sienese engineer and professor of mathematics and astronomy banished from Siena, who came to France at the request of François I.Bellarmato synthesised French and Italian research, as shown by the bastions of St Vincent, St Paul, St Peter and the royal bastion of Chalon-sur-Saône (around 1550).Immediately after the capture of the town by the Protestants in 1562, it was decided to strengthen the town's defence; the abbey of St Peter was transformed into a garrison and its church was used as a stone quarry in 1582. New ramparts were built towards the town. Completed by ditches, these elements were clearly directed against the inhabitants to prevent revolts, in the context of the Wars of Religion."
Undeterred, we continued to search for interesting stuff in the town. We came up with Place St Vincent, which has a number of half timbered buildings that are very pretty.
There is also the church of St Just de Bretenierres, at the head of the square.
Th church was quite empty, but to be fair, some people were beginning to filter in an to pick up hymn books from the back. From a photo on the back wall, I could see the church has had better times, or busier days.
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We made our way to a bridge over the Saone, and were soon on our way, again on a protected path.
As you see below, the region continues to invest in cycling infrastructure. This time taking us in luxury all the way to our next stop, in Tournus.
We rolled into Tournus on the Voie Bleue, but that did not mean we immediately arrived at our hotel, "Le Sauvage". For weeks now, Dodie's GPS (in the phone) has been playing games with her - both claiming for long periods that it can not find any satellites, or giving locations up to 10 km out of whack. We do have a backup phone, but Dodie is perversely reluctant to use it. I can only assume that she enjoys working around her current phone's quirks.
We were actually really close to Le Sauvage, when a lady pulled over in her car and asked if we needed help. The hotel was just around the corner. You can tell it by the rather coy sign at the top!
The hotel was created in 1770. There are two brass plaques, one on either side of the entrance, giving the history, one in English and one in French. Although they cover the same topic, they differ rather significantly in some of the content. For example, in French the Sauvage name was a reference to the mystique of North American Indians. But in English the name was linked to "travelers looking for adventure" like "Tartarin de Tarascon". I looked it up, Tarascon is a town in Provence, and Tartarin is a fictional adventurer from there. It's all based on a novel by Alphonse Daudet. There were lots of short stories or films based on Tartarin. You can learn a lot waiting by a hotel entrance!
Inside, Le Sauvage is rather atmospheric, maybe I would say creepy. A man emerged from the woodwork, and gave us our room key. Later I went down for a couple of photos of the hotel interior, and the man seemed to follow me around. Nothing to do with Halloween, the fact that he looks like Boris Karloff, or that we seem to be all alone (with him) in this huge old building, but I don't think I am going out again tonight.
Today's ride: 60 km (37 miles)
Total: 2,419 km (1,502 miles)
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Great to know the voie blue is complete between Chalons and Tournus. Take a peek in the church while you are there, it’s worth the visit.
Cheers,
Keith
1 year ago
1 year ago