Day 72: La Charite sur Loire to Briare

October 1, 2015

We set off on our bikes down through the narrow streets of La Charite. Our first objective was a bakery in order to pick up sandwiches for lunch. Of course, in France that is a ridiculously easy project. Not so easy was actually descending through the streets. As with Decize, the streets were never intended for automobiles, let alone automobiles plus bikes. There is no pedestrian zone in town, so again, the few automobiles trundle around making pests of themselves.

Starting out down the narrow streets of La Charite

There is no room for cars and bikes both, especially with that parking permitted on the right.

Aside from the bakery, we also spotted a stationery store, and in the window was something we had been hoping to find: the Chamina guide for La Loire a Velo, covering Nevers to the Atlantic. This is the second part of a set. The first had been given to us by Keith Klein at Losnes, and we had found it super useful - good maps, descriptions of the towns, and intelligent choices of accommodation to list.

The Chamina guide for the next part of the ride. Hey look, the "ground zero" brass disc in is there!

La Charite is the site of a Cluniac monastery, which is probably its main claim to fame. Cluny is the town south of Chalon and north of Macon, at which the original monastery was built. The Cluny monastery was started in 910, and enlarged or rebuilt three times over the next several hundred years. Cluny spread its influence all over Europe, establishing offshoot monasteries. The Cluniac monks were Benedictines, and their monatery was dedicated to St. Peter.

The church (Church of Notre Dame) at La Charite was one of the largest offshoot ones. It was built starting in 1059, making it over 950 years old. That is seriously old, and the place exudes antiquity. More so than with any other church we have visited, the effects of all the years are in evidence. The most obvious thing is that only one of two original towers is still standing, plus ground where parts of the church used to stand has been filled in with ordinary buildings. Some of these are taking advantage of still standing former walls of the church. What does remain of the church is still a lot, still huge and complicated, in the style of Cluny and like we also saw at Paray le Monial. There are no monks here now, but walking around you can almost hear the Gregorian chants. The place is spooky that way.

I have included photos of two bits of typed explanatory material that might be interesting to read - but I have no idea if after uploading they will still be readable. It was worth a try.

Welcome and introduction at the Notre dame church

This model of the complete church reveals two towers where today there is only one.

This carving, dating from 1132 was only discovered in 1835

People are living in these houses built right by, or out of, the church.

Leaving La Charite we were immediately back on the Loire dike, just cycling along in the bright (but very cold) Fall day. We passed by Sancerre, a possibly interesting town up on a hill. We read our notes about what they had there, but were not tempted to do a big bike pushing exercise.

The seeds from this crop look like millet, but the plants are not right for being that. any ideaas what this field crop is?

In other minor excitements, we came upon the youngest (and whitest) Charolais we have met yet, hanging out with his proud mother. We also found a farm raising Shetland ponies.

As prominent in its own way as Sancerre was the nuclear power plant at Belleville. You can see it from quite a distance, but eventually the cycle path goes right by its gate. They have a no photos sign. Hah. We had had a contingency plan of staying in Belleville, but decided to carry on. Dodie was glad, because sleeping beside a nuclear plant would make us jumpy.

Leaving Belleville was not totally easy, because of failures of the veloroute signage. Only the GPS and Dodie's alert eye kept us from kms of fruitless wandering.

We had the idea of staying at a gite further on in Chatillon and called ahead. There was no answer but we went to track it down anyway. It was tough, because there was no sign, but when we did find it ... closed for a month's vacation. So we have fetched up at Briare, in a quite nice room at the Auberge du Pont Canal, €52.50. We are enthused about Briare, because we think there is a market here tomorrow.

No sign that this was the gite we were looking for - but it was.

We are just a little too far off to reach Orleans tomorrow, but we are close. We seem to be charging across France quite quickly in our plodding way. Soon we will be right in the thick of the Chateau zone that the Loire is most famous for!

With the doors closed behind it, the water is drained out of the passage

When the water is all drained out, and the boat has dropped with it, the front doors are opened and the boat sails out onto the lower part of the canal ahaead.

Today's ride: 73 km (45 miles)
Total: 3,490 km (2,167 miles)

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