Day 9: Rest Day in Brantome - Our Very First Big Adventure: From the Channel to the Med - CycleBlaze

September 9, 2022

Day 9: Rest Day in Brantome

Our day started with sleeping in and a leisurely petit déjeuner. Afterwards we did what all bicycle tourists do on a day off: visit the local laundromat. Yeah!  Clean clothes. Yes, we hand wash daily … but machine washed clothes feel so much cleaner. 

Afterwards we walked back through the weekly market and saw lots of great looking meats, fish, fruits & veggies, and a couple of table cloths I’d like to have. Chuck was excited that I couldn’t buy anything. 😢

Barquettes and crates of strawberries
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susan maaschwhat’s a barquette?
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1 year ago
susan maaschwe hardly ever stop at a laundromat. maybe that’s because we don’t often have rest days…🤣🤣🤣
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1 year ago
Sanna PhinneyTo susan maaschIt’s the quart size container that holds the berries.
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Sanna PhinneyTo susan maaschI was surprised that we were completely done in 40 minutes and that was with 10 minutes of dry time on delicate. You should give it a try! 🤪
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Aren’t strawberries out of season now?  Well, apparently not here in the Dordogne! 

Next we did a bit of bike maintenance, well, let me say Chuck changed out our chain for a freshly waxed one we’ve been carrying. We hit the 600k mark, time to change the chain. Then we hopped on the bike for a 1.5 kilometer ride uphill to the bike shop. We needed to replace our cable guide that broke a few days back. It’s an odd one because it guides 3 cables instead of the more common two cable version … will they have one?  Chuck thinks probably not. The mechanic thought probably not, too, but went digging through some boxes. Voilà!  They had one and replaced it for us. After big thank yous we rolled back down the 1.5 kilometers and put the bike away. It’s ready to continue. 

The blog is up to date, so now it’s time to explore the town.  

Art in the park
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The Dronne flowing through Brantome
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Metallic artwork in the river
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kath vowlesAre you sure it wasn't just debris from the last storm😂
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Ancient bridge
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A Michelin Star restaurant and 4 star hotel with incredible gardens
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Dave VowlesNo no noooooooo - don't go telling Kath there's something like this in Brantome when we're going to be there in a couple of weeks, have you no respect for my budget??? Please send her lots of personal emails saying how good 'Au Fil du Temps' is... :-) That magret looks delicious ;-)

Hmm, new chain every 600km? really? I need to have a talk with Chuck, I make mine last ten times that distance...
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1 year ago
susan maaschTo Dave Vowlesvince says “that’s what i do (too)”
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1 year ago
Sanna PhinneyTo Dave VowlesChain - you see we wax our chains and we don’t use chain lube. This extends the life of chains. However, each wax lasts about 600k and then we change to a freshly waxed one.

Dinner - I’m just looking after your delicate constitution!
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1 year ago
Dave VowlesTo Sanna PhinneyOk, I'll wait till you get back and then delicately approach Chuck about his use of wax in the garage. Or why he doesn't use lube. On his chains. Nope. I give up. There is no way of continuing this conversation without it sounding like something from a dark corner at an S&M party.

Dinner - Now that's a much safer subject, we look forward to future photos of delicacies from across France! Have a good day today!
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River scene
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Church scene
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Then we toured the Abbey that was built using the troglodyte dwellings.  We walked around from sign to sign (33 of them) and learned all about it in English. 

The interior courtyard of the abbey
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The scene upon entering
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The squares were constructed to house pigeons
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Inside the Last Judgment chamber (cave) were two sculptures - this is the first
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And the second with more pigeon holes above
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susan maaschpigeon poop adds to the ambiance 🤣
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This graphic defines the second carving
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Once upon a time this was a staircase
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The fountain with healing waters
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The belfry
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More pigeon holes
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After walking through these caverns, we went back to our room to update the blog and relax.  The next big decision was what to do for dinner. 

We found this little pathway to the river
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Chuck is standing on a rock in the river
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Dinner didn’t disappoint!
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We chose this place in the morning when we did the laundry, but we toured through town slowly reading menus in case something sounded better. We ended up at Au Fil du Temps and we’re thoroughly delighted with all courses. It was delicious!  I had magret de canard with a port sauce and Chuck has lamb shanks (souris) with white beans and carrots.   we highly recommend this restaurant. 

That brings us to the end of the first 3rd of the Big Adventure. We’re having a great time. Thank you for the comments - we love reading them. 

Today's ride: 3 km (2 miles)
Total: 920 km (571 miles)

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Ilene OlsenI love reading and viewing your Photos. Crossing the USA is a completely different experience- especially the lodging!!! Keep pedaling.
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1 year ago
rod dayWe are loving reading your blog & viewing all the great pics & are looking forward to the next two third. Stay safe J&R xx
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1 year ago
Sanna PhinneyTo Ilene OlsenYes, this trip is very different than your cross country trips. I must admit that I am liking our accommodations!
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1 year ago