Loire Valley - Day Six

A rather unappetising hotel breakfast this morning.  The eggs were mushy powered with the consistency of custard and the bacon wasn't much better.   That probably shouldn't have been unexpected as the locals eat a continental breakfast.  I was trying to avoid bread (carbohydrates).

The plan was to cycle to the south side of the river and then complete a 60km circuit viewing two chateaus along the way.

This didn't quite work out the way we had planned as Daniel experienced problems with the gears on his bike.  He had no idea on what to do and I thought the gear cable might have stretched.  I made several attempts to adjust the derailleur without success.

However we did make it to Château de Chambord and spent several hours walking the grounds and interior.   A hint for any reader thinking of visiting.  No ticket is required to visit the grounds and view the exterior.

 

A couple of Daniel's photos

I've taken some 360 photos and recorded some video but haven't worked out how to insert the data into OLW.  I'll have to see if I can upload it to You Tube and then insert it into a post using Blogger.

I was slightly annoyed when the security guard refused to allow me to take the 360 camera selfie stick into the chateau.  This forced me to hold the camera in my hand and restricted my ability to capture the scenes I liked.

The chateau was constructed at the order of King Francis I and a small part of the design was completed by Leonardo Da Vinci before his death.  Francis never lived there and only briefly visited the chateau. 

I'll leave you to click on the earlier hyperlink if you want to know the full history.  My assumption is he ordered its construction to demonstrate his wealth and power.  Whilst the peasants starved!

It was starting to get rather hot and as Daniel had bike problems we decided to return to Blois and find a bike shop using a different route.

I was correct with my analysis of the gear problem.  The bike mechanic only took 30 seconds to fix the issue by adjusting the cable.

Both of us are slightly red.  Daniel wore a long sleeve top which meant only his face, next and legs were affected.   After all the Australian sun I have just a touch of red on my arms as I was wearing a short sleeve shirt.  No issues with my face and neck as I have brim on my helmet.