Nantes to Gennes

We woke up to a clear blue sky on Sunday morning and set off on our journey east. But first we had to do a hefty detour in Nantes to get to a Decathalon Sports store. I learned thanks to a Google search, that this chain of shops is about the only place in France where you can purchase the threaded kind of gas cartridges we need for our stove. Apparently in France and Spain, the blue Camping Gaz style is what everyone uses. Anyway, we were successful, so we bought three of them.

Happy to find these Primus cartridges in a Decathlon shop.

We are now in a small town called Gennes, camped on the banks of the Loire. Camping has been great so far. We pay between €6 and €12 per night, and we've had hot showers and immaculate amenities.

One of our campsites.

We've seen quite a few other cycle tourists. The ones we've spoken to have all been French. The pathway is so cyclist-friendly and well signed. Quite often it's a path shared with pedestrians or sometimes a quiet country road. In the town's, there are usually marked cycle lanes. Drivers are very considerate of cyclists.
On the Loire Velo pathway

The countryside is lovely. Lots of little villages with old stone houses, every one having at least one fine church. Along the Loire, the land is very fertile and we've been riding amongst fields of crops and very well-fed cattle in lush fields full of buttercups.

Yesterday we visited the town of Angers which has lots of history and a great castle.



Angers town centre and it's castle above

Two things have surprised us so far. First, we've had a head wind, and secondly it's pretty chilly. I was beginning to think we'd made a gross miscalculation on our timing and direction of travel until we chatted with Yves and Dominic last night, our fellow cyclists tenting next to us, who reassured us that neither of these things are normal! It's not usually this cold in May, and yes, the wind normally blows from the Atlantic. Here's hoping both these anomalies don't last too long.

Sunset on the Loire from one of our campgrounds

This video clip is of a unique ferry experience we had yesterday along the path.

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