Day 2: Château de Chambord and Château de Cheverny
(Patrick and I in front of Chambord)We awoke early Friday (10/23) and had breakfast, cold cereal, baguette bread, applesauce, and "chocolat chaud". After eating our fill we began our tour of the châteaux with Chambord. After about 13 km on a damp and foggy morning we arrived. This castle is HUGE, in fact it is the largest in the Loire Valley. Each room was impressively ornate but it was the outside of the castle that I enjoyed most. The roofline was incredibly ornate and incorporated 365 chimneys! There were also very extensive grounds that, due to time, we were unable to explore. Above all this castle was one of the most impressive that I saw. It's grand scale and imposing exterior truly did justice to the traditional idea of "castle" as a defensive structure and not merely a posh residence for French royalty...
...Next up was Cheverny. The s
un finally decided to come out as we left Chambord and rode the 10 km to Cheverny. This castle definitely fit the "posh residence" bill and out of all the châteaux that I saw I would say that Cheverny had one of the most ornate interiors. While the inside was incredibly lavish I LOVED the grounds. There weren't a ton of flowers but there were gigantic, sprawling, perfectly manicured, lawns that spread out from the castle like a sea of green (my favorite). There were long paths that wound around the castle and into the woods beyond. Honestly I could have spent hours walking around Cheverny. It was so peaceful and perfect. Another added perk was the fact that this castle was what inspired Hergé to write his famous Tintin comics (a childhood favorite of mine). After walking around the grounds for awhile and touring the castle we made our way back to Blois.Day 3: Château de Blois
We left the hostel after the same breakfast as the
previous morning and rode into the city center to see the Château Royal de Blois which the city had been built around. The ceiling you see pictured was from the Hall of the Estates General. The rooms here were impressive and very ornate. Each room was filled with old paintings and artifacts ranging from old instruments to weapons and suits of armor to chinaware. One of the wings had been converted into a venue for art exhibits. At around 1 pm we had finished seeing the castle and decided to grab lunch and go see some of the churches in the town that we had spied from the castle. We lost track of time and it by the time we were ready to leave it was already 4:15 and in two hours it would be dark. To make matters worse our destination, the city of Amboise, was 35 km away and it had begun to rain. We put on ponchos and hurried on our way. Riding through a fierce headwind and the rain with a 50 lb. (minimum weight) pack on your back is very unpleasant but we were able to gut it out and make it to Amboise before it got dark. That night we stayed in the home of a french family who lived a mere five minute walk from the castle.Day 4: Château d'Amboise, Le Clos Lucé, and Château de Chenonceau
First on the agenda today was to visit the Clos Lucé, where Leonardo da Vinci spent the last 3 years of his life. The picture
here is a view of the courtyard. France is apparently very proud of their ties to Leonardo and so here in Amboise they have turned Clos Lucé into a da Vinci museum with life-sized replicas of many of Leonardo's innovations and inventions. It would have been very easy to spend hours here but since we wanted to see Chenenceau we kept moving on our way. Walking across town we came to the Château d'Amboise. Now this was a castle that nearly perfectly embodied what Patrick and I decided a castle should be defined as, a fortress and primarily defensive structure that was a home to royalty. The castle, while centrally located was build up on a high embankment. The walls 
of thestructure were easily 150 feet high and seemingly insurmountable although I did spot some young French children giving it a shot (check out the view with the gargoyle). This castle was one of my favorites. From the ramparts you could see the Loire River wind its way through the autumn trees. The gardens on top of the castle were pristine and although the rooms of this castle weren't breathtaking they didn't have to be. This castle was purely impressive, a true fortress. After returning to the home we had stayed in the previous night we were greeted with a flat tire on Patrick's bike. Rather than letting it deflate our mood (see what I did there? lol) we found it was only a slow leak, added some air and set off for Chenonceau. It was sunny and warm as we rode toward one of the most famous castles of the Loire. Upon arriving there we stashed all of our bags in lockers, grabbed our "appareils de photo" (cam
eras) and headed towards the château on a long path lined with bright, yellow-leafed trees. Built over a river and home to world famous gardens, Chenonceau is no mere huntinglodge or refuge in times of war. No indeed, this castle was made by royalty for royalty and every aspect of it showed this. From the perfectly manicured gardens and incredible tapestries and artwork adorning the inner walls, to the exquisitely tiled floors and ceilings that had been painted, engraved, and carved Chenonceau defined French royalty. The picture here is of a hot air balloon above the River Cher. We decided that the 150 euro price tag was too much for our wallets this time around so we declined the balloon ride. It wa
s getting dark by the time we thought about leaving and we made the disconcerting discovery that our destination, rather than being 15 km away was closer to 15 miles. There was no time to make it to Tours before dark so we lucked out. Fortunately there was a train stop right outside the castle grounds and Patrick and I found that the next train was going to be arriving in fifteen minutes. After hurriedly buying the tickets (another blessing...they were only 3 euro each) we ran and got our bags and our bikes and made it just in time to catch the train.Day 5: A series of unfortunate events..... and Villandry
We awoke the next morning in Tours. We had spent the night in the Stars Hotel Sud, the French version of Motel 6 but much much much much cheaper. In fact I can't express how lame this hotel was. If you would have tried to set a baby on the plastic sink it would have broken and I am not exaggerating! We had breakfast in the room and then left for an ambitious day. The air was very cold as we began to ride and after only one mile we had a setback. Before we had left I had debated whether or not to exchange the brand new wheels/tires from my blue bike for the old wheels on Jamie's bike. Well, I didn't and now I had a flat. Hoping that it was just the "chambre d'air" (innertube) we changed that on the side of the road but not more than two minutes later the tire was flat again. Patrick searched for sporting goods stores near our location and we found some about 3 km away. He rode his bike ahead of me and I walked but it was a Monday in France. What does this mean? It means that most business happen to be closed at least until after luchtime and many for the entire day. Honestly sometimes it is hard to understand how small business owners here m
ake a profit at all being closed so often and having a small pool of customers. Turns out Patrick had to ride back the other direction another 6 km, buy new tires and ride back to where I was waiting. We changed the tires and made lunch and then hit the road but already it was after 1 pm. We finally made it to Villandry where we saw the most famed and amazing gardens in all of France. While the inside of the château was not nearly as impressive as most of the others that we had seen, the gardens easily outdid all the others. Here the incredible symmetry and detailed patterns of French landscaping made themselves very apparent. Once again we found ourselves taking pictures and absolutely captivated with our surroundings. Before we knew it it was time to go. We had made plans in our original itinerary to see two other castles on this day but because of the original delay this was not possible. So we left Villandry and rode into the quiet little town of Chinon where we checked into the Hotel au Sans Souci. The owner was incredibly nice and accommodating and it made me want to recommend his hotel to everyone...so that is what I am doing here. If you are reading this and you ever plan on going to the Loire Valley then stay in Chinon and stay in the Hotel au Sans Souci...period, end of story, done (side note: they had the coolest showers there...interested now?).Day 6: Travel Day (i.e. Onward to Normandy!)
We had to leave the hotel early the next morning to catch our first of four trains today. Luckily
we were able to catch the sunrise above the city. We made our way north taking one hour trains and waiting one hour in between. Our first stop was in Tours where we had a four hour stop and ate breakfast (we each had 4 yogurts and a pastry!), then Nantes, then Rennes, and finally Pontorson, 10 km from Mont St. Michel. We made it into Pontorson just as the sun began to set and rode hard to make it Mont St. Michel before the sunset finished. That was one of the most surreal experiences that I have ever had. Once we got on the r
oad we could see Mont St. Michel in the distance. As we rode toward it and it grew larger and larger on the horizon I couldn't help feeling like I was in a dream. Here I was in Normandy, France riding my bike and in the distance I can see one of France's most famous places, a place that I knew I would see someday but never took that seriously enough to actually envision myself there. It was amazing. An ancient island abbey. We went and settled into our room at the Auberge de la Baie which was less than 2 km away and made dinner and relaxed for a couple of hours. Once it was good and dark we made our way back to Mont St. Michel and had a late night picture taking session while the abbey was lit up with spotlights.Day 7: Mont St. Michel
We had dedicated this day entirely to seein
g Mont St. Michel and riding through Normandy to the train station in Avranches where we would catch a train to Bayeux. We woke up before sunrise and rode out to the island to take pictures with the sunrise. The sandy ground around the castle proved to be difficult to navigate and we had to make sure to avoid patches of quicksand but we were able to successfully take some good pictures before the tide came in. Then we were admitted into the abbey and toured it for about three hours. I was not nearly as impressed with the inside of the abbey as I was with its image from the outside. The architecture was undoubtedly incredible however and the views from the ramparts were amazing as well. After we had finished exploring the abbey we made our way to Avranches which I will spend no time talking about since it was one of the most depressing towns I have ever visited in Europe or elsewhere. We made our train for Bayeux where we stopped for a kebab and then rode to our lodging for the next two nights, a little farmhouse in a tiny villages called Ryes.Day 8: The D-Day beaches
We were definitely feeling tired and lazy today after not getting much sleep at all the night before so we ended up leaving
at about noon. Our first stop was the coast town of Arromanches. This is where Winston Churchill's idea of a man-made harbor was carried out (the Germans had seized all of the major French harbors and ports and were prepared to destroy them should the Allies try to take them by force). After walking along the beach we went around the museum for a little while. This was a rather uncomfortable experience since I was completely decked out in cycling spandex and garnered long stares from tourists and French alike. Honestly I don't know what the big deal was though. I mean its not like the Tour de France is in France or anything. It seems to me that by now they should be used to spandex. From Avranches we rode to Omaha beach and the American cemetery. I have never in my life been so humbled, never so grateful. When I saw those thousands and
thousands of white crosses stretching out before me I was speechless. Whether or not they died is irrelevant, every soldier that hit the beaches on D-Day gave his life for his country. In the words of Captain Charles Cawthon, "Then it all came down to this brief first day of battle on the coast of Normandy, and for so many of them it all ended. For the rest of us, what has been since, has not been the same." I am going to stop the description here because in all honesty I cannot find the words to express what I was feeling this day although I will echo the words that are engraved at the entrance to the cemetery. "To these we owe the high resolve that the cause for which they died shall live". Walking down to our bikes I could see the whole of Omaha beach spread out before me. It was hard to believe that this beach, although still strewn with cement bunkers and trenches was the site of one of the most gruesome and hard fought battles in history. From Omaha we rode our bikes to see a German gun battery. It was completely dark when we got there but we took out our bike lights and explored the giant cement structures built into the sides of hills which still housed the same 30 foot long guns that shot at our troops during the war. It was a very eerie sight.Day 9: Bayeux Tapestry, WWII Museum in Cain
We left our farmhouse lodging early this morning to head to Bayeux where we saw the 1000 year old Bayeux tapestry that tells the story of the Norman conquest. We then caught a train to Cain where we spent five hours getting lunch, seeing some cathedrals, and visiting the amazing WWII museum there which is only done justice with a visit of at least four or five hours. We took a train from Cain to Trouville-Deauville, a train station 15 km from our destination of Honfleur. It was bitterly cold that night and so we bundled up to make the hardest ride that we had experienced thus far. There were far more hills here on the coast of Normandy than there were in the entire Loire Valley but finally we made it into Honfleur. We were staying in the home of an elderly lady that night and so when we got to her house we showered and then set out to find a nice restaurant to eat at. We chose one that was fairly close to her house and split some very tasty Normandy-style fondue.
Day 10: Honfleur, Paris
We woke up this morning and spent a lazy day in Honfleur walking around the small fishing village through markets and parks and along the harbor. We bought bus tickets to take us back to the train station at Trouville-Deauville where we waited for an hour and then left for Paris. We got into Paris when it was dark and rode our bikes to our hotel. This was no easy task since riding a bike in the city, Paris nonetheless, is very different than on a country road and the drivers in Paris are crazy. We settled into
our room and ate dinner which consisted of a baguette with camembert cheese and apples. Then we set off to see Paris. We took the metro to Notre-Dame cathedral. Once again here I was, in Paris seeing things that until this point I had only imagined and seen images. I could hardly believe I was here. There is no comparison to actually being there in body. From Notre Dame we walked to the Eiffel Tower which was incredible. When we got to the tower we noticed that 
it was lit with blue lights. We started taking pictures and all of a sudden it burst out into sparkling white lights (which apparently happens every night). The cherry on the cake however was the sound and light show that began a few minutes later. Colorful lights pulsed and changed with the music. Halloween night in Paris couldn't have given us a better treat! We left the Eiffel Tower and walked to l'Arc de Triomphe and then from there down the Champs-Elysées, Paris' most famous street. We walked past famous building after famouse building. We saw the enormous Louvre and the Musée d'Orsay. When we finally got back to our hotel we were absolutely dead tired and we had reason to be...we had walked over 10 miles!Day 11: Paris, Home
We woke up this morning, gathered up our stuff and headed for Notre-Dame again. We locked our bikes outside and found a small place to get a warm drink and some breakfast. Then we went into the cathedral and toured the inside. The cathedral is incredible, gigantic and cavernous. But what sets Notre-Dame apart from other cathedrals is its incredible stained glass, especially its rose windows. While we were in the cathedral we were able to see one of the mass services that was being held that day which in and of itself was rather interesting. From Notre-Dame we walked down to Saint-Chapelle cathedral which has some of the most famous stained glass in all of Europe. Unfortunately it was undergoing a large-scale restoration project that blocked some of the best windows. The cathedral was the private sanctuary of Louis IX and was built
with the intention of housing the crown of thorns. The only way to get into this cathedral is to go through security screening since it lies right in the middle of the Palais de Justice. By this time it was raining buckets and after visiting another cathedral, St. Severin, we headed to our bikes and rode to the Gare de Lyon where we took a train home.Concluding Thoughts
It was quite a long trip and by the end I was thoroughly exhausted but it had been amazing. It was definitely a different experience going from a student in France who is actually living here and calling it home to playing the tourist. We saw quite a few Americans not to mention many other different nationalities along our way. It was annoying when people would automatically talk to us in English because they could tell we were foreigners. We asked people to speak to us in French whenever possible but as of right now there is no way to mask the fact that we are indeed non-natives. Maybe someday my accent will be good enough to fool the French. My favorite part of the trip was hands down getting to ride by bike through the French countryside whether it be in Normandy or the Loire Valley. Buildings and art and famous sights only do so much for me. I would rather see natural beauty any day and what I saw as I rode was incredible. All the fall leaves, French forests, farmland and tiny villages, fields covered with thick fog, and the list goes on and on. Hands down it was one of the greatest trips I have been on in my life and I hope to add another one to that list during Christmas break.
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