Rolling in the Loire Valley

Today was sunny and quite warm. 

Our first stop was a grocery store where we chatted with a Dutch couple who were riding a tandem. They go all over on it from their home near Amsterdam. 

Saturday is our big shop day because everything seems closed on Sundays and sometimes also Monday. We stowed our food with the baguette strapped to Mo's bike as usual and set out to find a tent drying spot. 

We found a shrine to Joan of Arc in the town of Sainte Catherine de Fierbois and draped our tents about the plaza. The sun was hot and they dried quite quickly. Despite Catherine apparently being the patron saint of firewood, we didn't see any piles of stacked logs.

With dry tents, we retreated to a shady park with benches to savour our usual bread, cheese and fruit lunch. We had strawberries that tasted freshly picked. 

Fortified we rolled out through the fields of the valley and past tiny medieval town like Maillé. 

We found our campground but despite the sign proclaiming it was open, it clearly was closed. Plan B is a B&B in Nôutre. Since we can't check in yet, we've been forced to have cold drinks in the plaza. 

We have a glimpse of the Vienne River and wisteria and can hear the cheerful clink of pétanque balls nearby.  Not a bad outcome for a day when the campground doesn't work out.