France -Loire Valley 23-30 May 300km

After a night in Paris we catch a train to Blois, and collect our rental bikes. Then it's back on the train the next day to Angers where we begin - we will ride back to Blois to return bikes and collect our suitcases. 

First treat is a ride around Angers with a volunteer guide, and even better she escorts us 10 km to the start of the Loire à velo bike route. It's well marked with little blue signs on every corner. 

Bike infrastructure is great, and we only have a couple of navigational malfunctions, where one misses the sign and the other is hot, tired and grumpy 😉

Hmm, it's flat riding along a river, isn't it? Mais non, the route is the scenic one, so up and down, through amazingly beautiful old villages, past vineyards, woods, farms and flowers, with occasional river stretches 😉

We visit chateaux at Montsoreau 

Villandry

Chenonceau 

and pass several others

Caves that the tufa (white building stone) has been extracted from are now used for growing mushrooms, storing wine and  living in

It's hot, so there are plenty of picnic and swimming opportunities 

Our accomodation is Airbnb, a hotel and warm showers (cyclist volunteer website), all wonderful

It's very quiet to start, but then there's a long weekend so there are bikes everywhere - large and small groups, kids in trailers. We receive lots of bonjour/bon voyage as we ride along. 

And for our last treat - a visit to an international garden festival at Chateau Chaumont-sur-Loire. Ooh la la, c'est très bon

Sailing in Croatia

We are joined by 5 Torquay and 2 Melbourne friends for an amazing week sailing around the Central Dalmatian coast. The skies are blue, the wind varies from 0 - 23 knots, and Ian patiently instructs his motley crew. By the end of the week we are shipshape 😀

We eat delicious food - mainly seafood - at small restaurants, try lots of Croatian wine, and find good coffee wherever we stop. 

The water is crystal clear, and bracing, but that doesn't stop our daily swims, and occasional snorkel. 

Everyone loves the experience, and the only question is "where to next?"!

Croatia

Dubrovnik is beautiful. We stay in a tiny apartment within the walled city, which runs up a hill from the harbour. It's all cobbled streets and steep narrow steps. In between the hordes of tourists following guides, the locals live their lives, though most live outside as the tourists pay more for rent. It is almost rebuilt since the 1991 war which destroyed so much. We're here with Torquay friends Cheryl and Joe. 

The new roofs show the extent of the bomb damage

These streets are very steep…

Fishermen shelters? Pirate caves? Who knows 

4 happy people enjoying the sun

Split is also very beautiful but seems more sophisticated. It has a wide harbour and promenade, and is built on flat land. The old town is a maze of streets, built around a palace. Shops, restaurants and apartments fill the buildings. 

Europe May- June

6 weeks of travel:

- Dubrovnik and Split, Croatia, with Torquay friends Cheryl and Joe

- Sailing from near Split, with more Torquay friends June, Richard and Peter, plus Melbourne friends Liz and Russell also joining us 

- Cycling in the Loire Valley, France

- Cycling from Bordeaux to Sète, on the Mediterranean, again with Cheryl and Joe

- a few days in Paris to finish off

😀