Wednesday 16th July, Gennes to Angers

Woke early packed up had a banana and set off by 7am. It was quite cool and we started off with our jackets on but it only took a few km to warm up. We stopped at a picnic area in St Rémy la Varenne to have breakfast overlooking the 12 century Benadictine priory.

We then continued on our way we "cut an erratic path through the rivers former meanders" according to our guide book. We stopped for a coffee/ hot chocolate at a little bar/restaurant in La Daguenière where we had to make the decision on wether to head straight into Angers or head for the campground. We decided to do the later which enabled us to set up the tent to dry and do some washing. On the way we saw a couple with their young son who we have seen quite a number of times over the last week so we decided to talk with them. It turns out they are from Belgium and started in Orleans and are also heading for the coast as well. David took their photo and we said we may meet again on the way. At the campground it was already hot so we knew the washing would all be dry when we returned to the campground.

We had a great lunch at a bar close to the campground in St Gemmes sur Loire. The waitress didn't speak English but we managed to get by although we thought the buffet was our lunch but in fact was a buffet entree. She brought over what we thought was 2 bottles of water one in a carafe and one in a wine bottle. It turns out the one in the wine bottle was red wine. So we had our large salad entree + pork chop with mustard sauce, salad and mashed potato! then cheese platter then a desert. Washed down with a couple of glasses of red and some water. All this for 11€ each!

We then set off for the cointreau distillery on the other side of Angers. Thank goodness for the GPS which had us on bike paths on back roads most of the way. When we arrived we found we had just missed the last tour by 20 minutes but the guy let us join in and as the tour was in French we got an ipad to to guide us in English. The tour finished with a tasting, neat, with ice and a cocktail.

We then set off to see the sights of Angers riding through cobble stone streets which was difficult. The main points of interest were: the Chateâu Angers, Montée Saint Maurice which is a cathedral, the Pont de Verdun. We had a lovely dinner of buckwheat crepes at a creperie.

The sped back to the campground via the Parc de Balzac, a 14km trip. Total km for the day 66km. Finishing writing this at 10:40pm as it is just getting dark! Huge day