Bonjour la Loire

Happy Birthday Izzie! We sleep well but wake still not knowing where we are. At breakfast we ask the Harley Davidson driver next to us for directions. He says "booff, j'habite en Marseille". He doesn't seem to know where we are either! Finally we find someone who does, and we are back on track. Actually it is quite nice being a Comtesse one night and the wife of a trucker the next: both equally foreign and variety is the spice of life after all! The route today follows several canals but the sun is out and tops are off at an early hour. We are in Pays Charolais and the fields are filled with white cows instead of vines. We enjoy our first Citron Presse in the sunshine, not feeling the need for heavy pastries and coffee today. We picnic by the canal before seeing our first glimpses of the Loire. We arrive in Bourbon Lancy and find a delightful little hotel in the old square where we sit and blog in the beautifully peaceful courtyard garden with a bottle of chilled Rose. Bliss! We eat at a local restaurant in the mediaeval quarter that serves only snails and Charolais steak. Well, "if you can't beat 'em join 'em" so I have snails too. (Montceau Les Mines to Bourbon Lancy - 52 miles)