The day starts with a typical French breakfast in a typical French hotel. A cool, almost autumnal feel as we head off early, the sun only recently risen it seems above the wheat and corn fields, but with the promise of being scorching later on. One of the many nuclear power stations that dot the Loire is manufacturing neat cumulus clouds from its cooling tower. We buy our picnic lunch provisions early from the local market in Beaugency just as it is being set up, fantastic looking cherries and apricots, and as near to brown bread as we can find. We stop at the perfect bar for coffee in Blois, an attractive lively town with great panoramic views from the Hotel de Ville, and then the perfect picnic spot for lunch just outside Chailes. Getting both of these right in one day is unusal. We pass beneath chateau Chaumont, and arrive at Amboise, where we stay within spitting distance of its chateau. Instead of wine we are greeted with a cool bottle of water by the English owner, and I am reminded of the Latin maxim that adorns the fountain in Bourbon Lancy that we saw the other day. (Beaugency to Amboise - 51 miles)
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