TOUR DAY 6 (SEPT 14) TOURS to BLOIS
Last night while I slept in the train-station-hotel, a sinister plot was formed. A meeting of the minds, if you will. Representatives from each of my body parts came together in a secret meeting to discuss what was transpiring over the past week.
Sure, they agreed that in improvement in heath was good for the overall longevity of their careers, but something had to be done about the unrealistic demands forced on them over the past week- with no end in sight.
170 kilometers in 2 days? Seriously? The left knee drew the straw and became the first wild-cat strike of the body.
With the Blois’s ancient riverfront buildings almost in sight, I could no longer pedal. What am I going to do? I tried and tried, but the sharp pain from my left knee was like needles going deep. So, for the last 2 kilometers I walked. And walked, and walked.
The first hotel I came to, the Ibis, I didn’t care how much it was. I was ready to be done. But they didn’t care how much money I had.
“I’m sorry sir, we are full. The whole town is full today for some reason” After circling the Chateau of the city twice looking for the Office of Tourism, I finally found it.
Another hotel I tried with a view of the Chateau, the lady who ran it was very nice to me. She reminded me of Brittany’s [deceased] mom. I explained my knee was hurt and I couldn’t ride anymore. I needed a hotel and close. She was full too, “everyone is“, but explained to me about where the OT (office de Tourisme) was.
“Everything is full. We don’t know why it is so” the lady at the tourism office tells me.
“I need something close by. I’m hurt. I can’t go very far”
Looking at me over her bi-focals “How much can you pay?”
“For something close, I can pay ANYTHING. 5 Star, 1 Star I don’t care. So long as its close”
“Anything?!?!”
“ANYTHING” read my lips, lady. And it was true. I would have paid anything. I was in pain and ready to be settled.
She made some calls, and finally “D’accord” she looked up at me. “I have a room close to here. They can accept your Velo, but the price is…” I’m waiting for 375 or 1,300 Euros “38 Euros, and they take the bicycle too. Is that okay?”
This leads me to my next topic- in American real estate it’s called “red-lining,” or based on a prejudice, you steer people in a certain direction. It is illegal now under the Fair Housing laws passed decades ago. But show up in France in biker shorts and a helmet, and even if you say “I’ll pay ANYTHING!” you still wind up in a 40 Euro/night 2 star hotel where the internet only works in the lobby. It’s true, I just look cheap.
I had a wonderful dinner at the "Pepper & Salt" restaurant in the center of town tonight... I'm headed to bed now. Night
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| At my hotel by the train station this morning in Tours...they let me keep my bike in the courtyard |
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| The courtyard of my hotel in Tours... bright and sunny and 50F! Burrrr! |
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| Some famous building in the center of Tours... should have gotten the name of it... but no time! |
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| Tours, the city of construction...here the entire boulevard of the city is removed and being worked on |
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| Tours |
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| The bike path leaving Tours... inside the levee. Was very nice and well-paved |
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| They LOVE their campers here... parks everywhere |
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| Just a house I liked |
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| Great path through wine country |
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| "Where do babies, er, I mean wine come from?" |
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| Harvesting grapes for wine |
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| Sunflowers past their prime, but ready for harvest |
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| It's whats for dinner =) |
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| Most of my day was spent without much of a shoulder on a busy road |
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| The Loire isn't very big now that we're above most of it's contributaries |
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| Riding in the river |
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DONE WITH PHASE II, ON TO PHASE III!
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| The view of BLOIS, walking the bike |
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| Its' like the French Halloween here... lots of college kids dressed up |
1 comment:
I hope your knee feels better tomorrow! =)
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