We departed Paris this morning. As might be expected Paris on a Monday morning was busy with traffic but we made our way out relatively easily and without incident.
After about 8 km from the centre we joined the coulée verte, green corridor, which was a delightful cycle through the southern suburbs of Paris. Beryl was excited to see our first Camino scallop sign.
The coulée verte went for about 10 km. I wondered how so long a corridor could remain in a busy city. It turns out the land was originally acquired in the 19th century for a railway which was never built. In the 1980s a cut and cover tunnel was built for the Atlantic TGV line to Nantes. The land on top was reconstituted as the coulée verte which was being used by many in the community. A great way to develop transport infrastructure.
Our journey consisted of many small satellite towns of Paris. It was all rather slow work and a real jumble of conditions. One moment we were going along an unpaved road through fields and then a couple of km along it was a busy road lined with fast food outlets.
We came upon this wonderful marketplace when we stopped for lunch.
We climbed slowly up most of the day as we started to leave the Seine behind us with one serious up to test the legs.
Étampes is a typical small French town. Not much has happened here but Theobald of Étampes is known as the first scholar to lecture at Oxford and hence is a forerunner of the university.
The main church had a good Romanesque spire and a curious crenellated wall built around it. There were some old wall paintings inside.
On to the Loire valley tomorrow.
Julian and Beryl's camino 