Today we finished the last stage of our Camino journey for 2019. We’ve cycled 638 km or 400 miles from Calais to Tours. We are now half way down the length of France.
Our cycling today went from Blois to Tours along the Loire valley. We actually cycled some distance from the river as the roads there are busy. It was delightfully quiet where we travelled.
We took our time today with an Orangina stop. This French drink is like Fanta but less sweet and somehow more refreshing. It has helped keep us going on several days.
For our lunch we stopped off in a small town where we saw a boulangerie. The woman serving us said we could go into the chateau park to eat our food. It turned out to be a lovely spot with a small chateau in very pleasant surroundings with a wonderful old cedar of Lebanon.
We cycled on to Vouvray, a source of great Loire wines. We managed to avoid the temptation of degustation or wine tasting. The vineyards looked amazing though.
Our entrance into Tours was along a cycle path by the Loire and then over an old suspension bridge now dedicated to cyclists and pedestrians.
We cycled up to the cathedral and were very pleased to have achieved our goal for this year. We walked into the cathedral for our pilgrim credential stamps or tampons as the French say.
Our evening concluded with a good meal and super bottle of Chinon, a Loire wine.
Tours has good restaurants but is not as interesting or with a good ambience as Orléans or Blois. This sign at the magnificent railway station rather overstates the town’s charms.
As we were walking back to our hotel, we saw the sign for the next part of our journey. We will be back to continue. There are plenty more stamps to be collected.
Julian and Beryl's camino 
Great achievement. Well done both of you.
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Orangina! Always tastes best on holidays in the sunshine.
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It does the job well when cycling in the sun, but definitely not something I drink at home!
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