Blois to Orleans (via Chambord Chateau)

 Okay, before you get the feeling that this blog is about nothing but cycling on fine day's and visiting Château's, we want to let you know that our saunter through the Loire Valley is about at an end.  That does not mean that there will not be more adventure, but there will certainly be fewer chateau's.

With that said, today we have a marvelous bike ride (of course) and visiting what is probably the best of the Chateau's, Chambord.  Chambord was built for the Kings of France as a hunting lodge.  From the history we learned today, other characters in the story seemed to be out of luck royals that were given the marvelous chateau in order to spend all their money in restoration.

In any case, we were thankful for all their effort and appreciative of the restoration effort, which as you can see is ongoing.

The top of the grand staircase - 50 meters tall and based on a design by Leonardo da Vinci

Oh, is that a royal that Lori spotted?  No, just Patty styling a cute hat 

Photo by Beth of a tiny portion of the grounds

The Loire at this point is much more natural

As a cyclist, I appreciate what I THINK this sign says, priority for the pedestrian, freedom for the cyclist and the need for power vehicles to be vigilant 

We cycled 45 miles today.  Wet roads, but no rain to start.   Overcast and cool were perfect riding conditions.   The traffic was light and roads were great.