CHAPTER 10. FRANCE-LOIRE & BURGANDY CONT.

In the morning it is raining hard at Fontainebleau so we are glad we toured the gardens and palace the previous day. We drive thru forests and via back roads to Chartres. The sun comes out just as we arrive. The cathedral is very impressive; beautiful stained glass, some dark, and some with not much color, in the many windows high in walls; it is dark inside and difficult to take photographs. We walk around the outside, and after lunch in a tea room we end our visit to Loire and Burgundy and head on the freeway back to Paris (#8).

We come back to the Loire area in May of 1986 on the way from SW France (#16) with a visit to Loches. The first night there we can’t find a hotel room so call to nearby towns and find one at Le Veau d’Or Hotel in Ste. Maure. We drive back to Loches in the morning and check into the Hotel France. It is cloudy early but sunny and hot by mid day. Loches has many very interesting things to see. We walk around the lower part and see a very pretty park along the river. After lunch we climb up to the fortified city with great views over the city and countryside, see the Royal Portal, dungeons and guard room, church, and chateau.

From Loches we go north to Chartres, then to Paris (#8) for another visit, then thru Picardy to Alsace (#11).