Our first bike tour! We bike at home, but this was our first bike holiday. We traveled with a VBT tour of Loire Valley, and it was terrific. On our bikes, we could see delightful details of historic small villages, we could smell the lavender, we could easily stop for lovely photo ops. Much of the time, we felt as though we were biking through a van Gogh landscape! And the best part? Totally guilt-free eating … of very delicious cuisine!
The many chateaux we visited — many dating from 11th-15th centuries — are gorgeous and we enjoyed learning more of the history (some are UNESCO sites). Our favorite was also the smallest — Château du Clos Lucé, the home of Leonardo da Vinci for his last three years. And we got to stay in a legit chateau rebuilt in early 1800’s! We enjoyed it all — the biking*, the chateaux, the food, the wine, the camaraderie. Highly recommend!
Before coming to mainland France, we had spent a wonderful week sailing Costa Smeralda of Sardinia (Italy) and Corsica (France). After leaving the sailing yacht, we were in Paris for a few days and visited Versailles — stunning! We were curious to see Petit Trianon — the “she-shed” of Marie Antoinette — and her faux hamlet/farm. They did not disappoint. No wonder there was a revolution!
You can watch Bob’s short video below, and scroll down for some of our favorite pics. Thanks for visiting!
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*For those curious … we biked about 30 miles a day. Bob chose a regular bike and Diana chose an e-bike. You still have to pedal, but the e-bike gives a little help on hills. Loire Valley is fairly flat, but she found that the e-bike was definitely helpful!
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