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Saturday, June 1st - Amboise to Vendome, 4523 km
Today is more work than fun, against our best efforts. It is cool and threatening rain. The wind is coming from the north-east, as it has been for a few days, but today we are returning, heading into it. Mike has been inquiring about trains into Paris, so that we won't have to 
endure hours of intense traffic, and he has learned that there is a local train from Vendome, north-east from Amboise that will take our bikes for free. We are being extremely careful not to repeat our experience in Avignon. To get to Vendome we first head north-east up the Loire to Blois. First though, I want to photograph a 17th century monument called the Pagode (Pagoda) that lies three or four kilometres south from the river. I can see it from a distance but when I climb the hill I find it is closed and the gate is too is far away to get a worthy shot. I return to the river where Mike is waiting for me and we set off for Blois.
We begin the ride on a local highway along the south bank. The scenery is unremarkable and the grey weather is not conducive to taking pictures. It is about 50 km to Blois and we plod along against the chilly headwind. 
Blois itself is interesting. 
There is a chateau, a cathedral and an abbey that are parts of the skyline from across the Loire River. This point of our day is over half the distance we need to cover and it is still early afternoon, so we stop into the tourist information office to pick up brochures on the attractions. There is a push-button light panel with a map of the city that lights up when touch a certain attraction, but when a button is pushed several places on the same street light up, confusingly.
After a look at the outside of the cathedral and the chateau, we ride through the commercial section of the old town. We browse through a market, where I buy some radishes and broiled chicken for later. Then we set off on a local road, D957, which heads north-west from Blois in a fairly straight line to Vendome. Again, the route is flat, like the scenery, and there is little reason to stop. It is still grey and threatening rain, but at least we now have a crosswind instead of a headwind.
Vendome proves to be a lovely town full of character, built on islands in the Loir River (not the Loire - the French have few concerns about duplicating names of rivers or towns). It is more scenic than any town we saw in the Loire Valley. It looks very touristy but isn't crawling with bus loads of tourists as the chateau region is. The only inexpensive hotel is right next to the train tracks, very close to the railway station, which will make it very convenient for catching our 7am train to Paris tomorrow.
The hotel gives us a room on the condition that we eat at their restaurant. They must be desperate, which is probably due to the quality of food and the fact that they are two kilometres from the centre of town. It doesn't matter to me as I am feeling quite sour tonight. My dinner consists of Gaviscon tablets, mineral water (which Mike buys for me - there is hope for him yet) and a beer which I drink while he eats. It is dark before I get a chance to take a second ride through town to take pictures.
PHOTO 1: Amboise with chateau behind row of commercial buildings
PHOTO 2: Chateau Amboise, facade
PHOTO 3: sunburst along the Loire
PHOTO 4: Cande-sur-Beuvron, south bank of Loire
PHOTO 5: Blois
PHOTO 6: at the front of Chateau Blois
PHOTO 7: Chateau Blois
PHOTO 8: exterior of staircase, Chateau Blois
PHOTO 9: Blois Cathedral
PHOTO 10: another palace in Blois
PHOTO 11: art installation in Blois
PHOTO 12: Vendome, canal
PHOTO 13: Vendome in the evening
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