Chinon to Vezelay

Chinon to Vezaley

A big travel day from the Loire to the Burgundy regions. We set off just after 9.00am, intending to visit a sound installation in a cave at our first stop, Loches, but found that it was closed that morning. We had a little wander in the old medieval city instead, and a coffee, then set off in the car again.

A few hours later we arrived at a beautiful spot on a river, St Florent sur Cher, where we had our picnic lunches in the grounds of a beautiful castle (which is now used for Council offices it seems). After a less than beautiful visit to underground toilets, we jumped back in the car and headed on again. We successfully skirted around some big towns, and were enchanted with some places we whizzed through (such as La Charite sur Loire) and found some towns quite bleak (such as Issodun).

Finally after 8 hours on the road we arrived at our destination Vezelay – an old town perched on top of a steep hill. Our rooms are quite basic and a bit musty, but have fantastic views out over the countryside. The town has a basilica dedicated to Mary Magdelene, and has some of her relics are here - it is said. This was where one of the crusades was launched, and has been the destination for pilgrims for hundreds of years. Now the pilgrims seem to be of the fairly well-to-do variety, seeking a culinary/gastronomic treat in beautiful surroundings – so we had trouble finding a reasonably priced menu, and ended up eating and spending more than we intended. Oh its tough this travel business.