Today's word? Weather. What a very British topic for a man in France. I set off feeling very refreshed today. Robbie and Jenni Gibson were such good hosts, though we'd never met before. I'll be very disappointed if we are forever relegated to Facebook friend status. Breakfast this morning was so much more wholesome for a long-distance than in my little hotels: porridge, banana, etc... It was sad to say goodbye, and I have to say again that I loved playing with Christopher - he 'read' Puss in Boots to me this morning for good measure, and helped check over my bike before departure. Please tell him that his help obviously worked as there were no mechanical issues today.
Anyway, as I was saying: weather. Having set off refreshed, and felt the sense of achievement that goes with surviving the Paris traffic to make it to Notre Dame, a fierce wind whipped up while I was outside the cathedral, and stormy weather began. The wind was there all the way to Chartres - never helpful, and mostly extremely unhelpful. And though there were sunny spells, rain was usually threatening even when it wasn't happening. There were also a couple of full-scale thunder-lightning-hail downpours, accompanied by enough heat to dry out totally in between times. That all made for a lengthy ride, and an exhausting ride.
Can I pick another word today as well? Navigation. My navigation into Paris was perfect. Navigation out again was much, much harder. I was trying to avoid the very busiest routes, but once again was foiled by signage, too many traffic lights, and the dreaded yellow 'Deviation' signs - their meaning is obvious even to a non-French speaker. It seemed to take forever to get free of the Paris conurbation, which was pretty wearying too, and I resorted to checking the sat nav pretty often. How much easier it must have been for the first pilgrims!
Anyway, in terms of highlights, it was actually very good to wander round central Paris a bit and take in the atmosphere. The nature of the city means you actually see some of the big monuments from all sorts of angles - as when
I looked back from the Louvre through the Jardins des Tuileries, and saw the obelisk in the Place de la Concorde and the Arc de Triomphe in perfect line. It was also good to stand and take stock outside Notre Dame Cathedral (and eat another banana, thank you Jenni). What was disappointing was not to feel able to go inside. With an embargo on 'luggage' inside the cathedral, I would have had to leave the panniers on the bike, and I just didn't feel comfortable about that, so no pilgrim stamp today, and no exploration of the interior of Notre Dame. Maybe I should have cycled in without any baggage yesterday after all.
Other highlights? Well, I've kept forgetting to say it, but the birdsong has been striking throughout the trip. Occasionally I see the birds, and don't just think 'I don't know what that is' but 'I've never seen one of those before. That has continued today. There were some beautiful villages and towns en Route, of which Rambouillet stands out. I glimpsed the chateau, but didn't have time for exploration, obviously, and I was sorry not to have a ride on the 1900 fairground roundabout in the town square. A bit further on, I took minor roads through the Eure valley after Maintenon to get to Chartres. That had several upsides. One was that it was more sheltered from the wind. Another was that it was pretty flat, till a short climb up brought Chartres cathedral into view (lifting the spirits considerably). The third was that it was just beautiful in itself: St Piat, Jouy, St Prest - lovely villages in a lovely valley. That was the traditional pilgrim route into Chartres, and I am glad I opted for it instead of taking the easy option for a tired pilgrim and sticking to the main road.
It was really a bit too late on arrival in Chartres to think of doing any sight-seeing today, so I mooched around a bit and took some pictures and then retreated to the hotel. I will ride the mile or so back into Chartres tomorrow and spend some time there before heading the 50 (hopefully straightforward) miles to Orleans. That really should be a bit easier, but it is a slightly strange thing to do. The pilgrim routes run either through Chartres OR through Orleans, but I wanted to see both, so I am crossing over from one route to another before heading on to Tours and Poitiers. Today my legs were sort of saying 'We thought you'd given up on this silly idea' after having a rest day. Hopefully they will get the message tomorrow and be back to full strength.
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