Finally!! Managed to get the correct electronic control module installed and Betsy is ready to go. And so am I.
Rain was (correctly) forecast for Sunday and I didn't want to have my first ride of the year in that stuff...so, the answer was leave Friday and come back Saturday. As usual, the best laid plans "gang aft agley," as ol' Robbie Burns would have it. Or, to paraphrase an old proverb: For want of a battery the gate wouldn't open.
I left the apartment about 9:00am, weather a little chilly, but looking forward to a nice day on the bike. But, as is usual, a little fun had to be endured first. The electronic gate to Betsy's garage area wouldn't open. It had opened the night before when I dropped her off after getting the second, and correct, electric module installed. But, not this morning. No...not this morning. I was just too keyed up and ready to begin. The trip gods had to show me my place and who was in charge.
The real estate firm from which I rented the garage was adjacent to the driveway but, hey, it's France...they wouldn't be open at the unheard of hour of 9:00a.m. on Friday morning. Surely you jest. So, taking advantage of the unplanned break, I grabbed my iPad and a Pain au Raison (roll) and went for coffee. About 10:00 I return to the real estate office, but they didn't have another electronic opener, nor replacement batteries...what? Are you kidding. That'd be something...like...oh, what's the word?...oh yeah, service. "But, don't forget to send your check regularly and on time...we've 'earned' it by being here." So, off I go to the mall. I found a photo shop and got the "dinky," unique little battery for the opener and went back to the garage and released Betsy from her captivity, and me from my now fouled mood. On the road at 11:00am, only two hours later than planned.
Determining where to go was a little difficult because I wanted the warmest possible weather with the least possibility for rain. That appeared to be inland and south, so I chose Limoges, world famous home of enamel ware and porcelain. Besides, I've bowed to the "porcelain god" so many times I felt a little fealty was in order. Plus, this has the added attraction of being somewhere my friend Roger R. would kill to visit. Roger collects such things and would love to scrounge through all the antiques shops in the area.
My instructions to the GPS was to avoid toll roads and go that-a-way so, once away from Nantes, I took the A249 southeast to Parthenay, then A149 to Poitiers. Poitiers sticks in my mind because it was Diane De Poitiers who was Henry II's mistress when he was married to Catherine de Medici. (See blog entries for Tours in June 2010.)
Catherine forced Diane to trade chateaus after Henry made an untimely exit and Catherine became regent for her sons. But it's a heck of a story of very accomplished women at a time when men thought they ran the world. We've since learned the error of our ways (haven't we boys?). For Diane's story:
Diane de Poitiers.
Some French countryside on the way to Poitiers.
Obviously in that netherworld between winter and spring. But the greens are out there, and the flowers and trees are beginning to bloom.
Hopped onto the N147 out of Poitiers and wended my way toward Limoges, arriving around 5:00p.m. Managed to find a decently priced room at the Ibis hotel and only 10€ for parking around the block.
Some "official" building near Limoges center. You can always tell by the copper roofs and the "gold"-painted fence tops.
Signs of the Revolution, as usual, are everywhere.
Liberté,
Égalité,
Fraternité.
Despite some problems, they appear to be doing a better job of the latter than we in America are.
One of the ubiquitous outside restaurants I love so much. Nice quiet time catching up on (can you believe it...70) emails from work with a couple of cold ones.
Don't know what this is about, but I liked the rooster sign.
Okay...we're in Limoges so here, Roger, eat your heart out. (Source: www.musee-adriendubouche.fr)
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| Post-1785 |
I went to the museum but it was closed (it was, after all, Saturday morning). So I, like you, had to settle for pictures.
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| 1866 |
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| 1876 |
Pulled out of Limoges around 10:00 a.m. still wanting new road so I took the A20 northeast toward Paris, turning back west at Châteauroux on D943 toward Tours. In Tours I joined D952 one of my favorites roads in France.
You can see why this is a favorite road. It parallels the Loire river for miles and miles. At Saumur I cross the river and parallel it a little further on the other side.
Some more of my kind of road.
The beautiful Loire river.
These are homes along the Loire. They are built into the hillside making, I would think, for cool summer days, and warm winter nights.
D952. A wonderful, if dangerous, ride. Evidently they have a lot of accidents along this route. A sign stated something like 55 people have died on this road. So...keep your head on a swivel, but enjoy the beauty of the river.
And stop for a little late lunch when the mood strikes.
A nice little Gésier (Gizzard) Salade avec l'onion blache, pommes de terre, tomate, and laitue.
A nice relaxing trip. A short 689 K (427 Miles).
