Day 03 - Wednesday 26th April

Our body clocks have probably adjusted to the new time zone because we had a good sleep overnight. We went downstairs for breakfast in the hotel soon after 8am.

I went outside to take a few photos before breakfast. It was just as well that I wore my coat because it was very cold outside, My app said it was only 1C and the forecast maximum was only 12C.

It was a very nice breakfast with plenty of choice. I asked the chef for a couple of poached eggs.

Today we would be driving to the Loire Valley and our first task was to pick up the Avis car that we'd booked. The Avis depot was at the airports terminal 2. So we caught the shuttle tram again - this time in the opposite direction.

Although the booking had listed a Citroen vehicle, the car they supplied us with was a Toyota Aurion hybrid. It came with a built-in satnav. It uses normal petrol rather than deisel. As usual in Europe, it uses 95 octane petrol (SP95).

We took our time to check out all the features in the car and to program the satnav. When we were ready to go, it took us several attempts to find the right route out of the airport. Then we had to find our way along the motorways out of Paris region.

The traffic was fairly heavy - partly because it was a week day morning and partly because there had been some breakdowns and accidents. It was a little easier once we got out of the Paris region. There were a few showers along the way.

We reached our B&B before lunchtime. Chateau de Colliers is a delightful mansion on the banks of the Loire River near a town called Muides Sur Loire. The manager, Patrick, was waiting for us in the courtyard when we arrived. He helped us get our bags upstairs to our room.

This afternoon we planned to go to Chambord Chateau which is located close to our B&B. So we left straight away to maximise our time there.

It is a very impressive castle on a huge estate of land. After paying for our admission to the site, the first task was to have some lunch. Many of the food places were closed but we found a stall in the plaza area that cooked a couple of crepes for us. We sat in the plaza to each our lunch. It was still cold but at least we in the sun.

We walked around to the back of the chateau and then went inside to look around walking from one level to the next using the large staircase.

In one of the rooms, they were running a video that gave a history of the chateau. As we walked through the building, we came across quite a few school groups.

On the top level, you get a good view of the grounds of the estate. In most places, it was quite windy which made it feel even colder. The history video had said that one of the queens had refused to live there because it was so cold.

At about 4pm, we stopped for a hot chocolate in their cafe. Soon after it started to rain and we sought shelter in the souvenir shop. We had intended to spend time admiring the gardens but decided to head straight back to the car because of the rain.

Back the B&B, it spent some time taking photos of the various rooms. It has many lounge areas, a dining room and lots of antique furniture. Then I took photos of the exterior included the Loire River.

Patrick had booked a table for 8pm for us at the restaurant in the village. We walked there and back - 750m each way. It was cold on the walk and I wished that I had worn my gloves. Nevertheless it was a very enjoyable meal.