| Thursday, June 20, 2013 -- Beaugency -- Biking Day 2 | We awoke at a leisurely hour, showered, and headed downstairs for the hotel breakfast. Breakfast was served in a bright room overlooking the Loire river and the 26 gothic arches of a bridge built in the 13th century. This was one of the best "buffet" style breakfasts of the trip. A selection of croissants, pastries, meats, cheeses, bread, about a dozen different jams and honeys, cold cereals, fr...

| Wednesday, June 19, 2013 -- Beaugency -- Biking Day 1 | We arrived in the Medieval town of Beaugency at close to 8:30 PM, hungry and tired. The staff at Le Grand Hôtel de l'Abbaye, a 1,000 year old building that functioned as an Abbey for its first 700 years, were fantastic. They swept us in, helped with the bike storage, and made us dinner reservations for 12 people at a nearby restaurant, L'Idee (The Idea) with "le menu des enfants". Meanwhile we ...

| Wednesay, June 19, 2013 -- Orléans to Beaugency -- Biking Day 1 | I guess you could say we got a late start, leaving the bike shop in Saint Jean de Braye just east of Orléans at 4 PM, headed west for Beaugency. We started off heading west on a nice, bike only trail along the Loire River, a mixture of paved and dirt surfaces. After 4 km, we crossed over the Loire River just west of Orléans. From there, we paralled the river riding along various roads pa...