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13.06.08
Friday Rest day in Chinon.
We did meet up with our ladies they had “white knuckled “ down the autoroutes from St Malo and arrived around 20:00 hrs, we then had a good meal out with the main course for 3 of us served in jamjars! The tents they brought with them seem enormous even with two in each one.
Today we are late up, 08:00 hrs, wander round town and do a bit of shopping and try to get the lady in the tourist info to part with a list of camp sites along the GR48 which is our route south now. Unfortunately our route runs along the department boundary between Indre et Loire and Vienne, and we are not in the right one at present so “mais non” was the reply. We will have to try again further down the line as the sites marked on the maps may not be up to date and the Guide Michelin consulted in England before leaving is far from comprehensive.
In the afternoon we went round the chateau (well that’s what you do when in the Loire Valley), and the town although small is of enormous historical importance! Henry the II of England died here and the Hundred Years War was fought over and around this area including the meeting of Joan of Arc with the putative French king (they were losing at the time). A bit of good news and bad – the chateau is being renovated and a lot of serious stone work being done so the visit is not currently as one would like, the good news is it's only 3 euros for some great views up and down the Vienne river.