Nemour to Montargis
Leaving our very first campsite, normally I'd write a bad review but even though the experience wasn't great, they were very friendly, so I just won't leave any review. We biked about 35 km today to Montargis, it doesn't sound like too much but it feels like a lot in the hot sun. We were searching for shade for our breaks, and took extra long breaks when there was really nice shade.
Here's some of the highlights of the ride. A super cute little 3-month-old puppy that we encountered, with owner. It was a Jack Russell terrier, the owner wanted to practice his English with us a bit. Lots of old abandoned factories, it kind of reminded me of Atlas Shrugged. I asked one guy what one of the old factories was, and he said they used to make automobile windshields. A second one was an old chemical factory.
Another highlight was on one of the locks, seeing a boat go through, and chatting with one of the crew. It turns out they were Swiss, from the Lake Constance area. I find this a little hard to believe, but the lady I was talking to said that they had been traveling for 4 months! She also said it was a lot of work, going through the locks. Their boat was very wide and they had to have people on the sides being very alert with bumpers, to prevent it from getting scratched. Very friendly lady.
This next one is not really a highlight but it was a very interesting outhouse that we encountered. Basically, you do your business, and then pump a lever that advances a moving band. And then your waste is processed in a little facility behind the outhouse. It was interesting, but was probably one of those eco projects that cost tens of thousands of dollars.
Also, a white mulberry tree with ripe berries.
Montargis is a pretty little town, with lots of canals. So far it's my favorite town, after Fontainebleau. I'm very happy with the hotel (Hotel de France) and tried to book it for another night, but unfortunately it's all booked, so we have to switch hotels, because I want to stay in this town two nights.
This place is dead on Sunday, all of the stores closed. We did walk around town a bit, trying to stay in the shade, and found a little festival happening, so that was nice. But mostly we relaxed in the room. We've had a lot of sun today, and I'm planning on buying some gloves to wear to protect my hands from sun. And we should find Peter a long sleeve shirt too, he's getting a lot of sun.
Had dinner at a sushi restaurant in town, one of the few restaurants that was open. They seemed to be having some kind of problems, absolutely nobody was smiling.
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