7: Gardens Past their Prime

After our rather late (8:45) breakfast we paid a quick visit to the very modest-sized weekly market to pick up picnic provisions.

[map style="width: 300px; height:300px; float:left; margin:10px 20px 0px 0px; border: 1px thin #777777;" gpx="http://saras-bike-travels.de/wp-content/uploads/gpxFiles/20130829_day6_reduced.gpx"] We got on the road about 10 (today just with bikes) and had a lovely ride through farmland first to Cheverny (no chateau visit, just coffee across the street) and then to Beauregard where we picnicked and visited the gardens which were sadly past their prime (at 9€ per person admission to the grounds, it was a pretty expensive picnic…). It was a bit of a disappointment for me because I had so enjoyed my visit there in 2009. In the intervening years the owners had gotten more commercial in the manner of Cheverny and started charging admission for the garden visit with an extra price on top of that for a visit to the house - and to top it off (also in the manner of Cheverny) in order to get into the gardens one had to walk through the gift shop. I know it all costs a fortune to run but it seemed a bit too much for me.

On the way back to Bracieux we rode an alternate (shorter) route and stopped at the chocolate factory on the way back into town. We bought chocolate souvenirs and ate over-priced ice cream.

Back to the hotel by shortly after 6 then a lovely swim for us both.

Ate too much dinner at the pizza restaurant - but it was good! Beef filet with green beans and oven roasted potatoes accompanied by two glasses of Cheverny red. Yum.