Biking the Loire Valley

It was August in the Midwest and we stepped onto the plane for Paris with our "almost 13 year old" daughter. We have been going on bicycle trips as a family since she was five. These days we travel with another family who has a daughter the same age. It just makes it easier for all of us. The girls have each other and we have more time to do adult stuff.

We added a few days before the trip because my daughter wanted to see the city of lights, and heck... I never get tired of Paris. Some of the highlights of Paris included a very funny waiter who could not speak English, but made us laugh all evening (the food was unbelievable too) and the Marche aux Puces (Flee Market at the Porte de Clignancourt Metro Stop) where I found all kinds of cool stuff including a U2 picture disk (real vinyl.)

The Loire Valley was a spectacular adventure vacation!!! The castles, the food, the fields of sunflowers, the wine, quiet roads to cycle on and so much more made this a great trip for everyone. But most of all the guides did a spectacular job of attending to everybody's desires. I think half of the people ended up in the van for part of the day just because some people (like our daughters) didn't want to ride more than 10 miles or so before heading to the next town to check out the shops.A little note about the French here. I have often heard that the French don't like Americans (or anyone else for that matter.)
I have think this generalization could not be further from the truth. I have found them to be extremely friendly, helpful, and just plain fun. There maybe one trick to traveling in France that is worthwhile remembering. Be polite. The French always greet each other before launching into a conversation, and find it very rude not to do so. Although I did know this I was reminded on the first day, when I was in a hurry and quickly asked the direction to the subway station. The man I asked first looked at me then behind himself as though I might be talking to somebody else. Then he turned to me and responded. "Bonjour monsieur." This was enough to trigger my memory and I told him that I was sorry, and after greeting him and exchanging pleasantries he gave me the directions to the subway.Anyway, for anybody considering a trip to the Loire I say - "Go for it!"












Rene Hoeve
Euro-Bike