| Day 1 - Basel -> Vichy | Day 2 - Vichy | Day 3 - Thiézac | Day 4 - Sarlat-la-Canéda | Day 5 - La Grande Côte (Coast) |
| Day 6 - Rigny-Ussé | Day 7 - Cosne-Cours-s/Loire | Day 8 - Cosne-Cours-s/Loire | Day 9 - Riel-les-Eaux | Day 10 - Montbéliard |
Saturday
Cosne-Cours-sur-Loire
No Map Link
Cosne-Cours-sur-Loire, Day 2
When we had attempted to have lunch at the nearby restaurant the previous day, we were informed that there was going to be an event there that evening. That “event” included live music that played until at least 11:30. Some of it was good, and some of it was horrible. Fortunately it was just far enough away as to be slightly annoying background noise, and not feel as though we were camping in the middle of the concert.
The rest of the night was quiet, continuing well into the morning when I woke up at 8am. It was an overcast morning, but the sun was showing signs that it would not hide for long. We got dressed and walked across the bridge into the town of Cosne-Cours-sur-Loire to see what it had to offer.
It was a small place, but bustling due to some sort of book signing / book fair in the center of town. It didn’t take long to see the sights, so we headed along the river to a “Cyclerail” business about half an hour away. I’d heard of this type of transportation, which is essentially a variation of a contraption that rides old train tracks but is pedal powered, but never seen it in person before. It would be a nice diversion for us today.
It was hot by the time we arrived at the main station where the ride started (and ended). I don’t know why, but I was surprised when the man there said that there were no available slots for the day. Huh. Reservations would have been needed – it makes sense in hindsight, but it had never entered my mind on the walk there. The man invited us to walk across the old trestle bridge that spanned the Loire and we took him up on it. It was about half a kilometer before we reached the other side, the tracks disappearing into the forest. We turned around, walked back to the Cyclerail office, and then made the long walk back to town.
By the time we returned to town it was definitely lunch time, at least by our stomachs. We found a cozy little place called “Le Chalet” that had just opened for the day. And while it did seem odd to be surrounded by fondue pots and raclette trays in the sultry heat of the day, the burger I ordered was very good.
Table for two?
After lunch we returned to our campsite. There were clothes to put away and more pages of my book to read. Tomorrow we’d head to a new location that Dan found. It appeared to be a very isolated but well-reviewed campground. We’ll see!
