It was an incredible stay at our Saint-Nexans lodgings. However, hiding under the bed did me no good so another "June-hotel" photo is in the books...onward to St. Emilion on our penultimate biking day...
Fabulous lodgings!
This ride profile brought lots and lots of smiles...the few climbs at the end seemed quite easy after the long, gradual downhill AND tailwind!
Saying goodbye to one wine region, entering the next over 77km of the day's ride.
Extraordinary vistas everywhere.
Wishing I could ship this sculpture home. Such clever use of scrap metal and the sculptor had a great feel for anatomy of horses.
We arrived at the hotel with perfect timing, got into our rooms to clean up (I actually had a swim in the pool, brrrr!) and enjoyed some sketching and blogging time. Here is Peter's sketching view:
And his lovely sketch.
Dinner was on our own tonight - we had a really nice meal of salads and crepes, including a crepe flambé for dessert! From left, Sue and Brian (CA), J & P, and Norie (DC).
The St. Emilion landmark chapel was beautifully lit on our walk home - another great day!
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After a well-earned night's rest and a good breakfast, we were off on our final ride, described aptly by tour leader John Giebler as a 35 km "victory lap". Once again, we headed off under partly cloudy skies and cool but comfortable temperatures to survey the magnificent vineyards that surround St. Emilion.
Wine has been the foundation of incredible prosperity in this region - special soil, special wine!
We came upon some restored windmills on a ridge that harked back to an early time - likely for milling grain for village inhabitants no longer on this land.
Great coffee stop! We got the whole gang well-caffeinated and enjoyed the active street life.
I begged Peter to get this shot - lots of Jack Russel terriers in France, and this one was exceptionally adorable!
We were lucky enough to be here just at the very start of harvest time - check out the grape abundance.
Each home and vineyard was so attractive and so varied.
Approaching St. Emilion near the end of the ride (insert wracking sobs here).
Norie was kind enough to get our picture in our ExPlus jerseys - bittersweet.
Tour mates Shirley and Nino climbing one of the last hills with tour leader Roberto behind them.
The finish line at the East Gate of St. Emilion (more sobs).
The last climb of the tour up to our hotel room...
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