Day 61 - Stuttgart to Amboise (France) - 26kms

It sounded like a good idea at the time heading back by train from Heidelberg to w
wait 7 bum numbing hours
in the dilapidated Stuttgart railway station awaiting the arrival of our 1.30am train to Paris.

So much for reserved seats, not only was someone sleeping in our seats when we got on there were also people sleeping in our bike rack! Once we moved them on we were soon sweating sitting in the sauna like compartment - lasting only 30 mins we took the option to sleep outside lying down in the aisleways like everyone else!

Delays en route saw us 3 hours late getting into Paris where we were faced with making a connection to the Loire from the other side of Paris at Gare Austerlitz and we had only 60 mins to get there!

After tearing a couple of muscles trying to take our bikes down the steep steps to the metro to be told "cest impossible" we rode like madmen with a rudimentary map and guesswork through central
Paris (not for the faint hearted) eventually making it with 5 minutes left to buy our ticket, race down the platform and search for the non existent bike carriage and then jam our bikes and bags into the tinniest of spaces lifting our gear up near verticsl steps on to the train!

The train took a further 2 hours to get to beautiful Amboise on the Loire where wed planned to meet up with Viv, Linton and my sister Kim

We felt pretty chuffed finally finding the accommodation place (near Mick Jaggers French getaway)on 30 mins sleep only to realise we'd arrived a day early!

It wasn't all wasted though as we were befriended by a couple of locals who took us back to their cave like holiday home to sample some local wine - great hospitality!

Great hosts !

We are both in desperate need of sleep so its odds on we'll take advantage of arriving a day early to have some big zzzzs tonight !!!

Nearby Chateaux