Return to Chinon and to see Richelieu & Azay

This was our Day 5 and it already seems ages we left Melbourne.
Thunderstorms last night and an early start so no ride this morning, maybe this arvo. Off to see Richelieu, “the perfect city”, home of Cardinal Richelieu who created it during the 17th century. The grid designed city is undergoing restoration and in a decade will be something to marvel upon. Today one can just imagine life in the city back then. A very large square is the central attraction with several smaller treed squares offering cafes are relaxing to watch the local scene.
Our next stop was Chinon where Joan of Arc convinced the future King of France to give her an army to fight the English and reclaim their land. We stayed here last year and went to visit our hosts, Helene and Jean-Michael. Helene welcomed us with open arms and even remembered our names on seeing us.
On our previous visit to the Loire we got lost looking for the Chateau of Azay Rideau, so we promised ourselves to find it this time. It was worth the visit. As we arrived Sue noticed a group of people pointing and shouting in our direction, it was “the mushroom” people. They tried to offer their hand held tour radios to us but it was only in French.
The Chateau is built on a small island of thr Cher river, its refection appears in the waters that surround it. After a relaxing beer, we returned to Thenay by the rivers of the Loire and the Cher to a bottle of the local Vouvray champagne and then a Samur Cabernet……Ahhh, life is good. I’ll go for a ride in the morning.