In which Sid and Doris see at Bannay a church resulting from the Hundred Years War and the Wars of Religion as well as Nevers Cathedral, not quite repaired these 80 years.
These are the cooling towers at Belleville’s nuclear power station. With two reactors the site went live in 1988, drawing cooling water from the Loire. Doris praises the handy wind indicator for a quiet day to Nevers.
From the lateral canal near Sancerre, on the site of a Romano-Gallo villa at Bannay we see the Church of St Julien. This is not how they planned it. The choir is tall, the nave is not. The English knocked down the Romanesque church in the early 1400s and the monks of St Martin, who owned it, rebuilt in a Gothic style only to have the Protestants of Sancerre knock that down. In 1564.
The game of Spotto was introduced by The Maddock Martins. See a tractor and say Spotto before other players and you have a point. First to ten wins the day. Tim, Sid has just won the game of Spotto.
S and D are happy that the menu du jour is alive and well in France. Two choices of starter and main course with probably half a dozen desserts for £14 from a family brasserie running since 1640 and we can taste why.
And so with little incident to Nevers, famous for its fayencerie. The town museum is shut so Sid explains to the shop keeper that his place now stands in for the museum and being on bikes are not true customers, which he takes in good part. Here is the beautiful Nevers townscape they had made.
We are staying at the Cafe Velo with its view of the Loire, augmented in this picture by the new electric only two seat Citroen Ami. It has a range of 75kms with a top speed of less than 50 kph so can be driven (in France) by a 14 year old with no need to get a licence. Handy in these rural areas. Quieter than a Mobylette and has a roof. Sid’s conveyance of the day.
