A fairly leisurely start today before we bid farewell to our Parisian hosts and headed for pastures new. At this stage, we had still not decided exactly where we were heading. The only certain destination was a fuel forecourt for diesel. This turned out to be the first problem of the day – a height barrier at the supermarket, so we continued onto the N20 where filling stations were plentiful. A quick top up was all that was needed and we were soon on our way, discussing the next destination.
After a brief chat, and following a long conversation last night, we made a firm plan to head to Spain for a week or so on the coast. Our route for today then would be leisurely with a planned overnight stop at Sully sur Loire. We spotted a baker’s shop in the small town of Ascoux, so we nipped in for another baguette. Our eyes were as big as our bellies when we spotted the assortment of biscuits and cakes. We made our purchases and then moved the Kon-tiki off the roadside and into the baker’s car park. Here, we enjoyed an impromptu mid afternoon snack consisting of British pork pies and French cookies!
Delicious French chocolate cookies
We continued our journey without any fuss via Chateauneuf sur Loire and in no time at all, we arrived in Sully sur Loire. We made our way to the “aire pour les camping cars” – problem number two. Due to a number of boulders and strategically placed wooden posts, our almost nine metre motorhome could not access the motorhome parking area. Consequently, we set up camp on an adjacent car park. Problem number three – a gate, open at the time but between us and the “way out.” We were worried that the gate would be locked and we would be trapped forever….
As head of international operations, I applied a further padlock to the gate, meaning that if an official did arrive, he would be totally bamboozled and I would have time to nip over and establish when the potentially locked gate might re-open! I just hoped that who ever patrolled this area of Sully sur Loire would be friendly!
After enjoying a beer from the comfort of our deck chairs, we ventured into Sully and had a walk around the chateau grounds. Somehow, we ended up inside the chateau, caught up amongst three coach loads of Bulgarian tourists. Unable to make our way past, we were swept along with the crowds around the chateau. However, we later discovered we should have paid an entrance fee, so we left post-haste.
The Chateau at Sully sur Loire
Sully sur Loire – car park woes!
Back at the ‘van as we were tucking into to a prawn and egg salad, an “official” arrived. However, she could not close the barrier as our padlock was preventing this! I nipped out and asked if the gate would be opened tomorrow, but it seemed not. As a result, we moved and parked just outside the aire. I explained in my best French why I had placed the padlock there and there was laughter all round. In terms of the aire at Sully and motorhome size, I would guess that anything over 7.5m long would not be able to access the aire. There is however parking outside the Chateau and space for a couple of ‘vans adjacent to the aire. Our review of the motorhome aire at Sully is here.
Mileage covered today: 78.9, mileage to date: 496.90
Route summary for today – Villiers sur Orge, N20, Etampes, Pithiviers, Chateauneuf sur Loire and finally Sully sur Loire.
I like your style re: padlock!