Private camping

Yesterday, I crossed over the river, to see she Sully castle. I have to admit it is the most beautiful castle I have ever seen. There was a tour in the castle in the evening, only lit by candles, which I was able to catch. It gave an idea of how the life in the castle was in the evening. But the castle was still most impressive from the outside. I wouldn't be suprised if Walt Disney has used it as model in some of his cartoons.

Afterwards, I bumped into two french walkers that I had met the same morning. We had walked together for a few miles that morning, and during the walk they thought me the names of several of the trees and plants on the way! It was nice to see them again, as it turned out we had a lot in common!

Today I have walked south eastly through the towns St.Florent and St.Gondon. These towns do not really lie on the shortest path to my destination, so I was in doubt whether I should rather take a shortcut to gain time, instead of following the marked path. Luckily I didn't. First, in St.Florent, when I asked some people for water, it turned out they were cleaning up after a childrens party they had held the night before, in the town hall. Since there was plenty of leftovers, I was offered a delicious piece of cake which I could enjoy in the sun under a tree in the adjacent park. The rich cake was exactly what I needed after 20 km walking, and I enjoyed it, and the sun, for about an hour. Then, I continued on to St.Gondon. This is one of the few towns I have seen in this area that lies on a hilltop. Basicly because hills are rare around here. The town was really beautiful. I hoped they had a restaurant since I was quite hungry, and indeed they had a small bistro. They only served croque monsieur, but they tasted good, and most importantly, this was the kind of bar I've only seen in the french books I had at school. Everybody in town seemed to pop in after work, and I really enjoyed myself observing them, and talking to them. The oldest one, 79 years old, had been in Norway, and told how impressed he had been by the fish he had been served. Finally, when the bar closed, one of the guests invited me to put my tent up in his garden. It turned out his garden was no less than a huge piece of land next to the river. It had used to be covered by an impenetrable layer of bushes, he told me, which he had used four years to turn into what it was today. And the result is impressive. I am now lying in what must be characterized as a high class golf green. Next time I will not even consider making a shortcut!