DAY 9- St Brevin de les Pins to La Bernerie en Retz






Today was a special day. It was the 20th anniversary for Lance and Stephanie! The weather gods  cooperated with lots of sunshine, cooler temperatures and a nice ocean breeze.

After a quick breakfast at our hotel ( where we managed to choose the only tables in the restaurant that our waitress needed to unset for our breakfast ) we set off on our way south. 

 Today was our first day riding along the beaches of the Atlantic. We were all captivated as we wound are way along beautiful forest trails that took us down to many small beaches and then back up into the woods again. We did a lot of climbing that day.




For some of us, the first stop was for coffee in St Michel Chef Chef. For others (who got lost) , it was an extended tour of the neighborhoods until we reunited with our team and found the trail again. 




Our route took us  through many old seaside villages nestled in the cliffs over the water, each more quaint than the last. “We could live here” was the general consensus.


We stopped for lunch in a lovely picnic area in the woods and promptly got mauled by mosquitoes. We moved to plan B which was lunch on the rocks by the sea. A much better choice.





After lunch we continued riding along the coast through the medieval port town of Pornic and then back up in the cliffs again.  Did I mention that we did a LOT of climbing that day ? (like 1800 feet!)




But we all realized that the effort was worth it as we pulled into La Bernerie en Retz and our night’s lodging at the Domaine de la Gressiere. Stephanie had booked us into a Chateau!




After checking into our rooms, we all met for a dip in the horizon-less pool followed by drinks on the veranda.










Dinner was a 3 course meal in the formal dining room as we raised our glasses and toasted to Stephanie and Lances’ 20 years together.  A fitting end to a great day.

 




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