Tournesols et Vignes
The book's route south from Fontevraud looked to follow a dead straight fast road for 20 km, so I chose to make my own way on minor roads just to the west, through a succesion of sunflower fields (mostly seed heads at this time of year) and vineyards. The roads were almost deserted - in the 40 km before lunch I was overtaken by a grand total of four cars.
The empty roads gave me a chance to practise some selfie photography - I eventually worked out a technique that involved setting up the camera on a small tripod on a post or wall and putting it in time-lapse mode to take a picture every second for 30 seconds. That gave me enough time to trigger the shutter, ride down the road, make a quick U-turn, and ride back into camera shot. The first two pictures were taken with that method, although a conventional selfie with the camera at arms length involved much less faff.
In this empty quarter cafes were in very short supply. I was hopeful of finding somewhere in this town (Airvault) but at 2pm in rural France, tout est fermé, so I had to content myself with taking photos of this rather fine market building.
One of the best things about the France en Vélo book is that each stage finishes at an attractive town where there is always something of interest to see on your pre-prandial stroll. Parthenay is no exception, with its hilltop citadel, medieval streets, and this splendid example of trompe l'oeil.
One of the four main pilgrim routes from France to Santiago de Compostella passes through Parthenay (I'm staying in the Hotel Saint Jacques), entering the town through a fortified gateway and following this street with its well preserved half-timbered houses.
Distance today - 75 km. Distance from St Malo 403 km.
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