Kathryn had done a lot of work in organizing our trip and finding hotels but we had decided to play it by ear for some of the days while we were in France.  We wanted to spend the next couple of days in the Loire Valley so we had a long drive ahead of us.  It turned out to be an 800 km drive that took us about 9m hours.  We woke up at 7:30 am in Menton to rain.  After having fresh fruit and pastry in our room we set towards Marseilles on the A10 freeway.  The weather during the day was cloudy, sunny, rainy, and sunny with a high of 20, although it was only 14 by the time we reached our destination.  This day was one of the

few times when Ken regretted that he was the only driver on the rental agreement, as it definitely was a long day.

The Loire Valley is known as the Garden of France and the Cradle of the French Language. It is also noteworthy for the quality of its architectural heritage.  The Loire is also know as Châteaux Country. There are châteaux in every region of France, but nowhere are they found clustered as thickly as in the Loire. 

Vierzon, with a population of around 30,000, is located in the historical Berry area of the Loire valley. Berry is considered by many to be the most scenic part of the Loire valley thanks to its rolling hills and open countryside, unspoiled by mass tourism.  We chose to stop in Vierzon because we thought it was a large enough city to find a hotel room without a reservation.  Also there were also lots of huge chateaux nearby.  After driving around a little, we finally found the tourist office and had them book us a room at the Hotel Continental. 

Ken standing near the fountains outside the Vierzon tourist office