In true Willie Nelson style this morning…

On the road again
Goin’ places that I’ve never been
Seein’ things that I may never see again
And I can’t wait to get on the road again

After a lovely breakfast this morning we set off just after 8am and cycled 105 km to Chalon-sur-Saône, arriving at approx 4pm. 

Horses in the early morning

And early morning hay cutting – there really is nothing to beat the smell of freshly cut grass.

We are seeing lots of Charolais cattle, a breed associated with this area

Passing the beautiful entrance to the Château de Digoine at Palinges

And the beautiful castle itself

We made a brief stop at Palinges. (In my opinion, the clock on this church seems to be a later, peculiar addition. It spoils the decoration over the right hand window which mirrors the left.)
Returning the school football

The initial part of our cycle today was quite hilly but after that it was lovely and flat along Canal du Centre with its many locks. The fact that the going was flat allowed us to get a good few kilometres covered.

It is very hot in France this week with temperatures reaching 35C. We are trying to get our cycling done as early in the day as possible and are drinking plenty of water.

Though we are in the Burgundy region of France, famous for its wines, we are not passing vineyards, it’s mostly still mixed agriculture. Except for the area around Sancerre, we haven’t really seen much grape growing on our trip so far. Whilst I’m very interested in the food of the region, my knowledge/interest in the wines of the region is much more limited. I’ll remember lots of details about the food but don’t ask me much at all about the wines. That’s not to say though that I’m not drinking any!