Up the lazy river

We continued east from Blois following the river and occasionally going inland along the Route Jacques Coeur. Some of the chateaux are closed at this time of year but this one at Sully sur Loire was open.

Further south we reached Briare to find this bridge.

There are many bridges that cross the Loire but this one is unique, it was designed by Gustave Eiffel and after 4 years of construction it opened in 1896.

In fact, as you can now see, it is really an aqueduct, the longest in the world at that time designed specifically for canal barges to cross the river. It is an impressive piece of engineering and all the more exciting as we came upon it quite by chance. We spent the evening in Sancerre, sampling Vincent Pinard's finest. Sadly the weather has been a bit dull and the pictures reflect that, so it's on to Provence and some sunshine!