D 12 to Sully sur Loire

Lovely night dining with Sus in Orleans which is rather splendid.

First day riding with my wife. Few teething issues with her rental kit (primarily related to miscommunication between the hire company and hotel) but high quality cycle which will do is fine. Here she is in action!

The principal cultural stop today was this Carolingian (of the period of Charlemagne) chapel built by one of his principal advisors Theowulf. The Byzantine style begs the question what was the relationship between the western church in the 800s and Byzantium? Apparently the Pope actually crowned Charlemagne as emperor of a western empire tho Charlemagne himself refused the title not wishing to challenge Byzantium claiming for himself king of the Franks. All of this may seem arcane but the village where this church is situated was the site of a major convention of all the lead players after Charlemagne died and his three sons contested the estate. The resulting three way split lay the foundation for modern western European state structures each son gaining territories that came to be france, Germany and italy!

and thence to Sully -sur-Loire