Europe 2010

Day 32		Wednesday 21st July

This morning we went to Amboise to visit the museum in the Hotel de Ville. It was reasonably interesting and free. Afterwards we drove up to the supermarket, E Leclerc, for some food shopping. McDonalds did not appear to have WiFi. After lunch we drove over to Cheverney Chateau, south of Blois. That was very interesting with some fine furniture and interesting rooms. The chateau building was exceptionally fine, symmetrical and photogenic with English style gardens (we were not allowed to walk on the lawns!). We heard the hounds barking at about 4.30 pm and walked along to see them being fed. There is a large pack as hunting is big in this area. We then returned to the cottage via a McDonalds south of Blois that does have WiFi. We checked emails, looked up the Car Museum at Le Mans and updated security software. We had been expecting rain but had none during the day.

Miles Travelled Today - 77				Total Trip Miles -  3179

Day 33		Thursday 22nd July

We drove to Tours using all old road (par la levee de la Loire) and managed to find a free carpark by the river. We walked through the old quarter looking at the restored medieval houses. We stopped for a coffee (of typical poor quality from the French cafes. We noted that there seemed a notable lack of attention to detail in some of these French towns – no flowers to brighten up the streets and buildings. We continued on to the cathedral area. We found the Musee des Beaux Arts where there is supposed to be a Gallo Roman tower or a tower containing Gallo Roman bits. We did see the tower on the end of the museum building but could not see any Gallo Roman bits. In the centre of the courtyard was a 200 year old cedar of Lebanon. It was absolutely enormous and many of its branches were supported so that they did not break off. Curiously, there was a large stuffed elephant from Barnum’s circus in an outhouse. Apparently it ran amok while being loaded on to a train and died. We did not bother to go in the museum. We went into the cathedral – an enormous stone (dirty) gothic building, very austere inside with little to commend itself. There was an enormous organ structure in one of the transepts. At the foot of the Choir there was an altar built from a large rough block of limestone supporting one end of a table. The significance of it was lost on us. Lunch was a jambon and fromage baguette eaten in the shade by the river. After walking back through some more of the old quarter, we drove on to Langeais to view the chateau. This was a medieval/renaissance structure on the edge of the town, which was also quite old and attractive. The tour through the chateau was well planned with an unusual covered battlement walk. Further up the hill an old part of the curtain wall had been restored and a scaffold structure built in the style of the original builders’ scaffolds. We were able to ascend it. After a drink at a boisson cabin in the grounds we returned to the car via boulangerie in the town (for a french stick) and returned to the cottage.

Miles travelled today – 76			Total miles travelled - 3255