We spent the day in Brantome at a church, Abbaye & in Troglodyte caves.
The oldest bell tower in France is right here and it still rings beautifully! Troglodyte caves on the left, bell tower center and Abbaye to the right.
After lunch & shopping, it's back to our hotel for a rest & swim.
This morning I learned the proper way to eat goat cheese for breakfast in Chinon.
Pour on a little local honey and crack a few walnuts on top. Voila!
Mr. B had alternative plans....Chinon or not....he is attempting to taste his way through every jam produced in this region.
The resident cat, Booby, meowing at my feet for a little petting & a little food.
Leaving the Loire, we headed to the Perigoid on little two lane roads. This happens to be a wide road in the photo but I just love the long rows of plane trees!
We stopped at several churches and several castles. I seem to be on a Joan of Arc route lately. One castle we just happened upon was where Joan of Arc stopped to asked for War Horses, which she was granted.
Bon nuit!
PS: a gargantuan bat just flew into our room as we were getting ready for sleep. Mr. B shooed him out with a bath towel after about five minutes! Time to lock our terrace door.......no more of that fresh air for us!
Greetings from Hotel Diderot in Chinon!
A leisurely breakfast on the hotel gardens....
...with Booby le chat.
A short drive to Chateau d'Azay-le-Rideau.....
On a one lane, back road returning to Chinon, we discovered a 9th century church. And almost got locked in the Cemetary overnight but a sweet little old lady let us out!
Had lunch in Chinon and spent the afternoon at the Royal Fortress of Chinon high above our hotel. This is where Joan of Arc met with Charles XII (before he became king) and received permission to drive the English out of France.
It has been an historic and interesting day! Now time to find a good restaurant for dinner....
Leaving out little thatched roof home in Pont-Aven, Brittany and off to a full days drive to Chinon in the Loire Valley.
After a stop over in Carnac to see the megaliths which are about 4,000-8,000 years old. They are all over Birttany but over 3,000 have been preserved. They are kind if like the Stonehenge of this area and I never thought I would find them interestering but....
You know, just a few thousand 8-10' stones place East to West does something to ones senses.
There was so much energy walking among these ancient stones that it was like being in a field of electricity!
They are not sure who built them but they were used for religious and astronomical purposes.
Very powerful!
Auvoir !
Awoke this morning to Pont-Aven's Market Day right outside our bedroom window! Although we woke about 5 am with cars being towed and again at 6 when vendors began their setting up, it was still fun to see the hustle & bustle of local life.
If you can see the steps behind the vendor, there is a river there which is beautiful. I could of sat all day long and watched the boats go up & down the river and the people interacting in the market place!
But no, we enjoyed the market, purchased a crepe & quiche for breakfast then headed to the town of Quimper about 30 minutes away.
Here is a photo of a woman in typical Breton clothes & hat. Notice how Jim is just as tall as her with her very tall hat on. She was very insistent on holding her apron out for photos.
We had a lovely crepe for lunch, which was so yummy but then we shared a dessert crepe with apples, caramel and vanilla ice cream. The warm butter & sliced apples mixed beautifully. If ever I am reported missing, you know where you could find me!
It was so hot in Quimper that we decided to head to the coast to Concarneau.
To the coastal town of Concarneau and the walled island within their port.
I was exhausted after a day of walking in the heat but Mr. B sat me inside the walls, in the shade, listening to a Celtic band play lovely-lively music, while he set out to find me a Diet Coke to rejuvenate me! What a guy! I wish I could send you a clip of their music but that's just too complicated for my brain.
Tomorrow we head to the Loire Valley.
Ooo oh la la!
Days 4 & 5
We spent two days in Dinan and loved every moment! We stayed in the historic part of the city and woke to church bells both mornings. During the day we walked down to the port, had lunch & wine, people watched & I sketched.
Today we drove to Pont Aven near Quimper & the Atlantic. It is still quite humid here and I can't wait to cool off a bit.
On the way to Pont Aven, Mr. B decided that it would be fun to go on country roads, then stop in a town named Josselin to see a castle.
Well nothing puts a smile on my husbands face like back roads, especially if it is only one lane wide and goes through forests & rolling country. Better yet if we pass by old stone farm houses, cattle, churches or castles or if we get behind a farmer on a slow moving tractor. He leads a simple life at heart!
So we made it to Josselin....where there was a festival going on and all of the streets were closed.....until 8 at night! We were determined so we drove around the town, across the bridge, then came around the back side and arrived within several blocks of the castle.....and an amazing restaurant right across the river from the castle!
A beautiful little town and a great procession. Our waitress explained it to us that it was a celebration of Notre Dame (The Virgin Mary). Children were singing, older women were dressed in typical Breton dress and everyone was picnicking.
This was just the beginning of the procession, it went on for miles!
Mr. B and I jumped in our rental car and made it to Pont Aven just in time to check into our little thatched roofed hotel with a beautiful river view.
Tomorrow is market day in town! Just under our bedroom window, they will start setting up at 6am. Yipes!
And no Diet Coke around these parts but the do have a Briton cola with zero calories....when in Rome......
Posted with Blogsy
