La Loire

After an early start, very wet and foggy crossing (Poole to Cherbourg) and 5 hour drive we arrived at a site close to Amboise on La Loire.

By chance 15 minutes from the site was an international school children 7 aside rugby competition. How sppokey is that? The village was decked out with national flags and the competition held in the grounds of a beautiful chateau. The players were clearly having a fantastic time. In addition to rugby all sorts of activities were underway with perhaps the most dramatic being wheelchair rugby. Apart from the physical exertion, the clashes with hardware rather than the usual flesh had the ability to make this a painful experience. Of course being schoolchildren the fun overtook any fear.

Our main focus of the day was Angers castle. Not that there are any shortages of old structures in the Loire area but this houses a world famous artifact. There is only one entry unless you fancy scaling these walls. 

The 17 towers originally had a cone roof but in the 18^th century these were removed and replaced by flat platforms to accommodate a newly developed weapon – cannons! Of course, with business changing from defence to tourism the gardens also vie to be different. These joined hedges certainly ticked that box.

However, the real standout for Angers is the Apocalypse tapestry, which was commissioned by Louis 1, the Duke of Anjou and was woven over 5 years from 1377. Originally it was about 140 metres long but some has been lost and it is now a mere 100 metres! (That still makes it the longest in the world.) Divided into six sections it illustrates the Apocalypse from the Book of Revelation. It is housed in a special air and light conditioned space and wraps round two long walls in a double layer. 

The level of detail in each panel is extraordinary. It is hard to imagine how many people must have been involved in its making.

Another lengthy display is the Amboise markets on the banks of La Loire. They are the largest I have encountered at some 100 metres with four aisles. The range of items is extraordinary, particularly the food stalls. These were mouthwatering and unplanned purchases of prunes, black pudding, several breads and melon resulted. One of the highlights was this wild boar sausage stand with the remnant heads an added ‘attraction’. Enormous stacks of cheeses (in the distance) made up the second half of the stand.

Of course, Amboise has its own chateau and our first glimpse was from the other side of La Loire where a hot air balloon was just taking to the skies. Interestingly this occurs in the late afternoon which is quite different to Canberra’s ‘balloons’ aloft festival which always starts in the morning cold.

We spent the afternoon wondering around the chateau and I lost count of the many opportunities for photogenic pictures. I eventually opted for this one which was taken while we sat in very comfortable chairs near the end of our exploration and shows the chateau and gardens with some of their numerous small, rounded and perfectly aligned hedges together with the bridge and view over La Loire. So picturesque.

Our last chateau for La Loire would have to be one of the most photographed. (Many will have seen this view although probably, like me, having no idea where it was!)

The Château de Chenonceau straddles the river Cher and was started in 1513. There was a slight breeze which prevented the perfect reflection but the biggest challenge was keeping numerous canoeists out of the picture!