Other things to know about Chinon

This is the elevator that takes us to the top where the castle is. It was just built in the year 2007.  Tourism is France's #1 industry. 

This is a "dry" moat.  This looks like a very effective defensive fortification. 

There is a lot of delicious and beautiful food in Chinon. 

This is white asparagus in Bearnaise. 

This is Rabelais born in Chinon in 1494. In the musical The Music Man there is a song about the River City librarian that says:  he left River City the library building but he left all the books to her:  Chaucer, Rabelais, Balzac.  These were all considered "racy" writers when I was 12.  

This is Chinon's river, the Vienne.  Used in crossword puzzles.

This is their statue of Joan of Arc.  A great symbol of French valor.

More fabulous French food.

Buying Wine in the Caves of Chinon

   Today right now at 7 pm its 97. 

As we walked down the street we came to this entrance to a wine cave and we entered. 

This woman runs the wine cave. Inside the temperature was 52. So of course we hung out in the wine cave. 

These caves are loaded with bottles of wine. 

Chinon

 This is Joan of Arc. She came here in 1429 to plead with the king, Charles VII, to rally an army to throw the British out. 

Here is Ed as Sir Galahad. 

Here is the Round Table. 

The castle is very high up. 

Here is the magic sword. Only the person noble enough to pull it out of the stone will succeed   And it all happened here!

There is a myth depicted in this tapestry that an angel would reveal to St. Joan which one was the king of France. She picked him out and the rest is history!

Saumur--the National Equestrian Riding School

We have now entered the Loire Valley. In this town there is a castle but then I saw that this is where their national equestrian school is. In the course of our lives, we've been to the National Stud in Ireland, the one in Vienna and the one in Spain. So there was no way we could miss the French one. 

This school was founded after the defeat of Napoleon when their cavalry was decimated. They didn't want to

lose their knowledge. All of the horses are geldings acquired at the ages of 3 to 5.  These are the big horses like the Hanoverians. They use regular size horses for dressage, etc. They told us it takes 5 years to teach them the 3 basic moves they must learn.  

The coolest quote is:  at the end of the day, the horse needs to be as happy as he was at the beginning of his day. 

They have shows just like the others but we missed it. 

Nantes. Our anniversary.

This is the restaurant Le Cigale which apparently means the cicada. It is very beautiful. 

Ed had the hotel phone ahead and they made us a special desert.  Because today was our 46th wedding anniversary. 

It's a very good city. 

Jules Verne and Nantes

The elephant takes riders over to this 3 level carousel that interprets the creatures from 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea. 

We rode in this one. 

Ed wanted a shot of me getting in. 

There were as many adults as kids doing this. 

This stuff is exquisitely beautiful. This company built a dragon the size of the elephant for the Chinese. 

Nantes

Our hotel in Nantes was built 20 years ago at which time it was state of the art. This is our bathroom sink. It is clear. 

These were my lamb chops from last night which were divine. 

This map explains The Island of Machines which is a magical land. All of a sudden a mechanical elephant that can transport 48 people was slowly walking toward me!  

Here comes the elephant!

These are the people riding the elephant. 

This is a heron. All of these machines are interactive with people. 

Here I am riding and driving the ant. 

Here I am in front of the elephant while it took its one and a half hour lunch break.