What we need is an art critic

 It actually rained this morning which is somewhat surprising given the overall heat Europe is getting. Temperature is just right, tending to cool.

We wandered the troglodyte village, visiting artist's galleries and an apple tappery. When grapes failed at the end of the 19thC an old method of preserving apples was revived and these were sold to the British navy as a source of vitamin C to ward off scurvy. The apples are dried at a low temp (no higher than 60), then tapped with a hammer to concentrate them. They end up just 2cm thick. They can be eaten as is or reconstituted with any liquid. We tasted one with apple juice and another with wine and spices. Both would make great desserts.

An architypal troglodyte home in that it started with a cave, then a sort of lean-to, then a full blown house.

We then moved on to check out a nearby chateau. It turned out to contain a contemporary art collection and little of its own history. I found the art completely inaccessible.

Let Chateau Montsoreau

This was the exception to the inaccessibility. I found it amusing and thought provoking.

(You have to read the packets carefully)

I'm still not sure if this is an artwork or simply a miscreant dog

My camera flashed up "group photo". 

Here's the 15thC castle, built for accommodation, not military purposes

When I said to the ticket lady that I hoped this wasn't true she stared at me and said "Eet does not refer to the place. Eet es an artwork." She must have worked hard to not say "Philistine" at the end.

Black and black. Well, he ain't wrong.

Ah, the pile of coal. The artist explains that while consumers can say they have touched a Rodin or a Moore they can't say the same for his work. It is delivered by a coal man and picked by another and so it can be in many places at once. 

Original artworks. They are fish.

At least it had a view

Onwards then, through some narrow roads that should have been avoided, including a box bridge that may well have torn mirrors or worse.

We stayed in a camp beside the Loir (not Loire) and enjoyed power and shower.