Final blog - England

 

Hit the beach - again

 We're back on Juno beach for our last night in France. 

Ever decreasing circles

 As we are heading toward Caen it was inevitable we'd cross into territory we covered on previous trips. Tonight we are staying in Falaise which we visited on 31 Aug 21.

We did first have a look around Domfront which is a nice mediaeval village though currently feeling everything but mid-summary. Few shops open, and few visitors even though it is school holidays.

The unusual St Julien. Built in late 1920s in neo-romantic style, though surely there was a church there before? Check that spire!

Decorated with part-mosaics

There had to be a castle, this one belonging to William the Conk's son at one point. On the border between Normandy and Brittany, hence England and France, it saw some action.

We found a British choir practicing in here. Sounded great.

Winding down

We explored the castle in St Suzanne and that was pretty much our day!

 

Lazy day

 We have three nights before the ferry, but only a couple hundred kms to go so taking it easy.

Durtal castle is a hotel but what limited access possible was irrelevant as it is closed Mondays.

We wandered north for an hour or so.

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.

Tanks a lot

 Well, there was nothing for it today but to visit the second largest tank museum in the world (so they say).

I won't show all the 100+ photos/videos for which you can thank me later.

For tank enthusiasts the German 'cats' are often popular, and Saumur has a Tiger 1 that they are restoring to running condition.

A 1:1 scale kitset Tiger

They have a large pile of vehicles outside as well, in various states of rust.

They have a good collection of models and dioramas.

Perhaps the quirkiest exhibit was the Russian T-72 trainer:

Anyway, I have plenty of reference pics for future models now.

Jude had spent the day at the Chateau so when we both got back we drove down the road to Turquant, a troglodyte town.

Sculptures are scattered throughout the village. Why ants?

The (non-troglodytic) church has windows restored using 16thC methods. Having seen so many churches we are excited by anything different.

Bastille day

 A day full of things that go bang. As it was Bastille Day and a holiday the French put on a display for us. First the school of Cavalry, then the Armour Museum, then some fireworks. Happiness filled.

The cadets made their claim for fame when the German advance in 1940 brought them to the banks of the Loire, just days before the armistice was signed. They put up a staunch defence of the various crossing sites around Saumur, before withdrawing south. There is a school of cavalry and a Staff College in Saumur still.

Cavalry cadets doing stuff on horses. Why?

The band played several times during the day. Very hot in those uniforms!

Bum notes are rather obvious and there were a few of them...

The cadets demonstrated a bit of hand to hand combat for us all. Various scenarios were played out but they were a bit too theatrical.

Then it was the parade of armoured vehicles. As cav are now tank or recce units, there was a good number, and many runners from the Armoured Museum were included.

I won't load the 50 pics/videos. 😁

T-72 (or T-64?) as used by botth sides in Ukraine. 

Modern French Jaguar IFV. Look at the size of it! Bigger than their MBT.

Lower ranks sometimes use wargames for tactical training, and I noticed a copy of A Distant Plain on a table too.

Early WW2 French Char 1b

But of course it's the fireworks you are interested in n'cest pas?

Originally Napoleon's Bridge, but now the Bridge of the Cadet's since they blew it up in 1940. (To be fair, the Wehrmarkt was trying to cross it.)

They take their store security seriously here