its paris again 2

On Saturday we caught a very early train to Angers at the southern end of the Loire valley. The TGV took an hour and 40 mins to get there.

Angers Chateau [13th C] has a dry moat on three sides and a sheer drop to the river on the other. At various times the moat has been used for vegetable gardens and sheep grazing. Now, on one side there is a pretty formal French garden. Inside the chateau which still as the drawbridge on one side and portcullis on the other, there are hanging gardens, herb gardens and a vineyard. The stakes of the vineyard are slate as there are quarries in the area. The towers and the ramparts have been altered as artillery styles changed. Once the towers had conical roofs of slate, now there are none.

Also at the chateau, we viewed the Apocalypse Tapestry, a medieval representation of the Revelation to John. Whilst the Bayeux Tapestry is surface stitchery on linen, this tapestry is completely covered with stitchery. The embroidery is remarkably detailed and the embroidered backgrounds are all different. The tapestry is about 100 metres long and was commissioned in 1375. It is a remarkable piece of work. Average length of visit o the chateau according to the guide: one hour. We spent over two hours there. We also took a walk along the historic Angers Route to admire the pale stone buildings and beautifully kept buildings in winding streets.

On Sunday we went to church twice. At 0820 we scurried across to St Michel to catch the RER train thinking that we must come here another time to take photos in the early light. The service was a musical joy with Fred playing Bach before the service and Vaughan Williams afterwards [as well as being a great service]. The second time we went was to an organ concert. We had a lovely hour and a half enjoying a talented organist on a wonderful organ with the time to look around at the church architecture.

Most of the RER trains are monsters, partly because they are monsters and partly because they are much higher than the metro height of the platforms. There are two quite steep steps to get up to the train. The RER C line [like others] has four ends each side of a central strip so there is a display of the coming trains. Each train has a name which is displayed on the monitor and on the train. Today we caught Vick , Lara, Clime and Jill.

We did some shopping on rue Montorgueil a busy food shopping street. There was a man with a trestle table with huge slabs of ginger cake for sale. He would cut off pieces as required. He also had a chess set on the side to play with friends to while away the time.

For Geoff's birthday we started with a visit to BHV hardware department, then lunch at Printemps department store. The restaurant on the 6th floor has a domed ceiling of art deco glass in blues in strips leading to a round piece in the centre. There are mirrors on the table to give a different view of this amazing work. In the evening the Gascards came to dinner. We did have a fun evening. Jean Claude has cancelled his twin otter and now hopes to use a nearby ice breaker to get to the ice edge.

One afternoon we went to La Defense, a skyscraper business district n the edge of Paris. From the Grande Arche you can see the Arc de Triomphe. Many of the skyscrapers have reflective surfaces, so interesting patterns are made across then as the sun shifts. There are huge open spaces with a fountain, funky sculptures, a carrousel and a shopping arcade along the side where you can sit in the cafe when it starts to rain.

On Friday we took the train and bus to Senlis, a 3rdC walled village. The bus from Chantilly wove in and out of narrow streets with cars having to backup and on the road approached the blind corners carefully as the driver needed the whole road to turn the corner. At one stop, the lady getting out bid farewell to everyone on the bus – “au 'voir messsieurs dames”

Senlis was the preferred spot for kings to live until 1000 when it went out of fashion. The impressive cathedral was built over a long period from 1150. The exterior was quite striking. We went to the Musée d'Art & Archéologie in an old church building. In the basement were Gallic finds from the forest around Senlis, as were the finds from a Roman temple. Upstairs was a large collection of paintings from the 18th -20th C including two artists from Senlis. The paintings of Seraphine Louis were delightful. Her huge modern paintings of flowers done in the early 1900s have a lovely glow to them.

In the evening, a final dinner with the Gascards. The exciting news was that the buoy and cable had been picked up by the icebreaker as the ice started to melt. No charge.

This morning one last walk across the river, again watching the barges going downstream.

It has been a great holiday with so many different sights we will have to sort them out in our minds. We can thank God for safety, for arrangements fitting together when there was room for slippage, and for the opportunity to visit France/this place we love.