GordonWe saw a cock pheasant running along the edge of a field yesterday.  It was magnificent, although it was strangely without tail feathers.  The image inspired Ruth's first musical composition of the trip, a blues / funk number we will call "Hey pheasant, who took... Read More

July 21st, 2016When the Lord is away we certainly do play.... It turns out that our ancestors may well have come from this region. It was hard not to notice the close family resemblance to both of us in the paintings at the Chateau de... Read More

They say a man's home is his castle, but there are castles and then there are tents.   We are camping tonight just across the river from the Chateau de Sully, but don't despair, this is no hard luck story. Tonight we are trying out a... Read More

Last night we finally used our camping gear at a lovely spot on the river between Tours and Blois. There are lots of municipal and private campgrounds dotting the shores of the Loire in fantastic locations. Cycle tourists are waved in even when the designated... Read More

                            Saumur's Chateaux as seen in the Duke de Berry's Book of hours. Gord:  I am a big fan of fireworks.  While Ruth will generally decide in favour of sleep on an evening when... Read More

July 13, 2016  AngersGordon:  I love last judgement paintings, with their imaginative depictions of devils and the torments of the damned.  So I was delighted to learn that Angers has a famous Apocalypse tapestry - several hundred feet of tapestry depicting the Book of Revelations... Read More