Blimey, there’s no rest for the wicked is there? No, not another blog for me to write, but another one for you to read. It’s one of the best cures for insomnia on the net - I even fell asleep writing it once!
Anyway, unless inspiration suddenly strikes there will be precious little waffle to wade through. There will though, be a lot of pictures - and a few good ‘uns too I reckon.
After a couple of days running around - okay, maybe a day and a half - a day in the recliner with a book would have been in order. But Saturday was looking a bit gloomy, so after the morning run out to the bakers for our fix - we set off again.
The town of Preuilly-sur-Claise was the first on the list. Nothing particularly remarkable about it - a little town with a population of a 1000 or so and little of interest to the casual tourist - but, being Saturday morning it was busy - we even had to do a couple of loops to find a parking space. The bakery was of course very busy as were the butchers and cooked meat shops - anything to do with food basically. It’s hardly a secret but the French take their food very seriously. Fresh seems to be the key.
At the centre was the Hotel de Ville - pretty much every town seems to have one - although some are no longer hotels.
So, nothing spectacular but a pleasant little town in rural France that seems to serve the local community well.
Next up was La Roche Posay, a medieval spa town and lying just across the border in Poitou- Charentes - the region where our second stop was. Expectations were a little higher here and we were not disappointed. The view coming in over the bridge was just gorgeous.
At the beginning of the 19th century, Napoleon, upon his return from Egypt, had a thermal hospital built here to treat the skin diseases of his soldiers. Now, there’s opportunities to splash your cash on all manner of water based treatments for rejuvenation, any number of ailments or just relaxation. A lovely place I’m sure you’ll agree, but it was proving tricky to get a photo without a car in it even in France.
Un unscheduled stop occurred at Vicq-sur-Gartempe on the way to our next stop. There was a pretty house that caught my attention just as we were crossing the bridge so we decided to stop and have a look. Also by the river was a lovely picnic area - almost deserted, but a great spot to bring some grub, a comfy chair and chill for a few hours:
Last but be no means least was Angles-sur-l’Anglin. A Chateau, river, winding streets, ancient buildings, pretty squares with restaurants and some stunning viewpoints, it’s understandably considered one of the most beautiful places in France. Split in two by the river, there was an abundance of places to eat - and there was plenty engaged in that activity. If fact, that was pretty much the only activity. It being lunchtime, obviously everything else was shut.
So, not the best of weather as you can see from the light in the photo’s but a cracking day about all the same. There’s certainly more to France than the Eiffel Tower and frogs legs!
No videos this time but a slide show:
