We're in Saumur

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We finally got away from Crocq around noon today after cleaning up a bit and making sure everything was packed and shut down as need be. It was a decent drive...not too much traffic and about 300 or so kilometers from Crocq to Saumur which is on the Loire River. Again, we passed through some beautiful country and saw some cool things. About 25 km before Saumur we stopped at the first of the chateaux de la Loire that we plan to visit. This chateau was Chinon and it was here that Joan of Arc first met the future King Charles to tell him to fight the English. He was in disguise and she picked him out of the crowd after never having seen him before and this was proof that she was sent by God to start the war to drive out the English in this region. The chateau itself was a bit of a disappointment compared to the chateaux I saw back in 2005 but that's because it had gotten very run down and derelict and is only now being restored to its former glory. We were only able ot to see the ramparts that still exist and the few towers. Chinon is first and foremost a defensive fort and it was built to withstand sieges. After we left the chateau, we stopped and had a snack and a cold drink as it was very hot and humid. We arrived in Saumur around 6 pm and found our hotel easily with the help of the GPS. We each had a cold shower to cool down and then we went out and did a little bit of exploring of the centre ville and found a nice restaurant (of which there are many!) and had a nice dinner. I had a nice salad with some thinly sliced sausage, potatoes topped with some tapenadde, sun-dried tomatoes and a thin slice of cheese, and confit du canard (a duck leg) with potatoes. Ken had terrine du lapin and magret du canard (duck breast with potatoes. We shared a demi-pichet (500 ml - 2 cups) of Loire region rosé and then headed back to the hotel. We stopped for an ice cream on the way! We'll hit the sack a little early tonight as we need to get a good start on tomorrow as we want to see 3 or 4 chateaux on our way to Orléans. Bonne nuit!

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Photos

The Mill Tower
La Tour du Moulin

The Clock Tower
La Tour de l'Horloge....there was a museum of Joan of Arc things in here

The potty!
You can see daylight down there!