A Gargoyle-ing We Go!

I had good intentions of keeping a detailed dairy of our travels, but there is so much to see and do, and the French summer sun doesn't set until nearly 10:30pm so, by the time we return to the hotel, it is time to crash. We've been chateaux-ing a great deal. The ruins of Cinq-Mars de Pile were amazing. It is owned by a little old French man who teaches at a school of architecture in Paris during the week, lives at the chateau at the base of the fascinating towers on the weekends and during summer, tending to the chateau his father bought. We tend to like the ones that are earlier and have had less 19th century restoration- even if they are falling down...the Chateaux at Langeais was stunning too- fairy tale spires...and finding the ones that can only be driven to, avoids the tourists...last night at an overnight in Tours, we stumbled upon the stunning Cathédrale St-Gatien, built between 1239 and 1484..with AMAZING gargoyles a-plenty!
.............................................

Earlier:

I keep putting off starting another entry, because there is so much I want to write, and so little time I am willing to spend writing it, with all this beauty around me…Our days have been filled with drives through the Loire valley roads- on the opposite side from the levee- we are near Saumer…and the beautiful towns of Candes St Martin…the champingnon farmers in their troglodytes….the endless eglises, one after the next- each with their own interest- Notre Dame at Treves-Cunault with it’s fortress tower next door and four-faced baptismal font…the stunning “tuffa” towns…flowers, flowers everywhere and fields and field of Van Gogh loved sunflowers. Sunflowers. Sunflowers—L’Helianthe…flowers tall as me all over the place….church after church after church after wonderous church- places of power before Christianity…L’eglise Saint Aubin at Treves with the mud dauber birds that seem to inhabit so many old churches, especially, perhaps holding the spirits of those that have gone before in their soaring flight to and fro the eaves…l’eglise Eusee at the hilltop in Gennes where we walked the churche’s walled outer paths and discovered a small carves stone figurine…I love all the many, many, many carved faces that line the eaves of the churches- funnily looking for replicas in the design, yet knowing each was carved by a stone artisan by hand… and gargoyle rainspouts who wretch and hold their tummies, and make faces- sometimes human, demonic, angelic, monkish, animalia, fantasia…the several Neolithic dolmens we searched and searched for- that simply arrive from a farmer’s fields of sunflowers- where he is happy to allow you to tread lightly on his land to take in the spectacle…the Gallo-Roman amphitheater near genes under excavation with it’s later hermitage and empty sarcophagus of the early monk who came to convert the populous. Plessis Bourré’s Conte de Fées fairy-tale castle with moat included…and miles of island speckled river- sometimes wide, sometimes narrow…the Chateau at Montsorreau with its lovely spires and stone walls rising right out of the water- we could climb inside and see the miles down the Loire and over the valley…the Chateau Saumur high on the town hill, lit at night with it’s spires…seen from the window of the chateau we are staying at- Chateau Verrieres…the bridge crossing the Loire coming into town- and the view of the bank of the river with the town and castle rising from the green, low bank…lavender and sage growing wild wild wild everywhere everywhere…and chestnut trees (the US doesn’t have any)…we’ve been warned by our eloquent hosts to keep the beautiful chateau casement windows closed in our bedroom while our lights are on- for bats will fly into our room! The late July bugless nights are so cool we sleep with the windows open wide to the view of the castle and tall garden trees…Uno, the doggie, begs for treats at our table in at breakfast and sleeps at Dave’s feet when we took tea tonight after dinner in our (long) talk with a couple of Aussie guests.