The Loire Valley Saumur, Tours, Amboise and Mesmes

                            

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 there is a fireworks display, I show an unusual willingness to postpone my (ridiculously early) bedtime and take in the show.  One of the many things I like about the French is that they share my passion.  On Bastille Day in particular, even small towns host a good fireworks display.  This year, for some reason, many communities had their fireworks on July 13th, the eve of Bastille Day.  And so it came to pass that I was able to see outstanding fireworks on two successive nights.  The display in Saumur on Bastille Day was easily better than anything I have seen in Victoria.  The show the previous evening, in Angers, was an order of magnitude better.  The theme was the 2016 olympics, so the musical selections that accompanied the show had athletic themes.  There were 9 launching platforms located in the Maine River, often all in action at once.  The overall effect was magnificent, and I was left smiling from ear to ear.  It was of course disturbing to later learn that another Bastille Day performance, in Nice, ended in the tragedy of a murderous rampage with a truck.  I have no doubt, however, that on the next Bastille Day the usual fireworks will be seen throughout the country.

Ruth: We are now in the thick of Chateaux country, with the minor and major ones popping up all along our route. My only complaint is that they are too ornate for my drawing skills. Now Da Vinci wouldn't have  been put off by the complex spires  and multitude of angles. He spent the last years of his life in Amboise at his not so humble Chateau du Clos Lucé. Visiting Clos Lucé I gained a new appreciation of what patronage of the Arts really looks like when you are a favorite of the King. 

The Cathedral at Tours