Sunday, June 19, 2005
Reading corner:
Read Murphy’s Revenge by Colin Bateman (has been dramatized on TV) and Barney Thomson & The Face of Death
Boo-yaka-sha!!
It appears that the Staines Possee have made their way across the channel as Ali G was spotted just north of Loches on Saturday – well actually it was a sign “Allee G d’Amboise" but it made us giggle!! Apparently the abbreviation referred to the Allee St Georges D’Amboise.
Road Trip!
We had a bit of a road trip on Saturday – after I’d taken guests to the station and Gerwyn had prepped a couple of bikes, we had nothing to do for the rest of the day, but the heat really made cycling a silly option. So we jumped in the van and headed south to Loches… there is a medieval citadel which is really quite impressive, and the castle was where Joan of Arc convinced the Dauphin to go to Reims to be crowned king. It was also the retreat of Agnes of Sorel, mistress to Charles VII – the first woman to officially be known as the King’s Mistress!! As well as the castle, there is a “Donjon” – which actually translates as keep, but did also contain a dungeon, and was in fact used as a prison up until 1926.
Ranworth Tower revisited!!
The Keep was pretty impressive: 36 metres high, and walls 3.5m thick. Only the outside 4 walls remain, plus staircases, which naturally means you can climb to the top!! The first staircase was an old, narrow, stone affair, hugging the walls of the building – the purpose being that if anyone managed to invade the keep and get in the front door, it was very difficult to get up to the first floor, and the inhabitants can easily throw things at you: stones, arrows, boiling oil – the usual stuff! From then on up, the end staircases had been rebuilt and additional grating style platforms (you know – the ones that have holes in so you can see straight down and feel like you’re not actually walking on anything!!!) had been placed on each level, where previously there would have been floor… I have to say I’m very proud of myself as I managed to gingerly walk out onto every platform bar the last (well I was up 36m at this point and it was a little bit windy!!) and I even took some photos (extra tricky as this meant not being able to hold on to anything!!) Despite the slight element of fear (don't think Gerwyn noticed!!), it was pretty amazing to see a 5 floor building without the floors!!
We then continued on our road trip and headed through “Montresor”, as its name (My Treasure) suggests, designated one of the prettiest towns in France. I have to say I’m not sure I’d agree, but it was certainly pleasant enough. Then on through Valencay, and up to Selles-sur-Cher (famous for goat’s cheese), and then we decided we’d go all the way up to Blois for dinner! It was 7pm by the time we arrived, so we had a wander around the streets and then found a proper Indian restaurant for dinner!! A bit of a treat, but we decided we’d earned it after walking for miles, climbing a trillion steps and not giving in to silly phobias!!!
PS - did I mention it's boiling!!!
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Read Murphy’s Revenge by Colin Bateman (has been dramatized on TV) and Barney Thomson & The Face of Death
Boo-yaka-sha!!
It appears that the Staines Possee have made their way across the channel as Ali G was spotted just north of Loches on Saturday – well actually it was a sign “Allee G d’Amboise" but it made us giggle!! Apparently the abbreviation referred to the Allee St Georges D’Amboise.
Road Trip!
We had a bit of a road trip on Saturday – after I’d taken guests to the station and Gerwyn had prepped a couple of bikes, we had nothing to do for the rest of the day, but the heat really made cycling a silly option. So we jumped in the van and headed south to Loches… there is a medieval citadel which is really quite impressive, and the castle was where Joan of Arc convinced the Dauphin to go to Reims to be crowned king. It was also the retreat of Agnes of Sorel, mistress to Charles VII – the first woman to officially be known as the King’s Mistress!! As well as the castle, there is a “Donjon” – which actually translates as keep, but did also contain a dungeon, and was in fact used as a prison up until 1926.
Ranworth Tower revisited!!
The Keep was pretty impressive: 36 metres high, and walls 3.5m thick. Only the outside 4 walls remain, plus staircases, which naturally means you can climb to the top!! The first staircase was an old, narrow, stone affair, hugging the walls of the building – the purpose being that if anyone managed to invade the keep and get in the front door, it was very difficult to get up to the first floor, and the inhabitants can easily throw things at you: stones, arrows, boiling oil – the usual stuff! From then on up, the end staircases had been rebuilt and additional grating style platforms (you know – the ones that have holes in so you can see straight down and feel like you’re not actually walking on anything!!!) had been placed on each level, where previously there would have been floor… I have to say I’m very proud of myself as I managed to gingerly walk out onto every platform bar the last (well I was up 36m at this point and it was a little bit windy!!) and I even took some photos (extra tricky as this meant not being able to hold on to anything!!) Despite the slight element of fear (don't think Gerwyn noticed!!), it was pretty amazing to see a 5 floor building without the floors!!
We then continued on our road trip and headed through “Montresor”, as its name (My Treasure) suggests, designated one of the prettiest towns in France. I have to say I’m not sure I’d agree, but it was certainly pleasant enough. Then on through Valencay, and up to Selles-sur-Cher (famous for goat’s cheese), and then we decided we’d go all the way up to Blois for dinner! It was 7pm by the time we arrived, so we had a wander around the streets and then found a proper Indian restaurant for dinner!! A bit of a treat, but we decided we’d earned it after walking for miles, climbing a trillion steps and not giving in to silly phobias!!!
PS - did I mention it's boiling!!!
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