Page 1 of 3

Another Sailor Saga

Posted: Sun Sep 23, 2018 11:46 pm
by Sailor
We've just got back from another delightful road trip.

In short:
- seven countries
- 3218 miles
- things that made me gaze in wonder
- a thing that nearly made me cry.

I'll post some stuff when I've gathered it together.

In the meantime:-

Image

Image

Image

Posted: Mon Sep 24, 2018 1:11 pm
by wurlycorner
How do I get your life, Sailor?

Posted: Mon Sep 24, 2018 4:22 pm
by Sailor
wurlycorner wrote:How do I get your life, Sailor?
You have to be old and retired from a full-time occupation.


Image

Re: Another Sailor Saga

Posted: Wed Sep 26, 2018 12:14 am
by Sailor
Right. Now for the holiday snaps:-

We started three weeks ago in Rouen. A visit to the cathedral was almost obligatory.

Image

Image

The old town was worth strolling through, too.

Image

Image


The theme for this year's trip was supposed to be "Places where artists lived or worked", so our next stop was Monet's garden at Giverny.

Image

Here's the famous bridge:-

Image

And there are water lilies in this picture somewhere ...

Image


I don't know if the old fellow painted bamboo, but I liked it.

Image

Posted: Wed Sep 26, 2018 9:40 pm
by Sailor
On to Chartres. The cathedral dominates the landscape for miles. I think I read somewhere that the Americans did their damnedest to avoid shelling it in 1944.

Image

Inside is as impressive as out:

Image

Image


As with Rouen, the city itself is a pleasant place to mooch about.

Image

Image


Chartres was also home to Raymond Isidore, who collected broken glass and ceramics and decorated his home with it, painstakingly telling the story of his homeland in mosaic.

Image

Image


It's less eccentric than you'd think, even if he couldn't stop once he got indoors:

Image


When he died, the locals clubbed together to see he was given a fitting grave:

Image

Posted: Fri Sep 28, 2018 10:41 am
by wurlycorner
The house does look a bit OTT but I really like his grave - that looks fab!

Fantastic visiting Monet's garden - definitely one for the bucket list.

Posted: Fri Sep 28, 2018 11:42 pm
by Sailor
We continued south to the Loire.
Amboise is a pretty riverside town with a chateau and an ancient centre.

Image

Image

I waited for ages for this balloon ...

Image

... and then got distracted by some pretty colours.

Image


Just outside the town is Leonardo da Vinci's manor, Clos Lucé. We didn't feel the house and exhibits gave much of a feel for the man, but at least they'd built some of his inventions.
Is this a sort of prelude to a Prelude?

Image

The paddle boat looked like a workable design ...

Image

... but the hang glider didn't.

Image

Posted: Sun Sep 30, 2018 12:49 am
by Sailor
The next day saw us in Bourges.

Image

Image


From there, it was on to the Auvergne.

Image


This antique steerable sled was outside a small skiing museum. The proprietor said he'd never actually skied.

Image

Posted: Sun Sep 30, 2018 8:56 am
by mynameisowen
Beautiful!
What car did you go in?

Posted: Sun Sep 30, 2018 12:57 pm
by norks27
Great pics and another epic road trip :D