Day 23,  Wednesday, September 20th, 2023

Oops, just realized that I forgot to publish this way back on September 20th!

The Chateau d’Angers is huge..

The fortress has 500 m long ramparts and 17 towers and was constructed in 1230. Here is an arial view.

There is a lot of reconstruction happening on the north wall.  I can’t believe how rickety that elevator looks. You wouldn’t catch me riding on that.

The entrance of the castle is impressive.But then we enter the display area for the Apocalypse Tapestry and we are utterly astonished.  This is the largest medieval tapestry in the world!

The tapestries turn the corner, and continue down another long wall and then turn yet another corner.  It is a magnificent sight. This information gives a brief history of this incredible tapestry.

We are entranced and walk back and forth, each time noticing something new.  This is like a medieval graphic novel.  The panels are in order and tell a story.  

Here is one of the panels that has been partly lost.  When the tapestry fell out of fashion it was used for things like floor mats, insulation for orange trees and horse stables, and to plug holes in buildings.   Can you imagine?  It has had extensive restoration, but it is still so amazing that so much of it has managed to survive this long.

A close up of the weaving.  It is very fine work and both the front and back are equally legible – the ends of wool having been meticulously tidied up. This means it’s possible to know what the original colours were like, unfaded by sunlight or time.

This panel manages to show men underwater and captures the transparency of the water.

Another interesting panel…well, they are actually all very interesting.

One more view of the long wall around the corner from the entrance. It really is awe inspiring.

We explore a bit more, and climb the ramparts.  This view is over the roof of the Tapestry museum towards the manor house and the chapel.

We were way up where the people in this photo are.

All too soon we are back on the road to our next destination, Tours France.  A detour causes some confusion for a bit but after some fantastic navigating and equally great driving we are soon at our new bnb.  It is small but I think it will be just fine.

Tours, France

Day 24, Thursday, September 21, 2023

It is raining on and off all day long so I decide I that I am having a pyjama day!  We do a bit of travel planning for the next week, watch some TV,  and I got caught up on our blog.