Day 27, Sunday September 24, 2023

Bob was up early to see the start of the Loire Valley Marathon.  There are thousands of participants.  And they are off…

…except for these two, who are 5 1/2  and 9 1/2 minutes late for the start of the race. it took 2 minutes and 45 seconds for the main group to clear the starting gate.  That is a lot of participants!

We watched the runners as they pass near our apartment.  There are serious runners, and some not so serious runners.

There were bands playing along the route.  This Irish band was playing “Whisky in the Jar”.

A whole lot of noise was made by this one man band who created his music on a bike, equipped with a keyboard, guitar strings and several other musical devices.

After lunch we go for a walk to the Loire River.

The City Hall…

…has interesting sculptures holding up the balcony. They look like they find it hard work.

We visit the Compagnonnage Museum, the Museum of the Trade Guilds.  Bob likes this model of a 1926 Hispano and..

…thinks I should have my picture taken with the Eiffel Tower.

There are a lot of interesting models which portray the skills of the various trades.

These wooden models were particularly impressive.

There are wooden shoes that look almost like leather ones, an interesting wooden model in a bottle, a curiosity chest shaped like a women’s torso, and a selection of stone carving tools.

This model is made from pasta noodles!

And the sugar sculptures range from this fairy tale castle…

…to this highly realistic chess set and globe.

On the way home we pass an exhibition for the France Design Week.  It is in an empty building that is as interesting as the exhibition.

The next room has trees and birdsong!

I liked these woven birdhouses. 

How is this for an idea with what to do with all those extra stuffies? A stuffy chair!