Around Chinon, Loire Valley

Today we took the advice of our hotel "madame" and headed for a local little village which has been declared one of the "most beautiful villages in France" - Candes-St-Martin. It was indeed beautiful - small winding streets set into the hillside rising up from the Vienne River. We came across a fascinating installation representing "Marriages des Nomads" on the banks of the river - with 2 more similar installations elsewhere in the village. We had a cup of coffe in a little place that was a man's front yard/garage/installation of objects of interest/bookshop.

The church was fascinating - this place was where St Martin died in the 4th Century and has been a place of pilgrimage ever since. An incredible large church was built in the 12th century to replace the original church on the site, and although it has decayed somewhat and been restored over the years it still had relics of ancient statues and was full of atmosphere.

A picnic lunch in the next little town, then heading to Samuar we came upon a mushroom farm open for inspection in the old caves which were formed by the excavation of huge amounts of limestone to build all the chateaux and towns in this area (and also exported - such as to build St Paul's in London).

On to Samuar, where we just viewed the castle from the distance and home via the nuclear power plant - we tried to get a tour, but you need a clearance for security reasons etc, so it was all too hard.