A sense of adventure is essential.....

One of the critical requirements for successful travel is a willingness to go with the flow and not be phased by anything at all.

Whilst Liz and Ewan thought they were booking the next accommodation in a house called La  Levraudiere (booking.com this time) in the Loire, what was actually booked was a place of exactly the same name in the Vendee region 100 kms away! Fortunately we realised before we left Rennes, as that would have been very tricky. Liz and I just laughed when we found out, whilst Ewan tried to find fascinating things to do in the region we were actually going to. One of the options was an Aquarium with luminous jellyfish that dance to music. Liz and I fell about laughing at that one!!

We had a couple of nights booked so off we went hoping for the best. In fact we had a couple of fabulous days.... and avoided the jellyfish!

The accommodation was in a charming rural property with a number of guests, whom we never saw, and a a range of stone houses/ apartments. Breakfast was croissants and  baguette with perfectly salty butter, and a chance to practice our French on Chantelle and her husband. He was keen to talk about his political views which is very tricky when you can't speak French and he had no English. However, suffice to sa,y he was a 'Frexit' man and very right wing.

 After Ewan's careful research to find 'things to do 'we headed for the Ile de Re on the Atlantic coast for a day of sunshine (but still freezing wind!), bike riding and eating.
It's very much a holiday island, 30 kms long and 5 kms wide, with fantastic bike tracks as it is completely flat. After some cajoling we persuaded Liz to go bike riding, and found some very fashionable black bikes with white spots to match her white shirt with black spots. Firstly we wandered around a lovely port town with fabulous shops. Whilst Ewan went in search of a bike hire place Liz and I had the most expensive - and not particularly nice! - coffee we've had: 7.4 Euros for two cups ! It was overlooking the port and in a beautiful scenic spot but really!!

Finally equipped with helmets, bikes and a basket we pedalled off, firstly over a few cobblestones which wasn't good but eventually finding some'smooth coastal tracks. Liz hasn't ridden for some ti was a bit tentative, but she did manage to fall off ( without serious injury fortunately) in front of two gorgeous tall dark and handsome French cyclists so that was good timing! We rode past some of the battlements and through villages and found a lovely place for a French lunch, which we felt we deserved! After returning the bikes we wandered through the busy town. Liz and I bought matching red marine jackets lined with navy and white stripes to protect us from the wind. And Ewan bought a stylish grey top.



But we were really in search of a hat for Ewan and found  the perfect hat shop: a beret was definitely not suitable we decided but you can see the result. very French!

Too many choices in the hat shop!

Ewan looking very French in new cap.

In Ile de Re the houses are white with green shutters
and doors: any shade of green is acceptable but green it must be!

On the way home we made a quick dash to a Leclerc supermarket before it closed to buy food and drinks for dinner: specifically potatoes for Liz! And we were happy to take our aching....and slightly bruised body in Liz's case.... to bed.








Day 2:

Liz and I really needed our new jackets as it was pretty coolQ

For something entirely different we headed off to the Marais Potevin. The swamplands we had been driving through on our way to Lucon had been interesting with no crops and lots of irregular canals filled with  (salty?) water. We went to La Petite Port and hired a guide and punt so we could really experience this feature of the landscape. For an hour our young guide Emilie slowly rowed us around one of the many canals through beautiful greenery. The canals had been widened and straightened many centuries ago by the monks from the Abbaye (Abbey) we later visited: what a rotten job!

Emilie explaining how to catch an eel in a wicker basket:
a useful survival skill I'm sure.

As you can see the title of 'green Venice' fits. Although apparently it acquired the name in summer when the water is covered in green algae. With the reflections of the many trees and reeds lining the waterways it was still very green. although it is only spring.


One of the interesting aspects was that the water contains a high level of methane as a result of the decomposition of the leaves, reeds and swamp grasses in the water. The guide stirred up the mud and leaves in the bottom of the water, as it wasn't deep, and then lit it with a lighter: a very unexpected event!

The Abbey's underground salt cellar

As we are gluttons for punishment we felt we had to investigate not one, but two of the local Abbayes, as both were exceptionally old and very different. The first was the one known as the 'swamp abbey' because of its close proximity to the canals we traversed. It's proper name is the Abbaye de Saint Pierre de Maillezeis, and it consisted of buildings which included an Abbey for the monks, pilgrims and workers who spent time there and a Cathedral which had been modified over many centuries and was almost in ruins,It had been a fortress an Abbey and then a cathedral started over 1000 years ago

 It had been beautifully restored and a lot of attention had been paid to making it accessible and informative for visitors.

The columns form previous incarnations of the Abbey were marke in white stone on the lawn so you could appreciate it's size and development over many centuries

 

Some  surprising modern sculpture depicting
the body parts of the guy who was responsible for starting the building of the
 Abbaye in the 9th Century 

We couldn't miss a neighbouring Abbaye situated in a town nearby. It was the Abbaye Saint Vincent de Nieul - sur - l'Autise and was different altogether: apart from the fact that it wasn't in ruins and had a lovely 11-12th century facade!! It is apparently a 'masterpiece' of Romanesque art.
 It was very simple in style with beautiful cloisters.There was also a house owned by Eleanor d'Acquitaine, quite a celebrity centuries ago and the mother of Richard the Lionheart.  It included a lovely small exhibition of medieval musical instruments which played as you approached each one, and had a copy of statues of the same instruments being played on the church facade.

After another busy day we were happy to head home and find something to eat in a neighbouring town. 

As my limit is one cathedral/ abbey or whatever per day we had definitely exceeded it and although we enjoyed both of them it was enough. Off to bed without saying any prayers 

your blessed correspondent 

Dianne