Anjou, Sept 29

 We biked into Anjou via a the lake and water park, what an amazing facility to have lots of boats and also swimming platforms in the water for summertime.

We Looked around the chateau for about 2 hours 

The highlight being the Apocalypse tapestry .

 At 328 feet, the tapestry remains one of the largest in the world. The piece was commissioned by the Duke of Anjou in 1370 and completed in a mere seven years.  There are 90 panels within the tapestry and each tells its part of the story of the Apocalypse (from the Book of Revelation by Saint John the Divine). 

The tale is divided in six parts, beginning with the rebirth of Christ and his ensuing triumph over the Apocalypse.

An amazing piece of work and in good condition. When new t was hung in the cathedral of Angers on major festival days. But during the French Revolution, the tapestry was cut into pieces for its protection and given to different people. After the Revolution, a Canon of the cathedral gathered the pieces back (all apart from 16 which have never been recovered and were probably destroyed), and the tapestry was restored between 1843 and 1870.

The chateau itself had lovely gardens.

these grape vines are growing on the roof 

We then got the little train and did a tour of the city, it was incredibly bumpy at times as it was through narrow cobbled streets and not much in the way of suspension. It was 40 minutes long, we had English commentary and it covered a lot of town that we wouldn't have known to go see.  We then had lunch and did a self guided walking tour following a green line painted on the ground.

Some photos from Anjou, 

It started to drizzle so we got back on the bikes and raced home. The came is the same one as yesterday, it is really nice with really good hot showers ( that's how we judge a camp )