Wandering France 4: Chinon, Abbaye Royale de Fontevraud

missus and myself started out on a 2 month trip across france a few weeks back. the first part of the trip was touristy, second part we'll be living in one spot in the country (yay long service leave). just sharing some happy snaps from the various places. c&c welcome.

finally some sunny (but still cold) weather gave a chance for some brighter photos.

Chinon and Forteresse Royale de Chinon

1. another fascinating fortress that was also used as a royal quarters. hardly anything remains today compared to the complex at its peak. lots of big names to throw around here, including joan of arc, richard the lionheart, and more.



2. looking back towards the clock tower with a view over the medieval town below, beside the river



3. looking towards the royal quarters and the last slither of the town below



4. looking from the royal quarters towards the big archery shooty-shooty tower



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6. fractal tree



7. looking back on the royal apartments



8. streets of chinon below the fortress



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Abbaye Royale de Fontevraud

big-ass abbey (biggest in europe by complex size/land area) with a history of a thousand years. a very interesting past including when it was converted to a prison in mid 19th century, earning a reputation of france's hardest prison (their version of fremantle prison), which didnt get shut down until the 60s.

11. the abbey itself



12. inside the abbey with trippy lighting



13. no nuns on the run to be found



14. looking up at the main abbey spire from the internal courtard



15. ass-end of the abbey



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17. silent discos were first invented here



18. roman kitchens, which were unfortunately closed for rennos (another risk you take travelling during off season - many things closed for repairs etc), but an interesting looking building



19. ok, so more art installations. this time there was a maze of underground passages (probably for wine storage, those monks sure liked to get on the sauce). this all about owls, and the artist had put together a whole lot of scenes about owls. they're all made from white string and light with blacklight, so they were very trippy. this was the only one that had a rail with a flat wooden top, so i was able to do a long exposure A(no tripods allowed in most places these days). i did well to attend this because i have a mild fear of owls lol..... this one part was in a side passge about 6 metres deep and 1.5m tall, maybe 2m wide.

 

Beautiful Any plans to travel along the Dordogne? Libourne / Bergerac / St. Emilion / Beynac-et-Cazenac well worth a visit

 

nah we stayed with the loire for this trip. after that we headed east! home now

 

Bloody good shots mate.

 

What an incredible country. Lovely shots.

 

Beautiful! France has so much living history everywhere you go.

The Dordogne region is unbelievably beautiful. Well worth visiting in the future if you ever plan to return to France.

 

Beautiful shots.
Jealous.