Trips

Sat., 5/28/22 -LeMans &Angers

This morning before leaving Bayeux we walked to the local Saturday market up the street from our hotel. There were many vegetables (some French people obviously eat vegetables), meat, cheese, fish, and flower stalls but also huge woks cooking shrimp paella, ham slices in scalloped potatoes, ratatouille, etc. They all looked wonderful.

Sausages	Strawberries
More of those veggies you never see on your plate	Artichokes, White Asparagus, Cherries, and Melons
Lobster and crabs	Radishes
Clams	Paella?
Interesting way to measure	Even in France
Asparagus, Rhubarb, Strawberries, Raspberries	Cheese
Today's lunch stop was in LeMans where the auto race runs seven-mile loops through the streets for a 24 hour endurance (of the car and the driver) race. LeMans cars are specially made for this race. The car race began in 1923 to test the endurance of cars. Le Mans is a very old town. The town center has retained its medieval structures. Michelin, who made tires for the early cars also put out a magazine showing where replacement tires could be found. He later added advertisements for restaurants near where the tire shops were so you could have a bite to eat while waiting for your car. Then came the Michelin guide to restaurants and the Michelin Stars.
Countryside from the bus	Manhole cover in Le Mans
Le Mans trolly (or tram)	Half-timbered building
Half-timbered building with posts to protect its corners and sides	Cobbled street scene
Piano store	Interesting door and lock
Old religious building	The highlight of the visit to Le Mans was the huge Cathedral of St. Julian of Le Mans - or just the Le Mans Cathedral or the Cathedral of St. Peter and Mary (take your pick). The interior was dark, but once had painted walls. There was a very large organ and a suspended Black Christ. The exterior had many gargoyles and lots of fancy flying buttresses. The exterior was stunning.
Cathedral of St. Julian of Le Mans or Cathedral of Le Mans or Cathedral of St. Peter and Mary
Cathedral	Cathedral
Cathedral	Cathedral
Cathedral	Cathedral organ
The Black Christ hanging above the altar	The day ended in Angers at the Hotel de France, an old building with one small elevator and a narrow circular staircase. We said goodbye to Stephanie and met our new guide, Celia, and began the main part of this OAT trip. A brief neighborhood walk took us next door to a boulangerie (French bakery) to sample cheeses and baguettes and make purchases to go with our Welcome Drink this evening. Perhaps the most interesting object in our hotel room
Lots of different kinds of bread	Many varieties of cheese
Sun., 5/29/22 - Angers The morning began with a two-hour city tour of Angers with an excellent local guide. Angers was occupied by the German army until the 1945 libration which meant the Allies bombed the heck out of the city but fortunately the old medieval buildings were not hit or destroyed. Our tour took us past the Chateau d'Angers on the Maine River with its 17 towers. Originally there were wooden tops above the slate and limestone fortified walls. Following the tourist "blue line" along cobblestone streets gave us views of many half-timbered houses built in the 1400s and 1500s. One house, called Adam’s house, has an apple tree carved in the corner and once had Adam and Eve on either side. It had other mythological statues - mermaids and dragons, etc.
Map of the Chateau d'Angers	Chateau d'Angers
Chateau d'Angers	Formal gardens at the Chateau d'Angers
Le Quernon d’Ardoise A local specialty of blue chocolate (white chocolate colored blue) with a nut-brittle inside. It was very good.	Buildings along the Maine River
Maine River bridges	Half-timbered house
Chaplain's house built 1399-1400	Former warehouse with pulley for raising goods
Adam's House	More carvings on Adam's House
Adam's House Apple Tree	Famous Chocolate store
One of the city art museums had a wonderful colorful sculpture of snakes whose mouths would spit water as a fountain. It was totally modern art! Another museum was once (11th c.) a “convent for monks” and we looked at its cloister. There is a 12th c. tower used to ring a bell to alert people of fire or attack. The La Poste is a large and ornate 1937 building with carvings of how mail would be transported and another facade with Mercury the messenger with a symbol of Paris (Eiffel Tower) on one side and Statue of Liberty for NY City on the other.
The Snake Tree Fountain at the Fine Arts Museum	Per Adriano, bronze sculpture by sculptor Igor Mitoraj
Post Office building	Ways to transport mail depicted on the Post Office building
Cinema Palace	The Grand Theater is a gaudy building with statues representing opera, tragedy, comedy, and instrumental music.
The Grand Theater - entrance	The Grand Theater - Façade
The Grand Theater - Statue to Muse of Music	Old mayor’s mansion is Renaissance elaborate and is now the Prince Museum.
Sidewalks have lanes designated for bicycles - you want to stay out of this land while walking!	And pedestrians
Angers Cathedral	Everyone in the group opted to take a boat float on the Maine River - calming but boring and hot - no shade on the boat - and we paid for it ourselves. Celia conducted a French language lesson at 6 PM and then the group went to dinner at 7.
Our boat	Boat's "figurehead"
Entertainment	Dredging the river bottom for treasures
Angers train station	TGV - high-speed trains
Office buildings	Liberty marker in Angers
Rainbow-colored tram

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