A magical day

9.9.11
Days have their highs and lows when you are on the road in a new area and today was no different.
We set out, taking the vineyard route which took us through fields of vines and sunflowers- all on level ground along the river plains. Little villages popped up from time to time. As we drove through one we noticed the caves and buildings cut out into the rock escarpment alongside.
Soon I spotted a 'cave' - what we would call a cellar door and although it looked deserted we wandered in. From deep within came a lady, who had no English so once again I had to use my French (which I have become far more confident about doing). Tasted a couple of reds (both of which we bought at 4 Euro a bottle) and she showed us the family cave. It dates from around 16th century, but of course has more modern vats and some machinery sitting in the back areas. A small display of suitable items in the bar area included the shoes worn by a cooper - with thick wooden, clog-like soles and leather tops. I felt so thrilled that we had stumbled on a genuine cave, because like any culture there are now many imitations.
Shortly later we came to the medieval village of Loches,which I would dearly loved to have explored on foot. Getting parking with a campervan is far from easy and one minor error led us down the middle of a narrow, cobblestone lane. At points this required Bill to drive with his wheel abutting the gutter and then with one wheel on the narrow walkway. No doubt people watching would have commented "Bloody tourists"! We were in no state after this experience to hang around.
Lady Luck looked down on us, because nearby we missed a turn mentioned by Tomtom. Noticed a sign to a forest that contained historical monuments and a pond, so thought this could be a good place to regain our balance. The Foret Doman Iale de Loches contains the Chapelle and other buildings which date from the 1100s. Monks lived in this forest and kept the pond stocked with fish. Many fish could be seen jumping in the pond,which we would call a small to medium sized lake. As we set off, the sounds of music filled the forest. A lady in the carpark told us that musicians play all around the forest. The mystical sound drew us up to a roadway, where a lone player practised his French Horn. Back into the forest (many oak trees and holly as well as other varieties) and fter about a kilometre walk we came to the chapelle in a clearing. Woodlands surround this clearing and we could not see an obvious way through - what a great deterrent to vandalism, so satisfied with a view from a distance of a couple of hundred metres.
As it was getting late (6.30pm),we were concerned that darkness may fall early in the forest. We need not have worried because it remained light until after 8.30pm, with twilight still seen around 10pm. The promised animals that would come out around this time were nowhere to be seen, so into bed we tumbled.