Chateau

Here at the the campsite without a car means either getting a lift off a fellow camper to the supermarket (yesterday) or relying on local taxis to get to and from the train station (today). Now, we'd got reception to book us a taxi last night to get to the station and then one from the station back to the camp later on. We both had very little hope of it arriving on time and even then expected it to be some clapped-out old banger with a lunatic driver and maybe one seatbelt in it at best. But, this country really can do no wrong! Punctual, polite, proper child seats if required, immaculately spick and span, certainly put our Citroen back home in Edinburgh to shame. And then, at the train station to pick us up and bring us home at the end of the day too. Perfect.

We went to Amboise, 15 minutes by train, a very quaint, touristy little town on the banks of the Loire, with a big chateau that we visited. Heck, this is a gargoyle on said chateau, it's almost a tourist shot. Just as importantly, there were shops in the town that sold a lot of different flavoured ice-creams. Sometimes thats just as important as the sight-seeing.

In the evening, a first for me - a proper circus in a proper big-top. With clowns, horses, magicians, trapeze artists and stuff. The performing goats let the side down a bit though, some animals just obviously aren't meant to jump through hoops.

Musically, there was a little bit of post-dinner deep goodness.