Martin-pecheur (Kingfisher)

So today we ventured past a couple of the Loire Castles; bought some Saumur wine (the same type we got from here three years ago, and had a lovely chat with the girl working there); saw the Bayeux tapestry; and had everything put into perspective with a trip along Omaha Beach in Normandy. So why the pic of the Kingfisher? Well after being so down in the mouth for large parts of yesterday, it was really nice to see something so uplifting first tug in the morning. Three of them buzzing about as it happens, just glorious. Even more happy to top off the 'perching' shots with one from a fired few that caught it mid-flight.

But the Bayeux tapestry definitely deserves a mention. An astonishing work, until walking along it I just hadn't appreciated the sheer length. It was nice to take time to stop and ponder along the way, unburdened by an audio guide that blared out, and seemed to carry everyone else along at a fair lick, not affording them the opportunity to take it all in. What is it about these guides that turns people into automatons?

After the trip up to Omaha (last year we saw Sword, Juno and Gold - today there just wasn't time for Utah) things got put into immense perspective. Just imagining the fear and the horror (on both sides) - one particular point houses the ruins of German gun emplacements, and the courage of those defending despite aerial bombardment, and those scaling cliffs despite machine guns and grenades, is just breathtaking. Really must read the D-Day book I bought last year...

Back to Bayeux for a fab meal we found ourselves (understandably, given the history of the beaches) surrounded by Americans. Most were lovely, but the table of four behind us, dyed-in-the-wool Texans, seemed miserable the entire night, never happy with the food, or the wine (seemingly having once tasted one Cotes du Rhone back in the States makes you an expert on all Cotes du Rhone wines, who knew?). They also declared that there was no need to organise a 'voting bus' this time round as Romney was a shoe-in for their area; and confusion as to whether that meant they were pro- or anti-Romney was dispelled when their further complaint was that in Europe they could never get Fox News (the one thing on the trip they were happy with so far was the flat screen tv in the hotel room).

Anyway, now on the boat home after a massive ferry-go-round. Land in Portsmouth about 4am-ish, then bomb 3-4 hours up the road to clear London and the surrounds before brekkie, and, hopefully, a relaxed potter through Yorkshire and so on to home.