September 5, 2021
Poitiers rest day
Grateful for a relaxing day exploring Poitiers, for a rest day and a comfy room instead of the tent.
We had a slow start on Sunday morning, appreciating the comfortable bed and artificial darkness of shutters to sleep off the previous night's wine and dinner.
It was already hot by the time we headed out to see the sights so we started with Notre Dame Cathedral where we spent a blissful hour in the cool, dark nave admiring the windows and sculptures and trying to figure out the saints and miracles depicted. The large stained glass scene of a crusades battle was easy to identify and made me wonder when, if ever, images of that part of Catholic history will be seen as inappropriate.
The Palais de Poitiers with its Grande Salle was next. This was home to Eleanor of Acquitaine and her two husbands, King Louis of France and King Henry of England. Started in the 12th Century, the impressive architecture has been meticulously restored and we were treated to a small group (3 of us) tour. We are both inspired to read about Eleanor and that period of French and English history, and to learn why the English ruled this part of France for almost a hundred years.
Overall, we were impressed by the transformation of the central area from Saturday night when it was packed with people drinking and eating at patios and on the streets ( and looked like it was just getting going when we went home at midnight) to the calm of Sunday morning with all the chairs put away and, amazingly, not a piece of garbage or an empty bottle to be seen. Kudos to the civic officials who decided that clean streets on Sunday morning was worth the cost of an early cleaning crew.
For the afternoon, we took in a French ritual: Sunday in the park. The Parc de Blossac has long rows of trees with gravel paths, fountains, ponds, grassy areas with geese and a parakeet cage, all perfect to watch the people stroll, read our books on a bench and Ann even brought a mat for yoga stretches.
Sushi supper on the trendy rue de Carnot watching the beautiful people stroll and then home to pack for an early start to try and get ahead of the forecast heat.
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