Le Tour 2005 - A Virtual Cultural Trip

Let's follow now the route of the brave cyclistes again








On the second day (Sunday) we reach



the Marais de Challans.

Let's go and have a quick view to the Palais des Congrès, in St-Jean-deMonts, where we can see a retrospective of some 200 paintings by Henry Simon (1910-87) - one of the Vendée's best-known painters - in the exhibition Entre Ciel et Marais (open until August 31):


00139 red par Henry Simon



CHEVAL DANS MARAIS SALANTS par Henry Simon

And afterwards, we'll have a




Poulet de Challans en croûte de sel (aka Poulet en croûte de sel de Noirmoutier)
Ingredients for 6
1 Poulet de Bresse (about 1.6 kg)
800 g potatoes (preferrable the small Grenailles)
1.5 kg sea salt
2 thyme branches
2 persil branches
5 bay leaves
1 teaspoon of white peppercorns
Mince the pepper and bay leaves. Wash the potatoes without peeling them. Fill the broiler with half of the pepper mixture and the thyme and persil branches.
Lay the potaoes in an oval, not to big roasting tin. Put the chicken on top. Apply evenly the salt over the broiler. Roast it for 1½ hours at 200° Celsius.
Serve the potatoes with (salted) butter and the (divided) chicken - all without the salt!


Those, who don't want to cook it themselves, might get it served south of Challan in the 3* star restaurant in the Château de Verie

…. And stay there over night

<double post - thanks Angelique :wink: >

*puff, puff, puff* We are catching up now *puff, puff, puff* Brought scarecrow along to help with the pedaling (he changed clothes, more comfortable this way). We left toto behind. *puff, puff, puff* What great places we have visited so far, and what a great tour guide! *puff, puff, puff*

Les Sables-d'Olonne - the long beach, bustling seafront and chic shops of Les Sables d'Olonne have earned it the name 'mini Nice'.


An aerial view, La Rochelle in the North and Sabl-d'Olonne in the South




Summer, The Beach at Les Sables d'Olonne
Albert Marquet (1875-1947)



This town on the Côte de la Lumière (Coast of Light) doesn't only offer a beach that is nearly 2 miles long but also a museum dedicated to the Vendéen Wars, the Musée de l'Abbaye Ste-Croix (founded in the 17th century by Benedictine monks and now a museum of contemporary art as well as prehistory), and the Église Notre-Dame-de-Bon-Port built in 1646 by Richelieu.
And summer festivals bring out the locals, said to be the descendants of the Moors driven from Spain, in folk costumes.



MUSEE AUTOMOBILE DE VENDEE
Cars museum, in the 3300m² exhibition hall, entirely decorated with old posters & accessories related to the automobile, there are 160 different cehicles in working order on display : motor cars, horse-drawn vehicles, cycles & motorcycles. The collection begins in 1885 & ends withe the 1970's.


MUSEE DE L'ABBAYE SAINTE-CROIX
The reputation of the Musee has continued to spread since its foundation in 1963. Its collections are based on 3 main themes : Modern & contemporary Art : noteworthy 2 sets of Canvasses by Victor Brauner & Gaston Chaissac. Prehistory : overview of the excavations carried out in the "department". Folks Arts & Traditions. Temporary Exhibitions. Major collection of modern and contemporary art. Room devoted to the ethnography of seawater baths and to the Sables d'Olonne fishing port.

Changing into my Speedo for a swim.
It's OK to change right on the beach in France, no?

Okay





.... and naturalism is allowed on one part of this coast called 'La Grande Pointe' :wink:





edited: how did they get the clothes on so quickly?

Ah, yes. I see what Angelique means, now, Walter. Two blank pictures hanging in suspended animation. <smile>

Red sand and hillock dunes, not unlike here.

Lovely tour, Walter. Now just where is this Grose Pointe? I might see someone I know there.

<Due to the fact that we are renovating our apartment, my own phtos are unfortunately 'lost' in the frest corner of the crammed room, I'm sitting in.
So, unfortunately, I've only to use pics, I find on the internet.

And another - "legal" notice: I use lots of websites and offline books, from which I just copy and paste a lot of the textes, without changing them heavily .>

The Tour starts today - but we will discover the Loire castles (where the cyclists will arrive on Monday/Tuesday) this holiday weekend.

<Due to the fact that we are renovating our apartment, my own phtos are unfortunately 'lost' in the frest corner of the crammed room, I'm sitting in.
So, unfortunately, I've only to use pics, I find on the internet.

And another - "legal" notice: I use lots of websites and offline books, from which I just copy and paste a lot of the textes, without changing them heavily .>

The Tour starts today - but we will discover the Loire castles (where the cyclists will arrive on Monday/Tuesday) this holiday weekend.

Me too, forced into a corner of my office by roof works! Hate renovations!


Looking forward to la belle Loire.

<Since Mrs. Walter will be away on holiday from tomorrow onwards, I'll have to put back the stuff next week[end], ... and wait until sge returns, buying together [no licence to do it alone] new carpets, cupboards ... Which means de facto the situation here won't change much for two more weeks >

<Waiting to redo office completely until roof is done, but I'll have 1 son and 1 goddaughter staying so it'll all feel too crowded and very irritating if I can't get to the computer >

Josephine Baker
Taking a little detour Walter, I hope you don't mind. I will catch up with you when you are ready to continue. I just have to see Josephine Baker's Castle. Promise I wont stray again.

Josephine Baker's "Village of the World"

Château de Milandes
The Chateau des Milandes overlooks the Dordogne river and was home to Josephine Baker. She awed Paris with her flamboyant revues in the first half of the twentieth century and later moved to Les Milandes where she famously adopted twelve children known as the "Rainbow Tribe". The Chateau now features an exhibition to her extraordinary life as well as parkland and formal French gardens. Well worth a visit, there are also falconry displays and a small restaurant.

Well, I don't mind. Feel free to post whatever you like!

I only thought, to stay along the route the Tour actually goes - the purpose of this thread never has been to be a general touristic and for all France - and that part of France isn't covered this year at all.






But as said, whoever wants to post what from where - feel free to do so :wink:

This year the Tour will not go by Francis backyard!

Saves expensives for paint :wink:

That was far from Francis backyard!

I know - but I couldn't find a photo - with paint on the rue - from your place :wink: