We set the alarm for this morn so we could get out early and not miss rush hour. The old stage coach roads aren't enough for today's population. Fortunately, the expectation of things to come kept us in good spirits, and after we broke free of the traffic we found ourselves out in charming hamlet country - they were everywhere, cute as a bug's ear. Our first destination was Rochemenier, where the Troglodytes live(Troglodytes are people that live underground). The ground there is sandstone so relatively easy to make caves - the whole place is made up of dwellings carved into the cliffs, and the site, which was occupied several centuries ago, contains relics from those days. Then to Fontevraud, the largest Abbey in France, and the place I went to a conference back some time ago. The place is big with interesting history. Next came Montsoreau, a chateau along the Loire River. It wasn't big nor interesting, filled with modern art that filled the empty rooms. But the town had more examples of troglodyte houses which was interesting to see.  Finally we went to Montgeoffroy, a chateau still filled with elegant furnishings, and thankfully we found ourselves with our private English speaking guide. The place was very nice and included some special features, i.e. a complete 18th century kitchen with a huge collection of copper pots,a stable full of old carriages, and signed Napoleon and King Louis documents. The guide frequently said "we" when talking about the chateau, so we surmised that he was one of  them:) then back to Anger and French pizza. A wonderful day.
9/26  Headed out from Normandy to Angers this morning. The Nav gal (GPS) was a great help and took us through some terrific countryside  hamlets such as Craon-everything you would expect the Loire valley towns to look like. We decided to take in a couple of the chateaux before checking in and the first was Brissac, the tallest of the Loire chateaux. The family still lives there so guided tours are mandatory and we arrived just in time to join one. The rooms are large and richly decorated with lots of tapestries and heavy furniture. There was even an old dungeon /prison ;). Then on the Angers - this is more of an old castle with an empty moat and drawbridge. After checking into our hotel for the next few days ( probably the least attractive so far but certainly adequate) we ventured out to the old streets and found a market to stock up on essentials such as soda and chocolate! We also found a coin laundry (glory be)  and the lovely little french woman who ran it was very helpful with instuctions.
9/25  Bright and early this morn we visited the parking ticket quandary  (we found out that we could go to a Tabac store, buy $35 worth of stamps, then mail them to the police), we opted to be criminals for the remainder of our lives. So, off we went for Normandy and Mont St Michel (That's the castle out in the ocean that can only be reached during low tide). Well, they made a road to it; now you can get there any time. We were worrying. A very strong and sudden rainstorm hit just as we were exiting the car but dried up just as quickly and didn't return until we were returning to the parking lot :)  The castle is splendiferous, and touristic, but lots of fun to tour - passageways, stairs (lots of stairs,slippery from rain) doors going everywhere. The views from the church at the top through the rain included both ocean and shore including the cliffs of Normandy. It is a site both of us had wanted to see for a long time and we were not disappointed.  The challenge of the day came when we tried to get out of the parking lot. I confidently drove up to the exit ticket station with my ticket in hand, inserted it with no results - the arm remained down. I tried several times in slightly different ways with the same results. By this time several cars had gathered behind me. After some more failures the car immediately behind pulled out of the queue leaving a space for me to withdraw. I drove back into the parking lot and resorted to the tried and true fix - ask someone. I found out that you had to take the original ticket to the Information office to get another ticket. Lynn stayed in the car researching the evening activities Lowhilst I sought out the Information office. I finally spotted it, only 200 meters away, went there, and was told the automated ticket machine was behind the toilets - a fortunate location for the elderly, like me. After taking care of bladder business I continued my search, and finally found them another 100 meters down the road; there must have been 10 of them, a great idea if they only told people. Because of the hour we decided to return to the hotel, and wander the streets of San Quentin sur le Homme where we found a food truck that specialized in pizza - had its own wood fired oven. Um good.