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  • SQUIRREL TALESOut Of MothballsПутешественник
    Lovendegem Castle
    At least there aren't any cobblestonesA coffee stop for the keen cyclistsOur barge, from the cycle pathThe cycle path, from our bargeNot a cobblestone in sight :-)Chatting with Mr Fit-Body while the barge had stopped to take on waterA lazy pootle along the canal towards BrugesMr Fit-Body arriving in BrugesMs Office-Body arriving in BrugesLet loose in Bruges to forage for foodBut first, beer o'clock in a 12th century cellarOutside table at a restaurant on the main square for a spot of 'people watching'Back to the barge with full bellies

    Flanders by Bike - Day 6

    10 октября 2025 г., Бельгия ⋅ ☁️ 17 °C

    Today's route was 44 km from the mooring point near Lovendegem, 10 km NW of Ghent, to Bruges. For the most part, the route followed the canal which connects the two cities, occasionally veering off into the countryside and then coming back to the canal path.

    A couple of people, including Ms Office-Body, chose to enjoy the canal scenery from the comfort of the barge rather than from the discomfort of the bike seat. A few others went even further and just took an early train from Ghent to Bruges ... sore joints and aching bum-bones dictated the actions for many people today.

    Those who were still keen for another day on the bike (Mr Fit-Body, of course) set off after breakfast and arrived in Bruges in the early afternoon. The barge moored at 3.00pm

    Tonight is the only night we didn't have an evening meal provided onboard. We were set loose in Bruges to find our own sustenance, with a list of recommended bars and restaurants.    Читать далее

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  • SQUIRREL TALESOut Of MothballsПутешественник

    Flanders by Bike - Day 7

    11 октября 2025 г., Бельгия ⋅ ☁️ 16 °C

    The last day of our bike/barge adventure, people were scattering in all directions. The bikes, and route maps, were available for anyone who wanted a loop ride from Bruges but a lot of people had other ideas. Some had booked walking tours of the historic centre, some had booked massages and spa treatments, others were coordinating the opening hours of various museums to work out which ones to go to first.

    Mr Fit-Body chose the bikes.
    Ms Office-Body made a list of things she wanted to see in Bruges.

    Mr Fit-Body rode along some canals, explored a couple of villages, and enjoyed the views.
    Ms Office-Body enjoyed quiet moments in the parks and gardens of Bruges, joined the tourists in a 12th century basilica (rebuilt in the 16th century), wandered through the Gruuthuse Museum, and ate far too many belgian waffles during the day.

    A final dinner with our fellow travellers on the barge rounded out the day. We disembark immediately after breakfast tomorrow morning and head off on the next leg of our journey.    Читать далее

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  • SQUIRREL TALESOut Of MothballsПутешественник
    Hotel d'Hane SteenhuyseHotel d'Hane SteenhuyseHotel d'Hane SteenhuyseHotel d'Hane SteenhuyseGraffiti StGraffiti StGraffiti St

    Passing Through - Ghent

    12 октября 2025 г., Бельгия ⋅ ☁️ 18 °C

    Breakfast, pack up, bid farewell, and a short walk to the train station ... our bike/barge adventure wrapped up quickly this morning and we were in transit by 10am.

    Destination: Ghent

    After dropping our bags at the hotel, we hit the streets to see what we could see. We only got as far as the first corner before the aroma of good coffee stopped us in our tracks.

    We squeezed a lot into today, including
    * A general roam around the old centre and the main tourist sites.
    * A tour of Hotel d'Hane Steenhuyse, an 18th century noble townhouse which is now open to the public as a 'house museum'. On the list of famous house guests (back in the day), King Louis XVIII, in exile from France, took refuge and held court here in 1815.
    * Graffiti Street, a public canvas for street artists.
    * A short tourist cruise to see the city from the water.

    And we did justice to few Belgian beers as well.    Читать далее

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  • SQUIRREL TALESOut Of MothballsПутешественник

    Passing Through - Blois

    13 октября 2025 г., Франция ⋅ ☀️ 18 °C

    After a long, lazy breakfast in Ghent, we were back on a train for our next transit leg.

    Destination: Blois

    During the Renaissance, Blois was the official residence of the King of France. The older parts of the city reflect the wealth and power that used to reside here.

    Joan of Arc also passed through here and made Blois her base of operations. She stayed at the Royal Chateau to be blessed by the Archbishop of Reims before heading out with her army to drive out the English.

    And Jean-Eugene Robert-Houdin was born here. He was a magician and illusionist ... Erik Weisz, aka "Harry Houdini", adopted the surname when he became a professional magician in the 1890s.

    Things slowed down in Blois when the Royal court left town and headed to Fountainebleau in the 16th century, but picked up again when the railway and industrialisation arrived in the 19th century.

    We visited the Tourist Information Centre and picked up a walking tour map of the old town, then spent a few hours roaming from point to point, reading interesting stuff about each site or area as we went.    Читать далее

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  • SQUIRREL TALESOut Of MothballsПутешественник

    Passing Through - Chambord

    14 октября 2025 г., Франция ⋅ ⛅ 17 °C

    Chateau de Chambord, the largest and most recognisable chateau in the Loire Valley.

    Built as a royal hunting lodge in the 16th century, and a symbol of wealth and power, it was rarely used by the King who commissioned it. Huge, freezing cold, completely unfurnished, and not practical for anything other than short stays. All furniture, wall coverings, household items, and foodstuffs had to be brought to the Chateau in a major logistical undertaking for every short hunting visit.

    And then the King died. The Chateau was abandoned. Finally, 80 or so years later, some restoration work was done and later a large stable was added ... the royal hunting parties were back on the agenda for a while. By the end of the 17th century, it was abandoned again.

    It was a dilapidated and deserted 'white elephant'; gifted to nobles and inherited by heirs who did nothing with it. It became the property of the French state in 1930 ... and is still huge, freezing cold, and mostly unfurnished.    Читать далее

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  • SQUIRREL TALESOut Of MothballsПутешественник
    Our 'front door', and Mr Fit-Body trying to remember the door code :-)

    Staying Awhile - Sarlat la Caneda

    16 октября 2025 г., Франция ⋅ ☀️ 20 °C

    Beautifully preserved medieval and Renaissance buildings, foodie paradise, and our base for the next week or so.

    Our accommodation is in the centre of the old town, an 'attic' apartment in a 500 year old building. We're a stone's throw from the cathedral and our bedroom window is level with the 7.00am good morning church bells.

    Sarlat absolutely oozes charm ... market squares, cobbled streets, narrow lanes, inner courtyards, and very few tourists at this time of year. There are quaint restaurants and bistros offering regional gastronomic specialties, including duck, goose, foie gras, truffles, and walnut wine (consumed as an aperitif).

    Looking forward to exploring the region.    Читать далее

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  • SQUIRREL TALESOut Of MothballsПутешественник

    Wherever The Bus Will Take Us

    19 октября 2025 г., Франция ⋅ ☁️ 22 °C

    We'll be picking up a hire car tomorrow and will be able to explore further afield but, until then, we're on shank's pony or wherever a local bus will take us.

    Today the bus took us the Saint-Genies, a small but charming rural village north of Sarlat. Very picturesque, very quiet, and our starting point for a 10 km (ish) meander after taking a peek in the chateau and ancient church in the middle of the village.Читать далее

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  • SQUIRREL TALESOut Of MothballsПутешественник
    Example of construction at the time the village was built
    Scale model of a very small part of the villageStaircase carved into the cliffLooking down on remnants of the lower terrace

    Exploring - La Roque St. Christophe

    20 октября 2025 г., Франция ⋅ 🌧 17 °C

    There is evidence of human occupation in the caves and crevices here since prehistoric times. At the end of the first millenium, the 'guys in charge of things at the time' decided to build 5 defensive forts to block the navigable river access for all invaders. One of those forts was constructed at La Roque Saint-Christophe on the Vezere River. It was a strategic location and the cliffs provided both shelter and protection.

    The natural crevices in the limestone cliff face were gradually enlarged and deepened in the Middle Ages and an entire village was built, comprising homes, workshops, staircases between levels, and a chapel. All perched high above the river and the valley floor.

    A scale model has been constructed, from archival information and studies of archaeological evidence, to show a small portion of the terraced village. The entire site was destroyed in the 16th century.

    Absolutely fascinating place.    Читать далее

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  • SQUIRREL TALESOut Of MothballsПутешественник
    Market Hall Square ... we have the place to ourselves
    Place de La Rode ... we had lunch here but centuries ago, people came here to watch public tortureA lovely view, made less lovely by the weather

    Exploring - Domme

    21 октября 2025 г., Франция ⋅ 🌧 17 °C

    Rain !!!!!!

    We've been lucky with the weather so far but it seems Lady Luck is done with us. Rain, fog, and constant drizzle were the order for the day. Oh, the joy of having a car 😀

    Today's exploration took us to the village of Domme, a fortified medieval town listed as one of the region's most beautiful villages. We wandered a bit, sheltered from a heavy rain burst, wandered a bit more, sheltered again ... it was the pattern for the day.Читать далее

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  • SQUIRREL TALESOut Of MothballsПутешественник
    Braving the rain to see the view (not us)A quick look around the village of Biron

    Exploring - Chateau de Biron

    22 октября 2025 г., Франция ⋅ 🌧 18 °C

    From the 11th to the 20th century, this Chateau has seen it all.

    Besieged, taken, modified, beautified, landscaped (now lost), modernised, renovated, and now being restored. There's a long list of influential people through the Ages who resided, visited, or banqueted here.

    A great place to spend half a day ducking the rain.    Читать далее

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  • SQUIRREL TALESOut Of MothballsПутешественник

    Exploring - La Roque-Gageac

    22 октября 2025 г., Франция ⋅ 🌧 18 °C

    The weather forecast hinted that the rain would be clearing in the afternoon so we pointed the car in the direction of La Roque-Gageac. We were hoping to squeeze in a short river cruise, weather permitting.

    The rain did let up a little but the constant drizzle didn't inspire river cruising. Hard to appreciate the views of chateaux perched on top of towering cliffs from beneath the rain awning on a boat.

    The village is described as one of the most photogenic spots in south-west France. It's easy to see why but, today, in the rain, it wasn't looking it's best.    Читать далее

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  • SQUIRREL TALESOut Of MothballsПутешественник

    Cabin Fever

    23 октября 2025 г., Франция ⋅ 🌬 15 °C

    It's so nice to see the sun again after 2 days of wet weather.

    Mr Fit-Body was keen to don the hiking boots and have an active day in the great outdoors. Ms Office-Body has a cold (or possibly a dose of European Covid) and was keen to stay in her slippers and curl up in a warm spot for a very inactive day.

    So that's exactly what we each did.

    Mr Fit-Body scoped out a couple of great hiking trails, with gorgeous views and ruins to explore.
    Ms Office-Body fell asleep in the bean bag.    Читать далее

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  • SQUIRREL TALESOut Of MothballsПутешественник

    Exploring - Cabanes du Breuil

    24 октября 2025 г., Франция ⋅ 🌧 11 °C

    The description in the tourist literature reads '15th century rural dwellings, reflecting the ancient ways of peasant life'.

    Another description reads 'former agricultural outbuildings of a farm, dating from the 19th or early 20th century'.

    Regardless of their age, these dry-stone huts were fascinating. With no mortar at all (or perhaps some earth mortar in the lower walls, depending on which account you read), the walls are up to 1m thick with a 2-layer roof. The inner layer of the roof is a corbelled vault which acts as a frame for the outer layer of stacked, flat limestone stones. This type of roofing is a hallmark of the region and can weigh up to 700kg per m2.    Читать далее

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  • SQUIRREL TALESOut Of MothballsПутешественник
    First glimpse from the car
    First glimpse from under the umbrella

    Exploring - Rocamadour

    25 октября 2025 г., Франция ⋅ 🌧 12 °C

    Another rainy day, another very pretty village.

    The gravity defying medieval village of Rocamadour is built on 3 levels. The village, comprising a single street, is near the bottom of the cliff, religious sanctuaries and chapels are in the middle, and the castle is at the top.

    Rocamadour became a place of religious pilgrimage as far back as the 12th century but it is now more a tourist destination than a pilgrimage centre.

    The village is on the Way of St James pilgrimage route, and devout hikers do climb the 216 steps from the village to the sanctuary on their knees. Or, there's an elevator.

    Approximately 1.5 million people visit Rocamadour every year. None of them were here today ... it's a very quiet time of year for traveling.    Читать далее

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