Saint Aignan

"Once you have flown, you will walk the earth with your eyes turned skyward,

for there you have been, and there you long to return."

~  Leonardo da Vinci

On our way home from Touraine, we had hoped to stop and visit the "Zoo Parc de Beauval" in Saint Aignan because there is a baby Giant Panda that was born recently.  The Parc was so crowded that we would have had to walk at least 1 km just to get to the entrance.  With the heat over 30 degrees F, we decided to postpone our visit till September, when school resumes.

The town itself is delightful, with lots of medieval buildings, twisty narrow roads, and interesting boutiques. 

One of the parking lots in the centre of town offered free parking, for as long as you wanted.  Many places in other towns have an hour free parking before you get charged, and others have no free parking at all.  But the biggest surprise was that they had these power towers to plug in your electric vehicle - for free!

If you want to recharge your car super fast, they have the facilities to do so at two parking stalls, albeit for a fee.

These special parking spots are identified just like handicapped parking.  Don't you find this unexpected in such a medieval town?

How whimsical to have these white umbrellas suspended in mid air!  They are in preparation for an upcoming festival.

Hey, we got to see the baby panda after all!

In the distance, the Collégiale dating from the XI and XII centuries, with the Crypte.

"La maison à pans de bois".  Timber framed house.

We had a wonderful lunch at Le Bacchus, al fresco under parasols.

We shared a huge salad "jardinière" which had cold mushrooms stuffed with cheese.  We always bake ours but the cold version is delicious!

Karl had duck again.  I think he has started to quack and is growing webbed toes...

I had a second salad as my main course, with noodles, shrimp and Pollack or Surimi.  Lots of herbs to really elevate the taste.

 

The final café cème with a cookie. 

 

Then we were homeward bound, a 2-hour drive away.

 

***

 

"Traveler, there is no path.

Paths are made by walking."

 

~  Antonio Machado