July 2 - Sunday
Saumur
We slept in with plans for going into town and likely going to the chateau. Turns out there was an international music festival on this weekend through Monday. We walked around the town, found an internet point and an awesome boulangerie. This place was amazing, lots of variety, ok prices. It took forever to decide on what to get, the gal behind the counter must have helped at least three other customers coming back to us after each one and asking if we were ready. I got a sandwich with chicken, hardboiled egg, tomato and curry mayo. Hardboiled eggs in sandwiches are pretty common here. Jon got a quiche which tasted more like a veggie pot pie - really good. We decided on some mini cookies: chocolate chip and a soft butter cookie with strawberry jam in it (it tasted like a scone from the Puyallup fair - yum). We went to the internet point and checked some email, our bank account and the Seattle times to see what's been going on back home. There was a parade that afternoon which was just beginning when we left the internet point. It was pretty cool. It was the 60th anniversary of this International Music Festival. The music seemed to be mostly marching bands but it was not from just school age kids but rather it seemed to be groups of people representing different towns. There was a realy variety of ages in each band. Some of the participants did traditional folk dances, the traditional clothes and costumes were great. There was a good turn out and everyone was enjoying themselves. The procession crossed over the Loire river and went through town. A couple hours later some of the bands were still weaving their way through the streets of Saumur. The music would go on well into the night. We were able to hear it, faintly, from our campsite. Back at camp we had dinner and joined our new friends again for drinks. They planned to leave the next day at "the crack of noon" John said. We had wine, beer and this time Jon had Irish whiskey (Mary is the lone Irish woman while the rest of the group is from Scottland). We talked politics and nearly solved all of the problems of the world by the end of the night! A glass and a half of wine was just enough to make for a great night's sleep.
