Day 8 (Part 2)
All the fun of the fair on a sunny Saturday in Chinon
The annual vintage market continued in Chinon this sunny
afternoon.
Highlight was an old fashioned threshing. Thirsty work and, for a
short spell, we withdrew from the streets to visit the Caves Painctes of
Chinon, the headquarters of the Confrerie de Bons Entonneurs Rabelaisiens. Didn’t
quite make the cut for membership. You have to drink a glass of wine. What’s
the problem, you say. The problem is the glass takes a whole bottle and you
must finish it without a pause!
It is an interesting visit into the caves
under the town, some 100 meters under the fortress above. Got some drops of
water on my shirt at one point and the guide told me it had taken two months to
get down from the top. After a nice tasting of red, rose and red, we were soon
out in the sun and a different kind of fun.
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Cross-roads (well, rond-point) dancing |
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Tractor driver lets off smoke at a "heckler" |
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Fun time |
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I have a bigger one! |
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Some fine horses here today |
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Lining up for tasting at Caves Painctes of Chinon |
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Horse have shite of way |
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No French Fair complete without one. |
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Sheaf throwers |
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Rabelais and his work crew |
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Sheaf style. |