The Loire again

Gien. The Sologne has been crossed and it is back to the Loire again. Gien is about to commemorate its bombing in June 1940 as the Germans harried the retreating French forces. The destruction of the old centre was large, including the church next to the chateau. 

The town has various poster displays of the damage. Here is one looking down from the chateau over the old town and the early 18th century bridge. 

And here is the chateau and rebuilt town and church taken from the other end of the bridge, and then a photo of the bridge itself taken from underneath the huge pollarded plane trees you can see in the first picture. 

Now the chateau and then one looking down over the town to the river, the small part of the town the other side, and beyond. 

All looks a bit familiar perhaps... Yes, Blois. The resemblance seemed uncanny at times - the wonderful bridge, its position in relation to chateau, church, and the town, the apparent ribbon of houses fronting the river on the other side. But Blois is bigger and grander. And its chateau was not closed for 2011-17 for restoration, the current fate of Gien's! Hence we missed the museum of hunting in the Gien one, which made us feel better about missing the museum of poaching back in the Sologne at Chaon. 

We now becomes I again. Jay, my Sologne companion, leaves to take the train to Paris. The photo above is taken in front of the rebuilt church, dedicated to Joan of Arc who came to Gien several times in 1429 (we saw an auberge where she allegedly spent a night). The dates on the back of Jay's T-shirt in the one below are for a Ray Davies tour in the 1990s. Good taste!