Time to move on after a relaxing stay in Airvault

Front building of Chateau St. Loup

Chateau de St. Loup

Today we move on from Airvault to Arcais ("Green Venice") and then Ile de Re.  During our time in and around Airvault, we have have explored the surrounding region and visited several chateaux.  We have driven aimlessly around (and also driven quite aim-fully around thanks to several iPhone offline mapping solutions we've found).

Approaching a one-lane bridge in Thouars

Simply driving from tiny town to tiny town has been surprisingly entertaining.  The roads are good, traffic is light, and the French road signs are always an adventure.  The speed limit changes quickly and dramatically as you approach and leave each town.  The landscape goes from open fields to tightly-packed urban stone buildings in a matter of a few hundred meters.  No urban sprawl here.

Truck driving through the old city wall in Thouars

Le Vieux Chateau (The Old Castle) in Airvault

About to drive through the old city wall in Parthenay.

Cloeseup of road signs next to old city wall crossing in Parthenay, France.  So many instructions! (From top: The other direction has priority, closed to vehicles wider then 2.8m, closed to vehicles taller than 3.9m, and speed limit 20 km/h (12mph) due to pedestrians, cars, and bikes.  And restaurant diners as it turned out.