Old and new

The 14th-century Château de Baugé reflected in the very modern hotel de ville on a day when constant rain reduced our sightseeing to brief dashes from the car and glances through rain-swept windows, when the river Loire was swollen with flood water and all the other rivers looked dangerously close to overflowing too. Cowslips gave way to primroses and terra cotta roofs to slate tiles, and we spent the night at a hotel where the room was comfortable and the dinner good but we didn't feel very welcomed by the proprietor who was intent on complaining to us about a refereeing decision during the Wales-France 6 nations match - not our fault, we felt!

Back blip from a cafe in Ouistreham as we wait to catch the night ferry, because to make things worse the internet wasn't working in the hotel last night. I'll catch up with comments the other side of the water.