Catching the Train to Belle-Isle en Mer

The station at Tours has a series of 18 painted ceramic panels decorating the walls. Their purpose is to beautify the station concourse and entice travellers to the destinations portrayed. At present the panels are badly in need of conservation and a crowd-funding campaign is underway to raise the money to save them. Each panel will cost €8000 to clean, conserve and reattach the tiles to the walls. To learn more about the restoration fund and the panels themselves go to Ulule Gare Tours (in French).

We thought that it might be fun to show one of the panels every now and then, with the timetable information for how one gets there from Tours today. Looking at the timetable it is clear that you might as well start your journey at Saint Pierre des Corps these days rather than in Tours if you want to get to Belle Ile en Mer (note the modern spelling, which has lost the 's', to be replaced by 'î'). From Tours you just take the shuttle to Saint Pierre de Corps and change to the regional train to Nantes, then change again to get to Auray. From Auray it's an hour on the bus to Quiberon.

Fifteen kilometres off the coast from Quiberon, Belle Ile en Mer is the second largest of the islands off the Atlantic coast of France. Like the other islands it caters for tourists who want a truly relaxing and peaceful break, with lots of nature reserves, walking and cycle paths, water sports. There is a big opera festival every summer. We've never been there, but if it is anything like Ile de Re, we would highly recommend it. There is no bridge, you catch a ferry to get there.

The independently wealthy 19th century Australian artist John Russell lived there with his beautiful Italian wife and often played host to Claude Monet. He introduced Henri Matisse to the works of Vincent van Gogh, who was also a friend, and although Russell himself remains virtually unknown as an artist, in his day he was highly influentual amongst this group of French painters.

*******************************************

I'll Ride With You: I'd like to express my admiration for the women who started this social media campaign. I remember after the Underground bombings in London on 7 July 2005 how young dark bearded men with backpacks getting on public transport made others nervous (including me). No matter how much intellectually I knew these were respectable young men going about their daily lives just like me, catching the Underground in the weeks afterwards made everyone suspicious and edgy. Especially if like me you caught one of the bombed routes regularly and missed being blown up by about 10 minutes. Once that involuntary second of suspicion on sighting a young Muslim man had flashed through my head, I recognised how courageous the people were. It never occurred to me to step up to one and say so though -- in London one simply doesn't talk to strangers on the train.

*****************************************

Loire Valley Nature: A photo showing the male's 'hi-tech' feet pads has been added to the Lesser Bloody-nosed Beetle Timarcha goettingensis entry.

*******************************************

A la cuisine hier: Crispy Fried Beef, made with strips of 'viande bovine tranche à griller' which is known as 'thick flank' in English -- not exactly a prime cut, but perfectly fine for a dish like this.