Away to Orleans

I had tickets from Paris to Tours for the weekend, but then just happened to turn the tv on and catch the last minute of a what-to-do-this-weekend report. There's a Loire River festival in Orleans!
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Quick change of destination.
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The late September is delightful. Sunny and warm, not hot; cool but not too cold after sundown. Perfect for a stroll around the old city in the evening.

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Everybody is outside. Crowds! The cathedral is illuminated, and the old bell tower, and other special sights in the distance.

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Wandering around seeing the restaurants fill up to bursting makes me hungry, and I'm seduced by a daily special for coconut curry salmon at a Thai place, but alas, there is none left. After some indifferent coconut curry scallops I walk down to the riverfront, where the crowd is even thicker and more excited. Bands are playing. The street is lined with vendors and open-air restaurants, people are moving up and down the street and the quay, where all the boats are moored for the night.
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At 10 there's a "spectacle" on the water. A badly amplified accordionist plays in a spotlight on a sandbar. Giant ballons lit from inside and from colored spots parade up & down. Three giant white terns regally flap their balloon wings. A woman with a very large balloon strapped on her back sweeps long orange wing-fins gracefully through the air, swimming above the water.
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The music starts up again at 11, but I'm an early riser, so I wander back toward my hotel. Since I specifically wanted to remain close to the station because of Monday's early train, I wasn't as picky for a hotel as I may have been. One was full on Saturday, one was too expensive. The third looked okay, if a little careworn, so I took it. Wifi and breakfast included, and they were out of shower-only rooms so I scored a bathtub.

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But.

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It may say "no smoking" on the door, but it must be a very recent change. And there's apparently not a lick of insulation anywhere. Upstairs is inhabited by elephants. The plumbing is an auditory work of modern art.

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More tomorrow (and mostly all photos).

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