What a place to celebrate my 100th day. The cream I bought for my foot sprain (or whatever it is) seems to be working--it's kind of a Bengay! I managed the skimpy 17.6 km (11 mi) before lunch and met with Marta at the Office de Tourisme. She arranged for a stay at the Abbey for tonight and a stay at a place tomorrow that's midway to Saintes because I didn't want to push for 32 km yet.
St. Jean d'Angely with a pop. of 7,000+ has leveraged its once famous Abbey into a cultural center of the town including a library, the school of music, and the Center of European Culture. Youngsters between ages 16 and 19 come for two-week stays from all over the EU. Although I'm in a two-person room (with loft arrangement--my roomie is on top), they have lots of bigger facilities.
Pictures include: the clock tower that was the medieval entry gate; ruins of Benedictine Abbey Towers of 1741 (the original Abbey was here in 817 already!); Abbey housing in which I'm staying; the library that occupies part of the Abbey with computers, etc.
In the second set, a half-timbered house, their City Hall, and across it their Hall of Justice, and my room (I'm actually taking this pic while lying on the bed).
