Baguettes, Baltic and Britain: Tours, France

The Loire river at sunset

One of the many narrow streets in Tours

The postie on her rounds in Tours

Gothic splendour in this magnificent cathedral St Gatien

The train to Tours took us through the countryside via Bourdeau and we arrived late due to a mixup with the trains, and yours truely marching David off the platform in search of our hotel, when we were supposed to change trains for Tours at the end of the line! We eventually arrived at our hotel, clean and comfortavle and on the quiet side of the building away from the main street. The only problem was the lift. It had a major jump on arrival at any floor and my balance was not happy. I took to the stairs and after a day of walking, the five flights felt like ten. We followed our usual practice of a good breakfast followed by a morning of walking, a late lunch around two with the regulation vin rouge and this kept us happy until supper or the next morning. One night we ate in the hotel restaurant after a long afternoon out.
We enjoyed looking at the many gothic churches with their magnificent stained glass windows. Such vibrant colours for work that is many hundreds of years old. We did a long walk to North Tours in the hot sun and wished we hadn't. It wasn't at all scenic and the uphill walk seemed endless until we found a connection back down to the Loire.

On the second day we booked an afternoon mini bus tour to Chenonceau and Amboise. It was lovely. Our guide was full of enthusiasm and did a lot of driving with his hands waving in the air. We managed to stay on the road! Chateau de Chenonceau was our first stop and we were given free time to wander around the building and grounds. It was really worth the trip and Diane de Poitiers garden was in full bloom and spectacular. We managed a light lunch and then back on the bus to Amboise. Here we visited Chateau du Clos Luce, the home of Leonardo da Vinci in the last few years of his life. It was given to him by his friend, Francois I and although we shared the visit with what seemed 1000 school children, it was fascinating to see the many inventions erected in the grounds and the IBM miniature display set up in a museum with Leonardo's drawings above each one. It was an amazing display funded by Bill Gates!

Next on the tour we went to Amboise Chateau royal, the home of many of the French kings. High on the hill, it allowed a wonderful view over the town and the river Loire. The Chateau had many interesting furnishings from the 16th and 17th centuries as well as beautiful paintings and tapestries.

We did have some rain in Tours which meant we spent time in our room and prevented us from more exploring. It was interesting to visit this city, but not so exciting after the wonderful time we had in Toulouse. We were thankful the station was just around the corner from the hotel as the bags seem to be getting heavier the longer we are away. Postcards are not that heavy!!