It started out as a rainy day but that wasn’t damping my sense of adventure. The truth is I was really hoping to catch the bus from Tours to Château Villandry, especially since the weather was supposed to be perfect for meandering through the gardens. But with only five minutes between train arrival and bus departure, I knew I might be spending the day in Tours instead.
Without any idea what Tours really had to offer (aside from hearing how great it is), I set off to enjoy a day of total discovery – and when I say total, I mean I didn’t even have a map of the city.
I’ll admit it was frustrating at first. I couldn’t seem to stop walking in circles and I swear I can find my way back to the train station from any direction. But after I stumbled upon a flower market down the tree-lined path of Boulevard Heurteloup, I completely forgot about my meandering frustrations.
If I were staying longer, I would have treated myself to a beautiful bouquet.
The market stretched on and on with flowers of every shape, size and color, potted and cut, dried and fresh, rare and common. My favorites were the bouquets in the colors of Fall, not to mention the proud vendor of pumpkins and squashes in miniature. She beamed as the French girls crowded the heaping mound exclaiming “Are these real?” in total disbelief.
By the end of the day I’d stumbled upon the cathedral, enjoyed an espresso with delicious cinnamon brioche in the historic district, pondered what it was exactly that mesmerized me about Olivier Debre‘s massive paintings hanging in the Musées des Beaux Arts, walked down golden paths along the Loir, and even did a little shopping on Rue Jules Michelet, a quaint pedestrian street, where I finally found the perfect espresso maker — So I thought I would share with you a few snapshots of what I enjoyed most:
Tours is obviously proud of their Musées des Beaux Arts. Since I was in no rush to be anywhere, I enjoyed taking extra time to read about the various works of art. But my favorite feature of the museum were the creaky old floor boards that seemed to be reprimanding me with each step I took.
The beautiful medieval Cathédrale Saint-Gatien de Tours was started in 1170. Due to work constantly being done on, finally stopping during the 15th century, it is extremely rich with Gothic details. (WARNING: Art History Nerd Moment) Just look at those Flying Buttresses! Later in the history of architecture, they discovered ways of hiding these support beams so in that sense flying buttresses are often equated to the embarrassment of a 16th century damoiselle showing the inner workings of her hoop-skirt (often by sitting down improperly)…
The Historic District – tagging is a growing problem in France yet I’ve never heard the French complain. In many ways I think it’s viewed as expression, and the better of it as art.
Signs of Fall are everywhere! The streets of Tours were especially filled with shades of red, yellow and orange and fallen leaves crunch under foot. I love this season!
The classic train station in Tours.
Far too quickly, the moment arrived for me to head back home. It was refreshing having a successful travel day free from time, from agendas, even from preconceived notions contrived from travel guide books. As I may have mentionned earlier, I was especially curious to see if Tours would make a happy home for me as a grad student studying art history. I still think I prefer Paris, but I have to say, Tours is definately a wonderful place to be.
Although, I have my fingers crossed that I will still be able to make it to Villandry while I’m still in the Loire Valley…
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Nerd alert! Ha ha!!! I have to admit that when I saw the photo of the cathedral the first thing that went through my mind was “Oh, flying buttresses!” So, you’re not alone in your nerd-dom; I’m with you sister!
lol! glad I’m not the only one! I’ll have to find other wonderful flying buttresses to share — good thing France is full of them.