Une surprise à Tours!

On Thursday, we anticipated that this day would be filled with packing, last minute trips to the boulangerie & superette, and a group photo shoot outside the Abbey... but we then realized that the bus was outside waiting for us. We walked up to the driver, and he notified us that we had an excursion to Tours today! Surprised as we thought it would be on Friday, we quickly (literally had 15 minutes) got ready & headed off to Tours! We were quite upset that this short notice did not allow us to have our French teacher to come with us as she is from the area and would know of every wonderful place to visit!

Our starting point was St. Gatien cathedral, which caused all of our heads to tilt upwards high into the sky! The interior was also extravagant and had lovely windows and antique charm. It reminded me of Notre Dame... minus the tourist crowd!

 Cathédrale Saint-Gatien de Tours

We had the opportunity to walk around on our own for several hours and had no castle visits in this large city. Regardless, we found the Loire river as all the castles we have visited are either on the River Cher or Loire! 

 The Loire River in Sunny Tours

After asking a worker at one of the cafes, we found what I called the "Champs Elysees" of Tours - the main hub where all of the stores, grand magasins, and patisseries/boulangeries were located. Since it was our last time in a big city, many of us picked up macarons to share with our families back home...

 Macarons 

In the midst of all the stores, we came across a place that all rang a special cord in our hearts - a store called "Michigan" which reminded us of Journey back home. It was quite comical and reminded us of where we would be heading towards on Saturday.

 I recall from high school french of reading about Galeries Lafayette, a French department store, in textbooks. I believe the one we used to read about is in Paris. I am assuming that this one is much smaller but affiliated. It is unbelievable of how many places we never visited in Paris, and I have been there twice! I guess another trip is needed to see many of "the unseen sights!"

What was extremely neat about this town was their train system in the midst of the main street. This train went quite slowly for most of the duration and watched for pedestrians making quick crosses between the "train tracks." Many of the natives were fearless of these electric trains and road their bikes right next to them!

 Train in Tours

Since the day was beautifully warm (which was a pleasant surprise compared to most of the trip), it was necessary to purchase some ice cream or sorbet. I decided to try Nougat de Montélimar because it's important to be adventurous in every aspect of a trip!

 Of course, we spotted some amazing macaroon tower creations within stores. I think more couples should consider a macaroon tower at their wedding! There are so many flavors to make them in; this might be the focus of perfecting this summer!

Tomorrow is our final full day in Pontlevoy. We are performing Act I and part of Act II of Tartuffe for our history class and having our final French class. Our journey in Pontlevoy is winding down; although we are all very excited to return home and greet our family and friends, it is going to be hard to say "Au revoir" to the Loire Valley.