B&B Tours Sud Joue-Les-Tours

Well we didn't really stay in Tours so I can’t say much about it. I don’t even really remember the campsite we stayed at! That’s why I should write these things right away!

The only thing I remember is the Mistletoe. I had been wondering what the big balls in all the trees were and while we were in Paris my uncle explained that they were mistletoe ...

Seeing the lights of La Meslerie fade into the distance last night was a bittersweet experience. It's a place that, for so many reasons, has become near and dear to my heart. It's not often in life that we give ourselves over to the unknown, but it's a validation of the beauty of existence that you could take a chance and be so rewarded. Granted, I only spent a month and a half in France. But when I look back on this period of my ...

... that straddles the River Cher and is surrounded by gardens which even though its late October are still stunning. Inside over 3 floors we take in the places beauty - all of the rooms werer specatuarly painted withj deep blues, green and gold finishes, fine tapestries hang down the ceilings, large oil paintings litter the walls, period furniture gives us an insight into the life of its inhabitants over the years. This chateau wowed us!

... Friday 30 Oct
Next morning was overcast and nippy which always means a slow start to the day. Went out for a 9km run through the village and I managed to sneak in some hills, much to Kim's dismay but she managed to run all the way. I had thought it was not that hilly until we drove the way we run the following day and Scoooy started to struggle! Caught the end of the local farmers markets and bought ...

... all but too rewarding to stand and watch the last of the pressed grapes being swept from the floor while listening to the last bits of the Opera "Madama Butterfly".

Although the harvest has come to a close, my time here in France, fortunately, has not. This means over the next week or two I'll be exploring full time. On Wednesday of this week I was able to go out to Chenonceau ...

... depart from my safe place here in France, I have a place to stay set up in Canillo, Andorra, a country in which you could pretty easily walk from one border to the other in a day. I set this up through www.couchsurfing.org which I have to say is really a wonderful idea with a great philosophy behind it. But I digress, my time in France has been really spectacular and I feel like I've made friends here ...

... meat from the top of the ribs, cooked in a vegetable soup for three days). Everything was very good, but we all got a bit giggly. Laurent had handed out a sheet listing the five different wines, and most of us were taking notes while he spoke (so did I, and I listened to what he said, but I'll be damned if I can remember anything about the wines now). At the end, he surprised us with a quiz! I got all but one question correct. But I couldn't possibly be perfect after ...

... 2/3 shower door. The room has a bit of a tilt to it, and there is a timber beam and pillar combination in one corner.

After settling in, we walked with Rolinka down to the main square, and then Holly, Yvonne and I walked across the river to get a good view of Chinon Castle. We also stopped in at a grocery store (Shopi) so Holly could get some soap to wash clothes with. Yvonne ended up buying five boxes of KinderSurprise eggs. I must try one. I went ...

I took a day trip into Tours, which is the biggest city around here. It's a pretty amazing places, I still have a lot of exploring to do here yet, but I wanted to post some pictures of my first trip that I took into Tour alone.

Enjoy

... the doggie from the shop, and then later realized she would be in big trouble and planted the doggie on Sam's chair to avoid incrimination. And maybe she then, with cool calculation, pretended to be disinterested in the whole interrogation ... content to enjoy a huge ice cream feast with mom as her brother sobbed and cried under the pressure of wrongful accusations. And maybe Ella figured that a huge stroke of luck was granted to her when the shopkeeper mistakenly ...