Yeah! A small town of only 150,000! That excludes the university students, but small in comparison to what we have been seeing. Our hotel, for three nights, feels luxurious……white bedding, our own clean bathroom, big screed HD TV and a fresh towel every day. The fact that we are on the third floor of a spiral staircase, with no lift (elevator) is immaterial, once we drag our bags into our room.
For the first two days, we walk and walk around the city, up and down neighborhood streets, around the central area and along the Loire River. Every few blocks another bridge is available to take you across the Loire and into North Tours.
We visit two cemeteries in town. I do like old cemeteries…..why is that? I like to read the headstones and imagine the people who lived and died and whose memories have been honored over time at their burial sites. I like to look at the ages and the writings and make note of recent activity. Sometimes, the people seem forgotten, their tombs sunken or twisted over the years with no maintenance. Sometimes, the dead continue to be visited and the graves well manicured. Some tombs are elaborate and hold entire families. Some graves are marked by wooden stakes. Leonardo Di Vinci is buried in France, near Tours in the town of Ambroise, but we couldn’t walk that far.
Each night in Tours, Molly and I go to a local pub or restaurant to watch the soccer games. Not too many women watching soccer in the pubs. The men were surprised we were even interested in watching and more surprised when we would say we play. Doesn’t seem to be the norm in France. The first time it was Italy vs. Hungary and the second game was France vs. Isle Fero. These are qualifying games for the World Cup in 2010. The first game was so exciting, as it went into overtime, both teams scored in overtime so it went on to sudden death. Hungary upset the odds and beat Italy, much to the amazement of the fans. The second game lacked competition, as the Isle of Fero sounds like it is a small country (?) of around 40,000 people. France won 5-0……but it was fun to see one French defender score his first goal in probably his entire, professional career.
Molly kept entertained by trying different drinks. The kids drink beer with flavoring here….some beer is pink, some is green. Molly asked for a pink beer and found it had a berry syrup in it. She liked it, since it made it sweet. Next time, she will try the green beer. I had a local beer on tap that had the taste of cloves and lemon and was really light. We have been drinking wine sometimes at night……again, she prefers the Vovray’s and the Reisling’s and the Rose’s and has not yet got her tastebuds trained to value a better wine. I am not sure I do either, but I know I don’t like that sweet, syrupy stuff.
For the first two days, we walk and walk around the city, up and down neighborhood streets, around the central area and along the Loire River. Every few blocks another bridge is available to take you across the Loire and into North Tours.
We visit two cemeteries in town. I do like old cemeteries…..why is that? I like to read the headstones and imagine the people who lived and died and whose memories have been honored over time at their burial sites. I like to look at the ages and the writings and make note of recent activity. Sometimes, the people seem forgotten, their tombs sunken or twisted over the years with no maintenance. Sometimes, the dead continue to be visited and the graves well manicured. Some tombs are elaborate and hold entire families. Some graves are marked by wooden stakes. Leonardo Di Vinci is buried in France, near Tours in the town of Ambroise, but we couldn’t walk that far.
Each night in Tours, Molly and I go to a local pub or restaurant to watch the soccer games. Not too many women watching soccer in the pubs. The men were surprised we were even interested in watching and more surprised when we would say we play. Doesn’t seem to be the norm in France. The first time it was Italy vs. Hungary and the second game was France vs. Isle Fero. These are qualifying games for the World Cup in 2010. The first game was so exciting, as it went into overtime, both teams scored in overtime so it went on to sudden death. Hungary upset the odds and beat Italy, much to the amazement of the fans. The second game lacked competition, as the Isle of Fero sounds like it is a small country (?) of around 40,000 people. France won 5-0……but it was fun to see one French defender score his first goal in probably his entire, professional career.
Molly kept entertained by trying different drinks. The kids drink beer with flavoring here….some beer is pink, some is green. Molly asked for a pink beer and found it had a berry syrup in it. She liked it, since it made it sweet. Next time, she will try the green beer. I had a local beer on tap that had the taste of cloves and lemon and was really light. We have been drinking wine sometimes at night……again, she prefers the Vovray’s and the Reisling’s and the Rose’s and has not yet got her tastebuds trained to value a better wine. I am not sure I do either, but I know I don’t like that sweet, syrupy stuff.
