We stopped for one night in Tours
on the way to our vacation in Brittany
& loved it.
This city on the banks of the Loire River
in Central France
is gorgeous, charming
& has the most beautiful train station ever.
Merci to the architect Victor Laloux,
a Tours native who also helped design the
Gare d'Orsay station in Paris,
which is now the gorgeous Musée d'Orsay.
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| welcome to Tours |
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| choose your destination |
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| nobody waiting for trains today... |
As if that wasn't impressive enough,
Tours also has an amazing church,
which was constructed between 1170 & 1547.
Because the construction was so slow, the cathedral ended up with
several different architectural styles:
Romanesque & Gothic & Renaissance too.
The more the merrier, non?
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| wow |
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| nerd alert outside the church! |
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| beautiful |
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| higher than Notre-Dame de Paris |
After getting a crook in our necks
from looking up at all that beautiful architecture,
we headed to the old town for dinner.
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| inside "The Stable" restaurant |
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| complete with cow S & P shakers |
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| & a hay-filled old ladder as wall décor |
After dinner, we wandered down to the Loire River
just as the sun was setting.
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Le Pont Wilson (named after the U.S. president!) |
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| Loire River flood-water levels over the years |
We then stumbled across one of my most favourite things in France,
which is a traditional river-side
outdoor establishment to
drink & dance the night away.
I know... so great!!
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| river, lights in the trees, music... what's not to love? |
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| fun fun fun |
And, as if I wasn't totally enamoured with Tours already,
on the way back to the hotel,
on the way back to the hotel,
we walked past this fabulous old building:
See that yellow sign?
It advertises an apartment I'm pretty sure I need to move into.
Pourquoi?
- above a charming café
- look at those exposed wooden-beam ceilings... swoon!
- look at those exposed wooden-beam ceilings... swoon!
- across the street from a sushi shop
- a block away from a language school where I'm sure I could work
& Get ready for this!!!
(Honestly, you may want to sit down before you read any further!)
- just around the corner from this place:
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| No way, eh??! Must be destiny!! |
So that was Tours.
So so so lovely.
If you come back tomorrow, I'll start to share some
Brittany beach photos with you.
Sounds good?
Alors à demain!
So so so lovely.
If you come back tomorrow, I'll start to share some
Brittany beach photos with you.
Sounds good?
Alors à demain!
Wow. It's gorgeous. That train station! That riverside café! Le sigh. One day when I come to France again and we spend oodles of time in Paris, let's be sure to include a daytrip to Tours {and arrive at that beautiful station} C'est une bonne idée, non?
ReplyDeletexoxo
I love Tours! The area between there and Saumur is one of my favorite areas of France - beautiful countryside, tons of châteaux and great wine. What's not to love?! :)
ReplyDeleteBeautiful, I'd love to see the church especially.
ReplyDeleteTheresa N
weceno(at)yahoo(dot)com
I'm a hands-down believer that EVERYTHING is prettier in France. I just fell in love with these photos. Mr. BEY and I are trying to pick a place for a vacation. I know we went to France last year, but honestly, can you go too many times?
ReplyDeleteYou totally need to move into that apt, I agree, it's destiny! :-)
@Erin: très bonne idée !
ReplyDelete@Ksam: J'adore Tours !
@Theresa: that church was one of the most impressive ones I've ever been in!
@BEY: I agree with you on everything you said. I need to move into the apartment of destiny & you need to come back to France for your next vacation!!!